How Long Do I Have to Sue a City or Government Agency After a Crash in Arizona?

If your Arizona crash involved a city, county, state agency, public school or a government employee, you generally must file a written notice of claim within 180 days of when your cause of action accrues, and any lawsuit must be brought within one year. Those deadlines come from A.R.S. §§ 12-821.01 and 12-821, and they are much shorter than the general two-year deadline for personal injury lawsuits in Arizona.

Why government claims are different

Most injury claims are against private drivers or companies. When the defendant is a "public entity" or "public employee" — for example, a city vehicle, a public bus, or a government worker acting on the job — Arizona applies a separate set of procedural rules. Missing them can end a claim before anyone looks at the merits.

The 180-day notice of claim

A.R.S. § 12-821.01 says people with claims against a public entity or public employee must file the claim "with the person or persons authorized to accept service for the public entity, public school or public employee as set forth in the Arizona rules of civil procedure within one hundred eighty days after the cause of action accrues."

The statute also sets out what the notice must contain:

• Facts sufficient to let the public entity or employee understand the basis on which liability is claimed.
• "A specific amount for which the claim can be settled and the facts supporting that amount."

In other words, a vague letter saying you were hurt is not what the statute describes. The notice has to explain what happened and name a settlement figure with support for it.

When the 180 days starts

Under § 12-821.01, a cause of action accrues "when the damaged party realizes he or she has been damaged and knows or reasonably should know the cause, source, act, event, instrumentality or condition" that caused or contributed to the damage. For a crash, that is often the date of the collision, but the statute's wording turns on what a person knows or reasonably should know, so the facts of each case matter.

What happens after you file

A claim filed under the statute "is deemed denied sixty days after the filing of the claim unless the claimant is advised of the denial" in writing before then. That means silence from the agency does not stop the clock on your case; after 60 days the claim is treated as denied.

The one-year lawsuit deadline

Separately, A.R.S. § 12-821 states: "All actions against any public entity or public employee shall be brought within one year after the cause of action accrues and not afterward." This is the lawsuit deadline, and it is distinct from the notice-of-claim step.

Minors and incompetent persons

The notice statute includes a special rule for minors and for persons who are incompetent: they may file a claim within 180 days after the disability ceases. If a child was hurt in a crash involving a public entity, the timing can differ from an adult's, and it is worth getting advice on the specifics.

Practical takeaways

If you think a government vehicle or employee may have been involved, write down the date of the crash, keep the police report, and identify the agency as early as possible. The notice of claim has to go to the right person, so confirming who is authorized to accept service for that agency is part of the job. These rules have many details beyond this overview, so consider speaking with a licensed Arizona attorney promptly, since the clock may already be running.

This article explains Arizona statutes for general informational purposes and is not legal advice. Source: Arizona Revised Statutes §§ 12-821 and 12-821.01, azleg.gov.