Tempe Personal Injury Lawyer

How a Tempe personal injury lawyer can help

An injury can interrupt your treatment, work, and daily routine long after the incident itself. The Ruiz Law Firm reviews Tempe claims involving falls, unsafe property, serious injuries, and vehicle collisions. We discuss what happened, the records available, and the insurance questions that may affect your next steps.

Your first conversation can start with what you know today. You do not need a complete medical file or an insurance settlement offer before asking for a consultation.

What a Tempe personal injury claim can cover

Personal injury claims can arise from different kinds of incidents. Our Tempe office reviews how the injury happened, the harm it caused, and the evidence connecting that harm to another person’s negligence.

A claim may address medical bills, time off work, future care, and the non-economic harm supported by the evidence. The records needed depend on the incident and the injuries.

Claims we review from the Tempe office include:

• Slip-and-fall and unsafe-property injuries: photographs of the condition, incident reports, and witness information help document what happened.
• Brain and spinal injuries: medical records, treatment recommendations, and work restrictions help explain the effects on daily life.
• Car collisions: see our Tempe car accident lawyer page for vehicle evidence, crash reports, and local road information.
• Motorcycle claims — Phoenix motorcycle accident lawyer
• Commercial truck claims — Phoenix truck and 18-wheeler accident lawyer
• Pedestrian injuries in the Phoenix area: see how our Phoenix pedestrian accident lawyer team evaluates crossing evidence and insurance questions.
• Bicycle claims — Phoenix bike accident lawyer
• Rideshare claims — our Phoenix Lyft and Uber accident lawyer page explains trip records and Arizona insurance coverage.
• Wrongful death — Phoenix wrongful death lawyer

The Phoenix practice pages above explain incident-specific questions for the metro area. Consultations for these Arizona claims are handled from our Tempe office.

How we start a Tempe injury file

We ask where the injury happened, what medical care you have had, which insurers have called, what work you missed, and what photos, reports, or witness names still exist. Fee terms are contingency: no attorney fee unless we recover money for you. Court costs and litigation expenses are explained in writing before representation. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Call (480) 542-7826 or request a free consultation.

Evidence for a Tempe injury claim

The useful evidence depends on how you were injured. For a fall or unsafe-property incident, save photographs of the condition, the location and time, any incident report, and the names of people who saw what happened. For a collision, preserve the report number, scene photographs, and the information exchanged by those involved.

Keep medical discharge papers, follow-up instructions, bills, receipts, and correspondence from insurers. A record of missed work and changing work restrictions can help explain the injury’s impact. If you cannot obtain a particular record, tell us what is missing during the consultation.

Photographs and video can be lost or overwritten, and conditions can change. Keep the original files you have and note who else may hold relevant records. The initial conversation can help identify what information still needs to be requested.

Medical bills, nearby emergency care, and records

Medical records help explain both the immediate injury and its continuing effects. Emergency care, imaging, follow-up visits, therapy, work restrictions, and a physician's prognosis are what show the injury's cost over time. Signing a release before that picture is clear can leave future care uncompensated.

HonorHealth Tempe Medical Center is at 1500 S Mill Ave, Tempe, AZ 85281 — on the same Mill Avenue corridor as the office. It is an emergency department and hospital campus. It is not a Level I trauma center on the Arizona Department of Health Services designated trauma list.

East Valley Level I trauma care is listed at Banner Desert Medical Center, 1400 S Dobson Rd, Mesa, AZ 85202 (same AZDHS list).

The firm is not affiliated with either hospital. Keep records from the providers who actually treated you, including bills, follow-up recommendations, and work restrictions.

Arizona's two-year clock for injury to the person

A.R.S. § 12-542 is titled Injury to person; injury when death ensues; injury to property; conversion of property; forcible entry and forcible detainer; two year limitation. Subsection (1) covers "injuries done to the person of another":

Except as provided in section 12-551 there shall be commenced and prosecuted within two years after the cause of action accrues, and not afterward, the following actions:

1. For injuries done to the person of another including causes of action for medical malpractice as defined in section 12-561.

That is a lawsuit deadline, not a reason to wait two years. Video, vehicle data, and witness names often disappear in days. Insurers still call early. If death ensues from the injuries, subsection (2) treats the action as accruing at death — use the Phoenix wrongful death page rather than treating this page as a death-claim primer.

Pure comparative fault, not a 51% cutoff

Arizona's comparative-negligence statute is A.R.S. § 12-2505:

The defense of contributory negligence or of assumption of risk is in all cases a question of fact and shall at all times be left to the jury. If the jury applies either defense, the claimant's action is not barred, but the full damages shall be reduced in proportion to the relative degree of the claimant's fault which is a proximate cause of the injury or death, if any. There is no right to comparative negligence in favor of any claimant who has intentionally, wilfully or wantonly caused or contributed to the injury or wrongful death.

The claim is not barred because you share fault; damages are reduced by your percentage. The statute also withholds comparative-negligence rights from a claimant who intentionally, wilfully, or wantonly caused or contributed to the injury. How those rules apply depends on the facts of the claim.

Nevada injury claims use a different fault rule. For Nevada law, see our personal injury lawyers page.

Shorter clocks when a public entity may be involved

If a city, county, state, or public employee may be a defendant (a city vehicle, some roadway-design theories, a public-transit collision), Arizona adds earlier steps. A.R.S. § 12-821.01 requires a notice of claim within 180 days after accrual and a specific settlement amount. A.R.S. § 12-821 then limits the lawsuit against a public entity or public employee to one year. That is a caution, not a diagnosis that your Tempe crash is a government claim.

Wrongful death is a different statute

When a death is alleged to have been caused by wrongful act, neglect, or default, liability and who may sue live in A.R.S. § 12-611 and A.R.S. § 12-612. The two-year clock when death ensues is § 12-542(2). Families should use the Phoenix wrongful death lawyer page; this Tempe injury page only points there.

Where a Tempe injury lawsuit is filed

Tempe is in Maricopa County. Civil injury actions of $10,000 or more (excluding interest, costs, and attorney fees) go to Maricopa County Superior Court, not Justice Court (lawsuit guide). There is no Tempe Superior Court campus for civil trials.

The downtown complex is 201 W Jefferson St, Phoenix, AZ 85003. Civil hearings are heard downtown even if paperwork is dropped at another counter (CVC1 packet). Attorney e-filing is required in civil cases (clerk civil filing).

A Tempe address on this page is the law office. It is not the courthouse.

A Tempe office for Tempe injury claims

The Arizona office is on South Mill Avenue in downtown Tempe, on the same corridor as ASU's edge of campus. We serve Tempe from 222 S Mill Ave Ste 800, Tempe, AZ 85281. There is no Phoenix office and no Scottsdale office.

Attorney Lawrence Ruiz is admitted in Arizona. You can check his current status in the State Bar of Arizona member directory.

Tempe office hours are Monday–Friday, 8:30 AM–5:30 PM Arizona time. Call (480) 542-7826 or use the callback form.

Explore our Arizona injury services for the Tempe office and related practice areas.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to file a personal injury lawsuit in Arizona?

Many injury-to-the-person lawsuits must be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrues under A.R.S. § 12-542(1). Public-entity claims can have a 180-day notice and a one-year suit deadline. Evidence can disappear much sooner than any of those clocks.

What if I was partly at fault for a Tempe injury?

A.R.S. § 12-2505 is pure comparative negligence: the claim is not barred, but damages are reduced by the claimant's percentage of fault. There is no comparative-negligence right if the claimant intentionally, wilfully, or wantonly caused or contributed to the injury. Insurers still argue fault; the statute does not make those arguments true.

Where is The Ruiz Law Firm's Arizona office?

222 S Mill Ave Ste 800, Tempe, AZ 85281. We serve Tempe from this office. There is no Phoenix or Scottsdale address. Call (480) 542-7826. Office hours are Monday–Friday, 8:30 AM–5:30 PM Arizona time. Get directions on Google Maps.

Is Lawrence Ruiz admitted in Arizona?

Arizona admission is confirmed. Confirm current status in the State Bar of Arizona member directory. Read about his background at Lawrence Ruiz.

Where are Tempe personal injury lawsuits heard?

Maricopa County Superior Court for civil claims of $10,000 or more, downtown Phoenix at 201 W Jefferson St. See the Superior Court lawsuit guide and CVC1. Tempe cases are still Maricopa County cases.

Is HonorHealth Tempe a Level I trauma center?

No. HonorHealth Tempe Medical Center at 1500 S Mill Ave is an emergency department and hospital campus and is not on the AZDHS Level I list. Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa is the East Valley Level I facility named on this page. The firm is not affiliated with either hospital.