Primary Location
Phoenix Personal Injury Lawyers
2700 N Central Ave Suite 320, Phoenix, AZ 85004, United States
Phone: (602) 905-7766
Call us at (855) 855-8910
Call us at (855) 855-8910
Phoenix means year-round riding. It also means year-round crashes. I-10, I-17, surface streets through Tempe and Scottsdale, those are where we see the most calls come from. And the first few minutes after a wreck? They set the direction for everything that comes after.
Here's what we walk clients through:
Evidence after a motorcycle crash has a short shelf life. Camera footage records over. Witnesses move on. The other side starts shaping their story immediately. Speed matters here.
Riders in Phoenix already know the biggest problem on the road: drivers who never saw you coming. Bikes are small. Cars are big. And on wide-open stretches like Camelback Road and the Loop 101, a lot of drivers simply aren't scanning for motorcycles.
Distracted driving is everywhere right now. Someone glances at their phone for two seconds while doing 45, and they've covered half a football field without looking at the road once. That's all it takes.
But here's the one that really gets us. Left turns. A car swings left through an intersection without yielding to the oncoming bike. The rider has maybe a second to react. We handle these cases constantly in Phoenix, and the injuries are almost always serious.
Rear-end crashes at stoplights are another big one. You stop. The driver behind you doesn't. Simple as that. Except on a motorcycle, there's no metal frame, no airbag, no cushion between you and the full force of that impact.
I-10 and I-17 during rush hour? Lane-change collisions. Somebody slides over without checking, clips the bike or forces the rider into a hard brake. Sometimes the motorcycle goes down without the car even making contact.
Impaired driving accounts for a significant share of fatal motorcycle wrecks in Maricopa County. And then you've got the road hazards that cars roll right over without thinking, like gravel patches, construction plates, and potholes. On two wheels, any of those can put you on the ground in a heartbeat. Many of these collisions involve the same driver negligence our car crash lawyers serving Phoenix see every week.
Not every motorcycle wreck plays out the same way. How the crash happened changes what injuries you're dealing with, what evidence matters, and how we go after the person responsible.
This is the crash type that motorcycle lawyers talk about more than any other. A car turns left across an intersection. The rider coming through straight has the right of way. But the driver didn't look, or they misjudged how fast the bike was moving. It happens in seconds, and the results are often catastrophic.
Sitting at a red light on your bike and the car behind you doesn't stop. Even a 25 mph rear-end hit does serious damage when there's no trunk, no frame, nothing behind you absorbing force. Just you.
Someone runs a light or rolls through a stop sign and hits a motorcycle from the side. The rider has no protection on that angle at all. We've handled intersection crashes in Phoenix where the injuries were life-changing because the full impact caught the rider broadside.
Freeway crashes where a car drifts into the motorcycle's lane. The rider gets sideswiped, or they swerve and go down trying to avoid it. Something people don't realize: if another driver forced you to crash, they're liable even if their car never touched your bike.
Police show up, see one vehicle, and write it up as a single-bike crash. But that doesn't mean it's your fault. Oil spills, unfixed potholes, loose gravel from construction, or a hit-and-run driver who cut you off, any of those things can send you to the ground. If somebody else created the hazard, they're on the hook for your damages.
This one happens on surface streets. Downtown Phoenix, Mill Avenue in Tempe, anywhere with street parking. A driver or passenger swings their door open without looking, right into a passing motorcycle. At that distance, there's nothing you can do. Even at lower speeds, the injuries from dooring crashes can be significant.
A car wreck dents metal. A motorcycle wreck breaks bones. There's nothing between you and the pavement, and the injuries reflect that.
Road rash is the one people underestimate. At low speed, maybe it's scrapes and bruises. At 50 or 60 mph on a Phoenix freeway? Pavement tears through gear, skin, and muscle. Some of our clients have needed multiple skin graft surgeries. Months of recovery. Permanent scarring.
Fractures are almost a given. Collarbones on impact. Wrists from bracing the fall. Ribs, ankles, femurs. Many of these breaks need surgical repair with plates and screws, not just a cast and six weeks.
Head injuries scare us the most, honestly. A helmet helps. But a hard enough impact still causes concussions, skull fractures, or brain bleeds even with one on. Without a helmet, you're looking at a much higher chance of a traumatic brain injury. And a TBI doesn't just heal. It can change your memory, your mood, your ability to hold a job. Our traumatic brain injury attorneys in Phoenix help riders recover compensation for the lifetime of care a head injury demands.
Spinal cord damage? Nobody wants to talk about it, but we have to. Riders get launched off bikes. They land wrong. The spine takes the hit. Sometimes it's partial paralysis. Sometimes it's permanent. Injuries this severe require catastrophic injury representation in Phoenix from attorneys who understand the lifetime costs involved.
Internal bleeding is the silent one. You walk away from the wreck, tell the paramedic you feel okay, go home. Three hours later you're in an ER because your spleen or liver was damaged and you had no idea. That scenario is why we tell every single client the same thing: go to the hospital. Right away. No exceptions.
Between the surgeries, the ICU stays, and rehab that can stretch for months, motorcycle crash medical bills add up to numbers that shock people. All of it belongs in your claim.
Under Arizona law, you're entitled to money for every loss that traces back to the crash. Here's how we break it down for clients:
Medical expenses are usually the biggest piece. Ambulance transport, ER visits, imaging, surgery, follow-up appointments, prescriptions, physical therapy. Every medical bill tied to the accident goes into the claim.
Lost wages cover what you missed while you couldn't work. And if the injury changed your ability to earn going forward, like if you can't do physical labor anymore or had to take a lower-paying job, that's lost earning capacity. We fight for that too.
Pain and suffering is harder to put a number on, but it's real. The chronic pain that doesn't go away. Anxiety around intersections. Depression. Not being able to ride, play with your kids, or do the things you did before. All of it has value in a claim.
Property damage covers your motorcycle, helmet, riding gear, and anything else destroyed in the wreck.
Future care costs come into play when your injuries need treatment for years to come. Spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and amputations don't just heal up and go away. Your settlement needs to reflect what care looks like over a lifetime, not just the next few months.
Highway-speed crashes on the I-17 and similar roads produce the largest claims because the injuries are so severe. But even what seems like a minor wreck can result in a six-figure case once you add up the surgery, the rehab, and the months of lost pay.
Honestly? It depends. But here's what drives the number:
Our legal team recovered a $250,000 settlement for a client hit in a motorcycle-versus-auto collision. Multiple fractures. Prior crash history and a criminal record that the insurance company tried to use against them. We still secured double the policy limits. Every dollar of coverage matters, and we know where to find it.
Arizona follows pure comparative negligence [3]. What does that mean for you? Even if you share some of the blame for the crash, you don't lose your right to compensation. Your award gets reduced by whatever percentage of fault falls on you. That's it.
So picture this scenario. You're found 30% at fault. Your total damages come to $100,000. You'd still recover $70,000. The system doesn't shut you out. It just adjusts the math.
Here's one that surprises a lot of people who call us. Arizona doesn't require a helmet for anyone over 18. Eye protection, yes. But the helmet is your call. And if you weren't wearing one when the crash happened? It doesn't kill your case. The other side might argue your head injuries would have been less severe with a helmet on. That could reduce what you get for those specific injuries. But they can't use it to deny your whole claim.
Usually it starts with the other driver. They were texting, ran a light, failed to yield, or were driving drunk. But the list of responsible parties can grow from there:
Why does this matter? Because each liable party brings their own insurance policy to the table. More parties, more coverage, and a better chance of fully compensating you for what you've been through.
We hear it every time someone calls our office after a crash: "The insurance company is being difficult." Of course they are. There's a real bias against motorcyclists in the claims process. Adjusters look at a motorcycle accident and their first instinct is to blame the rider. They assume you were going too fast, weaving between cars, or being reckless. None of that has to be true for them to use it against you.
That's why you want our Phoenix personal injury lawyers on your side — a team that deals with these adjusters for a living. We know the playbook they run, and we don't let them get away with it.
What we take off your plate:
Something a lot of people don't think about? How quickly key evidence vanishes. Traffic camera footage gets recorded over in days. Witnesses relocate or their memories get fuzzy. Reports from Phoenix PD and the Maricopa County Sheriff need to be pulled early or risk being harder to get. Waiting too long to call a lawyer costs you evidence, and evidence is everything.
We took a motorcycle accident case to trial where 70% of fault was placed on our client. A left-turn crash at a stop sign, and the insurance company figured they wouldn't have to pay much. Our attorneys secured an $845,262 verdict anyway. That's what having the right legal team means.
Think of it as half investigation, half legal strategy. Both start running the day you call.
Evidence comes first. We pull your police report from Phoenix PD or the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. We get your ER records, your follow-up visit notes, your imaging. Photos from the scene, dashcam or surveillance video if any exists, witness names and statements. Some of that evidence has a very short window before it's gone. Surveillance systems record over old footage constantly. So we move fast.
After that, we build the liability picture. What exactly happened? Who did what wrong? We use the physical evidence, Arizona traffic law, and when the facts are contested, we bring in accident reconstruction experts who can show a jury precisely how the crash occurred. If multiple parties share blame, we name all of them.
Calculating damages is where a lot of firms get it wrong, in our opinion. They add up the medical bills you've got so far and call that the number. We don't work that way. We consult with your doctors about future treatment. We bring in economists who project what your lost wages and diminished earning power look like over ten or twenty years. The real value of a motorcycle accident case is almost always higher than what the insurance company puts on the table first.
Negotiation comes next, and we push hard. Most of these cases settle before trial. But a bad offer is worse than no offer. If the insurance company won't come up to a fair number, we file and take the case to a jury. Our firm has over 250 years of combined personal injury experience. The courtroom isn't unfamiliar territory.
Last thing: Arizona's statute of limitations gives you two years from the crash date to file. Seems like plenty of time. It's really not. Between evidence collection, medical documentation, expert consultations, and building a case that can hold up under pressure, months go by quickly. Reach out to a lawyer early so there's room to do everything right.
We take these cases personally. Riders get a raw deal from insurance companies more often than just about anyone else. Here are a few outcomes our attorneys have fought for:
$5 million settlement - A family lost a 24-year-old rider in a motorcycle wreck. Dependent family members needed long-term financial security. The insurance company's first offer didn't come close to reflecting what this family lost. Our attorneys negotiated until it did.
$1.25 million settlement - Our client walked away from a motorcycle crash needing spine fusion surgery. The bills were massive, and rehab stretched out for months. We built a case that accounted for the procedure, the recovery period, and the follow-up care they'd need for years down the road.
$845,262 verdict - This case was a fight from day one. A left-turn collision at a stop sign, and the defense pinned 70% of the fault on our client. Insurance offered almost nothing. We disagreed. Took it to a jury. And the jury agreed with us.
Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
We wish these numbers told a better story. Maricopa County leads all of Arizona in motorcycle deaths [1]. And the state itself ranks near the top nationally for motorcyclist fatalities. That's not a ranking anyone wants.
Arizona lost 258 motorcyclists in 2023 [2]. That's the highest number this state has seen in over twenty years. One reason? Motorcycle registrations shot up 33% between 2019 and 2023. More riders, same roads, same drivers who aren't watching for bikes.
Speeding factors into 38% of fatal motorcycle crashes statewide. Not always the rider, either. A car doing 55 in a 40 zone has way less time to spot a motorcycle and react. At those speeds, there's no room for error.
And unlike cities up north, Phoenix doesn't get a few months off from riding season. Bikes are out here twelve months a year. Crash numbers tend to climb in early spring when traffic picks up and drivers haven't readjusted to watching for motorcycles after a slower winter.
What do these numbers mean for you? If you've been hit, you're far from alone. Hundreds of Arizona riders go through this every year. You have legal rights, and a claim that's worth pursuing.
Our attorneys have handled personal injury cases across Arizona and California. We know how Phoenix insurance companies operate, and we know how to push back.
That number reflects real results for real families — medical bills paid, lost wages recovered, and futures protected.
You pay nothing upfront. Our fee comes out of your settlement or verdict. If we do not win your case, you owe us nothing.
Accidents do not follow business hours. Neither do we. Call (602) 905-7766 any time — nights, weekends, and holidays.
Our Phoenix team works out of 2700 N Central Ave, Suite 320. We know the roads, the courts, and the insurance adjusters you are up against.
“After a crash, you need a team that answers the phone, explains your options, and fights for every dollar you are owed. That is what we do at The Simon Law Group.”
Over 250 years of combined attorney experience
Phoenix office at 2700 N Central Ave, Suite 320 |
Licensed in Arizona and California
Arizona legalized lane filtering in 2022, but lane splitting at speed is still illegal. That gray area creates real problems after a crash. Whether you were filtering legally or the other driver cut you off between lanes, fault is rarely straightforward. We sort out the comparative negligence math and fight the insurance company's version. Learn more about lane splitting accident claims.
A driver turns left across your lane at a Phoenix intersection and you go down. ARS 28-772 says that driver had to yield. Period. Insurance companies still try to blame the rider for speed or visibility. We use police reports, traffic camera footage, and accident reconstruction to prove the driver broke the law. Learn more about left-turn motorcycle accident claims.
Today. Seriously. We get calls from people weeks after their crash wondering if they waited too long, and the honest answer is that every day you wait costs you something. Surveillance footage gets taped over. Witnesses move. The other driver's version of events solidifies. Arizona gives you two years to file, but the strongest cases are built in the first few weeks. And whatever you do, don't give a recorded statement to the other driver's insurance before you've talked to an attorney.
Yes, and this comes up on almost every call we get from riders. Arizona doesn't make adults wear helmets. It's legal to ride without one. So the fact that you weren't wearing a helmet can't kill your case. Could the defense argue your head injuries would've been less severe? They might try. A jury could knock down the award for those specific injuries. But the claim itself stands.
It's a rough list. Deep road rash requiring grafts. Broken collarbones, wrists, ankles, and ribs. TBIs that happen even with a helmet on. Spinal cord injuries that sometimes mean paralysis. Internal bleeding that shows up hours after the crash when you thought you were fine. Knee and shoulder injuries from getting thrown are common too. Most of these need surgery and months, sometimes years, of rehab.
Short answer: the person who caused the crash. Their insurance covers your property damage. What if they don't have insurance, or their policy limit is too low? Then your own collision or uninsured motorist coverage steps in. Save every repair estimate, every receipt, every photo of the damage. Your attorney will use all of it.
There's no one answer. Straightforward cases with clear fault and moderate injuries might wrap up in three to four months. But when you're dealing with severe injuries, disputed liability, or insurance companies dragging their feet, expect twelve months or longer. Sometimes filing a lawsuit is the only way to move things forward.
Zero dollars upfront. We work on contingency, meaning our fee comes from the settlement or verdict. If you don't win, you don't pay us. Your first consultation is free too. You can sit down with an attorney, go through the details of your crash, and get honest advice about your options without any financial commitment.
Our Location