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
Head-on collisions make up about 2% of all crashes. That's it. But they account for 10% of every traffic death in this country [1]. Read that again. One in fifty accidents, but one in ten fatalities.
The physics tell you why. Two cars going 60 mph toward each other? That's a combined impact force like slamming into a concrete wall at 120 mph. There's nowhere for that energy to go except through the cabin. Through you.
And here's what makes it worse. In a rear-end crash or a sideswipe, your car absorbs some of the blow by moving with the force. In a head-on? Both vehicles stop cold. All that momentum transfers straight into your body. Seatbelts and airbags help, sure. But at freeway speeds, even the best safety systems can't prevent catastrophic injuries.
Maricopa County saw 88,094 crashes and 560 fatalities in 2024. Head-on collisions didn't cause most of those wrecks. But they caused a disproportionate share of the deaths. We've seen what these cases look like up close, and they're never minor.
Phoenix has a wrong-way driver problem that most cities don't talk about. We're going to talk about it.
Arizona recorded 1,740 wrong-way driver incidents in 2024. Not typos on a police blotter. Real cars going the wrong direction on real freeways. Fifty-nine of those turned into actual collisions. Fourteen people died [2].
When does it happen? Almost always between 11 PM and 4 AM. And the leading cause won't surprise you - impaired driving. Alcohol. Drugs. Sometimes both. One woman in January 2026 drove the wrong way on I-17 near Thunderbird Road and told police her GPS made her do it. She was charged with aggravated DUI.
The problem got bad enough that ADOT spent $4 million on a pilot detection system along I-17. Ninety thermal cameras. First program of its kind in the entire country. Since 2018, that system has detected over 300 wrong-way vehicles on the Black Canyon Freeway alone.
Still not enough. Look at March 2026. A wrong-way crash on I-10 near Sky Harbor at 11:30 PM on the 2nd. Six days later, another one on the I-10 to Loop 202 ramp at 4:30 AM. Back in June 2025, an 18-year-old was killed on I-17 near 7th Avenue by a wrong-way driver at 3:20 in the morning.
The freeways where we see it most:
If a wrong-way driver hit you or someone you love, the case is different from a regular collision. These drivers are almost always impaired. That opens the door to punitive damages on top of your actual losses.
Wrong-way freeway drivers get the headlines. But plenty of head-on crashes happen on regular surface streets and two-lane roads. Different causes. Same devastating results.
A distracted driver drifts left. A drowsy driver nods off. Someone tries to pass a slow vehicle on a two-lane highway and misjudges the gap. Any of these puts a car directly in front of oncoming traffic. Happens fast. No time to react.
Driver turns left at an intersection and pulls right into the path of someone going straight. Technically a T-bone in most cases. But at certain angles, the front ends collide. Same force. Same injuries.
Missing median barriers. Confusing lane markings at construction zones. Ramps that look like they go one direction but actually merge you into opposing traffic. When the road itself causes the crash, the government entity responsible for that stretch may owe you money.
Tire blowouts that yank the steering wheel. Brake failures on downhill grades. Steering column defects. If a mechanical problem pushed your car - or someone else's car - across the center line, the manufacturer or mechanic has liability.
Sometimes a third vehicle rear-ends you hard enough to shove your car into the opposite lane. You didn't do anything wrong. But now you're in a head-on collision anyway. These multi-vehicle chain reactions create complicated liability questions. More than one party usually shares fault.
We don't handle head-on collision cases that involve a sore neck for two weeks. That's not what these crashes produce. The injuries we see are life-altering. Permanent, in many cases.
Our attorneys secured a $16.5 million verdict for a motor vehicle accident client who needed cervical and lumbar fusion surgeries after the crash.
We also recovered a $10.8 million verdict in a car accident case involving spine fusion surgery.
Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
When injuries this severe happen, the medical bills alone can reach six or seven figures. And that's before you factor in the income you'll never earn, the care you'll need for decades, the life you can't go back to. A wrongful death claim becomes the reality for too many families after head-on crashes.
In most car accidents, there's one at-fault driver and one insurance company to deal with. Head-on collisions? Often messier. Multiple parties might share blame, which actually works in your favor because it means more sources of recovery.
Who we go after depends on how the crash happened:
We look at every possible angle. More liable parties means more insurance coverage on the table. That's how we build these cases to maximize what you get back.
Here's something people don't expect. You can recover money even if the crash was partly your fault.
Arizona follows a pure comparative negligence rule under A.R.S. 12-2505 [3]. Say you were going 10 over the speed limit when a wrong-way driver plowed into you. A jury might assign you 15% of the blame. You'd still collect 85% of your total damages.
Some states cut you off at 50% or 51% fault. Not Arizona. Even if a jury says you were 90% responsible, you still recover 10%. That's the law here.
Why does this come up in head-on cases? Because insurance companies always try to shift blame. They'll argue you should have swerved. That you weren't paying attention. That you could have avoided the collision somehow. We push back on every one of those arguments.
The statute of limitations gives you two years from the crash date to file a lawsuit. That's A.R.S. 12-542. But evidence disappears way before that deadline. Dashcam footage gets overwritten. Witnesses move away. Skid marks fade. Don't wait two years to call a lawyer. Call now.
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
Usually the driver who crossed the center line or entered the roadway going the wrong direction. But it's not always that simple. If bad road design contributed, a government agency might share fault. If a vehicle defect caused the drift, the manufacturer has liability. And if a third vehicle pushed someone into oncoming traffic, that driver shares blame too. Arizona's pure comparative negligence rule means multiple parties can each owe a percentage.
Call 911 first. Head-on crashes almost always involve serious injuries, so getting medical responders there fast matters more than anything else. If you're able to, photograph both vehicles, the road, and any skid marks. Get the other driver's insurance info and contact details for witnesses. See a doctor even if you feel okay. Adrenaline masks pain for hours, and internal injuries from head-on impacts don't always show symptoms right away. Don't give a recorded statement to any insurance company before talking to an attorney.
It depends on your injuries, but head-on cases tend to produce larger recoveries than other crash types because the injuries are more severe. We look at current and future medical costs, lost income, diminished earning capacity, pain and suffering, and whether punitive damages apply. If the at-fault driver was impaired or acting recklessly, punitive damages have no cap in Arizona. Our firm has recovered verdicts over $10 million in motor vehicle cases involving spinal injuries.
Yes. Arizona uses pure comparative negligence under A.R.S. 12-2505. Your recovery gets reduced by your percentage of fault, but it doesn't get eliminated. Even at 80% fault, you'd still collect 20% of your damages. Insurance companies love to argue shared blame in head-on crashes. We fight those arguments with accident reconstruction experts, vehicle data recorders, and witness testimony.
Wrong-way drivers are the biggest freeway threat. Arizona had 1,740 wrong-way incidents in 2024, with most happening between 11 PM and 4 AM. DUI and impairment are the leading cause. I-17 and I-10 see the most incidents. On surface streets and two-lane roads, distracted driving, drowsy driving, and failed passing attempts cause most head-on crashes.
That strengthens your case. An impaired driver who causes a head-on collision faces punitive damages on top of your regular compensation. Arizona courts award punitive damages when someone shows "conscious disregard" for the safety of others. Driving drunk clears that bar. There's no cap on punitive awards in this state. We also investigate whether a bar or restaurant overserved the driver, which opens a dram shop claim and another source of insurance money.
Our Location