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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
Look, we handle a lot of personal injury cases. But catastrophic injuries are different. These are the ones where someone walks into our office and their whole life has changed. Brain damage after a wreck on the I-10. A construction worker who lost his hand on a job site. A spinal cord injury that means someone will never walk again.
If that is your situation right now, or a family member is going through it, here is what you need to know. The Simon Law Group handles catastrophic injury cases across Tucson and Pima County. Free case review. No fee unless we win.
A catastrophic injury causes permanent disability or long-term complications that change how someone lives and works. We are not talking about a broken arm that heals in six weeks. These injuries do not get better.
Arizona law treats them differently because the stakes are so much higher. Common examples include:
People call us all the time asking whether their injury qualifies. Here is the honest answer. If your injury permanently changed your ability to work, care for yourself, or live the way you did before, it probably qualifies. But the specifics matter.
TBI is the big one. Memory loss, personality changes, trouble with speech. A lot of people brush off a concussion after a car wreck. Six months later they cannot hold a job. By then they wish they had called us sooner.
Spinal cord damage means partial or full paralysis. Loss of feeling or function below the injury site. Some people regain partial movement. Many do not.
Amputation covers the loss of a hand, arm, leg, or foot. We have seen this after crush injuries on construction sites and in high-speed vehicle collisions. Surgical amputations after severe trauma fall in this category too.
Then you have severe burns, organ damage, and permanent disfigurement. Any injury that requires years of ongoing treatment and fundamentally changes your daily life.
Here is something most folks do not know. Arizona has zero cap on catastrophic injury damages. The Arizona Constitution, Article 2, Section 31, flat out bars the legislature from putting a limit on what a jury can award. That matters. A lot. Your injury is permanent, so the full cost of future care, lost income, and suffering all stay on the table.
Our attorneys settled a case for $2.5 million where the client suffered a traumatic brain injury in an auto collision. Getting a solid diagnosis early on made the difference between a decent settlement and a great one.
A moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury is one of the clearest triggers for catastrophic classification, because the cognitive and behavioral effects rarely resolve.
You do not need a highway pileup to suffer a catastrophic injury. We have seen lives change from what looked like a fender bender. A rear-end hit at 35 miles per hour can cause a TBI that shows up weeks later.
That said, some accident types produce catastrophic outcomes more often than others here in Tucson.
I-10 and I-19 wrecks are at the top of the list. These corridors carry heavy traffic every single day. Tucson logged 5,684 crashes in 2024. And get this, 75.5 percent of all collisions in the city happen at intersections [1]. Speedway, Grant Road, Broadway. These are not safe roads.
Construction accidents are a growing problem. Right now Tucson has over $600 million in active projects. The I-10 widening from Park Avenue to Alvernon Way is a massive job running through 2028. Every week, workers face fall risks, heavy equipment dangers, and trench cave-ins.
Pedestrian crashes here are brutal. Tucson streets rank among the deadliest in the entire country for people on foot [3]. Thirty-four pedestrians died in vehicle crashes in 2024. The survivors? Many face catastrophic brain and spinal injuries.
Motorcycle wrecks round out the list. No protection, high speed, bad outcomes. Left-turn collisions at intersections like Broadway and Wilmot or Golf Links and Swan are the worst. Golf Links and Swan alone saw 32 crashes last year.
Our attorneys recovered $6 million after an auto accident caused a traumatic brain injury and a wrongful death. The crash itself dictated everything about how that case moved forward.
Falls from elevated platforms on active job sites — the core of our scaffold fall cases — are one of the leading causes of life-altering spinal and brain trauma across the Tucson metro.
The first 72 hours after a catastrophic injury matter more than people realize. What happens right now shapes what your case looks like a year from now.
First, get to a trauma center. Tucson has two Level 1 facilities. Banner University Medical Center and Tucson Medical Center. Call 911 or get to the nearest ER. Do not try to tough it out. Do not wait and see.
Second, start preserving evidence immediately. Phone photos of the accident scene. Dashcam video if you have it. Names and numbers of anyone who saw what happened. Hang on to the clothes you were wearing. If you are too hurt to do this, have a family member handle it.
Third, get the police report filed. Contact Pima County law enforcement and write down the report number. You will need it.
Fourth, do not speak with any insurance adjuster. I cannot stress this enough. They call fast after a major accident. They sound friendly and concerned. They are not on your side. Every word you say can shrink your claim later.
Fifth, call a catastrophic injury attorney. Before you sign a single document, before you give any recorded statement, get legal advice. Our initial consultations are free.
These cases move slower than regular accident claims. There is no way around it. When the injuries are this severe, the evidence takes longer to build and insurance carriers dig in harder.
Here is a realistic timeline of what happens.
Your legal team investigates. We pull police reports, medical records, and surveillance footage. Workplace and construction cases also involve OSHA records and safety logs from the employer.
Then comes the medical evaluation phase. This is where catastrophic cases diverge from everything else. We bring in life care planners who map out your medical needs for the next ten, twenty, thirty years. Vocational economists calculate what you have lost in earning power. These experts are the backbone of your claim.
After that, we send a demand to the insurer. Back and forth. Counteroffers. More documentation. The negotiation phase can take months.
If they will not pay what your case is worth, we file in Pima County Superior Court [2]. Arizona law gives you two years from the accident date to file a lawsuit under A.R.S. Section 12-542. Two years sounds like a lot until it is not. Do not wait.
And if we go to trial, we go to trial. A lot of catastrophic cases end up in front of a jury because insurance companies refuse to write the big checks. Having an attorney who has actually tried cases, who has stood in front of a jury and won, that changes the math for the other side.
Catastrophic cases demand the most aggressive version of the approach we use on every type of case we take — full expert workup, life care planning, and an early decision to prepare the file for trial from day one.
A catastrophic injury claim is not about one hospital bill. It is about the total cost of the rest of your life with this injury.
Arizona law lets you recover money for past and future medical costs. That covers surgeries, hospital stays, physical therapy, medications, assistive devices, and home modifications. All of it.
Lost wages and future earning capacity. If you cannot work anymore, or cannot earn what you used to, a vocational economist puts a dollar figure on that gap.
Pain and suffering. Physical pain, emotional distress, and the things you can no longer do. Play with your kids. Sleep through the night. Drive a car. Arizona juries set this number, and there is no cap limiting them.
Your spouse can file for loss of consortium. That is the legal term for losing the companionship, support, and relationship you had before the injury.
And if the person who hurt you was extremely reckless? Punitive damages. The jury can pile additional money on top of everything else to punish that behavior.
One more thing. Arizona uses pure comparative negligence. You were 20 percent at fault? Fine. You still collect 80 percent. Your recovery gets reduced, but it does not disappear. Even if you share some blame, you still have a case.
In the worst cases, a catastrophic injury that ultimately becomes fatal shifts into one of our fatal injury claims, and the surviving family steps into the claim through Arizona's wrongful death statute.
We have fought these cases hard for our clients. Here are a few examples.
A construction worker got hit with high-voltage current on a job site. Severe burns. Lost his hand. The defense pushed back on everything. We took it to trial. The jury came back with a $20.5 million verdict.
A client fell and suffered orthopedic fractures so severe they caused permanent arm impairment. We went to trial on that one too. The verdict was $5.4 million.
Another case involved a traumatic hand amputation. Rather than roll the dice at trial, we negotiated a $4 million settlement that covered long-term care and rehabilitation.
Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Now. That is the short answer. Evidence disappears. Witnesses forget. Insurance companies start building their defense the day of the accident. You should be building yours too.
But beyond timing, here is why catastrophic cases need a specialist.
You need expert witnesses. Life care planners, vocational economists, accident reconstructionists, neurosurgeons who will testify. A general PI attorney may not have those connections.
Insurers fight harder on big cases. When the potential payout hits seven or eight figures, the carrier brings in their best defense lawyers and hired experts. You need a team that will not flinch.
Trial experience is not optional. Many catastrophic cases end up in front of a jury. If your attorney has never tried a case this big, you are at a disadvantage before you even start.
The Simon Law Group serves Tucson, Oro Valley, Marana, South Tucson, and all of Pima County. Over 250 years of combined experience. More than $500 million recovered. We work on contingency. You pay nothing unless we win.
Call (602) 905-7766 for a free case review.
Our attorneys have handled personal injury cases across Arizona and California. We know how Tucson 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.
We serve Tucson clients from our Phoenix office at 2700 N Central Ave, Suite 320. We know Arizona roads, courts, and insurance adjusters — and we travel to meet you when it matters.
“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
Serving Tucson from Phoenix | 2700 N Central Ave, Suite 320 | Licensed in AZ & CA
Brain injuries, spinal cord damage, amputations, and other conditions that permanently change how a person lives or works. The key factor is whether the injury causes long-term disability that prevents you from returning to your normal daily activities.
Two years from the date of the accident under A.R.S. Section 12-542. There are limited exceptions for minors and absent defendants, but do not count on those. Talk to an attorney as soon as possible to protect your deadline.
Yes. Arizona follows a pure comparative negligence rule. Your recovery gets reduced by your percentage of fault, but it does not disappear. Even if you were 40 or 50 percent at fault, you can still collect a portion of your damages.
Many settle during litigation, but catastrophic cases go to trial more often than other personal injury claims. The higher the stakes, the harder insurance companies fight. Having a trial lawyer with courtroom experience strengthens your position whether you settle or go before a jury.
Higher damages, longer litigation timelines, the need for expert witnesses like life care planners and vocational economists, and greater resistance from insurance companies. These cases require a legal team with specific experience handling complex, high-value claims.
Get emergency medical care at a Level 1 trauma center like Banner University Medical Center or Tucson Medical Center. Preserve all evidence and records. Then contact a catastrophic injury attorney before giving any statements to insurance companies.
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