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
Arizona has some of the harshest drunk driving penalties in the country. Good news if you're the one who got rear-ended by a guy leaving the bar at 1 AM.
Here's the thing. When someone gets a DUI conviction in Arizona, that conviction alone proves they were negligent. Period. It's called "negligence per se," and it saves you from having to argue whether the drunk driver was "really" at fault. They broke the law. That's enough.
But what catches people off guard? You don't even need the criminal conviction. Say the prosecutor drops the DUI charge on a technicality. Your injury claim still moves forward. Civil court has a lower bar. We just show the driver was probably impaired, not prove it "beyond a reasonable doubt."
And Arizona doesn't mess around with enforcement. Officers here can arrest someone with a BAC under 0.08% if they look impaired [1]. Zero tolerance. That aggressive approach creates a paper trail of breathalyzer results, field sobriety footage, and police reports that we use in your case later.
Maricopa County accounts for 64% of every alcohol-related crash in Arizona. Over 3,500 per year. Phoenix alone? Roughly 1,350 of those [2].
We see the same roads over and over:
Sixty percent of impaired driving crashes happen Friday and Saturday nights. Average BAC at the time of these wrecks? A 0.15. That's almost double the legal limit.
Wrong-way crashes are a Phoenix specialty nobody asked for. January 2026 alone saw a DUI driver going the wrong direction on I-17, claiming his GPS told him to. Weeks after that, two men died in a wrong-way DUI collision on US-60 near Tempe. Then another wrong-way wreck on I-10 by Sky Harbor in March. This keeps happening.
Regular car accident cases? You recover what you lost. Medical bills, lost paychecks, pain and suffering. Standard stuff.
DUI cases open a different door. Punitive damages. These aren't about making you whole. They're about punishing the drunk driver.
Arizona courts approve punitive damages when someone acts with an "evil mind," showing "conscious disregard" for other people's safety. Getting behind the wheel drunk? That qualifies. And here's the part that matters: Arizona puts no cap on punitive awards.
What the court looks at:
Not every DUI wreck leads to punitive damages. But when they apply, the total recovery jumps. Dramatically.
When a drunk driver kills someone, the family has grounds for a wrongful death DUI claim that pursues punitive damages alongside the full economic and emotional losses the death caused.
Families who lost a loved one in a fatal DUI crash should also speak with a wrongful death attorney about the separate legal claim they can bring in addition to any criminal prosecution.
Sometimes the drunk driver isn't the only one writing a check. Arizona's dram shop law, ARS 4-311, puts liability on bars, restaurants, and any liquor-licensed business that keeps pouring for someone who's clearly wasted.
Why does this matter to you? Two reasons. First, it opens a second source of money. The driver who hit you might carry a $25K liability policy. The bar that overserved them? Their commercial insurance is usually in the six- or seven-figure range. Second, it strengthens your case. When two parties share blame, neither can point the finger entirely at the other.
You'll need to show the bar served someone "obviously intoxicated." Evidence we go after includes:
Camelback Road. Old Town Scottsdale. Mill Avenue in Tempe. These nightlife corridors generate a disproportionate number of DUI accidents. If the driver came from one of these areas, the establishment they left is worth investigating.
Your first instinct is usually right. Call 911. But here's what to add.
Tell the dispatcher you think the other driver is drunk. Say it clearly. That gets officers running field sobriety tests and a breathalyzer at the scene, which creates the evidence your case will need months from now.
Then:
Over the next few days:
Your own insurance matters here too. If the drunk driver is uninsured or barely insured, your UM/UIM policy covers the gap. Arizona law requires your insurer to offer this coverage, and a lot of Phoenix drivers carry it without realizing.
It's more than your medical bills. Way more, usually.
The hard costs: ER visits, surgeries, rehab, physical therapy. Lost paychecks while you can't work. Future earning power if the injury is permanent. Repairs or replacement for your vehicle.
The personal toll: Pain you're living with. Anxiety about getting behind the wheel again. Missing out on things you used to do. Scars that don't go away.
Then add punitive damages on top of both categories. Remember, no cap in Arizona.
DUI collisions tend to be worse than other crashes. Why? A drunk driver doesn't brake. They don't swerve. The impact comes at full speed. Spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, shattered bones, these are the injuries we see in these cases.
Our attorneys recovered a $6 million settlement for a client hurt in an auto accident that caused a traumatic brain injury and resulted in a wrongful death.
Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
A DUI crash isn't just another fender bender. The legal strategy changes.
We track the criminal prosecution. Everything the DA's office builds, police reports, BAC results, dashcam video, witness interviews, feeds into your civil claim. We use that evidence without having to develop it from scratch.
We chase dram shop liability early. If the driver was drinking at a bar, we subpoena their security tapes and receipts before the footage gets erased. Most places record over their cameras within a month.
We build the punitive damages argument from day one. Insurance companies know DUI claims carry extra exposure. Negligence per se plus the threat of punitives gives us real leverage when negotiating your settlement.
And we handle every insurance conversation. The drunk driver's carrier, your own UM/UIM company, a bar's commercial insurer if there's a dram shop angle. You talk to us. We talk to them.
One more thing. Arizona gives you two years from the crash date to file a personal injury lawsuit [3]. Wrongful death claims start the clock from the date of death. That sounds like plenty of time, but evidence has a shorter shelf life. Witnesses move away, memories blur, surveillance footage vanishes. Don't sit on it.
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
Yes. Your civil case and the criminal DUI prosecution are separate. Civil court uses a lower standard called "preponderance of the evidence." We just need to show the driver was probably impaired. If the DA drops the charge or the driver gets acquitted, your right to compensation stays intact.
Almost always. DUI claims tend to produce higher payouts than regular car accident cases because punitive damages come into play. Arizona allows punitive awards when the driver showed "conscious disregard" for safety. On top of that, you might have a dram shop claim against the bar that overserved the driver, which adds another source of recovery.
The drunk driver's liability policy should cover your damages up to their limits. If that's not enough, or if they're uninsured, your own UM/UIM policy picks up the slack. Arizona requires insurers to offer UM/UIM coverage. If a bar overserved the driver, their commercial policy adds another layer.
A first standard DUI (BAC 0.08% to 0.149%) carries at least 24 hours in jail, fines above $250 plus surcharges, a 90-day license suspension, and a mandatory ignition interlock device. Extreme DUI (0.15%+) ratchets up the penalties. For you as the victim, Arizona's strict penalties work in your favor. They show the court takes drunk driving seriously, which supports your claim for punitive damages.
Two years from the date of the crash for personal injury. Two years from the date of death for wrongful death. That's the statute of limitations under ARS 12-542. But don't wait. Bar surveillance gets taped over in 30 days, witnesses forget details, and the evidence you need right now won't exist a year from now.
You can. Arizona's dram shop law (ARS 4-311) holds bars and restaurants liable if they served someone who was "obviously intoxicated" and that person caused your crash. These claims are valuable because businesses carry much larger insurance policies than individual drivers do.
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