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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
Left-turn crashes at Phoenix intersections like Camelback Road and Indian School Road are how a lot of motorcyclists end up in our office. A car turns left, a rider goes down, and suddenly everything changes. This page breaks down who is at fault under Arizona law, what injuries these crashes cause, and what we do to help riders fight back. Free case reviews, 24/7. More than $600 million recovered for our clients.
Almost always the driver making the turn. Arizona law says it plainly. ARS 28-772 [1] requires left-turning drivers to yield to all oncoming traffic. Motorcycles included. When a driver turns into a rider's path, that is negligence.
ARS 28-772 does not leave much room for interpretation. If you are turning left at an intersection, you yield to oncoming traffic. Every time. No exceptions. That includes motorcycles, which drivers seem to forget about constantly.
What does this mean if you are a rider in Phoenix? It means when a car cuts across your lane to make a left, the driver violated the law. Plain and simple. They were supposed to wait.
One thing that trips people up is the difference between a green light and a green arrow. Solid green means you can turn left, but you still have to yield. A green arrow gives you a protected turn. Big difference. And Phoenix handles this inconsistently across the city.
Intersections at Camelback and 7th Street, Indian School and Central, and a few Loop 101 off-ramps see left-turn crashes on a regular basis. Too much traffic, lanes that are too wide, and drivers who cannot see what is coming.
A careless left turn is more than a traffic ticket for the driver. They become liable for everything the crash costs you. And when police write a citation at the scene, that strengthens your injury claim. It is basically the officer saying this driver broke a specific law.
Here is what people do not always realize about left-turn motorcycle crashes. They are not like a fender bender between two cars. When a vehicle turns into an oncoming motorcycle, the rider takes the full hit. Head-on or T-bone. Almost zero time to react.
A car has crumple zones, airbags, seatbelts. A motorcycle rider has a helmet and whatever gear they put on that morning. That is it.
The injuries from these crashes are often severe:
Phoenix adds its own problems on top of that. The wide arterials, seven lanes on roads like Camelback, mean a driver turning left has to cross four or five lanes of traffic. That is a long time to be exposed.
And the heat, which most out-of-state people do not factor in. Road surfaces here push past 150 degrees in summer. When a rider slides across asphalt at that temperature, the tissue damage is significantly worse. Higher infection risk too. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [2], motorcyclists continue to be overrepresented in fatal traffic crashes nationwide.
We secured $250,000 for a rider with multiple broken extremities after being hit by a car. The insurance company tried to use the rider's prior crashes against them. We still got double the policy limits.
Left-turn collisions account for roughly 40 percent of the full Phoenix motorcycle caseload we see each year, more than any other intersection-crash type.
Left-turn collisions have one of the highest fatality rates in Arizona rider data, and the cases that don’t survive become fatal motorcycle claims under the state’s wrongful death statute.
Most left-turn crashes start with a clear presumption. The driver who turned is at fault. Insurance companies know this, and they are not going to just accept it.
Their playbook is predictable. Blame the rider. You were going too fast. You should have seen the turn coming. You could have avoided it. They will dig for anything.
But here is the thing. Arizona runs on pure comparative negligence, and Maricopa County courts take it seriously. Say a jury decides you were 20 percent at fault. You still get 80 percent of your damages. Even if they pin 80 percent on you, that remaining 20 percent is still yours. That is the law.
So when the facts get messy, you are not out of luck. Maybe you were doing a few miles over the limit when someone turned left in front of you. Does that erase their failure to yield? No. It just adjusts the numbers.
Where things get more complicated:
You can still bring claims against more than one party. The driver, their employer if they were working, and even a city or county if bad road design was part of the problem.
Left-turn crashes produce the same closing-speed physics that drive injury severity in head-on impact claims, and insurers try the same “unavoidable accident” defenses in both.
Before anything else, get medical attention. Even if you feel okay standing at the scene. Adrenaline does strange things. People walk around with broken ribs and internal bleeding and do not realize it until hours later.
Phoenix has two Level 1 trauma centers that handle these cases constantly. Banner University Medical Center is right near the I-17 and I-10 interchange. St. Joseph's Hospital is just off Thomas Road.
Once you have been checked out, start protecting your case:
Your case comes down to one question. Did the driver yield before turning? Everything else is detail. But proving that answer takes evidence, and evidence disappears fast.
The police report is where it starts. Officers note vehicle positions, road conditions, witness accounts, and any citations. If the driver got a failure-to-yield ticket, that is a strong foundation.
Traffic cameras can confirm exactly what happened, but here is the catch. Phoenix has them at a lot of intersections, and ADOT [3] runs surveillance on the freeways. This footage gets recorded over quickly though. Your lawyer has to request it within days. Not next week. Days.
Dash cam or helmet cam footage might be the most valuable thing in your case. Video of a driver crossing your path is hard to argue with.
Cell phone records from the driver can show texts or calls at the exact time of the crash. Getting these takes a subpoena, but they often reveal the distraction behind the collision.
Eyewitnesses add another layer. Someone at the intersection who watched the driver turn without checking can back up what you are saying.
Accident reconstruction specialists come in when fault is really disputed. They use the physics, the measurements, the damage patterns. Juries pay attention to that.
Medical records tie your injuries to this specific crash. Without that documentation, the insurer will try to say your problems were there before the accident.
These crashes are expensive. That is not an exaggeration. Between the emergency room, surgeries, months of rehab, and time you cannot work, the costs add up to numbers that surprise people. You are entitled to all of it.
Economic damages cover your actual financial losses:
Non-economic damages cover everything money cannot fully measure but the law still recognizes:
If the driver was doing something especially reckless, texting while turning, running a red, driving drunk, the court can tack on punitive damages. That is extra money meant to punish that kind of behavior.
We recovered $1.25 million for a motorcycle crash victim who ended up needing spine fusion. Injuries like that do not resolve in a few months. They change your life, and your compensation should reflect that.
Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Left-turn motorcycle cases are not fender benders. They are serious, complicated, and the deck is often stacked against the rider from the start. Juries have biases about motorcyclists. Insurance companies know that and use it.
Here is what we tell every client who walks through our door. Do not try to handle this on your own. The adjusters are trained to pay as little as possible, and they will use every angle they can find.
At The Simon Law Group, we take your case from the first phone call all the way through resolution. That starts with collecting evidence fast, traffic cameras, police reports, medical records, phone data, before any of it disappears. We work with accident reconstruction experts when the facts need to be shown clearly to a jury.
And we prepare every case like it is going to trial. Insurance companies pay attention to which firms actually show up in court. It affects the offers they make.
Our team brings over 250 years of combined experience and we have recovered more than $600 million for clients. Our Phoenix office is at 2700 N Central Ave, Suite 320, and we are available around the clock.
You pay nothing unless we win. Call us at (602) 905-7766.
Sources:
[1] Arizona Revised Statutes 28-772 - Vehicle turning left at intersection
[3] AZDOT - Arizona Motor Vehicle Crash Facts
Every case our Phoenix injury attorneys open starts with the same evidence sprint — scene photography, witness calls, 911 audio — and left-turn motorcycle cases hinge on getting that done in the first 72 hours.
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
Almost always. Arizona law requires left-turning drivers to yield to oncoming traffic. Exceptions include situations where the motorcyclist ran a red light, was speeding well over the limit, or was lane splitting at the time of the crash.
Yes. Arizona uses pure comparative negligence. Even if you share some fault, your award is reduced by your percentage, not eliminated. A rider found 30 percent at fault still recovers 70 percent of the total damages.
Traumatic brain injuries, broken bones, spinal cord damage, and severe road rash. Head-on and T-bone impacts at intersection speeds often cause catastrophic harm to riders who have no steel frame or airbags for protection.
Two years from the date of the accident under Arizona's statute of limitations. Waiting too long bars your claim entirely. Contact an attorney as soon as possible to protect your rights.
Call 911, get medical attention, take photos of the scene, collect witness contact info, and do not admit fault or give recorded statements to insurance adjusters.
Speed alone does not eliminate the driver's duty to yield. Your attorney can use accident reconstruction, physical evidence, and traffic data to counter this defense. Even if you were over the limit, the driver still broke the law by turning in front of you.
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