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
Most people think property damage only means their car. It goes further than that.
Property damage in a Tucson car accident covers the cost to repair or replace your vehicle and personal belongings damaged in the crash. Under Arizona law, this includes:
Arizona requires every driver to carry at least $15,000 in property damage liability coverage per accident. That sounds like a lot until you factor in a totaled car, a destroyed laptop, and two weeks of rental fees.
Tucson's I-10 corridor and Grant Road see frequent rear-end collisions that damage vehicles and cargo. Your property damage claim should account for everything that was lost or broken, not just the dent in your bumper.
And here's what people miss: you don't have to file your property damage claim together with your injury claim. Arizona treats them as separate claims with different adjusters and timelines. That separation can work in your favor.
Property damage usually rides alongside the underlying crash claim, and the two get resolved together once we have a full picture of medical treatment and vehicle valuation.
Not every fender bender needs an attorney. But certain situations call for one.
Call a lawyer if the insurance company delays your claim or offers less than your car is worth. That happens more often than you'd think. Adjusters have formulas designed to pay out as little as possible.
You also need help when liability is disputed. Maybe the other driver says you ran the red light at Golf Links and Swan, one of Tucson's busiest intersections with 32 crashes in 2024 alone. A lawyer gathers the evidence to prove what actually happened.
Multi-vehicle pile-ups along Broadway Blvd or near the Catalina Foothills make fault harder to assign. With three or four drivers pointing fingers, you need someone in your corner sorting it out.
And if the other driver is uninsured? Arizona has one of the highest uninsured motorist rates in the country. A lawyer knows how to tap your own policy's uninsured motorist coverage without getting shortchanged.
A good property damage lawyer also separates your PD claim from your injury claim. That way, neither one drags the other down.
Property damage is usually the smallest slice of what our injury lawyers handle, but it is often the first fight a crash victim has with an insurance adjuster — and getting it right sets the tone for the entire claim.
A small number of property damage cases — a broken phone, a ruined laptop, damaged glasses — ride alongside fall injury claims and get rolled into the same settlement.
The insurance company won't just take your word for it. You need documentation, and the more detailed, the better.
Start at the scene. Take photos of every angle of the damage, the road conditions, and the other vehicle. Get the police report number before you leave.
Then gather these:
Do not rely only on the insurance company's estimate. Their appraiser works for them. An independent appraisal from a Tucson body shop along Broadway Blvd or Speedway Blvd gives you a number you can actually trust.
Keep a folder with everything. Photos, estimates, receipts, tow bills, rental car agreements. If it's not documented, it didn't happen, at least in the eyes of an adjuster.
Our attorneys secured a $500,000 settlement in a disputed sideswipe collision case where the insurance company tried to minimize the damage. Proper documentation made the difference.
On commercial truck wrecks, the property damage side is usually a total loss — meaning the fight shifts from repair estimates to actual cash value and diminished value after a rebuild.
Arizona is a fault-based state. That means the driver who caused the crash, and their insurer, pays for the damage.
Here's what you need to know about the process:
When insurance negotiations break down, Pima County Superior Court [2] handles property damage lawsuits. Most cases settle before that point, but having a lawyer who's ready for court gives you leverage at the negotiating table.
Your car gets repaired. Looks good. Drives fine. But try selling it with an accident on the Carfax report. That's diminished value, and it's real money you've lost.
Arizona is one of 15 states that allows diminished value claims. You can recover the difference between what your car was worth before the crash and what it's worth after, even with perfect repairs.
There are three types:
Insurance companies use something called the 17C formula to calculate diminished value. It was built to minimize payouts. Don't accept their number without getting an independent appraisal first.
Tucson's used car market reflects accident histories on Carfax, and buyers pay attention. A clean title is worth thousands more than one with a reported collision. You deserve to recover that gap.
Our attorneys secured an $850,000 settlement in an auto collision case involving a spine injury where the insurance company disputed causation and argued the property damage was minimal. The physical evidence told a different story.
In another case, our legal team recovered $2.5 million in a car accident claim against a county entity. Government claims add extra procedural hurdles, but the result showed that persistence pays off.
We also obtained a $665,000 settlement in a disputed sideswipe collision where liability was contested from day one. Strong documentation and expert testimony turned a denied claim into a six-figure recovery.
Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
People make the same errors over and over. Here's what to avoid.
Tucson tow yards charge $15 to $25 per day. A slow-moving claim can rack up over $1,000 in storage alone. Move your car to a body shop or your home as soon as possible.
Insurance adjusters may push a quick settlement that includes a release. Read every word before you sign. Once you release the PD claim, you can't go back for diminished value or missed items.
The first number is almost never the best number. Counter with your own documentation and independent appraisals.
Most people don't even know they can claim it. Arizona allows it, and skipping it means leaving money on the table.
Your phone cracked in the crash. Your child's car seat needs replacing (they always do after an accident). Those items add up. Document and claim every one.
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
Yes. Arizona treats them as two separate claims. Different adjusters handle each one on different timelines. Filing them separately can sometimes speed up your property damage recovery.
A diminished value claim covers the drop in your car's resale value after repairs. Arizona is one of 15 states that allows it. You have two years from the accident to file.
Yes. Your compensation gets reduced by your percentage of fault. But you can still recover even if you were partly responsible for the accident.
No. A.R.S. 20-461 protects your right to choose any licensed repair facility in Arizona. The insurer may suggest a preferred shop, but the choice is yours.
Get an independent appraisal right away. Challenge their valuation with comparable sales data from your area. Check whether gap insurance covers any remaining loan balance. Don't sign the total loss settlement until you're satisfied with the number.
Two years from the date of the accident under A.R.S. 12-542. Act quickly to preserve evidence. Witnesses forget details and surveillance footage gets overwritten.
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