Skip to content If you’ve been injured in a car accident in Chandler, Arizona, our firm is committed to serving the Chandler community with dedication and legal experience. Harris Injury Law is an experienced Chandler personal injury attorneys serving clients throughout Chandler, Mesa, Tempe, Scottsdale, and across Maricopa County.
Most Chandler car accident pages will tell you to call for a free consultation without answering the two questions people actually have first: what this costs, and whether you will ever speak to the attorney. Both are answered below, along with which court will hear your case and how Arizona’s partial-fault rule works because a Chandler car accident lawyer should be able to give you those answers before you hire anyone.
Nothing in attorney fees. Harris Injury Law handles car accident claims on a contingency fee, which means:
No retainer and no hourly billing. You pay nothing to start the case.
Attorney fees are a percentage of what is recovered and are taken from the recovery, not billed to you.
If there is no recovery, you owe no attorney fee. That is the whole point of a contingency arrangement.
“Case costs” are the separate category people are rarely told about upfront, so here it is plainly. Costs are the out-of-pocket expenses of building the claim: medical records and imaging, police reports, filing fees, deposition transcripts, and expert or accident reconstruction work if the case requires it. They are advanced on your behalf and reimbursed out of the settlement. The fee agreement sets out exactly how costs are handled before you sign, and nothing is a surprise at the end.
The comparison worth making is not between firms that charge and firms that do not nearly all injury firms work on contingency. It is whether a firm will put the percentage and the cost structure in writing and explain it in the first conversation. See our full breakdown of what a personal injury lawyer costs in Arizona.
To the attorney Jason A. Harris has practiced personal injury and workers’ compensation law in Arizona since 2006 and has represented thousands of injury clients across the state. Clients speak with him directly rather than being routed permanently to an intake team or case manager, and the firm is reachable outside standard business hours.
The dual practice matters more than it sounds. When a Chandler crash happens on the clock a delivery route, a sales call, a commute that qualifies there may be both a workers’ compensation claim and a separate third-party claim against the at-fault driver, running on different deadlines with different lienholders. Handling one without the other costs money. See how the two claims run on separate tracks and why some clients choose this firm over large advertising firms.
Not Chandler Municipal Court. This is the most common misunderstanding among injured people in Chandler, and it matters because filing in the wrong place costs time you may not have.
San Tan Justice Court, at 201 E Chicago Street in Chandler, handles civil suits up to $10,000 and small claims up to $3,500. Its precinct boundary runs along Arizona Avenue, so an address west of that line may fall to an adjoining precinct.
Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix hears civil injury suits above $10,000. Any Chandler crash involving surgery, hospitalization, or meaningful lost income is filed here.
Venue generally follows where the collision occurred rather than where you live, so a Gilbert or Mesa resident injured on the Loop 202 in Chandler files here.
Chandler Municipal Court hears city code violations, misdemeanors, and traffic citations. It does not hear civil injury lawsuits. If the other driver was cited, that citation is resolved here but your injury claim is not.
You can still recover, reduced by your percentage of fault with no cutoff. Arizona is a pure comparative negligence state under A.R.S. § 12-2505, and this is where Arizona differs sharply from most of the country.
In modified comparative states, a plaintiff found 51% at fault recovers nothing. Arizona has no such bar. A driver found 70% responsible may still recover 30% of proven damages.
Worked through: if your damages are valued at $100,000 and a jury assigns you 30% of the fault, the recoverable figure is $70,000. That $30,000 swing is exactly why an adjuster’s first move is to attach fault to you, and why a roadside apology or a guess about your speed is expensive. Neither an adjuster’s opinion nor a police officer’s narrative fixes the percentage that is determined by the evidence, and it is negotiable. More detail: Arizona comparative negligence laws.
Two years in most cases, under A.R.S. § 12-542, running from the date of injury or, in a wrongful death action, the date of death. Claims for injured minors are generally tolled until age eighteen under A.R.S. § 12-502.
One exception runs far faster. If a public entity may share responsibility for a city vehicle, a transit bus, a signal or roadway defect a formal notice of claim generally must be served within 180 days under A.R.S. § 12-821.01, followed by a one-year filing deadline. Settlement negotiations toll none of these periods, and neither does an adjuster telling you the file is still open. See the statute of limitations in Arizona.
Chandler’s crash pattern follows its arterial grid and its freeway edges. Chandler Boulevard and Arizona Avenue carry heavy volumes through the downtown core. Ray Road, Ray and Rural, Alma School, Dobson, and Gilbert Road handle the east-west and north-south commuter load. The Loop 101 Price Freeway and Loop 202 Santan Freeway bracket the city, and the Price Corridor draws steady weekday employment traffic.
Those environments produce different claims. Signal-controlled arterials generate rear-end collisions and left-turn failures. Freeway speeds produce the severe-injury files. The Price Corridor and the Loop 202 carry commercial volume, which brings truck and commercial vehicle claims with policy limits well above the state minimum. Related practice areas include motorcycle, pedestrian, bicycle, distracted driving, DUI, hit-and-run, and uninsured motorist claims, alongside our broader Chandler personal injury practice.
Often not, and it is the ceiling most people never see coming. A.R.S. § 28-4009 sets Arizona’s minimum liability limits at $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury. A single surgery can exhaust that before lost wages are discussed.
The work then becomes locating additional layers: your own underinsured motorist coverage for the gap between the at-fault driver’s limits and your damages, uninsured motorist coverage if the driver had no policy or fled, a commercial policy behind a work vehicle, or rideshare coverage. Arizona insurers must offer UM and UIM coverage under A.R.S. § 20-259.01, but buying it is optional, check your declarations page rather than assuming, and see how uninsured motorist coverage works.
Harris Injury Law handles Chandler car accident claims on contingency, so there is no retainer, no hourly billing, and no attorney fee unless compensation is recovered. Case costs, including records, filing fees, and expert work, are advanced and reimbursed from the settlement, and the fee agreement explains exactly how these costs are handled before you sign.
Often not. A low-speed collision with clear fault, no injuries, and modest property damage is usually something you can resolve directly with the insurance carriers. It changes if anyone was treated at an emergency department, fault is disputed, more than two vehicles were involved, the other driver was uninsured or fled, symptoms are worsening, or a public entity may be responsible, which can put a 180-day deadline in play immediately.
Generally, you have two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit under A.R.S. § 12-542. Claims involving injured minors are typically tolled until age 18. If a city, county, or state entity may share fault, a notice of claim is generally due within 180 days under A.R.S. § 12-821.01, with a lawsuit generally required within one year. Negotiating with an insurance company does not pause these deadlines.
You can still recover compensation. Arizona follows a pure comparative negligence rule under A.R.S. § 12-2505, meaning your award is reduced by your percentage of fault rather than being completely barred once you reach a particular fault threshold. For example, a driver found 70% at fault could still recover 30% of their proven damages.
You will work directly with attorney Jason A. Harris. He has practiced personal injury and workers’ compensation law in Arizona since 2006 and has represented thousands of injury clients. Clients are not permanently handed off to an intake team, and the firm is reachable outside standard business hours.
No one can responsibly quote a specific figure before the full extent of your injuries and treatment is known. Case value is based on factors such as documented medical expenses, lost income, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, and property damage. The final amount can also be reduced by your share of fault and applicable medical liens. In many cases, the available insurance coverage can limit the amount that is ultimately recoverable, which makes identifying every applicable insurance policy as important as establishing who was at fault.
If a public entity may be involved, the 180-day clock started the day of the crash. If not, you have two years but evidence, footage, and witness memory do not wait that long.
Harris Injury Law, PLLC 1136 E Campbell Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85014 (480) 800-4878
Serving Chandler, Mesa, Gilbert, Tempe, and the East Valley. Request a free consultation or meet our attorneys. Every case is different and depends on its own facts; no outcome can be promised or predicted.
This page provides general information about Arizona law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Arizona law changes, and outcomes depend on the specific facts of a claim. Consult a licensed Arizona attorney about your situation.
Reviewed by Jason A. Harris, Harris Injury Law, PLLC.
to assist you with your car accident case.
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“After my auto accident in Chandler, Jason and his team handled everything, from my medical records to dealing with insurance companies. They got me a fair settlement that covered my medical expenses and lost wages.”
- A. Rodriguez, Chandler
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“I was overwhelmed after my crash. Harris Injury Law guided me through the entire legal process, explained my personal injury claim, and fought for fair compensation.”
- M. Lewis, Tempe
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These testimonials reflect our dedication to helping accident victims achieve the best possible outcome for their recovery and financial stability. Past outcomes do not guarantee future results.
Located at 1136 E Campbell Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85014. Harris Injury Law, PLLC specializes in auto and truck accidents and workers’ compensation. Speak directly with your lawyer from the beginning. Same-day and emergency consultations are available. You never pay out of pocket. Call us at any time – 24/7.
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