Arizona Wrongful Death Settlement Calculator
A.R.S. §12-542(A)(2) — 2-year deadline from date of death, not date of injury. §12-821.01 — 180-day notice of claim against a public entity or employee. §12-612(A) — surviving spouse, child, parent, guardian, or personal representative may bring the claim.
How much is an Arizona wrongful death settlement worth? There is no verified statewide average or median settlement figure for Arizona wrongful death cases in our sourced data, so this page does not state one. What is documented is the legal framework: who may bring the claim, the two-year filing deadline, a shorter 180-day notice rule against a government entity, and how attorney fees are governed.
⚖ A.R.S. §12-542(A)(2): the 2-year clock starts at the date of death, not the date of the underlying injury. Suing a public entity or employee adds a separate 180-day notice-of-claim deadline (§12-821.01) that can bar the case even inside the 2-year window.
Su lesión
Su Acuerdo Estimado
$36,000 — $66,000
Dolor y sufrimiento = $15,000 en facturas médicas × multiplicador de gravedad de 3.0. Sus facturas ya están incluidas en esa cifra, por lo que no se suman de nuevo.
What you'd actually take home
- Estimated settlement
- $51,000
- Attorney fee (33–40%)
- −$17,000 to −$20,400
- Roughly yours
- $30,600 – $34,000
Not included: case costs (court filing, expert witnesses, medical records) and any medical liens or health-insurance reimbursement. Those come out of your share too, so treat the figure above as an upper bound.
Keep this estimate — it is gone when you close the tab.
Revisado Editorialmente — Contenido revisado en cuanto a exactitud utilizando investigación legal publicada, datos gubernamentales y registros judiciales verificados. Vea nuestra metodología
Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated
Arizona Wrongful Death — Deadlines and Who May Sue
Arizona's wrongful death statute of limitations, A.R.S. § 12-542(A)(2), gives a surviving family two years to file. The statute fixes when that clock starts: the action "shall be considered as accruing at the death of the party injured." That matters — Arizona's general personal-injury clock and its wrongful-death clock can start on two different dates for the same incident, since the injury may have occurred well before the death that followed from it.
⚠ If the defendant is a public entity or a public employee, a separate, much shorter deadline applies. Under A.R.S. § 12-821.01, a notice of claim must be filed within 180 days after the cause of action accrues: "Any claim that is not filed within one hundred eighty days after the cause of action accrues is barred and no action may be maintained thereon." This is independent of the 2-year statute of limitations — missing the 180-day window can bar the claim even though the 2-year deadline has not yet passed.
Under A.R.S. § 12-612(A), the action is brought "by and in the name of" any one of the surviving spouse, a child, a parent, a guardian, or the personal representative of the deceased — co-equal potential plaintiffs, not a strict order where the representative sues only as a last resort. The suit benefits the surviving spouse, children, or parents if any survive; only if none of them survive does the recovery instead go to the estate. Anyone convicted, or who pleads guilty or no contest, to specified homicide offenses (A.R.S. §§ 13-1103, 13-1104, 13-1105, or an equivalent out-of-state conviction) in connection with the death is treated as having predeceased the decedent and is disqualified from suing or recovering.
Arizona Wrongful Death FAQs
Who can file a wrongful death claim in Arizona?
Under A.R.S. § 12-612(A), any one of the surviving spouse, a child, a parent, a guardian, or the personal representative may bring the action — co-equal plaintiffs, not a strict hierarchy. It benefits the surviving spouse, children, or parents if any survive; if none survive, it goes to the estate instead.
How long do I have to file an Arizona wrongful death claim?
Two years, under A.R.S. § 12-542(A)(2). The clock is fixed at the date of death, not the date of the injury that caused it, so this deadline can run separately from a general personal-injury deadline tied to the same incident.
What if the person or entity responsible works for the government?
A shorter, separate deadline applies. A.R.S. § 12-821.01 requires a notice of claim within 180 days after the cause of action accrues: "Any claim that is not filed within one hundred eighty days after the cause of action accrues is barred." Missing it bars the claim regardless of the 2-year statute of limitations.
How much is an Arizona wrongful death settlement worth?
We do not have verified average, median, or typical settlement figures for Arizona wrongful death cases and do not publish dollar estimates we cannot source. Value depends on case-specific facts — the circumstances of the death, the decedent's financial support to survivors, and the strength of liability.
Who receives the money if a wrongful death claim succeeds?
It benefits the surviving spouse, children, or parents if any of them survive (A.R.S. § 12-612(A)). Only if none of them survive does the recovery instead go to the decedent's estate.
Can someone connected to causing the death still recover?
No. Anyone convicted, or who pleads guilty or no contest, to specified homicide offenses (A.R.S. §§ 13-1103, 13-1104, or 13-1105, or an equivalent out-of-state conviction) in connection with the death is treated as having predeceased the decedent and is disqualified from suing or recovering.
How much does a wrongful death attorney cost in Arizona?
Arizona sets no statutory cap on contingency fees — only the reasonableness standard under Ariz. R. Sup. Ct. 42, ER 1.5(a). There is no fixed rate set by law. In medical malpractice cases, A.R.S. § 12-568 lets either party ask the court to review a fee's reasonableness, with a ruling required within 20 days.
What is the difference between the 2-year deadline and the 180-day notice of claim?
They are separate deadlines that can both apply to the same case. The 2-year statute of limitations under A.R.S. § 12-542(A)(2) applies to every wrongful death claim and runs from the date of death. The 180-day notice of claim under A.R.S. § 12-821.01 applies only when the defendant is a public entity or public employee, and it is far shorter — missing it bars the claim even though the 2-year window is still open.
Related
Wrongful Death Calculators by State
Wrongful-death damages, caps, and who can file vary by state:
Other Calculators for Arizona
Each Arizona calculator reflects state-specific laws (caps, statutes of limitations, comparative-negligence rules) and uses Arizona verdict data where available.