Skip to content
MyClaimWorth
AZ
★ Arizona · medical negligence

Medical negligence settlements
in Arizona.

By Reviewed by Abd Shanti, Founder9 min read

Arizona’s constitution bars caps on injury damages, so malpractice verdicts stand at what the jury decides. Offers of judgment raise the stakes on both sides: a hospital district that ignored a $3.95 million offer paid sanctions on top of a $4.25 million verdict, and a family that lost at trial paid the hospital’s.

Facts that decide a medical negligence claim in Arizona

No damages caps“No law shall be enacted in this state limiting the amount of damages to be recovered for causing the death or injury of any person.”Ariz. Const. art. 2, § 31
Deadline to sueTwo years after the cause of action accrues for injuries to the person, including medical malpractice.A.R.S. § 12-542
Settling with the surgeonA stipulated dismissal of a surgeon does not stop a claim against the hospital or group for its own negligence, even if that claim requires proof of the surgeon’s negligence.Kopp v. Physician Group of Arizona (Ariz. 2018)
Fault rulePure comparative fault: if the jury finds you partly at fault, “the claimant’s action is not barred, but the full damages shall be reduced in proportion” to your share.A.R.S. § 12-2505(A)
united states · sister site
Your medical negligence claim in Arizona. See the number for your own case.

FairSettlement gives you a free estimate for your own medical negligence case in about two minutes, no cost and no obligation.

Check my case
★ AZ · reported medical negligence outcomes

What Arizona courts have awarded.

Real Arizona decisions and verdicts, each linked to the court record or official report.

  • Orosco v. Maricopa County Special Health Care District
    Arizona Court of Appeals · 2017
    $4.25 million verdict plus sanctions

    Brandon Orosco and his family sued the county health care district for malpractice. They offered to settle for $3,950,000 in December 2013 and $3,949,999 in September 2014, and the district did not respond. The jury returned $4.25 million and found the district 99 percent at fault. The court upheld sanctions from the first offer: prejudgment interest, $147,441.33 in expert fees and double costs.

  • Law v. Verde Valley Medical Center
    Arizona Court of Appeals · 2007
    Defense verdict, affirmed

    Phillip Law arrived at the emergency department in August 2001 very intoxicated after falling and striking his head. A nurse left him alone to use a portable urinal, and he was found unconscious on the floor after a second fall. He died of a subdural hematoma. After both doctors were dismissed, the jury found for the hospital, which was awarded costs and sanctions, and the court affirmed.

  • Kopp v. Physician Group of Arizona
    Arizona Supreme Court · 2018
    Claims against hospital group revived

    Three patients had complications after bariatric surgery by the same surgeon at Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital. They dismissed the surgeon by stipulation, and the lower courts held that ended their claims against the hospital companies too. The Supreme Court disavowed its 1945 rule and held the claims against the hospital for its own negligence could proceed.

★ AZ · medical negligence · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a medical negligence settlement in Arizona.

  1. 1

    Make a real offer of judgment. Orosco’s offer, beaten at trial, added interest and fees to the verdict.

  2. 2

    The same rule cuts the other way. The hospital in Law recovered sanctions after a defense verdict.

  3. 3

    Settling with the doctor does not free the hospital. After Kopp, claims for the hospital’s own negligence survive.

★ AZ · statute of limitations
2 years from date of injury

A.R.S. § 12-542

★ AZ · fault rule
Pure comparative negligence

Pure comparative negligence, recovery available at any fault percentage, reduced proportionally. The Arizona Constitution prohibits caps on damages in death or personal injury actions.

★ AZ · caps

What caps recovery.

Statutory caps that may bear on a medical negligence settlement in Arizona.

★ medical negligence · same region & fault regime

Compare to like jurisdictions.

How Arizona's fault rule and limitation period compare to jurisdictions in the same US region and to those running the same fault rule for medical negligence claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationMedical negligence page
Arizona · you are herePure comparative negligence2 years from date of injury—
New MexicoPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryNM · medical negligence →
OklahomaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryOK · medical negligence →
CaliforniaPure comparative negligence2 years for personal injury; 1 year for medical malpractice (with 3-year repose)CA · medical negligence →
KentuckyPure comparative negligence1 year for personal injury (one of the shortest in the US)KY · medical negligence →
MississippiPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryMS · medical negligence →
MissouriPure comparative negligence5 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeMO · medical negligence →
ArkansasModified comparative, 50% bar3 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeAR · medical negligence →
ColoradoModified comparative, 50% bar2 years for personal injury; 3 years for motor vehicleCO · medical negligence →
ConnecticutModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryCT · medical negligence →
DelawareModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryDE · medical negligence →
District of ColumbiaPure contributory negligence3 years from date of injuryDC · medical negligence →
FloridaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injury (was 4; reduced by HB 837)FL · medical negligence →
★ AZ · medical negligence · frequently asked

Common questions.

Each answer is independently coherent and references the relevant statute or authority document.

united states · sister site
Your medical negligence claim in Arizona. See the number for your own case.

FairSettlement gives you a free estimate for your own medical negligence case in about two minutes, no cost and no obligation.

Check my case

Sources

Checked 2026-09-29.

★ all of AZ
Arizona overview

Fault rule, statute, caps, and key facts for Arizona as a whole.

★ national frame
Medical negligence in United States

Medical negligence band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Medical negligence · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of medical negligence bands.

★ editorial note

Figures on this page are not quotes for any specific case. For representation, consult an attorney admitted in Arizona. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.