The statute of limitations in Arizona is set at two years for all personal injury claims. It is one year for libel or slander claims, which are a subset of personal injury law. Some exceptions may apply when it takes longer than a year for a person to reasonably realize an injury has occurred.
What Is A Statute of Limitations?
Plaintiffs have time limits for filing civil lawsuits, which differ by the type of claim (in most states). These time limits, referred to as the civil statute of limitations, are meant to help preserve the integrity of evidence and witness testimony.
Statutes of limitations are enacted to ensure that claims are made while evidence is still relatively vital and to prevent the constant “threat” of a lawsuit long after the disputed event has occurred.
Exceptions to the One- and Two-Year Rules
There are times, of course, when there is no way to reasonably know for certain that an injury has occurred. Other times you may not realize the cause of a known injury until much later. Take, for example, a cancer diagnosis caused by workplace pollution. That may not become known for many years after exposure. Or a long-time black employee may not have found out that she was being discriminated against until several years after the fact.
There are also instances in which the statute of limitations may be “tolled” — or paused — for a period of time. This may happen if the plaintiff was a minor (under 18) or mentally incompetent at the time the injury occurred. Also, statutes of limitation may also be shortened through a contract.
Take a look at the following table for a complete list of Arizona’s civil statute of limitations laws.
- Personal Injury: 2 yrs.
- Libel/Slander: 1 yr.
- Fraud: 3 yrs.
- Personal Property Damage: 2 yrs.
- Professional Malpractice (Medical): 2 yrs.
- Trespassing: 2 yrs.
- Collection of Rents: 3 years
- Written Contracts: 6 yrs.
- Oral Contracts: 3 yrs.
- Debt Collection: 3 yrs.
- Judgments: 4 yrs.
Note: State laws are constantly changing — please contact us at (602) 495-1005 so we can help you with your case. The sooner you call, the better.
Credit: Findlaw.com
Photo credit: Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images
