Wrongful Death Deadline vs. Personal Injury Statute of Limitations

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

Arizona's wrongful death deadline and its ordinary personal injury deadline share the same two-year length — but they don't start running from the same moment.

Same length, different starting point

Both ordinary personal injury and wrongful death claims in Arizona fall under the general two-year statute of limitations, A.R.S. §12-542. For an ordinary injury claim, the clock starts on the date of injury. For a wrongful death claim, it starts on the date of death — which matters when someone is injured, survives for a period, and later dies from that injury. In that scenario, the family gets their own full two-year window from the death itself, separate from whatever remained of the original injury deadline.

The survival claim is a separate question

Arizona's survival statute preserves certain claims the decedent had at death, but notably does not extend to the decedent's own pre-death pain and suffering — a real limitation worth knowing about. Whatever survival claim does exist may follow a different deadline calculation than the wrongful death action itself, which is worth clarifying with an attorney early rather than assuming both claims run identically.

Minors don't automatically get more time

While certain Arizona tolling provisions can extend deadlines for minors in some civil matters, wrongful death claims generally still must be filed within the standard two-year window from the date of death, regardless of the beneficiaries' ages. Don't assume a minor beneficiary's involvement buys additional time without confirming this directly.

Government defendants shorten everything

If a government entity may be responsible for the death, separate and typically much shorter notice-of-claim requirements apply on top of the underlying statute of limitations. Confirm any government-related deadline immediately rather than waiting.

This is general information, not legal advice, and deadline rules allow little room for error. Confirm the exact deadline for your situation — especially if a government entity may be involved — with a licensed Arizona attorney immediately.