Arizona · Injured in a crash

Injured in a Car Accident in Cave Creek?

A rear-end crash in the weekend backup on Cave Creek Road through the town core, a motorcycle collision on Carefree Highway, a left-turn crash at Cave Creek Road and School House Road. If you were just in a crash in Cave Creek and you are trying to figure out what to do next, this page is the short version, with the Cave Creek-specific details, and links to the full guides.

It costs nothing to find out

If you are reading this and thinking you cannot afford a lawyer, read this part first. Personal injury lawyers do not charge you to talk, do not charge by the hour, and do not charge anything unless they recover money for you. The fee comes out of the recovery at the end, never out of your pocket. The first conversation is free. Call Clyne is free too: we ask you a few questions and connect you with a licensed Arizona attorney who looks at your case at no cost. Nobody will ask you for money. Read How Much Does a Car Accident Lawyer Cost.

First, the two things that matter most in Arizona

See a doctor within a few days, even if you feel fine. Arizona has no 14-day rule and no PIP. It is an at-fault state, so the at-fault driver's insurer pays, and your own medical payments coverage, if you have it, can pay early bills. Every day between the crash and the first visit is a day the other driver's insurer will use against you. Cave Creek has no hospital of its own. The closest 24-hour emergency room is HonorHealth Sonoran Crossing Medical Center, at 33400 North 32nd Avenue near I-17 and Dove Valley Road in north Phoenix. The most seriously injured crash victims in Cave Creek and Carefree are usually taken to a Level I trauma center, and the two nearest are HonorHealth Deer Valley Medical Center, at 19829 North 27th Avenue in Phoenix, and HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center, at 7400 East Osborn Road in Scottsdale. Urgent care or your own doctor counts too. Read What to Do After a Car Accident in Arizona.

Do not give the other driver's insurer a recorded statement. They will call fast and sound friendly. You are not required to talk to them. Read what to say when they call.

Getting your crash report in Cave Creek

Cave Creek does not have its own police department. The town has a Town Marshal's office, but crash response and traffic enforcement come from the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) under a contract with the town, and the neighboring Town of Carefree has the same arrangement. MCSO District 4 deputies respond to crashes on Cave Creek Road, School House Road, Spur Cross Road, Carefree Highway through town and the neighborhood roads in both towns. West of I-17, where Carefree Highway becomes State Route 74, and on I-17 itself, it is the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS). South of town, where Cave Creek Road and Pima Road run into north Phoenix and north Scottsdale, a crash may be handled by the Phoenix or Scottsdale police instead. Ask the officer at the scene which agency wrote the report and get the report number.

Arizona crash reports come from the responding agency's records unit. MCSO reports are requested through the sheriff's office records section, and the District 4 office is at 37622 North Cave Creek Road in Cave Creek. DPS reports come from the DPS Records Unit portal. If a city police department responded, ask the responding agency how it releases crash reports.

Roads where Cave Creek crashes happen

The stretches that come up most: Cave Creek Road from Carefree Highway north through the town core, where a two-lane road fills with weekend visitors, motorcycles, horse trailers and pedestrians, Cave Creek Road at School House Road and at Spur Cross Road, Carefree Highway from I-17 east to Cave Creek Road and on toward Scottsdale Road, which is fast, dark at night and popular with motorcycles, and Tom Darlington Drive and Cave Creek Road where the two towns meet at Carefree. Wildlife, washes that flood in a storm and dark curves with no shoulder are part of driving here, and so are impaired drivers leaving the bars late. Photograph the road, the signs, the lane markings and the lighting, because many of these crashes turn into arguments about speed and who was in the lane.

What to do in the first 48 hours

• Call 911 and get a report, even for a "small" crash.
• Photograph both cars, both licenses, both insurance cards, and the scene.
• See a doctor within a few days, even if you feel fine.
• Report the crash to your own insurer. Facts only.
• Do not accept a quick check or sign anything from the other driver's insurer.
• Keep every bill, receipt and visit summary.

The full step-by-step list is in What to Do After a Car Accident in Arizona.

Know the Arizona clock

For most car accident injury claims in Arizona you have two years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit. If a city, county or state vehicle was involved, you must file a formal notice of claim within 180 days. Arizona uses pure comparative negligence, so being partly at fault reduces your recovery but does not erase it. Details in Partly at Fault in an Arizona Crash.

When to talk to a lawyer

Not every fender bender needs one. Talk to a lawyer when you were injured and are still treating after a week or two, when the other driver was uninsured or fled, when fault is being disputed, or when you missed work. Arizona personal injury lawyers work on contingency, which means no fee unless they recover money for you, and the first conversation is free. More in Do I Need a Lawyer If It Wasn't My Fault and How Much Does a Car Accident Lawyer Cost.

More Arizona towns and the full set of guides: Car accidents in Arizona.

Call Clyne is a lawyer referral service, not a law firm. Stephen Clyne is not an attorney. This article is general information, not legal advice, and laws change. Talk to a licensed Arizona attorney about your situation.