Arizona · Injured in a crash

Injured in a Car Accident in Sahuarita?

A rollover on I-19 near the Duval Mine Road exit, a T-bone at Nogales Highway and Abrego Drive, a rear-end crash on Continental Road in the Green Valley shopping traffic. If you were just in a crash in Sahuarita or Green Valley and you are trying to figure out what to do next, this page is the short version, with the local 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. Northwest Medical Center Sahuarita on South Rancho Sahuarita Boulevard has a 24-hour emergency room and serves both Sahuarita and Green Valley. The nearest Level I trauma center is Banner University Medical Center Tucson, about 25 miles north on I-19, so the most serious crash victims are flown or driven there. 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 Sahuarita and Green Valley

Inside the town limits of Sahuarita, the Sahuarita Police Department responds to crashes. Green Valley is unincorporated, so there the Pima County Sheriff's Department responds, out of its Green Valley district office on North La Cañada Drive. On I-19, it is the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS). 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. Sahuarita Police reports are requested from the department's Records Bureau at 315 West Sahuarita Center Way, and its crash reports are also posted to an online crash report service about a week after the crash. Pima County Sheriff's reports are requested through the department's online police report request form, and DPS reports from the DPS Records Unit portal.

Roads where Sahuarita and Green Valley crashes happen

The stretches that come up most: I-19 through both communities, especially around the Sahuarita Road, Duval Mine Road and Continental Road interchanges, where speed, mine trucks and traffic to and from Nogales all mix, Nogales Highway at Abrego Drive, which Sahuarita Police records have singled out as the worst intersection in town, Sahuarita Road, Rancho Sahuarita Boulevard through the Rancho Sahuarita neighborhoods, La Cañada Drive at Duval Mine Road, Old Nogales Highway, and Continental Road in Green Valley near the shopping plaza. Many of these crashes involve left turns across busy two-lane roads, so photograph the turn lanes, the sight lines and the signals, because those details decide who had the right of way.

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.