Arizona · Injured in a crash

Injured in a Car Accident in Vail?

A rear-end crash in the morning backup on I-10 at the Houghton Road interchange, a left-turn collision at Colossal Cave Road and Mary Ann Cleveland Way, a pickup that ran the stop sign on Old Spanish Trail. If you were just in a crash in Vail and you are trying to figure out what to do next, this page is the short version, with the Vail-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. Vail has no hospital of its own, but Tucson is close. Banner University Medical Center Tucson, 1501 North Campbell Avenue, and Carondelet St. Joseph's Hospital, 350 North Wilmot Road on the east side, are both state-designated Level I trauma centers with 24-hour emergency rooms, so the most seriously injured crash victims from Vail and the I-10 corridor are usually taken to one of them. Tucson Medical Center on East Grant Road has a 24-hour emergency room as well. 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 Vail

Vail is unincorporated Pima County, so it has no city police department. On Colossal Cave Road, Mary Ann Cleveland Way, Old Spanish Trail, the Sahuarita Road corridor toward Corona de Tucson and the neighborhood streets, the Pima County Sheriff's Department responds. On I-10 itself, including the ramps at the Houghton Road, Vail Road and Colossal Cave Road exits and the State Route 83 interchange, it is the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS). The Tucson city limit runs along Houghton Road and around Rita Ranch, so a crash a few hundred yards west may be handled by Tucson Police. Ask the deputy or 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. Pima County Sheriff's Department reports are requested through the department's records section at 1750 East Benson Highway in Tucson, or through its online public records request process. DPS reports come from the DPS Public Services Portal, where you select "Request a Report or Records."

Roads where Vail crashes happen

The stretches that come up most: I-10 between the Houghton Road interchange and the State Route 83 exit, where commuters from Vail, Rita Ranch and Corona de Tucson merge into fast interstate traffic and share the road with trucks bound for Benson and New Mexico, Colossal Cave Road from the interstate through old Vail, a two-lane road with limited shoulders, Mary Ann Cleveland Way between Houghton Road and Colossal Cave Road, the main east-west route through the subdivisions, with school traffic at Cienega High School, Houghton Road south toward Corona de Tucson, and Old Spanish Trail toward Saguaro National Park, with cyclists and open-range stretches. Dust storms and monsoon flooding across the washes add crashes in summer. Photograph the intersection, the stop signs or signals and the lane markings, because many of these crashes turn into arguments about who had the right of way or who changed lanes.

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. A crash involving a county or school district vehicle, where the 180-day notice applies, is hard to sort out alone. 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.