Find a lawyer for a broken bone injury in Glendale, Arizona: who pays and what to keep
Get a suspected broken bone looked at right away. A suspected break in the hip, pelvis or upper leg is a 911 call. Who pays depends on where in Glendale it happened. A fall on a city sidewalk needs a claim to the City Clerk within 180 days. Most other claims have 2 years to sue.
Last checked November 9, 2026 · Official sources (38)
When is a broken bone an emergency in Glendale?
Any suspected break needs medical care right away. Call 911 if the break may be in the hip, pelvis or upper leg. A provider will check the bone with an exam and an x-ray or other imaging.
Watch for an open fracture, where the bone breaks through the skin. Watch your cast too. Pain much higher than expected is a warning sign of compartment syndrome, and a cast or bandage that is too tight can cause it. A bad break may need surgery, with plates, pins or screws holding the bone in place. How long you wear a cast depends on the bone.
If the break reached a joint, arthritis risk can rise more than 20-fold. Ask about that long-term risk, because it belongs in your claim.
Who is responsible when I break a bone in Glendale?
| Where it happened | Who may owe you | First step and deadline |
|---|---|---|
| City sidewalk or street | City of Glendale | Report in GlendaleOne with photos. Notice of claim in 180 days. |
| Store, lot or apartment | Property owner or its insurer | Photograph the hazard. Generally 2 years to sue. |
| Trail or park | Park owner | A free recreational user must show willful, malicious or grossly negligent conduct. |
| Crash on a city street | At-fault driver's insurer | Get the Glendale Police report. |
| E-scooter or e-bike fall | Depends on the cause | Riders have a bicyclist's rights and duties. |
Some roadside areas belong to the county, a business or someone else, not the city. Ask who owns the spot before you file. A tree limb must be at least 7 feet above a public sidewalk, and weeds in sidewalk cracks cannot create a tripping hazard.
The city counts more than three miles of missing sidewalk between Maryland Avenue and Bethany Home Road, from 43rd to 59th Avenues. A fall where the sidewalk ends is worth documenting.
What proof disappears first after a break in Glendale?
- Photograph the spot before it is fixed. Street Maintenance repairs sidewalks and potholes.
- Report it. GlendaleOne takes photos. Street Maintenance is at 623-930-2940.
- Keep the shoes, bike or scooter you used.
- Get the police report if a vehicle was involved.
- Keep every medical record. Banner uses MRO Patient Central.
If your fall was near a business, ask for the incident report and any video. Ask quickly, because video can be erased.
What can a broken bone claim cover?
Arizona juries are told to weigh past and probable future medical costs, lost earnings and lost earning power, and past and future pain, disability, disfigurement and anxiety. You can claim the full amount charged for reasonable medical care, without a cut for insurer write-offs.
A hospital or ambulance bill can turn into a lien against what you recover. Most Arizona car policies must pay at least $25,000 per person, and Arizona's constitution bars caps on injury damages. Settlement terms are often not public, so be careful with averages.
How long do I have to file a broken bone claim in Glendale?
Against a private owner or driver, generally 2 years. Against the city or another public body, the notice is due in 180 days and must state a specific dollar amount. The notice goes to Glendale's City Clerk, 5752 W. Glenn Dr. A lawsuit then must be filed within one year. If part of the fault is yours, the award is reduced by that share.
Questions
Does a small fracture still count?
Yes. Other broken bones also need prompt care, and your records show the harm.
Can I sue if I signed a waiver?
Maybe. A signed release goes to a jury under Arizona's constitution rule, so do not assume it ends your claim.
Will my claim be reduced if I was careless?
Possibly. Damages are reduced by your share of fault, but the claim is not barred.
Broken bones in Glendale? See if you are owed money.
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See if I’m owed moneySources (38)
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “it's important to get medical care right away if you think you have a fracture”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “There is a suspected broken bone in the hip, pelvis, or upper leg.”
- A.R.S. § 12-821.01, checked 2026-11-08. “within one hundred eighty days after the cause of action accrues”
- A.R.S. § 12-542, checked 2026-11-08. “within two years after the cause of action accrues”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “Pain that is much higher than expected with the injury”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “A cast or bandage that is too tight”
- PubMed Central (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “articular fractures can increase the risk more than 20-fold”
- City of Glendale, Street Maintenance Services, checked 2026-11-08. “When prompted for the issue type, look for Streets/Sidewalks/Medians or simply start typing the issue.”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “They will also likely order an x-ray or other imaging test to see if your bone is broken.”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “Whether the bone breaks through the skin; if it does, it's called an open (or compound) fracture.”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “In some cases, you may need surgery to put in plates, pins, or screws to keep the bone in place.”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “How long you need to wear it will depend on the type of fracture and which bone is affected.”
- A.R.S. 33-1551, checked 2026-11-09. “is not liable to a recreational user or educational user except on a showing that the owner, easement holder, lessee, tenant, manager or occupant was guilty of wilful, malicious or grossly negligent conduct”
- A.R.S. 33-1551, checked 2026-11-09. “without the payment of an admission fee or any other consideration to travel across or to enter premises to hunt, fish, trap, camp, hike, ride, engage in off-highway vehicle, off-road recreational motor vehicle or all-terrain vehicle activity”
- Arizona DPS, Request Records, checked 2026-11-08. “If the report you are requesting was the result of a collision that occurred on a town, city or county road, contact the law enforcement agency in that jurisdiction.”
- Glendale Ordinance O25-50, City Code Chapter 8, checked 2026-11-09. “shall be granted all the rights and privileges and shall be subject to all of the duties of a person riding a bicycle”
- City of Glendale, Street Maintenance Services, checked 2026-11-08. “Please note that not all roadside areas are maintained by the city, some areas are owned by the county, businesses or other entities.”
- Glendale Code Compliance, Understanding City Codes, checked 2026-11-08. “Tree limbs must be maintained at least 7 feet above public sidewalks.”
- Glendale Code Compliance, Understanding City Codes, checked 2026-11-08. “Grass and weeds in city sidewalk cracks and curb lines adjacent to the property must be maintained so it does not create a tripping hazard.”
- City of Glendale, Transportation Projects, checked 2026-11-08. “The project area includes more than three total linear miles of missing sidewalk.”
- City of Glendale, Street Maintenance Services, checked 2026-11-08. “including pavement repairs (minor), sidewalk repairs and pot hole patching.”
- City of Glendale, More Transportation Services, checked 2026-11-08. “General & all areas unless noted: 623-930-2940”
- Glendale Police, Public Records Request, checked 2026-11-08. “To obtain a copy of a Traffic Accident or Incident Report fill out an online records request form”
- Banner Health, Medical Records, checked 2026-11-08. “you can request your medical records from any Banner Health hospital, provider office, or urgent care location.”
- Revised Arizona Jury Instructions (Civil), Personal Injury Damages 1, checked 2026-11-09. “Reasonable expenses for necessary medical care, treatment, and services already incurred and reasonably probable to be incurred in the future.”
- Revised Arizona Jury Instructions (Civil), Personal Injury Damages 1, checked 2026-11-09. “Lost earnings to date, and any decrease in earning power or capacity in the future.”
- Revised Arizona Jury Instructions (Civil), Personal Injury Damages 1, checked 2026-11-09. “The pain, discomfort, suffering, disability, disfigurement, and anxiety already experienced, and reasonably probable to be experienced in the future.”
- Lopez v. Safeway Stores, Inc., 212 Ariz. 198 (App. 2006), checked 2026-11-09. “entitled to claim and recover the full amount of her reasonable medical expenses for which she was charged”
- A.R.S. § 33-931, checked 2026-11-09. “is entitled to a lien for the care and treatment or transportation of an injured person”
- A.R.S. § 28-4009(A)(2)(b), checked 2026-11-08. “(i) $25,000 because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident. (ii) Subject to the limit for one person, $50,000 because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident. (iii) $15,000 because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident.”
- Ariz. Const. art. 18, § 6, checked 2026-11-09. “the amount recovered shall not be subject to any statutory limitation”
- U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Civil Bench and Jury Trials in State Courts, 2005, checked 2026-11-09. “The terms of settlement agreements and other key information for civil cases resolved prior to trial may not be reported to the court or may not be publicly available.”
- Arizona Revised Statutes 12-821.01, checked 2026-11-08. “within one hundred eighty days after the cause of action accrues”
- City of Glendale, City Clerk, checked 2026-11-08. “623-930-2252, Option 1”
- A.R.S. § 12-821, checked 2026-11-08. “shall be brought within one year after the cause of action accrues and not afterward”
- A.R.S. § 12-2505, checked 2026-11-08. “the claimant's action is not barred, but the full damages shall be reduced in proportion to the relative degree of the claimant's fault”
- Phelps v. Firebird Raceway (Ariz. 2005), checked 2026-11-09. “applies to an express contractual assumption of risk. We hold that it does.”
- A.R.S. 12-2505, checked 2026-11-09. “the claimant's action is not barred, but the full damages shall be reduced in proportion to the relative degree of the claimant's fault”