Hit by a drunk driver in Phoenix: criminal case, insurance and suing the bar
If a drunk driver hit you in Phoenix, the Maricopa County Attorney's Vehicular Crimes Bureau handles the crime. Your money claim is separate, and you generally have 2 years to file it. A bar can be liable if it sold to someone obviously intoxicated. Victim compensation is at (602) 506-4955.
Last checked November 9, 2026 · Official sources (36)
Hit by a drunk driver in Phoenix: are there two cases?
Yes, and they move on different clocks. The county prosecutes the crime. The Vehicular Crimes Bureau reviews 3,000 to 4,000 cases a year, and its attorneys are on call around the clock for fatal crash scenes. You do not control that case and you do not pay for it.
Your money claim is yours to bring, and it is not automatic. Do not wait for a plea or a sentence, because the 2-year clock keeps running. A court can also order the driver to repay your full economic loss in the criminal case. Restitution helps, but it does not cover pain and suffering, and a driver with no money may never pay it.
This is not rare here. ADOT counted 1,351 alcohol-related crashes in Phoenix in 2024, with 95 people killed and 822 hurt.
Who pays after a DUI crash in Phoenix?
| Source | What to know | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Driver's liability insurance | First place to look | Arizona's minimum is $25,000 per person |
| Your uninsured or underinsured coverage | Insurers must offer it in writing | Only if you bought it. Read your policy this week |
| The bar or store that sold the alcohol | Liable for a sale to an obviously intoxicated buyer who then caused the harm | You must prove the buyer's condition |
| The driver personally | DUI injury debts are not wiped out in bankruptcy | Collecting can take years |
| Maricopa victim compensation | Medical, mental health, funeral and wage loss | Pays last, after other sources. No pain and suffering, and no collisions ruled an accident |
An independent board decides victim compensation claims. A conviction is not needed to qualify. Arizona bars any law capping injury damages, so the amount depends on your losses and on who can actually pay. Punitive damages are possible, but they need clear and convincing proof of an evil mind.
Can I sue the Phoenix bar that overserved the driver?
Sometimes. Arizona limits these claims, and most other theories against a seller are closed off. You must show the bar sold to someone who was obviously intoxicated, meaning impairment that would have been obvious to a reasonable person. Slurring and stumbling at the counter count for a lot.
- A private host is generally not liable for serving an adult.
- A companion who drank with the driver and knew how impaired they were usually cannot sue the bar.
- Each defendant pays only its own share of the fault, so a jury splitting blame between the driver and the bar changes what each pays.
- The state says a server can also be named in a civil lawsuit.
Find out fast where the driver drank. Receipts, card charges and bar video may not last. Arizona bars cannot sell between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., and an obviously intoxicated person may stay only 30 minutes after the bar knows or should know.
The state says overserving is one of the areas it enforces most. You can report a bar to the Department of Liquor Licenses and Control, but you need its exact location.
What should I do this week after a DUI crash in Phoenix?
- Get the report number. City streets go to Phoenix Police. Freeways go to Arizona DPS, which has a metro DUI unit.
- Tell the officer or victim advocate you want to be notified of court dates.
- Call your insurer and ask, in writing, about uninsured and underinsured coverage.
- Call the Victim Compensation Program at (602) 506-4955.
- Write down where the driver may have been drinking, and who saw them.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the driver's insurer before you get advice.
- Save every bill, and track missed work.
What if a city employee was driving drunk in Phoenix?
If the driver was working for the City of Phoenix, a claim is due in 180 days at the City Clerk. For Maricopa County, it goes to the Clerk of the Board. Public agencies do not pay punitive damages, and any lawsuit must follow within one year.
Questions
How long do I have to sue a drunk driver in Phoenix?
Generally 2 years. If someone died, the 2 years generally runs from the date of death.
Will the criminal case pay my bills?
Possibly in part. A judge can order repayment of your full economic loss, but collecting depends on the driver's money. Keep your own claim moving.
Does Maricopa County's victim fund cover a DUI crash?
It can help with medical, funeral and wage costs. It pays last, after other sources, and does not cover collisions ruled to be an accident.
Is a parking lot crash outside a Phoenix bar different?
The state says a licensee is responsible for parking lot problems it knows about. That is a licensing rule, and a lawsuit needs its own review.
Hit by a drunk driver in Phoenix? See if you are owed money.
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See if I’m owed moneySources (36)
- Maricopa County Attorney, Vehicular Crimes Bureau, checked 2026-11-09. “Maricopa County Attorney's Office Vehicular Crimes Bureau prosecutes crimes involving motor vehicle collisions”
- A.R.S. § 12-542, checked 2026-11-08. “within two years after the cause of action accrues”
- Arizona Revised Statutes 4-311, checked 2026-11-09. “The licensee sold spirituous liquor either to a purchaser who was obviously intoxicated, or to a purchaser under the legal drinking age without requesting identification”
- Maricopa County Attorney, Victim Related Information, checked 2026-11-09. “please contact the Victim Compensation Program at (602)506-4955”
- Maricopa County Attorney, Victim Related Information, checked 2026-11-09. “crime-related expenses such as medical, mental health, funeral, crime scene clean up, and wage loss”
- 11 U.S.C. 523(a)(9), checked 2026-11-09. “for death or personal injury caused by the debtor's operation of a motor vehicle, vessel, or aircraft if such operation was unlawful because the debtor was intoxicated”
- Maricopa County Attorney, Vehicular Crimes Bureau, checked 2026-11-09. “The bureau reviews 3,000 to 4,000 cases a year”
- Maricopa County Attorney, Vehicular Crimes Bureau, checked 2026-11-09. “attorneys in the Vehicular Crimes Bureau are on call 24/7 to assist law enforcement officers with fatal accident scene investigations”
- Arizona Revised Statutes 13-603, checked 2026-11-09. “in the full amount of the economic loss as determined by the court”
- ADOT, 2024 Arizona Motor Vehicle Crash Facts, checked 2026-11-09. “| Phoenix | 37,472 | 265 | 10,449 | 26,758 | 278 | 15,057 | 1,351 | 95 | 822 |”
- Arizona Revised Statutes 28-4009, checked 2026-11-09. “$25,000 because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident”
- A.R.S. § 20-259.01(A), checked 2026-11-08. “Every insurer writing automobile liability or motor vehicle liability policies shall make available to the named insured thereunder and by written notice offer the named insured and at the request of the named insured shall include within the policy uninsured motorist coverage”
- Arizona Criminal Justice Commission, checked 2026-11-09. “the compensation program is always the payer of last resort”
- Maricopa County Attorney, Victim Related Information, checked 2026-11-09. “does not cover property loss or damage, pain, and suffering, collisions ruled to be an accident”
- Maricopa County Attorney, Victim Related Information, checked 2026-11-09. “Victim Compensation claims and requests are reviewed and decided by an independent board”
- Arizona Constitution, article 2, section 31, checked 2026-11-09. “No law shall be enacted in this state limiting the amount of damages to be recovered for causing the death or injury of any person”
- Swift Transportation v. Carman (Ariz. 2022), checked 2026-11-09. “To establish an evil mind requires clear and convincing evidence”
- Arizona Revised Statutes 4-312, checked 2026-11-09. “except as provided in section 4-311, a person, firm, corporation or licensee is not liable in damages to any person who is injured”
- Arizona Revised Statutes 4-311, checked 2026-11-09. “significantly uncoordinated physical action or significant physical dysfunction that would have been obvious to a reasonable person”
- Arizona Revised Statutes 4-301, checked 2026-11-09. “A person other than a licensee or an employee of a licensee”
- Arizona Revised Statutes 4-312, checked 2026-11-09. “who was present with the person who consumed the spirituous liquor at the time the spirituous liquor was consumed and who knew of the impaired condition”
- Arizona Revised Statutes 12-2506, checked 2026-11-09. “the liability of each defendant for damages is several only and is not joint”
- Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control, FAQ, checked 2026-11-09. “He also could be named in a civil lawsuit should an accident result.”
- Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control, FAQ, checked 2026-11-09. “Liquor may not be sold at an on-sale or off-sale retail licensed premise between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.”
- Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control, FAQ, checked 2026-11-09. “Thirty minutes from the time the state of intoxication is known or should be known to the licensee”
- Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control, FAQ, checked 2026-11-09. “The most highly enforced areas are overserving and selling to minors.”
- Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control, Report a Liquor Violation, checked 2026-11-09. “The exact location where liquor sold/consumed in the violation is required in your report.”
- 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.”
- Arizona DPS, Request Records, checked 2026-11-08. “maintains records for collisions (accidents) that were investigated by DPS Troopers occurring on an Interstate or State Highway”
- Arizona DPS, DUI Enforcement, checked 2026-11-09. “The Metro DUI Enforcement Unit was created to specialize in the detection, investigation, and arrest of alcohol and/or drug-impaired drivers.”
- phoenix.gov, checked 2026-11-08. “Be filed with the City Clerk Department within 180 days after the cause of action accrues,”
- Maricopa County, Notice of Claim form (rev. 09/16/2024), checked 2026-11-08. “return by mail or hand-delivery to: Clerk of the Board of Supervisors 301 W. Jefferson 10th Floor Phoenix AZ 85003”
- Arizona Revised Statutes 12-820.04, checked 2026-11-09. “Neither a public entity nor a public employee acting within the scope of his employment is liable for punitive or exemplary damages.”
- 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. § 12-542(2), checked 2026-11-08. “2. For injuries done to the person of another when death ensues from such injuries, which action shall be considered as accruing at the death of the party injured.”
- Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control, FAQ, checked 2026-11-09. “Is a licensee responsible for problems that occur in his parking lot? Yes, if he is aware of the problem.”