AZ Law Now

10/14/2026

In the Phoenix Area, Falls Now Kill More People Than Car Crashes

From 2018 to 2024, accidental falls killed 4,844 Maricopa County residents, according to CDC death records. Traffic crashes killed 4,223. Falls were the bigger killer in 5 of those 7 years, and in 2024 they killed 780 people against 612 for crashes.

About 6 in 10 fall deaths came from falls on level ground, not from a height: slipping, tripping, or losing footing on a flat surface. 89% of the people who died were 65 or older.

Hurt in a fall on someone else's property? Call (602) 654-0202, 24/7.

Read the full investigation below.

Falls killed 4,844 Maricopa County residents from 2018 to 2024, more than car crashes killed (4,223). CDC death records, analyzed by AZ Law Now.

09/27/2026

Fatigued Truckers on Arizona Highways: What HOS Data Shows.

Hours-of-service violations are the number one reason truck drivers are placed out of service nationally. Arizona's I-10 corridor logged 147 driver-fatigue and parked-vehicle crashes over five years. AAA research estimates drowsy driving is a factor in 18% of all traffic fatalities, roughly 12 times higher than official statistics suggest.

https://azlawnow.com/investigations/fatigued-truckers-arizona-hos-data/

09/16/2026

Side-by-Sides Roll Over. The Rule Written to Stop That Is Gone.

In fatal crashes from 2017 through 2024, 69.8 percent of side-by-side off-highway vehicles rolled over, against 12.7 percent of passenger cars.

That's 986 of 1,413 vehicles in the federal fatality census. Side-by-sides also crash alone far more often than cars do, and single-vehicle crashes roll more for every class; holding crash type still, the gap narrows to about 3.1 times and stays the widest on the table.

Full investigation here: https://azlawnow.com/investigations/nobody-can-count-side-by-side-rollovers/

08/31/2026

After a truck crash, the trucking company's team can reach the scene within hours. The insurance adjuster, an accident reconstruction firm, and sometimes a defense attorney start building their version of events before you've left the hospital.

Here's the part most people don't know: the evidence that proves what really happened has a shelf life measured in days. Electronic logging data can be overwritten within days. Dashcam footage runs on a loop that overwrites every 48 to 72 hours. Once it's gone, it's gone.

Stephanie Ramirez lays out what to do in the first 48 hours, step by step: photograph the DOT number on the cab before the truck moves, note the carrier name and both plates, decline the recorded statement the adjuster will ask for, and get to the ER even if you feel okay.

Read the full action plan. You get answers.

What to do in the first 48 hours after a truck crash in Arizona. Document the DOT number, protect evidence, and know why truck cases move faster.

08/31/2026

Arizona logged more than 14,000 crashes involving trucks and buses in 2024. When a commercial truck hits a passenger vehicle, 97% of the deaths happen in the smaller vehicle.

A truck crash isn't just a bigger car crash. A second layer of law applies. The safety rules that govern the truck are federal, the FMCSA hours-of-service and maintenance regulations, but the two-year deadline to file lives in Arizona law (ARS 12-542). Miss that clock and the claim is gone, no matter how clear the federal violation was.

Ron DeBrigida, J.D. breaks down how the two systems fit together: who can be held liable beyond the driver, why the carrier's $750,000 insurance minimum matters, and how Arizona's comparative fault rule works when the other side tries to shift blame onto you.

Read the full guide. You get answers.

Arizona truck laws explained: 49 CFR 395 HOS. $750K cargo minimum. Carrier liability. 14,069 crashes 2024. Statewide intake (602) 654-0202.

08/31/2026

The national numbers on truck-crash deaths hide what happened in Arizona. We counted the fatal crashes ourselves from the federal crash record (NHTSA FARS), comparing the last five years against the five before them, and Arizona's increase ran nearly four times the national pace. It peaked in 2022 and has eased since, but the gap between Arizona and the country is the finding. Read the full investigation:

Federal crash data shows Arizona's large-truck deaths rose 66% over the last five years while the nation's rose 17%, nearly four times the pace.

08/28/2026

Arizona sends about 7,100 school buses out every morning, and state law doesn't require a seat belt on any of them.

Across the country, 971 school-transportation fatal crashes killed 1,079 people from 2014 through 2023. 113 of those killed were riding a school bus. Another 171 were people walking or biking near one.

Only 8 states require seat belts on new school buses. Arizona is one of the 42 that don't. A driver who illegally passes a stopped bus pays $250 the first time, and $750 plus a license suspension after that. The bus itself still carries no belt.

We pulled the federal crash file and Arizona's own law:
https://azlawnow.com/investigations/arizona-school-bus-seat-belts/

08/11/2026

Arizona schools told parents they installed MERV 13 filters and made the air "hospital-grade." The filter is only half the system.

ASHRAE, the body that writes the standard, says it plainly: air that goes around an unsealed filter doesn't get cleaned, and the system performs as if a lower MERV had been installed. A MERV 13 filter with 20% of the air bypassing the edges performs closer to MERV 8 or 9.

Maricopa County is in serious non-attainment for PM10 under the Clean Air Act. The EPA tightened its annual PM2.5 standard to 9 micrograms per cubic meter in 2024. The WHO's has been 5 since 2021. We found no Arizona district publishing a single PM2.5 reading from inside its own classrooms.

We pulled the standards and Arizona's own law on it:
https://azlawnow.com/investigations/arizona-schools-merv-13-filter-bypass/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=investigation_mervfilters

08/11/2026

When a US vehicle hits an animal and someone dies, the person killed is usually the one on a motorcycle.

From 2001 through 2024, motorcyclists were 51.9% of everyone killed in US animal-strike crashes, about four times their 12.8% share of all traffic deaths. A car meets an animal with steel and airbags. A motorcycle puts a rider on it at speed.

In Arizona, 28 of the 70 people killed in animal-strike crashes since 2001 were on a motorcycle, 40%. On the state's open-range roads, the law usually leaves the rider bearing the loss.

We pulled the federal crash file and Arizona's open-range law on it:
https://azlawnow.com/investigations/arizona-animal-crashes-kill-motorcyclists/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=investigation_animalstrike

08/11/2026

In Arizona, a driver who hits someone riding in a car stays at the scene 97 times out of 100. A driver who hits a person on foot runs more than 1 time in 5.

From 2009 through 2024, drivers fled 22.1% of fatal pedestrian crashes, against 2.6% when the victim was riding inside a vehicle. A pedestrian's killer is 8.5 times more likely to run.

Since 2009, drivers who fled have killed 684 Arizonans on foot, about one every 8 to 9 days. One west and central Phoenix corridor runs worse than 1 in 3.

We pulled the federal crash record and mapped where drivers vanish:
https://azlawnow.com/investigations/the-vanishing-driver/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=investigation_vanishingdriver