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If you need a Phoenix wrongful death lawyer, Elmm Law Group handles your case from evidence to settlement, including all insurance communication.
If your family lost a loved one due to someone else’s negligence in Phoenix, Arizona, Elmm Law Group can pursue full compensation on your behalf under Arizona’s Wrongful Death Act, handling the insurance companies and legal process so you can focus on grieving and healing. Attorney Gordi Mikalacki and her team represent surviving spouses, children, parents, and estates in Maricopa County Superior Court, fighting for every dollar the law allows. You pay nothing unless we win.
Arizona’s Wrongful Death Act, codified at A.R.S. 12-611 through 12-613, creates a separate legal claim that belongs to the surviving family, not to the deceased person’s estate alone. Understanding your rights from the start protects your ability to recover.
Insurance companies know that grieving families are under financial pressure. Adjusters often contact survivors within days of a fatal accident, offering a quick settlement that is a fraction of the claim’s true value. Accepting that offer and signing a release ends the case permanently.
Liability disputes are common. In a multi-vehicle crash on the I-10 Broadway Curve or a pedestrian fatality near the Valley Metro light-rail line on Central Avenue, insurers will argue that the deceased shared fault, that another driver was responsible, or that a road defect was the real cause. Each theory is designed to reduce or eliminate the payout to your family.
Damages in wrongful death cases are also contested aggressively. Insurers hire economists and life-care planners to minimize future income projections and argue that non-economic losses like grief and loss of companionship are speculative. Without an attorney who understands how to counter those arguments with evidence, families routinely recover far less than they deserve.
Arizona’s pure comparative fault system adds another layer of complexity. Even if the insurer concedes some liability, it will push to assign the maximum possible percentage of fault to the deceased person, because every percentage point reduces the family’s recovery by the same proportion.
A.R.S. 12-613 authorizes the jury or court to award damages that are “fair and just” given the circumstances. Arizona does not cap wrongful death damages in most cases. Recoverable losses typically include:
Phoenix’s size, traffic volume, and road design create conditions where fatal accidents occur regularly. Our firm has seen wrongful death cases arising from a wide range of circumstances across the Valley.
High-speed freeway crashes are among the most deadly. The I-10/I-17 Stack interchange near Downtown Phoenix is one of the busiest and most collision-prone interchanges in Arizona. The I-10 Broadway Curve, where the freeway narrows and curves through the south side, has a long history of severe and fatal crashes, particularly during rush hour and overnight hours when impaired drivers are more prevalent. The I-17 Black Canyon Freeway through Deer Valley and North Phoenix also sees frequent fatal collisions, especially involving commercial trucks.
Grand Avenue (US 60) cuts diagonally across the northwest Valley from Downtown Phoenix through Maryvale, creating offset intersections that confuse drivers and generate a disproportionate number of fatal T-bone and turning collisions. The stretch through Maryvale is particularly hazardous for pedestrians.
Pedestrian fatalities occur along Central Avenue and Washington and Jefferson Streets where Valley Metro light-rail trains share the corridor with turning vehicles and foot traffic. Camelback Road through the Biltmore and Arcadia areas, Indian School Road, and Thomas Road in Midtown all see fatal pedestrian and bicycle crashes.
Other common causes of wrongful deaths in Phoenix include:
By definition, wrongful death cases involve a fatal outcome. However, the nature of the fatal injury affects how the case is built, what medical evidence is gathered, and how damages are calculated. Common fatal injury patterns in Phoenix wrongful death cases include:
When a victim survived the initial incident for any period before dying, the pre-death pain and suffering becomes a separate element of damages. Documenting the timeline between injury and death is critical to maximizing the family’s recovery.
Every wrongful death case we handle is built from the ground up with the goal of maximum recovery at trial, even if the case ultimately resolves before a verdict. Here is how we approach the work.
We do not rely on the police report alone. Our team retains qualified accident reconstruction experts, reviews available traffic camera and dashcam footage from Phoenix intersections and freeway systems, obtains electronic data from vehicles involved, and interviews witnesses before their memories fade. In fatal crashes on corridors like the I-10 Deck Park Tunnel or the SR-51 Piestewa Freeway, physical evidence and data from the scene are often the difference between proving and losing a liability argument.
We work with economists, vocational experts, and life-care planners to calculate the full present value of the income and services your loved one would have provided over their lifetime. We also document each family member’s individual loss of companionship and guidance through declarations, testimony, and supporting records. This documentation is what drives insurance companies toward fair settlements and what persuades Maricopa County Superior Court juries to return full verdicts.
We present insurers with a fully documented demand package and negotiate from a position of strength. If the insurer refuses to offer fair value, we file in Maricopa County Superior Court and prepare the case for trial. Our firm’s litigation background, including Attorney Mikalacki’s experience as a former Arizona Assistant Attorney General, means we are genuinely prepared to try cases, and insurers know it. That credibility changes how they respond at the negotiating table.
Phoenix is not a generic city, and wrongful death cases here are not generic cases. The city’s freeway system, surface street grid, and growth patterns create specific liability scenarios that require local knowledge to handle effectively.
The I-10 Broadway Curve through the south side of Phoenix is one of the most studied and most dangerous stretches of freeway in Arizona. Fatal crashes there often involve lane-change conflicts, high speeds, and inadequate sight distances. The Stack interchange where I-10 and I-17 meet near Downtown Phoenix generates complex multi-vehicle accidents where fault is rarely clear-cut. Grand Avenue’s diagonal alignment through Maryvale creates intersection geometry that ADOT and the city of Phoenix have long acknowledged as hazardous, which can support claims against government entities when design defects contribute to a death.
Pedestrian deaths near the Valley Metro light-rail corridor along Central Avenue, Washington Street, and Jefferson Street often involve questions about driver sight lines, signal timing, and the responsibilities of both the vehicle operator and transit authority. Ahwatukee and the South Mountain area along Baseline Road and the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway have seen a rise in fatal crashes as residential development has increased traffic on roads that were not designed for current volumes.
Cases are filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, located in Downtown Phoenix. We know this courthouse, its judges, and its procedures. Our office at 3401 N. 32nd St., Phoenix, AZ 85018, sits near the SR-51 Piestewa Freeway and the Camelback corridor, in the heart of the city we serve. We are not a distant firm sending attorneys to Phoenix for court dates. This is our home, and these are our community’s cases.
Arizona’s pure comparative fault framework under A.R.S. 12-2505 means that even partial fault on the part of the deceased does not eliminate the family’s claim. It requires us to build the strongest possible case on liability so that the percentage assigned to the defendant is as high as the evidence supports, directly maximizing what your family recovers.
Gordana “Gordi” Mikalacki, Esq. is the founder and lead attorney of Elmm Law Group. She earned her J.D. from Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, clerked for the Arizona Court of Appeals, and served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Arizona before focusing exclusively on personal injury and wrongful death representation. That background means she has seen how the state and its insurers defend these cases from the inside, and she uses that knowledge to advocate for Phoenix families.
Attorney Mikalacki handles wrongful death cases personally. She is not a settlement mill where a case manager handles your file and you rarely speak with a lawyer. When you hire Elmm Law Group, Gordi is the attorney working your case, reviewing the evidence, making the strategic decisions, and appearing in Maricopa County Superior Court when necessary.
She is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and consults with clients in English, Spanish, and Serbo-Croatian. Losing a family member is one of the most devastating experiences a person can face. Gordi approaches every wrongful death case with the seriousness and compassion that moment demands.
If your family lost a loved one due to negligence anywhere in Phoenix or Maricopa County, you deserve straight answers about your legal rights and options, not a sales pitch. Elmm Law Group offers free, confidential consultations with no obligation and no pressure. We will review the facts of your case, explain what Arizona law allows you to recover, and tell you honestly what we think the path forward looks like. There is no fee of any kind unless we recover compensation for your family. The two-year deadline under Arizona law moves quickly, and the sooner we can begin preserving evidence and building your case, the stronger your family’s position will be.
Get Your Free Consultation - Available 24/7Under A.R.S. 12-612, a wrongful death action in Arizona may be brought by the surviving spouse, children, or parents of the person who died. If none of those relatives survive, the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate may bring the claim on behalf of those who would inherit under Arizona law.
Arizona requires all eligible family members to be joined in a single lawsuit. The court then apportions the total recovery among the claimants based on each person’s individual loss. This means siblings, cousins, and other extended family members generally do not have a direct right to bring a wrongful death claim under Arizona law, though there may be exceptions depending on the specific family circumstances.
Arizona’s statute of limitations for wrongful death claims is two years from the date of death, as set by A.R.S. 12-542. If the lawsuit is not filed in Maricopa County Superior Court within that period, the claim is almost always permanently barred, regardless of how strong the evidence is.
There is an important exception to be aware of: if a government entity such as the city of Phoenix, ADOT, or Valley Metro was involved in the death, a separate notice of claim must typically be filed within 180 days of the death under A.R.S. 12-821.01. That 180-day deadline runs independently and is much shorter than the two-year lawsuit deadline. Missing it can eliminate the claim against the government defendant entirely.
A.R.S. 12-613 authorizes damages that are “fair and just” under the circumstances. Arizona does not cap wrongful death damages in most cases. Recoverable compensation typically includes the deceased person’s lost future earnings and household contributions, each family member’s loss of companionship and guidance, medical and emergency care costs incurred before death, and funeral and burial expenses.
If the deceased survived the incident for any period before dying, the pain and suffering they experienced during that time is also recoverable. In cases involving drunk driving, gross negligence, or intentional misconduct, punitive damages may also be available to punish the defendant’s behavior.
Arizona follows a pure comparative fault system under A.R.S. 12-2505. This means that even if the deceased person was partially at fault for the accident, the family can still recover damages. The total recovery is simply reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to the deceased.
For example, if a jury finds the defendant 80 percent at fault and the deceased 20 percent at fault, the family recovers 80 percent of the total damages awarded. Insurance companies routinely try to inflate the percentage of fault assigned to the deceased in order to reduce the payout. Having an attorney who can counter those arguments with strong evidence is essential to protecting the full value of the claim.
Elmm Law Group handles wrongful death cases on a contingency fee basis. There are no upfront costs, no retainer, and no hourly billing. You pay attorney fees only if your family recovers compensation through a settlement or verdict. If we do not win, you owe us nothing for our legal work.
The initial consultation is completely free and confidential. We will review the facts of your case, explain your rights under Arizona law, and give you an honest assessment of the claim before you make any decisions about moving forward.
Wrongful death lawsuits arising from incidents in Phoenix are filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, which handles civil cases for Maricopa County. Elmm Law Group is familiar with this courthouse, its judges, and its local rules, because our office is located here in Phoenix at 3401 N. 32nd St.
The timeline varies significantly depending on the complexity of the case, the number of defendants, and whether the insurer is willing to negotiate in good faith. Some cases resolve through settlement within several months of filing a demand. Others require full litigation and may take one to three years or longer to reach a verdict. We pursue every case with the goal of achieving maximum recovery as efficiently as possible, while never pressuring families to accept an inadequate settlement just to close the file quickly.
Given our firm specializes in and exclusively handles personal injury cases, we’re able to provide one-on-one Client-Attorney contact to ensure our clients feel heard. Also, we don’t get paid unless you do! Our team can provide multilingual services in English, Spanish, and Serbo-Croatian.
If you’ve been injured in a car crash, motorcycle wreck, pedestrian accident, trucking collision, or from a dog bite, call our Phoenix personal injury lawyer today for a FREE consultation. We’re available 24/7!
Take your first step towards speaking with our office by contacting us for a FREE consultation today. Call us at (480) 329-5084 or complete the form below. We look forward to evaluating your case!