Phoenix Personal Injury Lawyer
Over $50 million recovered for injured Arizonans. A 99% success rate. And a Net Recovery Guarantee that ensures you never pay more in legal fees than you take home. If you’ve been hurt anywhere in the Phoenix area, talk to a personal injury lawyer who knows how the insurance company on the other side actually operates because that’s where our founder used to work.
$50+ Million Recovered
Content Reviewed By: Derick Runion
Table of Contents
- You Were Injured in Phoenix. The Other Side Already Has a Plan.
- How Much Is My Personal Injury Case Worth?
- Derick Runion: Your Personal Injury Lawyer in Phoenix
- How We Win Phoenix Personal Injury Cases
- What Can I Expect to Pay?
- Common Questions We Hear From Phoenix Injury Victims
- Gathering Evidence Relating to Your Case
- The Net Recovery Guarantee
- Why Choose Us Over Other Phoenix Personal Injury Attorneys?
You Were Injured in Phoenix. The Other Side Already Has a Plan.
Within hours of your accident, the at-fault driver’s insurance company assigned an adjuster, opened a claim file, and started building a strategy. The recorded statement requests, the “we just want a quick update” voicemails, the lowball offer that feels almost reasonable because you need money for medical bills none of it is random. There’s a playbook. Adjusters in Phoenix run it on injured people every day.
We know, because our founding attorney Derick Runion used to be on the other side of it. Before opening Runion Personal Injury Lawyers, Derick worked inside the insurance industry the same industry now sitting across the table from you. He knows how adjusters value Phoenix claims, what evidence they look for to slash your payout, and the exact tactics they use to talk injured people into accepting less than their case is worth. That perspective shapes how we represent every Phoenix client.
How Much Is My Personal Injury Case Worth?
The honest answer is: we don’t know until we review your actual records, and anyone who gives you a specific number before doing that is guessing. What we can tell you is what drives value in Arizona cases, based on 14 years of handling them in Phoenix — and let you run your own numbers through the same framework Arizona adjusters use.
Medical bills are the anchor, but they’re not the ceiling. Arizona courts and insurance companies typically calculate pain and suffering using a multiplier of 1.5x to 5x your medical expenses, depending on injury severity, permanence, and impact on your life. A $30,000 medical bill can support a $75,000 to $150,000 total demand. A catastrophic injury requiring ongoing care can justify multiples far beyond that.
Estimate the Potential Range of Your Case
The calculator below applies that same multiplier method to your numbers. Enter your medical bills, lost wages, and injury severity to see a rough range. This is an educational estimate only, not a prediction of what your case is worth. Real outcomes depend on factors no online tool can capture — the strength of liability evidence, insurance policy limits, treatment timeline, and Arizona-specific legal rules.
Want a real attorney to review the facts of your case? Schedule a free, no-obligation consultation — we’ll give you a realistic range based on your actual records, not a sales pitch.
The single biggest variable most people don’t account for: insurance policy limits. Arizona requires drivers to carry minimum liability of $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident. Many Phoenix drivers carry only the minimum. If your injuries are worth $200,000 and the at-fault driver has a $25,000 policy, you’re looking at a hard ceiling — unless they have personal assets worth pursuing, or unless you have underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy. We review every available insurance source before advising on case value: the at-fault driver’s policy, their employer’s policy if they were working, your own UM/UIM coverage, and any umbrella policies involved.
Cases we’ve seen undervalued by unrepresented claimants, repeatedly:
- Soft tissue injuries that turned into surgical cases after an initial quick settlement was accepted
- Rear-end crashes where the claimant accepted a fault assignment they didn’t deserve
- Cases where the claimant didn’t know they had UM/UIM coverage on their own policy
- Workplace injuries where a third-party claim against a negligent contractor was available in addition to workers’ comp
Economic damages we calculate: Medical expenses (past and future), lost wages, loss of earning capacity, out-of-pocket costs, property damage.
Non-economic damages we document: Physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, impact on daily activities — all supported by your medical records, a personal injury journal, and where needed, expert testimony.
The estimator above gives you a starting range. For deeper context, read our guide to Phoenix personal injury settlement values and how to evaluate what your case is worth. The most accurate answer always comes from a free case review where we can see your actual records.
Derick Runion: Your Personal Injury Lawyer in Phoenix
Derick Runion founded this firm in Phoenix in 2011, not as an outsider who identified Arizona as a growth market, but as someone who was born here, went to school here, and built his entire career here. He earned his undergraduate degree from Arizona State University, worked as a law enforcement officer in Arizona, then returned to ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law for his law degree. That sequence, police work before law school, shapes how Runion Personal Injury Law Firm investigates and builds cases in ways that a purely academic legal background cannot replicate.
As a former police officer, Derick understands how accident scenes are processed, how police reports are written, what gets documented and what gets missed, and how law enforcement determines fault at a crash scene. When we review a Phoenix PD accident report, we read it the way it was written, and we know what follow-up investigation is needed based on what isn’t in it.
Over 14 years of practice, the firm has handled hundreds of personal injury cases for Arizona families, car accidents on the I-10 and Loop 101, commercial truck crashes, motorcycle accidents, workplace injuries, wrongful death claims. The cases that matter most aren’t always the biggest dollar amounts. They’re the clients who were told by the insurance company their injuries were minor, who were offered $3,000 to sign away their rights, and who, because they called us first, ended up with outcomes that actually reflected what they’d been through.
Derick is licensed to practice law in Arizona and New Mexico. He is a member of the State Bar of Arizona, the Maricopa County Bar Association, the Arizona Association for Justice, the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys, the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. He has been recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Star.
When you hire this firm, you work with Derick directly. He reviews your file, handles your calls, makes the strategy decisions, and is the attorney in the room when your case is negotiated or tried.
Read Derick’s full profile, bar information, and credentials →
How We Win Phoenix Personal Injury Cases
We Take Over Every Conversation With the Insurance Company
The moment you hire us, the adjuster stops calling you. Every recorded statement request, every voicemail, every settlement offer routes to our team. You stop being available to be manipulated, and you start being able to focus on your medical recovery.
We Investigate Before the Evidence Disappears
Phoenix crashes leave evidence in places most injured people don’t know to look — the Arizona Department of Public Safety incident report, intersection camera footage from City of Phoenix traffic systems, ride-share telematics, commercial vehicle ECM data, witness statements that fade after 48 hours. We move fast to lock all of it down. In commercial truck cases, we send spoliation letters within days to preserve the black box and electronic logging data before federal retention rules let the carrier overwrite it.
We Build the Real Value of Your Claim, Not the Insurer’s Version
Insurance adjusters in Phoenix use software like Colossus and Claims IQ to assign a dollar number to your injuries. That number is almost always low, because the software doesn’t know what your life actually looks like. We document the full picture the medical bills you’ve paid, the future treatment your doctors say you’ll need, the work you missed, the work you’ll never do the same way again, the sleep you’ve lost. Then we present it in the form the carrier can’t ignore.
We Try Cases When We Need To
Insurance carriers track which firms litigate and which firms fold at the first counteroffer. We litigate. Our reputation in Maricopa County Superior Court moves settlement numbers before we ever set foot in a courtroom and when settlement isn’t realistic, we go.
“Runion Personal Injury Lawyers has the experience to handle your case from the beginning according to best practices. That means that we’re gathering crucial evidence from the outset and ensuring that it’s preserved so that we can make a liability argument”
Derick Runion
What Can I Expect to Pay?
Runion handles every personal injury case on contingency: no retainer, no hourly fees, no upfront costs. The firm’s fee is a percentage of the recovery (typically 33% pre-litigation, higher if it goes to trial), and if there’s no recovery, the client owes nothing. Runion advances all case costs (investigators, experts, filing fees, depositions) and is only reimbursed from the settlement if they win.
The Net Recovery Guarantee promises in writing that the client will never pay the firm more in legal fees than they personally take home. If the firm’s share would exceed the client’s, Runion reduces its fee so the client keeps more. This addresses the common problem where standard contingency fees plus advanced costs can leave a client with less than their attorney.
The initial consultation is free and carries no obligation. If the case isn’t worth pursuing, the client walks away with no fee — the goal is an honest assessment, not a signup.
Our Process for Handling Your Case
Common Questions We Hear From Phoenix Injury Victims
Two years from the date of injury in most cases (A.R.S. § 12-542). Claims against the City of Phoenix, Maricopa County, or any other Arizona government entity carry a much shorter window you must file a Notice of Claim within 180 days. Talk to an attorney as soon as possible after the injury, because gathering evidence and witness statements gets harder every week that passes.
Will I have to go to court?
Most personal injury cases settle before trial. But the firms that get the strongest settlements are the ones the insurance companies know will go to court if pushed. We prepare every case as if it’s going to trial — that’s what creates settlement leverage. Whether you actually appear in court is something we discuss with you as the case develops.
What if I’m partially at fault for my accident?
Arizona’s pure comparative negligence rule (A.R.S. § 12-2505) means you can still recover even if you were partly at fault your recovery is just reduced by your percentage of fault. This rule frequently comes up in motorcycle cases and pedestrian cases where adjusters reflexively assign fault to the injured party. Don’t let an adjuster talk you out of pursuing a claim because they’re saying “you were partly to blame.” That’s exactly the moment to call a lawyer.
What if the at-fault driver doesn’t have insurance?
Arizona requires drivers to carry liability coverage but many don’t, and many who do carry only the minimum (25/50/15). If you have UM/UIM (uninsured/underinsured motorist) coverage on your own policy, that may apply. We also investigate every other potential source of compensation — employer liability if the driver was on the job, dram shop claims in DUI cases, vehicle defect claims, and bad faith insurance claims ⚠️ when your own carrier denies a legitimate UM/UIM claim. There are often more options than people realize.
Should I give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company?
No. Politely refuse and call a lawyer first. Recorded statements are taken for one reason: to get you to say something the carrier can use later to reduce or deny your claim. You are not legally required to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company.
What if I haven’t seen a doctor yet?
See one today. Even if you feel “okay.” Adrenaline can mask injuries for days after a crash, and gaps in medical treatment are the single most common thing insurance carriers use to argue you weren’t really hurt. This is especially critical in car accident cases and commercial truck collisions where soft-tissue and brain injuries may not present symptoms for days. If cost is a concern, we can help you find Phoenix providers who treat injured patients on a lien basis — paid out of the settlement, not up front.
How much is my Phoenix personal injury case worth?
It depends on the severity of your injuries, your past and future medical bills, your lost income, your future earning capacity, the strength of liability evidence, and the available insurance coverage. Any lawyer who quotes you a dollar figure before reviewing your medical records and the crash report is guessing. Our past case results give you a sense of what serious cases have recovered, but every case turns on its own facts. After we review yours, we’ll give you a realistic range — not a sales pitch.
How long does a Phoenix personal injury case take?
A simpler case with clear liability and a quick medical recovery can settle in 4 to 8 months. A serious injury case with disputed liability or significant future medical care typically takes 12 to 24 months. Wrongful death cases and commercial truck cases often run longer because of the higher dollar value and the number of parties involved. Cases that go to trial in Maricopa County Superior Court can run longer still. We give you a realistic timeline at intake, not the optimistic one.
Gathering Evidence Relating to Your Case
Evidence is the difference between a case that settles fairly and a case that gets lowballed or denied. Here’s what matters most, and how quickly some of it disappears in Phoenix specifically.
Phoenix-specific time-sensitive evidence:
- ADOT traffic cameras: The Arizona Department of Transportation manages cameras across I-10, I-17, Loop 101, Loop 202, and US-60. Footage retention varies by location, many cameras overwrite in 24 to 72 hours. A formal preservation demand sent immediately can freeze this footage. Without one, it’s gone. This footage has been critical evidence in multiple cases our firm has handled on Phoenix freeways.
- Intersection cameras (City of Phoenix): Phoenix maintains traffic signal cameras at major intersections throughout the city. These are managed through the Phoenix Street Transportation Department. We know how to request this footage and how to issue preservation demands that city departments are legally required to comply with.
- Commercial dashcam and fleet tracking data: If your accident involved a commercial vehicle, delivery truck, rideshare, company car, there is almost certainly GPS tracking data and possibly dashcam footage that documents the driver’s route, speed, and behavior before the crash. This data is actively managed and can be deleted. We send preservation demands within hours of taking a case.
- Black box / EDR data from vehicles: Event Data Recorders in modern vehicles capture speed, braking force, seatbelt status, and steering inputs in the seconds before a crash. Extracting this data requires specialized equipment. It cannot be retrieved from memory after certain conditions, including if the vehicle is repaired or totaled. We move to preserve vehicles and extract EDR data in serious cases immediately.
Medical documentation, do this even if you feel okay:
- Go to the ER or urgent care same-day. Adrenaline suppresses pain. Many serious injuries, herniated discs, TBI, internal injuries, don’t present clearly for 24 to 72 hours. An ER visit creates a dated medical record that links your injuries to the accident.
- Follow up with every referral. Gaps in treatment are used by insurers to argue you weren’t as injured as claimed. Consistent treatment creates a documented picture of your recovery.
- Start a personal injury journal the day after the accident. Write down your pain levels (1 to 10), what activities you couldn’t do, sleep disruption, emotional impact. Do this every day. This journal is admissible evidence of non-economic damages.
Obtain the Phoenix PD report: If Phoenix Police responded to your accident, request the report through the Phoenix Police Department records portal. The report number is given at the scene. The full report typically becomes available within 5 to 10 business days. This is the foundational document in your case.
What Can I Expect to Pay?
Personal injury representation costs you nothing unless we win. That’s not a slogan, it’s how contingency fee agreements work, and it’s the only fee structure we use.
How contingency fees work in Arizona:
- You pay no retainer, no hourly fees, and no upfront costs.
- Our fee is a percentage of what we recover for you, typically 33% for pre-litigation settlements, higher if the case requires going to trial.
- If we don’t recover anything, you owe us nothing.
- We advance every case cost out of our own pocket: investigators, accident reconstruction experts, medical record retrieval, expert witness fees, court filing fees, deposition transcripts. You reimburse those costs from the settlement only if we win.
The Net Recovery Guarantee
You will never pay us more in legal fees than you take home from your case. In writing.
Most personal injury firms work on contingency — they take a percentage of your settlement plus reimbursement for the case costs they advanced. When those numbers stack up against a smaller-than-expected settlement, clients sometimes walk away with a check smaller than their attorney’s. Everyone has heard the horror stories.
That doesn’t happen here. With our Net Recovery Guarantee, if our share would exceed yours, we adjust our fee so it doesn’t. You keep more than we do. Every case. Every time. It’s the policy that exists because we know how often the standard contingency model produces an unfair result for the client, and we refuse to be part of that.
Your free consultation is exactly that, free, with no obligation to retain us. If you decide your case isn’t worth pursuing after we talk, we shake hands and you walk out. No fee. No pressure. The goal of the first conversation is to give you an honest answer about your legal options, not to sign you up.
What Our Clients Are Saying About Us
Why Choose Us Over Other Phoenix Personal Injury Attorneys?
Phoenix has hundreds of personal injury attorneys. Here is an honest breakdown of what sets Runion apart, and what to look for when you’re comparing firms.
We’re from Phoenix and we’re not leaving. Our founding attorney was born here, went to ASU twice, undergraduate and then law school at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, worked in Arizona law enforcement before becoming an attorney, and has practiced here since 2011. This is not a national firm that opened a Phoenix office for market share. This is home, and our entire practice is built around this community.
Before law, our founding attorney was a police officer. That background shapes how our firm investigates cases. We understand how accident scenes are processed, how police reports are written, what evidence law enforcement collects and what typically gets missed. When we review a Phoenix PD accident report, we’re reading it the way it was written, and we know what questions to ask about what isn’t in it. That perspective isn’t something you get from a textbook.
Over $50 million recovered since 2011, 99% success rate, with the cases to back it up. These numbers only mean something if you can verify them. Our case results are published with case type, injury, and outcome, not just a headline figure. You can see the $4.6M wrongful death result, the $2.7M product defect case, the $1.25M workplace collision. If a firm can’t show you their cases, the number is marketing. Ours is a record.
You work with the attorney directly, not a case manager. At high-volume PI firms, your case is handed to a paralegal after intake. At Runion, our attorneys review your file, take your calls, make the strategy decisions, and are in the room when your case is negotiated or tried. That’s the standard here, not an upgrade.
The Net Recovery Guarantee is in writing. If you’ve already received an offer from the insurance company and you hire us, we guarantee that after our fee and all case expenses, you will take home more than that offer. If we can’t beat it, we don’t charge. No other Phoenix PI firm we know of offers this as a contractual commitment.
Recognized credentials that mean something: Super Lawyers Rising Star (peer-reviewed), Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (ATAA), BBB Accredited Business, Maricopa County Bar Association.
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