T-Bone Accident Lawyer in Phoenix, Arizona

Intersection Right-of-Way: Left Turns Under A.R.S. § 28-772

Most T-bone collisions happen at intersections, and Arizona's right-of-way statutes decide most of them. The left-turn statute, A.R.S. § 28-772, provides that a driver intending to turn left within an intersection or into an alley, private road, or driveway must yield the right of way to any vehicle approaching from the opposite direction that is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard.

That phrasing matters. The turning driver is not entitled to turn because the light is green — a circular green permits the turn but does not confer the right of way over oncoming traffic. A protected green arrow does. The distinction between a permissive green ball and a protected arrow is frequently the entire liability dispute, and it is answered by the signal phasing at that specific intersection at that specific time of day, not by either driver's memory.

The common defense in a left-turn T-bone is that the oncoming driver was speeding or ran the light, and that the turning driver was already committed to the turn. Arizona's pure comparative fault system under A.R.S. § 12-2505 means both things can be true: a turning driver who failed to yield and an oncoming driver traveling well over the limit can both carry a percentage. Speed is provable through event data recorder downloads and reconstruction from crush and post-impact travel, not through estimates.

A related scenario is the left turn across a bicycle lane or a crosswalk, where the turning driver strikes a cyclist or pedestrian rather than another vehicle. Those claims are governed by separate right-of-way rules and are addressed on our pedestrian and bicycle accident page.

Red Lights, Stop Signs, and Uncontrolled Intersections

Arizona's intersection rules extend well beyond left turns:

• A.R.S. § 28-771 governs right of way at intersections generally, including the rule for two vehicles entering an uncontrolled intersection at approximately the same time — the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right — and the duty of a driver entering from a stop sign to yield to traffic that is close enough to be an immediate hazard.
• Traffic control signal obedience is governed by A.R.S. § 28-645, which defines what a steady red, a steady yellow, and a green signal require. A steady red requires a stop before the crosswalk or stop line; a right turn on red is permitted after a complete stop unless a sign prohibits it, and only after yielding.
• Stopping and yielding requirements at stop and yield signs are set out in A.R.S. § 28-855, which also requires stopping at a clearly marked stop line or, where none exists, before entering the crosswalk.

A stop sign case is not automatically decided by the stop. A driver who stops fully and then pulls into the path of cross traffic has still failed to yield. The stop is a prerequisite; the yield is the duty.

The hard cases are the ones where the intersection is partially obstructed — a landscaping bed, a parked delivery truck, a signal pole, or a wall that blocks sightlines. Arizona requires a driver to look and to keep looking, and a sightline obstruction generally does not excuse entering the intersection blind. Where the obstruction is on public property and the entity knew about it, a claim against the public entity may exist, subject to the 180-day notice of claim requirement in A.R.S. § 12-821.01 — see government entity injury claims. Certain Phoenix-area intersections generate crashes repeatedly; our post on the most dangerous intersections in Phoenix discusses why some layouts produce more of them.

Side-Impact Injury Severity: There Is Almost No Crush Space

A frontal collision has a hood, an engine bay, and an engineered crumple zone between the impact and the occupant — several feet of structure whose job is to absorb energy. A side impact has a door skin, a door beam, and a few inches of trim. The occupant is essentially adjacent to the point of impact.

That geometry produces a characteristic injury profile:

• Pelvic and hip fractures from direct door intrusion, and acetabular fractures that often require surgical fixation.
• Rib fractures, pulmonary contusion, pneumothorax, and splenic or liver laceration on the struck side.
• Lateral bending injuries to the cervical and thoracic spine, and spinal fracture from combined lateral and rotational loading.
• Traumatic brain injury from head contact with the B-pillar, door frame, window, or the intruding vehicle — and side curtain airbags, where equipped, are the only thing standing between the head and that structure.
• Shoulder, clavicle, and upper arm fractures on the impact side.
• Injuries to far-side occupants, who slide laterally across the seat and load into the center console or the near-side occupant.

Children in the struck-side rear seat are especially exposed, because the same intrusion reaches a smaller body with less protective anatomy.

The severity of these injuries is why T-bone cases so often become high-value claims with catastrophic components. Where the outcome includes permanent impairment, life care needs, or a brain or spinal cord injury, the case is analyzed the way our catastrophic injury page describes: with medical experts, life care planning, and economic analysis rather than a bill-total multiplier. Motorcyclists struck in the side have no structure at all, which is a separate analysis covered on our motorcycle accident page.

Proving Who Had the Light

In a signalized-intersection T-bone, the entire case usually reduces to one question, and both drivers usually answer it the same way: I had the green. Here is how that fight is actually resolved.

• Signal timing and phasing data. Municipal and county traffic departments maintain signal timing plans, and many controllers log phase changes and detector actuations. Obtaining the timing plan for that intersection and time of day allows a reconstructionist to determine whether the two drivers' accounts are even physically possible — if the cross phases cannot be green simultaneously, one account is wrong.
• Intersection and corridor cameras. Some intersections have traffic-monitoring cameras; many do not record. Separately, the surrounding businesses — gas stations, drive-throughs, dealerships, storage facilities — often have cameras pointed at the roadway. This footage typically overwrites within days, so preservation letters go out immediately.
• Vehicle data. Event data recorders can capture pre-crash speed, throttle, brake application, and seat belt status in the seconds before impact. A driver who never braked entering an intersection is a driver who believed he had the light, which is itself evidence about what he was looking at. Newer vehicles may also have forward-facing camera or ADAS event data.
• Physical evidence. Point of impact, crush direction, post-impact rotation and rest positions, and skid or scuff marks let a reconstructionist compute approach speeds and reconstruct the entry sequence.
• Independent witnesses. Witnesses in cars stopped at the cross street are the most valuable, because they were watching a signal head themselves. Their statements need to be obtained early, before memories consolidate around what they later heard.
• Phone records. If either driver was on a device, the timing lines up against the crash time and speaks to attention.

The result of the "both claim green" fight is usually determined by the party who preserved the objective evidence, not by who told the more confident story.

What We Do When We Take an Intersection Collision Case

• Send preservation letters within days to both vehicle owners, nearby businesses, and any commercial carrier involved, demanding vehicles be held for inspection and video be preserved.
• Request signal timing plans and any controller logs for the intersection, and photograph sightlines from each approach at the same time of day and in the same light conditions.
• Arrange event data recorder imaging before either vehicle is repaired, salvaged, or released to auction. Once the vehicle is gone, the data is gone.
• Canvass for witnesses and video along both approaches rather than relying on the names in the crash report.
• Identify every insurance layer: the at-fault driver, any employer if the driver was working, the vehicle owner, and your own UM/UIM and medical payments coverage.
• Address any public entity potential immediately, because the 180-day notice of claim deadline runs from when the claim accrues.
• Build the medical record properly — mechanism documented, specialists engaged, imaging obtained where indicated, and functional loss described in terms a jury understands.
• Handle all insurer communication and give no recorded statement without preparation. See talking to the adjuster.
• Resolve health plan and provider liens so the net recovery is protected. See how medical liens work.

We work on a contingency fee: the consultation is free, we advance the cost of reconstruction and expert work, and there is no fee unless we recover. T-bone collisions are one collision type within our broader car accident practice.