Claims Against Public Hospitals and Clinics in Arizona: The 180-Day Notice

By Joe Styler, editor (not an attorney). Updated October 8, 2026. Sources checked

Most people who look into medical malpractice in Arizona hear about a two-year deadline. If the care came from a public entity or a public employee, there is an earlier step that many people never hear about. Arizona law requires a notice of claim filed within 180 days after the cause of action accrues, and, with limited exceptions explained below, a claim that misses it is barred. This page explains what the statutes say about that notice, when the time starts, and the separate one-year deadline to file a lawsuit.

Why claims against public bodies have their own rules

Arizona has separate statutes for claims against public bodies and public employees. They add requirements that do not apply when the other side is a private person or company. Two of them matter most here:

• A notice of claim against a public entity, public school or public employee, filed within 180 days (A.R.S. 12-821.01).
• A lawsuit against a public entity or public employee, brought within one year (A.R.S. 12-821).

Both deadlines are shorter than the general two-year period in A.R.S. 12-542. If you only know about the two years, you could miss the first deadline without realizing it existed.

What counts as a public entity or a public employee

The definitions are in A.R.S. 12-820. In plain terms:

• Public entity includes the state and any of its political subdivisions.
• State includes the state’s agencies, boards, commissions and departments.
• Public employee means an employee of a public entity. The statute counts paid and unpaid, full-time and part-time workers. It does not count independent contractors.

These definitions do not mention hospitals, clinics or health care at all. Nothing in them lists which medical facilities are public.

It is often hard to tell from the outside

A patient usually cannot tell from the sign on the building, the hospital’s name or the paperwork whether the place that treated them is run by a public body. The same goes for the people who treated them. Because the definition of a public employee leaves out independent contractors, a doctor working inside a facility is not automatically a public employee, and a patient has no easy way to know how that doctor was hired. A claim can involve both a facility and the people who worked there, and the rules can differ for each. That is part of what a lawyer checks.

That uncertainty is the reason to ask early. If there is any chance the care came from a public facility or a public employee, a lawyer can look into who the right party is while the 180-day window may still be open. Waiting until you are sure can use up the time.

The notice of claim: 180 days

A.R.S. 12-821.01(A) says that people who have claims against a public entity, a public school or a public employee must file the claim within 180 days after the cause of action accrues. The statute calls this a notice of claim. It is not a lawsuit. Under 12-821.01(E), a claim against a public entity or public employee is treated as denied 60 days after it is filed, unless the claimant is told of a denial in writing sooner.

Where the notice goes

The statute says the claim is filed with the person or persons authorized to accept service for the public entity, public school or public employee, as set out in the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure. This page does not say who that is for any particular facility or employee. Getting this right is part of what a lawyer checks.

What the notice must contain

Under 12-821.01(A), the notice must include:

• Facts sufficient to let the public entity, public school or public employee understand the basis on which liability is claimed.
• A specific amount for which the claim can be settled.
• The facts supporting that amount.

How to set and support the amount is a question for a lawyer.

What happens if it is late

The statute is direct. A claim that is not filed within 180 days after the cause of action accrues is barred, and no action may be maintained on it.

Sending our form does not stop or pause the 180-day period or any other deadline.

When the 180 days start

For this notice, 12-821.01(B) gives its own rule for when a cause of action accrues. It accrues when the damaged person realizes they have been damaged and knows, or reasonably should know, the cause, source, act, event, instrumentality or condition that caused or contributed to the damage. If a claim must first go through a required dispute resolution, administrative or review process, 12-821.01(C) says it does not accrue until that process ends.

That means the clock does not always start on the day of the treatment. Working out the actual start date for a particular person depends on their facts, and it can be complicated. Please do not count the days yourself and assume you have time. A lawyer can look at your dates.

Children and people who cannot act for themselves

The notice statute has a separate timing rule for some people. Under 12-821.01(D), a minor or an insane or incompetent person (the statute’s words) may file the claim within 180 days after the disability ceases.

That rule is about the notice of claim, and about the child’s own claim. A parent’s own claims may have different deadlines, so ask a lawyer about those too. Different timing rules can apply to children in other parts of a case, and this page does not cover how the one-year lawsuit deadline works for a minor. If the patient is a child or an adult who could not manage their own affairs, ask a lawyer to check every deadline that may apply. Sending our form does not stop or pause any deadline.

The lawsuit deadline: one year

The notice of claim is the first step. A lawsuit is a separate step with its own deadline. A.R.S. 12-821 says all actions against any public entity or public employee must be brought within one year after the cause of action accrues.

Filing a notice of claim and filing a lawsuit are two different things, and meeting the first deadline does not take care of the second. Both deadlines run from when the cause of action accrues, and they run at the same time. Neither statute says that filing a notice of claim pauses or extends the one-year deadline to sue. Sending our form does not stop or pause any deadline.

How this differs from the two-year rule

The general deadline for a medical malpractice claim in Arizona is in A.R.S. 12-542. It says an action for injury to a person, including medical malpractice, must generally be started within two years after the cause of action accrues. For a wrongful death claim, the two years run from the death.

Side by side:

• Private provider: generally two years to file a lawsuit (12-542).
• Public entity, public school or public employee: a notice of claim within 180 days (12-821.01).
• Public entity or public employee: a lawsuit within one year (12-821).

Our page on the Arizona medical malpractice statute of limitations covers the two-year rule in more detail, and the guide to how a medical malpractice claim works in Arizona walks through the larger process.

Want a lawyer to look at your dates and facts? Request a free case review.

What to gather now

Because the first deadline is short, start with what you have. Useful things to collect:

• The dates of the treatment, and the date you first realized something had gone wrong.
• The name and address of the facility, and any department or clinic name on your paperwork.
• Names of the people who treated you, if you know them.
• Discharge papers, bills, insurance statements and any letters from the facility.
• Your own notes about what happened and when, written down while you still remember it clearly.
• Any documents showing who runs or owns the facility, if you have them.

A lawsuit against a health care professional can also involve other steps, such as a preliminary expert opinion affidavit. Those are covered on our page about the expert affidavit in Arizona medical malpractice cases.

Federal facilities follow different rules

This page covers Arizona state law only. Care at federal facilities, such as VA hospitals, Indian Health Service facilities and military treatment facilities, follows different rules that are not covered here. If that is where you or a family member was treated, ask a lawyer about the deadlines soon.

Common questions

Is a notice of claim the same as a lawsuit?

No. Under A.R.S. 12-821.01, a notice of claim is a claim filed within 180 days after the cause of action accrues. A lawsuit is a separate step, and A.R.S. 12-821 says actions against a public entity or public employee must be brought within one year after the cause of action accrues.

What happens if the notice of claim is filed late?

A.R.S. 12-821.01(A) says a claim that is not filed within 180 days after the cause of action accrues is barred, and no action may be maintained on it.

How do I know if the hospital or doctor was public?

Often you cannot tell from the outside. The definitions in A.R.S. 12-820 cover the state, its political subdivisions and their employees, but they do not name any hospitals or clinics, and they leave out independent contractors. A lawyer can look into it.

Does the 180 days start on the day of treatment?

Not necessarily. Under A.R.S. 12-821.01(B), the cause of action accrues when the person realizes they have been damaged and knows, or reasonably should know, what caused or contributed to the damage. Working out that date for a particular person depends on the facts.