Medical Malpractice in Phoenix: What Is Local About an Arizona Claim

By Joe Styler, editor (not an attorney). Updated October 9, 2026. Sources checked

The law behind a malpractice claim is the same across Arizona. What changes in Phoenix is the map. The county’s downtown court complex is here, the City of Phoenix has its own claim office and claim form, the Phoenix Fire Department answers medical calls, and the Arizona Medical Board keeps its office here. Below, each one in turn, with what the official pages do and do not say.

The downtown court complex

The Superior Court in Maricopa County lists five buildings in its downtown Phoenix complex: the Central Court Building, the East Court Building, the West Court Building, the South Court Tower and the Old Courthouse.

In that directory, Civil appears under the East Court Building, at 101 W Jefferson St. The Central Court Building is tagged for Criminal, Family and Alternative Dispute Resolution. A directory tag is not a promise about where any one case will be heard, and the court’s pages do not say that.

Filing papers with the Clerk

Filing is handled by a separate office, the Clerk of the Superior Court. The Clerk accepts civil documents online, by mail, or at four public counters: one downtown at 201 W. Jefferson, one in Mesa, one in Surprise and one on North 40th Street in north Phoenix. The Clerk says eFiling in civil cases is mandatory for attorneys, while people representing themselves may still file on paper.

For where filing a lawsuit sits among the other steps, see our guide to how a medical malpractice claim works in Arizona.

Claims against the City of Phoenix

Phoenix is a city, and its Risk Management office processes property and liability claims made against it. The city publishes a claim form in English and in Spanish. On its claim page the city reminds readers that state law requires claims to be filed with the City Clerk’s Office within 180 days after the cause of action accrues. The page gives this filing address: City of Phoenix City Clerk Department, 200 W Washington Street, 15th Floor, Phoenix, AZ 85003.

The form itself adds three points:

• It cites A.R.S. 12-821.01 and says the claim must contain enough facts for the city to understand why it is being held liable, plus a specific dollar amount for settlement and the facts that support that amount.
• It says a proper notice of claim has to be filed before anyone can sue a public entity, and that the lawsuit itself must come within one year after the cause of action accrues.
• It says each person making a claim against the city must fill out a separate form.

Note the two addresses. Risk Management processes claims, but the form is filed with the City Clerk. The accrual date, the amount and the supporting facts are all things a lawyer works out with you. Nothing you send us stops or pauses a deadline, and the 180-day window can close long before the general two-year period.

When a Phoenix Fire Department crew was involved

The Phoenix Fire Department is a department of the city. The city says its roughly 1,900 firefighters provide emergency medical care and medical transportation as well as fire suppression. If a city crew treated you, the care may have come from public employees, and the public-entity rules above can apply. Arizona’s definition of a public employee leaves out independent contractors, so who employed each person matters, and a lawyer checks it. Our page on claims against public hospitals and public employees explains the notice requirement in full.

Claims against Maricopa County

The county uses a different office. Its claim form tells people with claims against Maricopa County, members of its Board of Supervisors, or a special district whose directors are the Board members, to return the form by mail or hand delivery to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, 301 W. Jefferson, 10th Floor. The form repeats that a lawsuit against a public entity or public employee must be brought within one year after the cause of action accrues. The Clerk of the Board says its office cannot comment on whether a claim is valid and cannot give legal advice.

One caution. Maricopa County’s site lists a special health care district among the taxing districts in the county. Under Title 48, a special health care district may run hospitals and clinics and may sue and be sued, and its board is made up of five residents of the district who are not state or county officials. We did not confirm who receives claims against that kind of district, so do not assume the county form’s address covers it.

Unsure whether a city or county body was part of your care? Request a free case review.

The Arizona Medical Board’s office is in Phoenix

The Arizona Medical Board is at 1740 W Adams, Suite 4000, in Phoenix. It regulates medical doctors (MDs) under the Arizona Medical Practice Act, and its authority is limited to violations of that act. Doctors of osteopathic medicine (DOs) answer to a different body, the Arizona Board of Osteopathic Examiners in Medicine and Surgery.

A board complaint is a separate process and does not file a lawsuit. The Medical Board also says information from its investigations cannot be shared with the person who complained or used in a malpractice lawsuit. Our page on a Medical Board complaint compared with a lawsuit sets out what each one can do.

Private hospitals, practices and clinics

When no public body is involved, the general deadline governs: an injury claim, including medical malpractice, must generally be started within two years after the cause of action accrues (A.R.S. 12-542). In a claim against a health care professional, the claimant must also certify whether expert testimony is needed, and if it is, serve a preliminary expert opinion affidavit with the initial disclosures. Our page on the expert affidavit in Arizona covers that step, and our overview of Arizona medical malpractice law lists the statutes behind it.

Phoenix questions

Where is a civil case filed in Maricopa County?

With the Clerk of the Superior Court, online, by mail or at a public counter, including the downtown one. Attorneys must eFile civil cases. The court’s directory lists its Civil Department at the East Court Building, but it does not say where any single case will be heard.

Who receives a claim against the City of Phoenix?

The City Clerk Department, at the address on the city’s claim page. The city says state law requires the claim within 180 days after the cause of action accrues, and each person making a claim needs a separate form. Nothing you send us stops or pauses a deadline.

Does a complaint to the Arizona Medical Board start a lawsuit?

No. A board complaint is its own process, and filing one does not file a lawsuit. The board acts on violations of the Arizona Medical Practice Act by MDs, and it says what its investigators gather cannot be used in a malpractice case.