Medical Malpractice in Tempe, Arizona

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

Before anyone can say which Arizona deadline fits care you received in Tempe, someone has to pin down who provided it. In Tempe there are several possible answers. The city runs its own ambulances, a private ambulance company also works there under a city contract, and Arizona State University sits in Tempe under the control of the Arizona Board of Regents. Each answer can point to a different set of rules.

Two kinds of ambulance in Tempe

Tempe’s fire department has been called the Tempe Fire Medical Rescue Department since 2014, a name the city says reflects its all-hazards mission. In 2017 it launched a city-run ambulance service. The city’s ambulance page says its six ambulances, each with an emergency medical services crew, supplement service from a private ambulance company under city contract.

So a 911 ride in Tempe may have been in a city ambulance or in the contractor’s. That difference can matter. Arizona’s special deadlines for claims against government apply to a public entity or a public employee, and A.R.S. 12-820 excludes independent contractors from the meaning of public employee. Who employed the crew is a fact a lawyer can confirm.

Tempe gives one practical clue. It says patients who had city-provided ambulance service are billed directly by Tempe Fire Medical Rescue, at fees set by the Arizona Department of Health Services rate schedule. Keep any ambulance bill you received.

A state university in the city

Under A.R.S. 15-1601, the Arizona Board of Regents maintains Arizona State University at Tempe, and A.R.S. 15-1625 says the Board has jurisdiction and control over the universities. Arizona’s claim statutes define “state” to include any state agency, board, commission or department. If you were treated at a clinic run by a state university, the public-body rules may come into play. We have not verified where a notice about university care would be delivered, so we do not say. Ask a lawyer early.

Who provided the care, and which rules may follow

Care in Tempe and the rules that may apply. This is general information; using our form does not pause a deadline or stop one from running.

Who provided the care	Rules that may apply	Statutes
A Tempe Fire Medical Rescue crew or city ambulance	Notice of claim within 180 days of accrual, then a lawsuit within one year	A.R.S. 12-821.01; 12-821
The private ambulance company under city contract	Depends on who employed the crew; ask a lawyer	A.R.S. 12-820 (contractor exclusion)
A clinic run by a state university	The public-body question may arise; ask a lawyer	A.R.S. 12-820; 15-1601; 15-1625
A private hospital, practice or clinic	Generally two years from accrual	A.R.S. 12-542

For the last row, the two-year rule and how its start date is set are explained on our Arizona filing deadlines page. For the first three, our page on notices of claim against public bodies goes further.

How the City of Tempe says claims must be filed

Tempe’s Risk Management office handles liability and property claims against the city, using a Notice of Claim Form. The city’s page says state law gives 180 days from accrual to file these claims at the City Clerk’s Office. It advises delivering a claim by hand, by appointment, to the City Clerk’s Office at 31 E. 5th Street, 2nd Floor, to avoid long waits. The page gives an email address only for booking that appointment.

Tempe’s page refers to “Arizona state statute” without a section number. The notice-of-claim statute is A.R.S. 12-821.01. It also requires facts explaining the basis on which the city is said to be liable, a specific amount for which the claim can be settled, and the facts behind that amount, and it bars a claim filed late. A separate statute, A.R.S. 12-821, gives one year from accrual to sue.

That is the city’s account of its process, not our instruction to you. In practice a lawyer drafts the notice and handles its delivery. Using our form does not pause a deadline or stop one from running.

Want someone to look at who treated you and when? Request a free case review.

Courts and the medical board

Tempe is in Maricopa County. The county’s Board of Supervisors voted to incorporate it in 1894. The Superior Court’s list of locations shows no court facility in Tempe itself, and this page does not say which location would hear any case.

Some readers want a doctor’s conduct looked at as well as their own losses. A complaint to the Arizona Medical Board and a lawsuit are separate tracks with different purposes, compared on our page about a medical board complaint or a lawsuit. For the whole sequence of a claim, from records to trial, see how malpractice claims move forward in Arizona.

Questions about care in Tempe

Was my Tempe ambulance a city ambulance?

Not necessarily. Tempe says its six city ambulances supplement a private ambulance company under city contract. Tempe also says patients who had city-provided ambulance service are billed directly by Tempe Fire Medical Rescue, so the bill may be one clue. A lawyer can confirm who employed the crew.

Does care at a university clinic in Tempe follow different rules?

It may. State law says the Arizona Board of Regents maintains Arizona State University at Tempe and has jurisdiction and control over the universities. Whether the public-body deadlines reach a particular clinic or person is a question to put to a lawyer early.

Does Tempe accept a notice of claim by email?

Tempe’s claims page recommends hand delivery to the City Clerk’s Office by appointment, and lists an email address only for requesting that appointment. A lawyer normally handles delivery. Using our form does not pause a deadline or stop one from running.