Yes - if you were driving for DoorDash in Arizona, you usually do not get workers' compensation, and that can mean a lawsuit is one of your main options instead.

Picture a Chandler driver picking up food near Arizona Avenue on a July evening, then getting hit on Loop 202 when a tire-blown pickup swerves across lanes. DoorDash says, "You're an independent contractor, not an employee," so there is no Arizona workers' comp claim through DoorDash's insurer. That does not mean you are out of luck. It usually means you look at third-party claims instead - against the at-fault driver, a trucking company, a road contractor, or someone else whose negligence caused the wreck.

Here's how the general rules work in Arizona:

• Workers' comp usually covers employees, not gig drivers. Arizona workers' comp claims go through the Industrial Commission of Arizona, but app-based drivers are commonly treated as independent contractors.
• If there is no workers' comp, you may pursue a personal injury claim against the person or company that caused the crash.
• If a dangerous road condition played a role - loose gravel, poor signage, unmarked lane changes, debris, or heavy-truck traffic on summer highways - liability might involve a contractor or government agency, depending on the facts.
• If another driver caused it, you can usually claim against that driver's insurance and possibly UM/UIM coverage if the policy applies.
• Arizona's general deadline to file a personal injury lawsuit is usually 2 years under A.R.S. § 12-542. Claims against a public entity have much shorter notice rules.

DoorDash may also have liability coverage in some situations, but that is not the same as workers' comp. If the app company told you "workers' comp doesn't apply," that part may be true. It does not mean you cannot bring a claim.