Two years is Arizona's deadline to file most injury claims under A.R.S. § 12-542.

The insurance company will tell you that your own words - "I'm fine" - mean you were not hurt, so your claim is minor or worth almost nothing. If they already called, they may push for a recorded statement, ask you to sign medical releases, and act like the file can be closed fast. That is the part designed to save them money.

What is actually true: saying you felt fine at the scene does not automatically kill an Arizona claim.

That happens all the time on I-8 near Yuma, especially in summer when tire blowouts, tourist traffic, and hard stops leave people full of adrenaline. Neck, back, and head symptoms often show up hours later or the next morning. Older adults are especially vulnerable because stiffness, dizziness, and bleeding can be delayed, and Medicare will still expect its interests to be protected if it pays accident-related bills.

What hurts your case is what happens next.

• Get medical care now, even if urgent care or the ER feels like a hassle.
• Tell the doctor exactly when symptoms started and that this was a crash.
• If an adjuster calls, do not give a recorded statement right away.
• Do not post on Facebook about being "okay," traveling, yard work, or grandkids.
• Keep the AZ DPS or local crash report number, photos, discharge papers, and receipts.

Arizona follows pure comparative negligence, so insurers look for anything to shift blame and cut value. A casual "I'm fine," "I didn't see them," or "it was probably my fault" can become their favorite sentence.

If police were not called, you still need to document everything immediately. In Yuma, heat, highway speed, and truck traffic make "minor" crashes turn expensive fast.