Compare the Law by State
We are licensed in all three states, and they differ more than most people expect — on deadlines, on what you can recover, and in one case on whether you have a claim at all. These pages put them side by side.
Personal Injury
Which State Caps Your Damages? California vs. Arizona vs. New Mexico
National advice about damage caps is written for the average state, and none of these three is average. One forbids caps constitutionally, one caps a single category, and one runs three different systems depending on who caused the harm.
Compare →The Deadline That Ends Most Government Claims
This is the single most common way a good claim is lost. When a public entity is involved, the ordinary years-long deadline is replaced by a notice requirement measured in months — and all three states impose one, at different lengths.
Compare →How Long Do You Have? California vs. Arizona vs. New Mexico
The headline number is easy. The deadlines hiding underneath it are what actually cost people their claims — and each of these states hides a different one.
Compare →Dog Bite Law Compared: California, Arizona and New Mexico
Two of these states hold a dog owner responsible for a first bite. The third generally does not. And the state with the strongest claim also has the shortest deadline to bring it.
Compare →Wrongful Death
Who Can Bring the Claim? California vs. Arizona vs. New Mexico
The first question a grieving family asks is often whether they are the right person to bring a claim at all. All three states answer it by statute, and they answer it differently enough that assuming is a mistake.
Compare →What a Family Can Recover: California vs. Arizona vs. New Mexico
These three states measure the same loss in three different ways, and the differences are not technical — they change what a family is allowed to be compensated for.
Compare →Insurance Bad Faith
Can I Sue My Insurer Under a Statute? California vs. Arizona vs. New Mexico
Every state tells insurers what they may not do when handling a claim. Only one of these three lets a policyholder sue over it. That difference decides what kind of case you have before anything else is considered.
Compare →Can You Sue the Other Side’s Insurer? California vs. Arizona vs. New Mexico
When an insurer mistreats its own policyholder, that policyholder can sue. The harder question is whether the person the policyholder injured can. In two of these states the answer is no, and in one it is sometimes yes.
Compare →General information, not legal advice. Which state’s law applies to your situation is itself a legal question.