Arizona's Constitution bars the legislature from putting a dollar cap on the damages a person can recover for an injury or death. Two provisions do the work: Article 2, Section 31 and Article 18, Section 6. That is one reason claim value here turns on the facts of each case rather than a ceiling set by statute.
What the two provisions say
Article 2, Section 31 states: "No law shall be enacted in this state limiting the amount of damages to be recovered for causing the death or injury of any person." It contains an exception for one narrow situation: a crime victim cannot be sued for damages by someone injured while that person was attempting, engaging in, or fleeing from conduct classified as a felony.
Article 18, Section 6 is a companion. It says that "the right of action to recover damages for injuries shall never be abrogated, and the amount recovered shall not be subject to any statutory limitation." It carries the same felony-related exception for crime victims.
Read together, the two provisions protect both the right to bring an injury claim and the amount that can be recovered from being capped by statute. In Arizona, the constitution takes that option away from the legislature.
What "no cap" does and does not mean
It helps to be precise about what these provisions do. They restrict laws that limit the amount of damages. They do not promise any particular result in any particular case.
A claim is still worth only what the evidence supports. The medical picture, the fault evidence, the available insurance, and the ability to collect all still shape the outcome. We explain why in our piece on why no online calculator can value an Arizona injury case.
Fault also still matters. Arizona applies comparative fault, so a person who is partly responsible has their recovery reduced in proportion to their share, as we cover in our explainer on pure comparative fault and claim value. The absence of a cap does not change that reduction.
Deadlines are unaffected too. A claim filed too late can be barred no matter how large the damages would have been, which is the subject of our article on Arizona's two-year filing deadline.
Why this shapes how claims are valued
Without a statutory ceiling, there is no automatic upper limit built into the analysis. Value is driven by proof of the actual losses: treatment already received, care expected in the future, lost income and earning capacity, and the human impact of the injury. That is one reason a serious injury can be valued very differently depending on how well those losses are documented.
The flip side is that a lack of caps does not make large outcomes common or likely. Practical limits still apply, including the amount of available insurance coverage and whether a responsible party has assets that can be collected. A constitutional bar on caps says nothing about those.
Where caps can still appear
This article covers only the two constitutional provisions quoted above. Whether any other rule limits recovery in a specific claim is a separate legal question that is worth reviewing with a licensed Arizona attorney.
The takeaway
Arizona's constitution keeps the legislature from capping injury and death damages, and it protects the right of action itself. What it does not do is set the value of any individual claim. That still depends on evidence, fault, insurance, and timing.
This article explains Arizona constitutional law in general terms and is not legal advice or a prediction about any specific case. Anyone with questions about their own claim should consult a licensed Arizona attorney.