Unfortunately there's not much you can do. Damaged baggage claims must be filed within 24 hours of arrival at your nearst US Airways baggage office so that they can visually inspect the bag. I suspect that the window of opprotunity is so small so that the system is not open to abuse (ie bag arrives fine, 2 days later I drop it down the stairs....).

For what it's worth, you would not be able to file a claim for any protruding objects such as zippers. However, depending on where it was purchased, you may be able to use the bag's guarantee to have it repaired. I recently accidentally dropped a bag down a flight of stairs at a train station and the collapsable handle stopped working. I called Sears, where I had purchased the bag about 5 years ago, and asked if they were equipped to do luggage repairs. The rep told me to bring the bag along with receipt in, and Sears took care of the cost of repairing the handle even though handles/zippers/etc weren't covered under the manufacturer's warantee.