Jarred Marks Personal injury
Four years from the date of the collision, under U.C.A. § 78B-2-307(4).
Utah Injury Claims · Deadlines
Four years for an injury claim, two for a death, and one year to serve notice if a government vehicle was involved. The dates below are the ones that end claims.
The short answer
Most Utah motor vehicle injury claims must be filed within four years. A claim for a death caused by someone else's wrongful act or neglect must be filed within two. Miss the date and the claim is gone, however strong it was.
The deadlines
Four years from the date of the collision, under U.C.A. § 78B-2-307(4).
Four years, under U.C.A. § 78B-2-307(3), which covers damage to your motor vehicle or to personal property from an accident involving one.
Two years from the date of death, under U.C.A. § 78B-2-304(3).
Two years, under U.C.A. § 78B-2-304(4) and (5), and subject to the notice requirement below.
Government vehicles
If the other driver was working for a Utah governmental entity, the ordinary deadline is not the one that will catch you out.
U.C.A. § 63G-7-402
A claim against a governmental entity, or against an employee acting within the scope of employment, is barred unless notice of claim is filed within one year after the claim arises.
The notice has to go to the right office, in the right form, within one year. After filing it you must wait 60 days before suing, under U.C.A. § 63G-7-403(2)(a)(ii), and the action itself must be commenced within two years after the claim arises, under U.C.A. § 63G-7-403(2)(b).
A city snowplough, a transit bus, a school district van and a police cruiser all sit inside this rule.
Why the deadline is the wrong target
Four years is the outer boundary of when a court will hear the case. It is not a description of when the claim can still be proven. Vehicles get repaired, dashcam and surveillance footage is overwritten within weeks, commercial vehicle data is retained only as long as a retention policy says, and witnesses stop remembering.
The work that decides a contested claim is done in the first month. The statute of limitations only tells you when it becomes impossible.
Related
How Utah's no-fault PIP system works, what PIP pays, and the six statutory ways to cross the threshold and claim pain and suffering from the at-fault driver.
A straight answer on when a Utah car accident claim needs a lawyer and when it does not, including the fault rule that bars recovery at an even split.
What actually determines the value of a Utah car accident claim: medical expenses, lost income, general damages, insurance limits, comparative fault and liens.
A case review costs nothing and takes about 15 minutes. If the claim does not need a lawyer, we will say so.