Statewide Utah Representation
Utah Car Accident LawyerYour Insurance Pays First. It Was Never Meant to Pay Enough.
Utah's no-fault system sends your own PIP to cover the first medical bills, and most people assume that is the claim. It is a floor. Whether you can pursue the driver who actually caused the crash turns on a legal threshold in Utah Code § 31A-22-309, and on how carefully your injuries were documented from day one.
The Difference
Why a Utah Car Accident Claim Isn't Straightforward
Three things separate a real recovery from the cheque the insurer wants you to cash this week.
No-Fault Hides the Real Claim
PIP pays your first bills regardless of who caused the crash, which feels like the system working. It also caps out quickly and pays nothing for pain and suffering. Most people never learn there was a second, larger claim available.
A Threshold Decides Everything
Utah Code § 31A-22-309 bars general damages unless you meet a specific injury criterion or exceed $3,000 in medical expenses. Whether you cross that line is often decided by how thoroughly your treatment is documented in the first weeks.
The Offer Comes Too Early
Adjusters settle before the full picture exists. Soft-tissue and head injuries surface weeks later, and once you sign a release, the claim is closed no matter what the MRI shows afterward.
The No-Fault Threshold
When You Can Step Outside No-Fault and Sue
This single statute decides whether your claim is limited to your own PIP or opens onto the at-fault driver's policy.
Utah Code § 31A-22-309(1)(a) says a person covered by PIP may not maintain a cause of action for general damages from an automobile accident unless they sustain at least one of the following:
- Death
- Dismemberment
- Permanent disability or permanent impairment based upon objective findings
- Permanent disfigurement
- A bone fracture
- Medical expenses in excess of $3,000
Meet any one and the threshold is cleared. "General damages" is the part that matters: pain and suffering, and the human cost the medical bills never capture.
Uninsured claims are exempt Important
Subsection (1)(b) provides that the threshold does not apply to a person making an uninsured motorist claim. If the driver who hit you had no insurance or fled, you do not have to clear it at all.
$3,000 is closer than it sounds Practical
An ambulance ride, an emergency room visit, imaging, and a short course of physical therapy will often pass it. Whether it is documented and billed properly is a different question.
Objective findings matter Evidence
Permanent impairment must rest on objective findings, not on how you describe the pain. Consistent treatment and the right imaging are what make that provable later.
Utah & Local Law
The Utah Laws That Decide Your Car Accident Claim
Four provisions do most of the work in an ordinary Utah collision case.
The no-fault threshold. General damages are barred unless there is death, dismemberment, permanent disability or impairment on objective findings, permanent disfigurement, a bone fracture, or medical expenses over $3,000.
Uninsured motorist exemption. The threshold does not apply to a person making an uninsured motorist claim.
Your PIP insurer is on a clock. Benefits are overdue 30 days after reasonable proof, and overdue amounts bear interest at 1.5% per month.
Fees shift on overdue PIP. If an insurer has to be sued to pay overdue benefits, it is also required to pay the claimant a reasonable attorney fee.
Comparative fault. You recover as long as you are less than 50% at fault, reduced by your share. Inflating your percentage is how insurers cut the bill.
Four-year deadline. Four years from the date of the accident for both the injury claim and the vehicle damage claim. Wrongful death is shorter, and government claims shorter still.
Rarely Enforced
Your PIP Insurer Has 30 Days. Then It Owes You Interest.
Most people treat a slow PIP payout as normal. Utah law does not.
Utah Code § 31A-22-309(5) sets out a payment schedule your own insurer is bound by, and it is far more specific than most claimants realise:
- PIP benefits are paid monthly, as expenses are incurred
- A benefit is overdue if not paid within 30 days of the insurer receiving reasonable proof of the expense
- Where only part of a claim is proven, that part is still overdue on the same 30-day clock
- Overdue amounts bear interest at 1.5% per month
- You may bring an action in contract to recover the expenses plus interest
- If the insurer is made to pay overdue benefits by that action, it must also pay your reasonable attorney fee
Why this matters Leverage
A delayed PIP payment is not just an inconvenience. It is a debt accruing interest, and one where the fee-shifting provision removes the usual reason not to push back.
Keep the proof Do this
The clock starts when the insurer receives reasonable proof of the expense. Date-stamped submissions of bills and records are what makes an overdue benefit provable.
It is separate from your injury claim Note
This runs against your own insurer under your own policy, independent of anything you pursue against the at-fault driver.
Types & Causes
The Utah Car Accidents We Handle
Different collision types fail in different ways, and each one changes what evidence matters.
Rear-End Collisions
The most common, and the most often dismissed as minor despite lasting neck and back injury.
T-Bone & Intersection Crashes
Right-of-way disputes decided by signal timing, sightlines, and independent witnesses.
Head-On Collisions
The most lethal pattern, usually from a centreline crossing or wrong-way driver.
Sideswipes & Lane Changes
Blind-spot merges on I-15, Bangerter, and other high-speed corridors.
Multi-Vehicle Pileups
Chain reactions where several insurers each argue someone else started it.
Hit-and-Run
Uninsured motorist claims, which are exempt from the no-fault threshold.
Rideshare & Turo Crashes
Layered commercial and platform coverage that changes with the driver's app status.
Drunk & Impaired Driving
Criminal conduct that can support punitive damages alongside the civil claim.
Defects & Road Design
Tyre, airbag, and restraint failures, and dangerous roadway conditions.
Accountability
Who Can Be Held Liable After a Utah Car Accident
Serious injuries routinely exceed one driver's limits, which makes finding every applicable policy part of the work.
The At-Fault Driver
The starting point once your claim clears the no-fault threshold.
The Vehicle's Owner
When someone else was driving, the owner's policy is frequently the one that pays.
Employers
Delivery, rideshare, and work vehicles carry commercial limits far above a personal policy.
Rideshare & Platform Insurers
Uber, Lyft, and Turo coverage that turns on the driver's status at the moment of impact.
Government Entities
Dangerous design, dead signals, missing signage. Notice of claim may be due within one year.
Your Own Insurer
PIP, MedPay, and uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, which is what closes the gap.
What's at Stake
Common Injuries in Utah Car Accidents
Several of these are also threshold injuries under § 31A-22-309, which is why documenting them properly changes the size of the claim.
Whiplash & Neck Injury
Routinely dismissed as minor, routinely permanent.
Back & Spinal Injury
Disc herniation through to spinal cord damage and paralysis.
Traumatic Brain Injury
Concussion and worse, often not obvious in the first days.
Bone Fractures
A threshold injury in their own right under the statute.
Internal & Organ Damage
Bleeding that can be missed entirely at the scene.
Permanent Disfigurement
Scarring and burns, also a threshold injury.
Soft-Tissue Injury
The category insurers discount hardest, and the one that lingers.
Psychological Trauma
Anxiety and driving avoidance: real, compensable, routinely ignored.
Building Your Case
Evidence That Clears the Threshold and Proves Fault
Two jobs at once: establishing who caused the crash, and documenting injuries thoroughly enough to get past § 31A-22-309. We move early on both.
- The police crash report and any citations issued
- Intersection, business, doorbell, and dashcam footage
- Both vehicles' event data recorders: speed, braking, restraint use
- Signal timing data where right of way is disputed
- The other driver's phone records where distraction is suspected
- Complete medical records, with the imaging that establishes objective findings
- Every bill, to document expenses against the $3,000 threshold
- All applicable policies, including your own PIP, MedPay, and UM/UIM
Gaps in early treatment are the single most common reason a legitimate claim is discounted.
Economic Damages Measurable
Medical care beyond PIP limits, future treatment, rehabilitation, lost wages, lost earning capacity, and vehicle damage.
Non-Economic Damages Personal
Pain and suffering, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium. These are the general damages the threshold governs.
Punitive Damages Rare
For egregious conduct such as a drunk or fleeing driver. Utah's comparative negligence rule (§ 78B-5-818) lets you recover as long as you are less than 50% at fault.
Protect Yourself
What to Do After a Car Accident in Utah
What happens in the first hours shapes the whole claim. If you're able:
Get Checked Out
Same day. A treatment gap is the first thing an adjuster uses, and it affects the threshold.
Call the Police
Insist on a report. It fixes position, vehicles, and the other driver's first account.
Photograph Everything
Both vehicles, the scene, signals, skid marks, debris, and your visible injuries.
Open Your PIP Claim
It pays regardless of fault, and the 30-day clock only starts once the insurer has proof.
Don't Sign a Release
Not before you know what your injuries are. Call us before any recorded statement.
Local Help
Car Accident Lawyers Near You
Statewide representation, with attorneys who know your roads and your courts.
Let Our Lawyers Fight for Your Recovery
The other driver's insurer is already working out what your claim is worth to them. Level the field: talk to us before you talk to them.
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Kurt London
This page was written and reviewed by Kurt London of London Harker Injury Law. Kurt represents injured Utahns in auto, catastrophic-injury, and wrongful-death cases statewide, holding negligent drivers and their insurers accountable under Utah law. Read Kurt's full bio →
Common Questions
Utah Car Accident FAQ
Utah is a no-fault state. Can I still sue the driver who hit me?
My insurance already covers it. Why would I need a lawyer?
My PIP insurer is dragging its feet. Do I have any leverage?
The insurer says the crash was partly my fault. Does that end my claim?
What if the other driver has no insurance, or fled the scene?
How long do I have to file a car accident claim in Utah?
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