I am sorry you are reading this.
Nothing I write here makes the loss smaller. What I can do is take one weight off you: explaining how a Utah wrongful death claim works, so you are not trying to learn the law in the worst weeks of your life.
You do not have to do anything today except take care of your family. But there are a few deadlines that do not wait for grief, and you should know what they are.
Who can bring the claim
Utah Code § 78B-3-106 allows a wrongful death action when a death is caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another. The claim belongs to the heirs, or to a personal representative acting for the benefit of the heirs. If the person who caused the death was working for someone else at the time, the employer can also be responsible.
Section 78B-3-105 defines who the heirs are:
- the surviving spouse
- the decedent's children
- the decedent's parents (natural parents, or adoptive parents if the decedent was adopted)
- certain stepchildren under 18 who were supported by, or lived with, the decedent at the time of death
That list decides who has a seat at the table. When a family is blended, or when people disagree, it is worth getting that sorted out early and carefully.
Two claims, not one
Families are often surprised to learn there can be two different claims.
The wrongful death claim is for the family's losses: the income and support the person would have provided, and the loss of their love, companionship and guidance.
The survival claim. Under § 78B-3-107, an injury claim the person had does not simply disappear when they die. It can survive. That can matter a great deal when someone lived for a time after the crash, with medical bills and suffering before they passed.
Which one applies, and how they fit together, depends on the facts. That is a conversation, not a checklist.
The deadlines
- Wrongful death — two years. Utah Code § 78B-2-304.
- A government vehicle, employee or road defect — written notice of claim within one year. § 63G-7-402. Miss that notice and the claim is barred, even though the two years has not run.
- A survival claim can run on a different clock from the death claim. Ask us which one applies before you count on either.
- Vehicle property damage — three years. § 78B-2-305.
The first year goes faster than anyone expects. The evidence goes faster still.
What disappears first
The proof in a fatal crash is often electronic and temporary. Vehicle data recorders. Traffic signal timing. Business security and doorbell video that overwrites itself in days or weeks. In a truck crash, the carrier's electronic logs and engine data.
Someone needs to send preservation letters and gather that evidence while it still exists. It should not be the family, and it should not wait until after the funeral paperwork is done.
What the insurance company will do
Be kind, usually. Call early. Ask for a recorded statement about the person you lost. Offer to "take care of" the funeral costs and then send a release that ends everything.
You do not have to give a statement. You do not have to sign anything. It is enough to say: our family has a lawyer, please send everything in writing.
What we do
We handle the whole claim so your family does not have to: identifying every source of insurance, preserving the evidence, dealing with the adjusters, and when a vehicle is involved, handling the property damage claim alongside the death claim so nothing is left behind.
There is no fee unless there is a recovery, and the first conversation costs nothing. When you are ready, call (801) 685-1000.
Take care of your family first. We will be here.