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Your Fairview Personal Injury Attorney
It is normal to feel unsure what to do first after an injury in Fairview. Utah law gives you fixed deadlines and a defined way of weighing fault, so you can start from facts instead of guesses. Below you will find the key Utah deadlines at a glance, how claims against a city, county, or the state are handled differently, and what happens when fault is shared. Deadlines in Utah run on fixed dates, so learning them early usually matters more than trying to catch up later.
Your Utah Deadlines in One Place
- Most injury claims (car crashes, falls, dog bites): 4 years from the date of injury, under Utah’s general limit in Utah Code 78B-2-307.
- Repairing or replacing your vehicle: 4 years to bring a claim for damage to your motor vehicle (Utah Code 78B-2-307(3)).
- Wrongful death claims: 2 years, running from the death itself rather than the earlier injury (Utah Code 78B-2-304).
- Injured by a faulty product: 2 years from when you knew or should have known about both the injury and its cause (Utah Code 78B-6-706).
- Government claims have the shortest clock: a written notice of claim within 1 year after the claim arises, and suit within 2 years (Utah Code 63G-7-402 and 63G-7-403).
How Long You Have to File in Utah
Four years is the baseline: Utah Code 78B-2-307 gives most negligence-based injury claims four years from the date of injury. The shorter deadlines below are the exceptions, and they are the ones most likely to catch someone off guard.
Watch the two-year deadlines: wrongful death (Utah Code 78B-2-304, counted from the date of death) and product liability (Utah Code 78B-6-706, counted from discovery of the harm and its cause).
For an injured minor, Utah Code 78B-2-108 stops the limitations period from running until age 18. Claims involving government entities are governed by their own rules and notice requirements, which is a good reason to ask sooner rather than later.
Injured in Fairview? Get matched with an attorney now.
Injured on Public Property or by a Government Vehicle?
Suing a public entity in Utah starts with a written notice of claim, and it must be filed within one year after the claim arises. Utah Code 63G-7-402 bars the claim if the notice is late, no matter how strong the underlying case is.
Once notice is filed, you generally wait 60 days before filing suit, and the entity must acknowledge the notice in writing within that period. The suit must be started within two years after the claim arises, and it goes to district court (Utah Code 63G-7-403 and 78A-5-102).
The notice has to include a brief statement of the facts, the nature of the claim, and the damages known so far, and it has to reach the right office for that entity (Utah Code 63G-7-401). Sending it to the wrong place can create its own problems.
Does Being Partly to Blame End Your Claim?
Utah uses a modified comparative fault rule under Utah Code 78B-5-818. Being partly to blame does not automatically end your claim, but you can only recover if your share of fault is less than 50%. At 49%, your recovery is reduced by 49%; at 50% or more, you recover nothing.
Fault can also be assigned to someone who is immune from suit or who is not a party to the case, which shapes how the percentages are compared (Utah Code 78B-5-818 and 78B-5-819).
Utah's District Courts
Utah divides its district courts into eight judicial districts (Utah Code 78A-1-102). Sanpete County, home to Fairview, falls in the Sixth Judicial District, and its district court is located in Manti, the county seat.
Your Situation and the Utah Rule That Applies
Each situation below has its own Utah answer, and a few carry rules of their own on top of the general deadlines above.
What should I know about a car accident claim in Utah?
Utah is a no-fault state, so your own personal injury protection (PIP) benefits come first. To bring a claim for general damages such as pain and suffering, you generally need one of the following: death, dismemberment, permanent disability or impairment based on objective findings, permanent disfigurement, a bone fracture, or more than $3,000 in medical expenses (Utah Code 31A-22-309). The lawsuit deadline is generally four years.
Your own fault matters even in a no-fault system: the injury lawsuit is measured under Utah Code 78B-5-818, so at 50% fault or more, general damages are barred.
Do I need a lawyer for a slip and fall in Utah?
You are not required to have one, but many people talk with an attorney early because the property owner’s insurer will already be building its side, and photos, video, and witnesses are easiest to gather right away. Slip and fall cases are ordinary negligence claims with a four-year deadline, and the 50% fault rule applies to your own share.
Keep the shoes and clothing you wore during the fall, along with your medical records and bills, so an attorney has more to work with when reviewing what happened.
What if I did not realize a product caused my injury?
The two-year clock in Utah Code 78B-6-706 does not start until you discovered, or should have discovered, both the harm and its cause. If the connection was not obvious at first, that discovery date is where an attorney will start.
Keep the product, its packaging, and any receipts, and document the injury. A product that is discarded or repaired can be hard to replace as evidence.
My family member died because of someone’s negligence in Utah, what are our options?
Utah allows a wrongful death action by the heirs or a personal representative for the heirs’ benefit (Utah Code 78B-3-106), and it must be filed within two years of the date of death (Utah Code 78B-2-304). Talking with an attorney early helps protect that window.
Because the wrongful death deadline is two years and related claims can run on different clocks, families often ask an attorney early to line up every applicable date.
I was bitten by a dog in Utah, does the owner have to pay?
Utah is a strict liability state for dog injuries: an owner or keeper is liable for an injury the dog causes, whether or not the dog was vicious and whether or not the owner knew it was (Utah Code 18-1-1). Damages are determined under the comparative fault rule in Utah Code 78B-5-818.
Getting medical care promptly matters for your health and your claim, and reporting the bite creates an official record of what happened.
Have questions about your Fairview claim? Ask a local attorney.
Fairview and Sanpete County
People in Fairview deal with the same statewide deadlines as everyone in Utah. What is local is the court: Sanpete County’s district court, in the Sixth Judicial District.
Hurt by a doctor or hospital instead? Read about medical malpractice claims in Fairview.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is four years too long to wait to talk to an attorney?
The deadline may be four years, but evidence and memories fade sooner, and some claims have much shorter deadlines. Talking to an attorney early costs nothing and clarifies which clock applies.
What is the deadline for a wrongful death claim in Utah?
Two years from the date of death, under Utah Code 78B-2-304.
How long do I have to sue a government entity in Utah?
Two years after the claim arises, but only after a notice of claim filed within the first year and a 60-day wait after that notice (Utah Code 63G-7-402 and 63G-7-403).
What happens if I was partly at fault for my injury in Utah?
Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, as long as your fault is less than 50% (Utah Code 78B-5-818).
What is the medical expense threshold for a Utah car accident lawsuit?
More than $3,000 in medical expenses is one way to meet the threshold for general damages under Utah Code 31A-22-309; other qualifying injuries can meet it without that amount.
Can my own carelessness affect a slip and fall claim?
Yes. Under Utah Code 78B-5-818 your recovery is reduced by your share of fault and barred if your fault reaches 50% or more.
Is there an exception to Utah’s dog bite liability rule?
Yes. An owner is not liable for injury to a trespasser who violated Utah Code 76-6-206(2) if the injury happened on the owner’s private property while the dog was reasonably secured within a fence or enclosure (Utah Code 18-1-1(3)).
Is the product liability deadline shorter than the general injury deadline?
Yes. It is two years from discovery (Utah Code 78B-6-706), compared with four years for most injury claims.
Does every Utah county have a district court?
Yes. Utah Code 78A-5-101 places a district court in the county seat of each county.
What should I bring to a first conversation about my injury?
Anything you have: photos, medical records or bills, insurance letters, and notes on what happened and when. It is fine to come with only a few of these.
What You Do Next Matters
Waiting rarely helps an injury claim: the other side is already working, and the deadlines above do not pause while you recover. You do not have to know exactly what to ask. A short conversation with a real person, at no cost and with no obligation, is usually the clearest way to find out where things stand.
