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Your Lehi Personal Injury Attorney
Getting hurt in Lehi tends to bring a lot at once: medical appointments, missed work, calls from insurance adjusters, and a deadline you may not know exists. Utah law answers most of those questions in specific, checkable ways. This page covers Utah’s filing deadlines, the separate rules for claims involving public entities, the 50% fault rule, and common questions about crashes, falls, products, and dog bites. Deadlines in Utah run on fixed dates, so learning them early usually matters more than trying to catch up later.
How Long Do You Have? The Short Version
- 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.
- Car damage from a crash: 4 years to file a claim for the vehicle itself (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).
- 2 years for product claims, starting once the harm and its cause are discovered or should have been (Utah Code 78B-6-706).
- If a public entity is involved: 1 year to file a written notice of claim, then 2 years to file suit, both counted from when the claim arises (Utah Code 63G-7-402 and 63G-7-403).
Time Limits on a Lehi Injury Claim
Utah does not have a separate deadline for most personal injury lawsuits. They fall under the general four-year limit in Utah Code 78B-2-307, which runs from the date of injury. A crash in Lehi and a fall at a store in Utah County are handled the same way on timing.
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).
Injuries to children are treated differently. Utah Code 78B-2-108 keeps the clock from running during minority, though a claim involving a government entity follows its own rules and is worth raising with an attorney right away.
Injured in Lehi? Get matched with an attorney now.
Claims Against a City, County, or the State
Claims involving public entities are the big exception to Utah’s four-year rule. A written notice of claim must be filed within one year after the claim arises, or the claim is barred (Utah Code 63G-7-402).
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).
Knowing who to notify matters as much as when. The rules in Utah Code 63G-7-401 name a different office for each kind of entity, and each entity files its own designated address for receiving notices.
What If You Were Partly at Fault?
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.
When more than one party caused your injury, the fact finder assigns each a percentage, and no defendant pays more than its own percentage (Utah Code 78B-5-818(3) and 78B-5-819).
Where a Lehi Injury Case Is Heard
Every Utah county has a district court in its county seat, and these courts hear injury lawsuits (Utah Code 78A-5-101 and 78A-5-102). For Lehi, that means the Utah County court in Provo, within the Fourth Judicial District.
Questions People Ask After an Injury in Utah
The specifics of what happened change the answer. Here are the situations people ask about most, with the Utah rule for each.
How does Utah’s no-fault system affect my car accident claim?
In Utah, PIP coverage pays certain benefits regardless of fault, and it limits when you can sue for general damages: only for death, dismemberment, permanent impairment or disfigurement, a bone fracture, or medical expenses above $3,000 (Utah Code 31A-22-309). The threshold does not apply to uninsured motorist claims.
PIP benefits are paid monthly as expenses are incurred, and an insurer that pays late owes interest at 1.5% per month (Utah Code 31A-22-309(5)).
Can I sue if I slipped and fell on someone else’s property in Utah?
Possibly. Slip and fall claims are premises-liability negligence claims: the question is generally whether the owner knew, or reasonably should have known, about the hazard and failed to fix it or warn about it. The general four-year deadline applies, and your own share of fault can reduce or bar recovery under Utah Code 78B-5-818.
If the property belongs to a city, county, school district, or the state, this becomes a government claim: written notice within one year (Utah Code 63G-7-402), then suit within two years.
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.
Because this clock is half as long as the general limit, product cases are one of the situations where early attention pays off.
Who can file a wrongful death claim in Utah?
The person’s heirs, or a personal representative acting for the benefit of the heirs, may bring the action (Utah Code 78B-3-106). The deadline is two years from the date of death (Utah Code 78B-2-304).
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.
Do I have to prove the dog had bitten before to have a dog bite case in Utah?
No. Under Utah Code 18-1-1, the owner or keeper is liable regardless of whether the dog is vicious or mischievous or the owner knew it. There is a narrow exception for a trespasser injured on fenced private property, and shared fault can still reduce damages under 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.
Your situation may not match any of these exactly. Tell us about it.
For Lehi Residents
Lehi is in Utah County, and injury lawsuits arising here are usually filed in the Utah County district court. The rules above apply the same way in Lehi as anywhere else in Utah.
Nearby coverage: our Pleasant Grove page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the statute of limitations for personal injury in Utah?
Four years for most injury claims, counted from the injury (Utah Code 78B-2-307). A few claim types, such as wrongful death and claims against public entities, are shorter.
Does the wrongful death clock run from the injury or from the death?
From the date of death, under Utah Code 78B-2-304, which can be later than the date of the original injury.
Where do I send a notice of claim in Utah?
To the office Utah Code 63G-7-401 names for that kind of entity: for example the city or county clerk for local claims, or the attorney general for the state.
Can I recover if I was 40% at fault in Utah?
Yes. At 40% fault your damages are reduced by 40%, because your fault is still below the 50% line (Utah Code 78B-5-818).
How long do I have to sue after a car accident in Utah?
Generally four years from the accident under Utah Code 78B-2-307, or a much shorter notice period if a government vehicle or entity was involved.
What if I fell on city or county property in Utah?
Different rules apply: a written notice of claim within one year (Utah Code 63G-7-402) and a lawsuit within two years (Utah Code 63G-7-403).
Who pays for a dog bite in Utah, the owner or someone else?
Utah Code 18-1-1 applies to an individual who owns or keeps the dog. An attorney can help identify who that is and what coverage may apply.
When does the product liability clock start in Utah?
At discovery of both the harm and what caused it, not necessarily the date of injury (Utah Code 78B-6-706).
Where can I file an injury lawsuit in Utah?
Generally in the county where the cause of action arose or where a defendant lives (Utah Code 78B-3a-201).
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.
Don't Wait to Get Started
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.
