Midvale Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Midvale is a pass-through city for a lot of riders. I-15 runs through the middle with an interchange at 7200 South, State Street (US-89) carries traffic north toward Murray and south toward Sandy, and the 7200 South line, which carries the names Fort Union Boulevard and Jordan River Boulevard along parts of its length, crosses the city east to west. More than a third of the crashes UDOT recorded in Midvale were on the freeway and its ramps.

Each setting brings a different kind of crash: lane changes and rear-end impacts at freeway speed, left turns and driveway pull-outs on the surface streets, and drivers who leave before police arrive. We help Midvale riders sort out which coverage applies and preserve the proof. For injuries that did not happen on a motorcycle, see our Midvale personal injury page.

Midvale's Motorcycle Crash Numbers

UDOT's records from January 2018 through August 4, 2025 count 98 serious or fatal crashes on Midvale's surface streets, and motorcyclists were involved in 25 of them. State Street (US-89) led the city with 19 serious or fatal crashes, and motorcyclists were involved in 8 of those. Serious crashes also climbed late in the period: Midvale's streets had 21 serious or fatal crashes in 2024, the most of any full year in the data. On I-15 inside the city, 22 of 2,680 crashes were serious or fatal and none was fatal. The full ranking is on our Midvale most dangerous roads page.

Utah Law on a Midvale Ride

Filtering at the 7200 South interchange. § 41-6a-704(6) lets a motorcyclist pass stopped vehicles between lanes at 15 mph or less, when it is safe, on a road with two or more lanes in the same direction posted at 45 mph or below, or on an off-ramp with two or more lanes in the same direction, and never on an on-ramp. The statute defines an off-ramp as the roadway connecting a freeway to an intersection and excludes ramps linking two controlled-access highways, so a freeway-to-freeway connector such as the one between I-15 and I-215 does not get the off-ramp allowance. The provision is set to be repealed July 1, 2027. More in our lane filtering explainer.

Helmet evidence. Riders under 21 must wear a helmet (§ 41-6a-1505), but for any rider, subsection (6) keeps the lack of a helmet out of the fault comparison and out of evidence on negligence, injuries or mitigation in a civil case.

No PIP for the rider. A motorcycle policy is not required to include personal injury protection, and PIP does not cover anyone injured while operating a motorcycle (§ 31A-22-302). The car-crash no-fault framework therefore does not stand between a rider and the driver who caused the crash. Health insurance or optional med-pay usually covers early treatment; our motorcycle accident claims guide covers the sequence of a claim.

Hit-and-run coverage. In the same UDOT records, a driver left the scene in 15.1% of Midvale street crashes, against 8.6% across the seven counties in the data. When that driver is never identified, Utah treats the vehicle as uninsured (§ 31A-22-305), so uninsured motorist coverage on your own policy becomes the claim. For a crash with no contact at all, subsection (6) requires clear and convincing evidence beyond your own testimony that the other vehicle existed.

Limits, fault and deadlines. The minimum bodily-injury limit for policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025 is $30,000 per person (§ 31A-22-304), so underinsured motorist coverage often matters. Recovery requires the others' combined fault to exceed yours (§ 78B-5-818). Suits generally allow four years, but a notice of claim to UDOT, UTA, Salt Lake County or Midvale City is due within one year (§ 63G-7-402); see our deadline guide.

State Street and the 7200 South Line

State Street through Midvale is lined with storefronts and business entrances, with a posted limit of 40 mph at its four listed signals, so the danger for riders is usually a driver crossing their path rather than raw speed. Utah Code § 41-6a-903 requires a driver turning left to yield to oncoming traffic close enough to be an immediate hazard, and a driver entering from a driveway to yield to all approaching traffic. On 7200 South, UDOT's estimates reach about 48,000 vehicles a day and more than half of the recorded crashes were rear-end collisions, which puts a stopped rider at risk from behind.

Crashes on Midvale's streets are worked by the Unified Police Department's Midvale Precinct, based at 7912 South Main Street, and UPD has a collision reconstruction unit it can call on; troopers from the Utah Highway Patrol take I-15. Ask the responding officer for the case number and the agency's name. Fire and ambulance response comes from the Unified Fire Authority.

How Riders Get Hurt in Midvale

Stop-and-go traffic on I-15 between the 7200 South and 9000 South exits, where a driver closing too fast hits a rider in the queue. A lane change on the freeway by a driver who never checked the mirror. A left turn across State Street into a gap the driver misjudged. A car nosing out of a Fort Union Boulevard parking lot. And a driver who hits a rider and keeps going; drivers left the scene in a larger share of Midvale street crashes than across the region.

Injuries and Where Riders Are Treated

Riders absorb the impact directly: traumatic brain injury, broken collarbones, wrists and ribs, femur and tibia fractures, spinal injuries and road rash that can lead to infection or grafts. Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, a Level I trauma center, is the closest top-level trauma care, and Alta View Hospital in Sandy is a Level IV center, per the state's trauma center list.

What a Midvale Rider Can Recover

• Out-of-pocket losses: ER and trauma care, surgery, physical therapy, lost wages, and the bike, helmet, jacket and other gear.
• Non-economic damages: pain, scarring, anxiety about riding again and the time a recovery takes from family and work.
• Lasting effects: future medical care, reduced earning capacity and home or vehicle modifications if mobility does not return.
• Death of a rider: heirs can bring a wrongful death claim, generally within two years.

Insurer Arguments, and the Evidence That Answers Them

Expect to hear that the rider was speeding on I-15, weaving between lanes, or filtering where it was not allowed. Lane position and speed can often be reconstructed from scrape marks, crush damage, the bike's final position and freeway or business cameras, and the filtering argument depends on whether the road and the stopped traffic met every statutory condition. Our Midvale car accident page covers local reports and roads, and our article on how attorneys handle insurance claims explains what comes next.