Utah Catastrophic Injury Lawyer

A catastrophic injury is one that permanently changes what a person can do: a severe brain or spinal cord injury, a major burn, an amputation, or a condition such as complex regional pain syndrome that turns a limb into a lasting source of pain. These cases are measured in decades of care and lost work, not in a few months of medical bills.

They also raise problems ordinary claims do not. The at-fault driver's policy is too small, several parties share the blame, and a vehicle or product defect may be part of the cause. Our process is built around those problems: thorough documentation, independent medical, vocational and economic professionals retained when the case needs them, and a search for every source of coverage. The guides below go deeper on specific injuries and crash types.

Injury and Crash Guides

Traumatic brain injury, from concussions with late symptoms to severe injuries. Spinal cord injury, complete and incomplete. Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) after a fracture or sprain. Burn injuries from vehicle fires, explosions and scalding. Rollover crashes and UTV and side-by-side rollovers. For families who have lost someone, see wrongful death claims in Utah and our wrongful death lawyer page.

The Policy-Limits Problem

Minimum limits are low. Under Utah Code § 31A-22-304, an auto policy issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025 must carry at least $30,000 for bodily injury to one person and $65,000 for bodily injury to two or more people in one accident. A driver who carries only the minimum leaves very little for an injury that needs lifetime care.

Your underinsured motorist coverage. Under § 31A-22-305.3(3)(k), UIM is secondary to the at-fault driver's liability coverage, may not be set off against it, and is added to it to determine the coverage available. For policies written since 2001, UIM limits generally match your liability limits unless a named insured signed a form choosing lower limits or rejecting the coverage. More in our UIM guide.

Other layers. The vehicle owner's policy, an employer's commercial coverage, umbrella policies and household policies can all be in play. Our guide to stacking coverage and finding every policy walks through each layer and Utah's limits on stacking.

Multiple defendants. Utah divides fault. Under § 78B-5-818, no defendant pays more than its own share, and fault can be allocated to people who are not parties to the case. If a driver, a trucking company and a parts maker each contributed, each needs to be identified early, or part of the fault may land on someone no one is collecting from.

Government defendants. If a government vehicle, employee or road condition played a part, a written notice of claim is due within one year under § 63G-7-402, long before the ordinary deadline.

When a Product Caused or Worsened the Injury

Some catastrophic injuries trace to a defect: a roof that collapsed in a rollover, a seat belt or airbag that failed, a fuel system fire, or a machine that failed in ordinary use. Utah's Product Liability Act sets a shorter clock. Under § 78B-6-706, the action must be brought within two years from when the injured person discovered, or with due diligence should have discovered, both the harm and its cause.

Calling the claim negligence does not avoid that limit. In Utah Local Government Trust v. Wheeler Machinery Co., 2008 UT 84, the Utah Supreme Court said that even a claim characterized as negligent manufacture of a product still has to be brought within the product liability limitations period. Preserve the vehicle or product before it is repaired, salvaged or returned. More on these claims on our product liability page.

How We Build a Catastrophic Injury Claim

An attorney reviews every case at intake and approves every demand and settlement, and once you sign, we handle all communication with the insurance companies. The file is built from the medical records forward: treating physicians' opinions on future care, a life-care plan when needs are ongoing, vocational and economic analysis of lost earning capacity, and scene evidence, photographs and witness statements gathered before they disappear. Our guide to proving future medical costs and lost earning capacity explains the standards Utah juries are given. For a step-by-step look at how we handle these cases, from the first preservation letters to the decision to file suit, see how West Injury Law handles serious injury cases.

Deadlines That Apply

Most Utah injury suits must be filed within four years under § 78B-2-307. An action for a death caused by another's wrongful act or neglect has two years under § 78B-2-304. Product claims have two years from discovery of the harm and its cause, and claims against a government entity need a notice of claim within one year. See the statute of limitations guide for the details.

Damages in a Catastrophic Injury Claim

• Lifetime medical and attendant care: surgery, rehabilitation, equipment, medication and help at home.
• Lost earning capacity: the income the injured person can no longer earn over a working life.
• Non-economic losses: pain, disfigurement, loss of independence and of the life the person had.
• Wrongful death damages: when an injury proves fatal, the family's own losses; see who receives them in Utah.

Protecting the Claim Early

Get the police report number, photographs of the vehicles and scene, and the names of witnesses. Keep the vehicle, helmet, car seat or product involved. Do not give a recorded statement to the other side's insurer or sign a release before the full extent of the injury is known; early offers in these cases often arrive before anyone knows what future care will cost. For the overall process, see the steps in a Utah personal injury case.