Lehi Wrongful Death Lawyer

Families who call after a death in Lehi are usually handling arrangements, paperwork and grief all at once. Most legal questions can wait a little while. A few cannot wait long, and dealing with those early keeps the family's options open without asking more of you than necessary.

In north Utah County these cases often begin on the road: freeway collisions on I-15 through the Point of the Mountain corridor, turning crashes on Pioneer Crossing and Timpanogos Highway, work-zone crashes around the 2100 North project, and pedestrians or cyclists struck near schools, trail crossings and the Thanksgiving Point area. They can also follow unsafe property, a defective product, or a workplace incident caused by someone other than the employer.

What Utah Law Allows

When a death is caused by another's wrongful act or neglect, Utah lets the heirs, or the personal representative acting for them, sue the person responsible, or that person's employer when the employer answers for the conduct (Utah Code § 78B-3-106).

This civil claim stands apart from any criminal prosecution, carries a lower burden of proof, and is controlled by the family rather than a prosecutor. Our wrongful death guide goes deeper on how it proceeds.

Who Brings the Case

The statute gives the claim to the heirs, or to the estate's personal representative acting on their behalf. For most families that means a spouse, children or parents. If a personal representative has to be appointed, that is done through a probate case in the Fourth District Court, the state trial court for Utah County.

A Shorter Deadline

A Utah wrongful death lawsuit generally must be filed within two years (§ 78B-2-304(3)), not the four years that apply to most injury cases. If Lehi City, Utah County, UTA or UDOT may share blame, for example through road design or a government vehicle, a notice of claim is due within one year (§ 63G-7-402). The full list is on our Utah deadlines page.

Damages a Family May Seek

Depending on the facts, the claim may include:

• Financial support: the paychecks, benefits and household work the person would have contributed over their lifetime.
• Medical and funeral costs: the final treatment and burial or cremation. If the person was covered by Utah PIP, that policy also pays a $3,000 death benefit to the heirs and up to $1,500 in funeral benefits (§ 31A-22-307).
• Loss of the relationship: the companionship, care, advice and guidance the family no longer has.
• Grief and sorrow: the emotional loss carried by those who remain.
• Punitive damages: only when the conduct was especially reckless, such as impaired driving.

No amount replaces a parent, child or spouse. The purpose is to steady the household and to place responsibility on whoever caused the loss.

How These Losses Happen in Lehi

Wrongful death claims here can arise from car, truck and motorcycle crashes, pedestrians and cyclists struck on arterial roads or near trail access points such as the Murdock Canal Trail trailhead at Timpanogos Highway and 1200 West, crashes on SR-92 and the Alpine Loop in American Fork Canyon, work-zone collisions, and fatal falls or other incidents on unsafe property. We request the complete investigative file, including photographs and any reconstruction, from the Lehi Police Department, the Utah Highway Patrol or whichever agency responded. When the death followed a collision, our Lehi car accident page explains the insurance layers involved.

The Work We Take On for the Family

We collect reports and medical records, send preservation letters for vehicle data and video, locate every liability, underinsured and umbrella policy that might apply, and speak with the insurers so the family does not have to. Because Utah still assigns fault percentages in death cases under § 78B-5-818, an early independent investigation keeps the other side's account from becoming the only one. For the broader process, see our Lehi personal injury page and how a Utah case moves.