Utah Statute of Limitations for Injury Claims: How Long You Have to File

Short answer: Most Utah injury claims must be filed within four years of the injury (Utah Code § 78B-2-307). A wrongful death claim must be filed within two years (§ 78B-2-304). If a government entity is involved — a city, a county, UDOT, UTA, a school district, or a public employee — you must file a written notice of claim within one year, and then file suit within two years of when the claim arose (§§ 63G-7-402, 63G-7-403). Medical malpractice runs two years from when you discovered the injury, and never more than four years from the treatment itself. Miss the deadline and the claim is gone, no matter how badly you were hurt.

What is a statute of limitations?

A statute of limitations is the legal deadline for filing a lawsuit. It is not a deadline to settle, to hire a lawyer, or to finish treatment. It is the date by which a complaint must be filed with the court. After it passes, the other side can have the case dismissed without ever addressing whether they were at fault, and insurers know exactly when that date arrives.

Utah has several of these deadlines, and which one applies depends on who hurt you and how. Getting that wrong is one of the few mistakes in an injury case that cannot be repaired later.

How long do you have to file an injury claim in Utah?

Four years sounds like a long time. It is not, in practice: the evidence that decides fault is gone in weeks, and the deadline is the last line of defense, not the plan.

The one-year government deadline is the one people actually lose claims to

The Utah Governmental Immunity Act sets a different and much shorter path for any claim involving a public entity or a public employee acting in the scope of their job. Before you can sue, you have to file a written notice of claim within one year after the claim arises. If that notice is late, the claim is barred — even though an ordinary injury claim would have had four years.

This comes up more often than people expect:

• A UTA bus or a TRAX train involved in the collision.
• A city, county, or state vehicle — a snowplow, a police car, a public works truck.
• The road itself — a work zone, a missing or wrong sign, a signal that malfunctioned, a hazard nobody repaired.
• Public property — a fall at a city building, a rec center, or a school.

After the notice is filed, there is a 60-day waiting period before suit can be filed. Then the lawsuit itself must be commenced within two years after the claim arose.

That last point is worth stating plainly, because a great deal of published Utah material still gets it wrong. Until 2019 the statute really did tie the deadline to the denial: one year after the claim was denied, or one year after the 60-day denial period expired. A 2019 amendment (H.B. 311) struck that language, and since then the deadline has run two years from when the claim arose. Waiting for a denial letter and counting a year from there is how a valid claim gets dismissed.

Some government activity can't be the basis of a claim at all. In 2026 the Legislature restored immunity for a government first responder providing emergency medical services (Utah Code 63G-7-201). A private ambulance company is not a government entity, so this rule doesn't cover it.

When does the clock actually start?

For most injuries it starts the day you were hurt. Three situations change that:

• Injuries that are discovered later. Medical malpractice and defective product claims run from the point you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the harm and its cause. There is still an outside limit: four years from the treatment in a malpractice case.
• Children and people who cannot manage their own affairs. Under § 78B-2-108, the limitation period does not run while an injured person is under 18 or is mentally incompetent without a legal guardian. A claim involving a government entity follows its own notice rules, so do not assume a child's claim can wait — ask early.
• Claims against your own insurance company. Personal injury protection (PIP) and uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage are contract claims against your own insurer, with notice requirements and time limits set by the policy and by statute. Tell your underinsured motorist carrier about the claim early, and check what your policy requires before you settle with the at-fault driver.

What happens if you miss the deadline?

The case ends. The defense files a motion, the court dismisses the claim, and the strength of the underlying facts never matters. Insurers track these dates as closely as lawyers do, which is why an adjuster who was friendly and responsive for months can suddenly stop returning calls as the deadline approaches. Nothing about a pending negotiation pauses the clock. Only filing the lawsuit does.

Why waiting costs you long before the deadline

The legal deadline is years out. The practical one is not:

• Video disappears in days. Business and doorbell cameras along the road overwrite themselves, often within a week or two.
• Vehicle data gets overwritten, and commercial carriers keep driver logs only for limited periods.
• Witnesses move on. The people who stopped at the scene are strangers passing through, and they are far easier to reach on day one than on day one hundred.
• Gaps in treatment become an argument. A delay between the crash and your first medical visit is the first thing an adjuster points to when valuing what your claim is worth.

Frequently asked questions

Is the deadline four years or two years in Utah?

Four years for most injury claims, including car accident claims. Two years if the injury caused a death, which is a wrongful death claim brought by the family.

Does the deadline change if a city, UDOT, or UTA is involved?

Yes, and dramatically. You must file a written notice of claim within one year after the claim arises, wait 60 days, and file suit within two years after the claim arose. Those deadlines apply no matter how serious the injury.

What if the injured person is a child?

Utah law pauses the limitation period while a person is under 18. That does not make waiting a good idea, and it does not resolve how the government notice deadline applies to a child's claim, so get advice early rather than relying on the pause.

Does talking with the insurance company extend my deadline?

No. Negotiating, sending records, and receiving offers do not stop the clock. Only filing a lawsuit does.

How long do I have to use my PIP benefits?

PIP is a claim under your own policy, so it follows your policy's notice and proof requirements rather than the four-year rule. Open the PIP claim immediately and keep submitting bills while treatment continues.

What if I am not sure when I was injured?

Some claims, including medical malpractice and defective products, run from the date you discovered the harm and its cause rather than the date it happened. If the timing is unclear, treat the earliest possible date as the deadline and get the file reviewed.

Talk to a Utah personal injury attorney

West Injury Law handles injury claims throughout Salt Lake County and along the Wasatch Front. If you are unsure which deadline applies to your situation, that question is worth a phone call today rather than a search next year. Consultations are free, and there are no attorney fees unless we win.

West Injury Law
13894 S Bangerter Pkwy, Suite 200, Draper, UT 84020
(801) 921-5134

This page provides general information about Utah law and is not legal advice. Deadlines depend on the specific facts of a claim, and several exceptions are not described here. Every case is different. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.