What to do after a car accident in Utah

A plain-language guide to Utah's car accident rules: no-fault PIP, when you can sue, comparative fault, insurance minimums, and filing deadlines, each tied to the statute.

ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial
Jul 24, 2026
6 min read

Getting hit is disorienting, and Utah's rules are not the same ones you may have read about for other states. Two things set Utah apart: it's a no-fault insurance state, and it recently raised the minimum coverage every driver has to carry. Here is what actually applies to a crash in Utah, with the statutes so you can check any of it yourself.

What the law asks of you at the scene

If anyone is hurt or killed, or a vehicle or other property is damaged, Utah law requires you to stop right away and stay until you've handled the basics. You have to give the other people involved your name, address, vehicle registration number, and insurance information, and show your license to an investigating officer on request.1 You also have to render reasonable aid to anyone injured, including arranging transport to a hospital, and you must notify the nearest law enforcement agency if the property damage looks like it reaches $2,500 or more.1

An officer who responds will complete a crash report, which becomes the backbone of any later claim. You can request a copy afterward from the Utah Highway Patrol through its public records portal.2 For how to pull the report, see our Utah crash report page.

Get medical attention even if you feel fine. That matters in Utah for a reason that has nothing to do with your health, which we'll get to below.

No-fault comes first, so your own insurer pays initially

Every standard Utah auto policy has to include personal injury protection, or PIP.3 After a crash your own PIP pays your early medical bills regardless of who caused the wreck. The required minimum is $3,000 in medical expenses per person, with no deductible allowed, plus wage-loss benefits (the lesser of $250 a week or 85% of your lost income) and up to $1,500 toward funeral costs.4 Motorcycles are the exception here. PIP does not cover injuries you suffer while riding one.4

Insurers can't sit on these payments. PIP benefits are overdue if they aren't paid within 30 days after the company receives reasonable proof of the loss, and overdue amounts carry interest at 1.5% per month.5

When you can step outside no-fault and sue

No-fault doesn't mean you can never hold the other driver responsible for your pain and suffering. Utah lets you bring a claim against the at-fault driver for general damages once your injury clears a threshold. You qualify if your medical expenses top $3,000, or if you suffered death, dismemberment, permanent disability or impairment based on objective findings, permanent disfigurement, or a bone fracture.5 That $3,000 figure is a big part of why documenting every medical visit matters. If the driver who hit you was uninsured, the threshold doesn't apply to your uninsured motorist claim at all.5

How Utah splits the blame

Utah follows modified comparative negligence. You can still recover if you were partly at fault, but only when your share of the blame is less than the combined fault of everyone else. In practice, at 50% or more you recover nothing, and below that your award is reduced by your percentage.6 Insurers know this rule and will often argue you were more responsible than you were, which is one reason the police report and any independent witnesses carry weight.

Winter is part of driving here. Utah law requires a speed that is reasonable and prudent for the conditions, so a posted limit is not a safe harbor when the road is covered in snow or ice.7 UDOT puts it plainly: ice and snow, take it slow.8 A "the roads were bad" excuse rarely erases fault in a rear-end or lane-change crash.

The coverage that's actually available

Utah raised its minimum liability limits. For any policy issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, the floor is $30,000 for injury to one person, $65,000 for injuries to everyone in one accident, and $25,000 for property damage, written as 30/65/25.9 Before that the minimum was 25/65/15, so a policy that hasn't renewed under the new rule may still carry the older, lower limits.

Because those minimums are still modest next to a serious injury, your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage matters. Utah requires every policy to include UM and UIM coverage matching your liability limits, unless you signed a written form lowering or rejecting it.10 If you never signed that waiver, you likely have more coverage than you think.

The deadlines you can't miss

You have four years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit in Utah. That comes from the state's four-year catch-all limit, which Utah courts apply to ordinary negligence claims.11

Vehicle damage gets the same four years. In 2023 the legislature added a provision setting a four-year deadline specifically for damage to a motor vehicle or its contents from a crash.11 That's longer than the general three-year deadline for property damage.12 If you're dealing with a car that's worth less even after good repairs, our Utah diminished value page covers that claim. A dram shop claim against a bar, described below, is shorter at just two years.13

Four years feels like plenty, but evidence gets stale and insurers slow-walk. Don't treat the deadline as a plan.

If a drunk driver caused the crash

Utah treats drunk driving cases differently in two ways that help injured people. First, punitive damages are usually hard to win because they require clear and convincing evidence of willful, malicious, or reckless conduct. That heightened standard does not apply when the injury came from a driver who was voluntarily intoxicated or under the influence of drugs, which makes punitive damages more reachable in a DUI crash.14

Second, Utah has a dram shop law. If a bar, restaurant, or store over-served an obviously intoxicated person, served someone under 21, or served a known problem drinker, an injured third party can sue that business.15 Those claims are capped at $1,000,000 per person and $2,000,000 per occurrence, and punitive damages aren't available against the establishment itself.13

Motorcycles, phones, and other Utah specifics

If you ride, Utah only requires a helmet for operators and passengers under 21. At 21 and older it's your choice.16 Utah also allows limited lane filtering, not full lane splitting. A motorcycle may move between stopped vehicles on a road posted at 45 mph or less with two or more lanes in the same direction, as long as the bike stays at 15 mph or under and the move can be made safely.17 That provision is currently set to expire on July 1, 2027 unless the legislature extends it.17

Phones are heavily restricted. Utah bans holding a device to write or send a message, dial a number, email, access the internet, record video, take a photo, or enter data while driving. Hands-free, voice-operated, and navigation use are still allowed.18 It's primary enforcement, so an officer can pull you over for this alone. A first offense is a class C misdemeanor with a maximum $100 fine, rising to a class B misdemeanor (up to $1,000 and 180 days in jail) if you cause serious injury or have a prior conviction within three years.18 If the driver who hit you was on a phone, that conduct supports your fault case.

Getting help

You don't need a lawyer for every fender bender, but the no-fault threshold, comparative fault arguments, and UM/UIM coverage get complicated fast once there's a real injury. If you want someone in your corner, you can find a Utah attorney through our legal directory.

This is general information about Utah law, not legal advice for your specific situation.

Sources

  1. Utah Code 41-6a-401, duties of an operator after an accident involving injury, death, or property damage. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title41/Chapter6a/41-6a-S401.html

  2. Utah Highway Patrol, Get a Crash/Police Report. https://uhp.utah.gov/get-crash-police-report/

  3. Utah Code 31A-22-302, required components of motor vehicle insurance policies. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title31A/Chapter22/31A-22-S302.html

  4. Utah Code 31A-22-307, personal injury protection coverage. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title31A/Chapter22/31A-22-S307.html

  5. Utah Code 31A-22-309, limitations, exclusions, and conditions to personal injury protection. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title31A/Chapter22/31A-22-S309.html

  6. Utah Code 78B-5-818, comparative negligence. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title78B/Chapter5/78B-5-S818.html

  7. Utah Code 41-6a-601, speed regulations, reasonable and prudent under the conditions. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title41/Chapter6a/41-6a-S601.html

  8. UDOT Traffic, Winter Driving Info. https://prod-ut.ibi511.com/about/wtaInfo

  9. Utah Code 31A-22-304, minimum motor vehicle liability limits. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title31A/Chapter22/31A-22-S304.html

  10. Utah Code 31A-22-305, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title31A/Chapter22/31A-22-S305.html

  11. Utah Code 78B-2-307, actions within four years, including motor vehicle property damage. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title78B/Chapter2/78B-2-S307.html

  12. Utah Code 78B-2-305, general three-year limit for damage to personal property. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title78B/Chapter2/78B-2-S305.html

  13. Utah Code 32B-15-301, limits on dram shop liability and the two-year deadline. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title32B/Chapter15/32B-15-S301.html

  14. Utah Code 78B-8-201, basis for punitive damages and the exception for intoxicated drivers. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title78B/Chapter8/78B-8-S201.html

  15. Utah Code 32B-15-201, dram shop cause of action. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title32B/Chapter15/32B-15-S201.html

  16. Utah Code 41-6a-1505, protective headgear required under age 21. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title41/Chapter6a/41-6a-S1505.html

  17. Utah Code 41-6a-704, overtaking and passing, including motorcycle lane filtering. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title41/Chapter6a/41-6a-S704.html

  18. Utah Code 41-6a-1716, prohibition on handheld wireless device use while driving. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title41/Chapter6a/41-6a-S1716.html

About This Guide

Written by: ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial

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