Utah Wrongful Death Lawyer: Who Can File Under Utah Code 78B-3-106, Damages & Time Limits

Losing a family member to someone else's negligence is one of the most devastating experiences a family can endure. Utah law provides a legal mechanism. A wrongful death action allows surviving family members to seek compensation from the parties responsible for that loss. Understanding who can file, what damages are recoverable, and when the legal deadline falls is essential to pursuing a claim.

This guide explains Utah's wrongful death statute, Utah Code Ann. § 78B-3-106, in plain language. BAM Injury Law, a Murray, Utah personal injury firm, is led by managing partner Kigan Martineau (Utah Bar #15299). He represents families in wrongful death claims arising from vehicle crashes, truck accidents, workplace incidents, and premises liability.

What Is a Wrongful Death Claim Under Utah Law?

A wrongful death claim is a civil lawsuit. Surviving family members file it against parties whose negligence caused the death. It is separate from criminal charges. This civil case uses the “preponderance of evidence” standard, not the stricter “beyond a reasonable doubt” rule.

Who Can File a Utah Wrongful Death Lawsuit?

Under Utah Code Ann. § 78B-3-105, the personal representative (executor or administrator) of the decedent’s estate must bring the wrongful death claim. When the deceased left a will, it often named an executor to serve as personal representative. When there is no will, a family member typically petitions the probate court to act as administrator.

The personal representative does not keep the recovery for themselves—they hold the funds in trust and distribute them to the statutory heirs identified in § 78B-3-106. Utah's statutory heirs in a wrongful death case are:

• The surviving spouse of the deceased
• The children of the deceased (including legally adopted children)
• The stepchildren who were financially dependent on the deceased
• The parents of the deceased, if there is no surviving spouse or children

Utah courts apportion wrongful death damages among the heirs based on the nature of their relationship with the decedent. This also includes the magnitude of their individual losses. A surviving spouse who was also financially dependent on the decedent will typically recover a larger share than an adult child who was financially independent.

One important point: siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins are generally not Utah wrongful death statutory heirs unless there is no surviving spouse, children, or parents. BAM Injury Law advises extended family members to consult with a wrongful death attorney promptly to evaluate whether any legal theory might support their claim.

What Damages Are Recoverable in a Utah Wrongful Death Case?

Utah Code Ann. § 78B-3-106 allows the recovery of both economic and non-economic damages in a wrongful death case. Unlike some other states, Utah does not cap wrongful death non-economic damages, which means there is no legislative ceiling on compensation for grief, loss of companionship, and emotional suffering.

Economic Damages

• Medical and emergency care expenses: All medical bills incurred from the time of injury through the time of death, including emergency room treatment, hospitalization, surgery, and intensive care.
• Funeral and burial expenses: Reasonable funeral, burial, or cremation costs.
• Lost future earnings and financial support: The income the decedent would have earned and contributed to the family over their expected working life, reduced to present value. Expert economists and vocational rehabilitation specialists calculate this figure based on the decedent's age, occupation, education, work history, and life expectancy tables.
• Loss of household services: The value of services the decedent provided to the family—childcare, home maintenance, cooking, and transportation—that survivors must now pay others to perform.
• Loss of inheritance: The portion of the decedent's expected estate that survivors would have received had the decedent lived a normal lifespan.

Non-Economic Damages

• Loss of love and companionship: The loss of the deceased person's presence, affection, and companionship in the daily lives of the surviving spouse and children.
• Loss of consortium: For a surviving spouse, the loss of the intimate, emotional, and physical relationship with the decedent.
• Grief and emotional distress: The psychological suffering experienced by each surviving heir as a direct result of the loss.
• Loss of parental guidance: For surviving minor children, the loss of the parental guidance, mentorship, and nurturing the decedent would have provided through the children's developmental years.

Punitive Damages

When the at-fault party's conduct was grossly negligent, reckless, or intentional—for example, a drunk driver, a trucking company that knowingly dispatched an overloaded truck with known brake problems, or a property owner who ignored a specific known hazard that caused the death—Utah Code Ann. § 78B-8-201 authorizes punitive damages. Punitive damages punish the wrongdoer and deter similar conduct. They can substantially increase the total recovery in egregious cases.

The Survival Action: A Companion Claim

A wrongful death claim compensates the surviving heirs for their losses. A companion legal theory, the survival action under Utah Code Ann. § 78B-3-107 compensates the decedent's estate for damages the decedent personally suffered between the time of injury and death. These include:

• Pre-death pain and suffering experienced by the decedent
• Medical bills incurred while the decedent was alive following the injury
• Lost wages from the date of injury to the date of death

The personal representative usually files both the wrongful death claim and the survival action in one lawsuit. BAM Injury Law reviews both legal theories in every case to identify and pursue all available damages.

Utah Wrongful Death Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations for Utah wrongful death claims is set by Utah Code Ann. § 78B-2-304 at two years from the date of the decedent's death. This is measured from the date of death, not the date of the negligent act that caused the injury. If the decedent survived for weeks or months after the accident before passing away, the two-year clock begins on the date of death.

Critical exception: Government entity defendants. If a government agency—such as a city, county, or state department—caused the death through negligence, the Utah Government Immunity Act (Utah Code § 63G-7-402) requires the family to file a written Notice of Claim within one year. Failure to file this notice within the one-year window permanently bars the claim against the government entity, regardless of the two-year general statute of limitations.

Missing either deadline—the two-year statute of limitations or the one-year government Notice of Claim requirement—typically results in permanent loss of the family's right to compensation. This is why consulting a Utah wrongful death lawyer promptly after a loss is so important.

Common Causes of Wrongful Death in Utah

BAM Injury Law handles wrongful death claims arising from a wide range of negligent conduct:

• Motor vehicle collisions: Including car-on-car crashes, rear-end collisions on I-15 and I-80, head-on crashes on rural Utah highways, and crashes caused by drunk or distracted drivers.
• Commercial truck accidents: Semi-truck and 18-wheeler crashes often involve FMCSA hours-of-service violations, brake failures, overloaded cargo, or carrier negligence in hiring unqualified drivers. These cases involve multiple defendants and large insurance policies.
• Motorcycle and bicycle crashes: Motorcyclists and cyclists are especially vulnerable to serious injury from driver inattention or failure to yield. Wrongful death claims in these cases frequently involve drivers who claim they never saw the victim.
• Premises liability: Fatal falls, swimming pool drownings, structural collapses, and criminal assaults on negligently secured property can support wrongful death claims against property owners.
• Workplace fatalities: Some workplace deaths—particularly those involving non-employer third parties (equipment manufacturers, subcontractors, property owners)—can support a civil wrongful death claim alongside a workers' compensation claim.
• Product liability: Defective vehicles, industrial equipment, medical devices, or consumer products that cause fatal injuries can support wrongful death claims against the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer under Utah's products liability law.

Utah Wrongful Death Probate Coordination

Because the wrongful death action must be brought by the personal representative of the estate, most families need to open a probate proceeding before the lawsuit can be filed. This does not require the decedent to have had significant assets -- even a minimal estate can be opened for the sole purpose of appointing a personal representative to pursue the wrongful death claim.

How BAM Injury Law Handles Utah Wrongful Death Cases

BAM Injury Law is located at 310 E 4500 S, Suite 550, Murray, Utah 84107, with a secondary office in Meridian, Idaho. Managing partner Kigan Martineau (Utah Bar #15299) leads the firm's wrongful death practice; BAM Injury Law is licensed in both Utah and Idaho.

BAM's wrongful death case approach:

• Free consultation: BAM offers a no-cost initial consultation to explain the family's legal options, evaluate the strength of the claim, and identify immediate steps to preserve evidence and protect deadlines.
• Probate coordination: BAM connects families with probate attorneys who can efficiently open an estate for litigation purposes when needed.
• Evidence preservation: Immediate steps to secure crash evidence, electronic data, surveillance footage, witness statements, and any records that might otherwise be lost.
• Full damages analysis: BAM works with economists, life-care planners, and vocational rehabilitation experts to document the full scope of economic and non-economic damages for each surviving heir.
• Contingency-fee representation: The family pays no attorney's fees unless BAM achieves a recovery. All case costs are advanced by BAM and reimbursed from the settlement or verdict.

For a comprehensive overview of Utah wrongful death law, who can sue, what damages are available, and how BAM Injury Law handles these cases from initial investigation through resolution, see our dedicated Utah wrongful death lawyer guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can file a wrongful death lawsuit in Utah?

Under Utah Code Ann. § 78B-3-105, a wrongful death action must be brought by the personal representative of the deceased person's estate on behalf of the statutory heirs. The statutory heirs under § 78B-3-106 include the surviving spouse, children, stepchildren who were financially dependent on the deceased, and parents (if there is no surviving spouse or children).

What damages are available in a Utah wrongful death case?

Utah wrongful death damages under § 78B-3-106 include economic damages (medical expenses, funeral costs, lost future earnings, loss of household services, loss of inheritance); non-economic damages (loss of love, companionship, society, comfort, and consortium); and, in cases involving gross negligence or intentional misconduct, punitive damages under Utah Code § 78B-8-201. Utah does not cap wrongful death non-economic damages.

What is the statute of limitations for a Utah wrongful death lawsuit?

Utah Code Ann. § 78B-2-304 sets a two-year statute of limitations for wrongful death actions, measured from the date of death. For claims against a government entity, the Utah Government Immunity Act requires a Notice of Claim within one year of the death. Missing either deadline typically bars the family's claim permanently.

What is the difference between a wrongful death claim and a survival action in Utah?

A wrongful death claim compensates the surviving heirs for their losses (grief, lost support, loss of companionship). A survival action under Utah Code § 78B-3-107 compensates the estate for the damages the decedent personally suffered before death—including pre-death pain and suffering, medical expenses, and lost wages from injury to death. Both can be filed simultaneously by the personal representative.

How does BAM Injury Law handle wrongful death cases in Utah?

BAM Injury Law in Murray, Utah, represents families in wrongful death cases on a contingency-fee basis—no fees unless we win. Managing partner Kigan Martineau (Utah Bar #15299) coordinates probate opening when needed, preserves evidence immediately, and pursues the full scope of economic and non-economic damages for each surviving heir. BAM offers free consultations at (801) 839-5652.

BAM Injury Law—Murray, Utah. Free consultations for Utah and Idaho wrongful death families. Call (801) 839-5652. No fees unless we win.

The majority of Utah wrongful death cases arise from vehicle crashes. For the Third District Court process, Utah PIP rules, and the comparative fault framework that applies before and after a fatal crash, see our Salt Lake City car accident attorney guide.

Related: Utah Wrongful Death Lawsuit Process Guide

Related: Utah Wrongful Death Damages: How Compensation Is Calculated for Surviving Families

See also: BAM Injury Law Case Results: Utah and Idaho Personal Injury Settlements