Utah · Medical malpractice · Updated
Medical malpractice cases in Utah: the rules and the lawyers
The deadline to file, the fault rule and the other Utah rules that matter for a medical malpractice case, each with the law it comes from. This is general information, not advice about your case.
We don’t list firms in Utah that take medical malpractice cases yet.
At a glance
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · Not legal advice
Deadline to file
2 years from discovery (4-year repose)
In Utah, a malpractice action against a health care provider “shall be commenced within two years after the plaintiff or patient discovers, or through the use of reasonable diligence should have discovered the injury,” and not later than four years after the act, omission, neglect or occurrence1.
That is the deadline for medical malpractice cases.
If you were partly at fault
Modified 50% bar
In Utah, if you are found 50% or more at fault, you generally can’t recover. If you are less at fault, what you get is cut by your share23.
Firms we list
0 firms
None yet for medical malpractice cases.
Know this first
Step 1: Four years to file in court
We don’t show Utah’s deadline here until we have checked it against the official text. Ask a lawyer, or each firm you call, which deadline applies to you.
If someone died, the time is shorter. Wrongful death: the basics explains these claims.
After a car crash
Utah car policies include no-fault cover, called PIP. The section on car crashes below explains it. If your own insurance company won’t pay PIP, you have four years from the loss to sue it4.
The list of Utah deadlines below gives the exceptions with the statute text.
The law, as written
Wrongful death2 years
In Utah, an action to recover damages for a death caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another must be brought within two years5.
If the state, a city, a county or a public school was involved
Step 2: Claims against the state or a city: notice within one year
This is the shortest Utah deadline. It covers claims against a government body, or against its employee for something done on the job6.
- File a notice of claim within one yearYou must file a written notice of claim within one year after the claim arises. It must go to the right person and follow the rules in the law. If you miss it, the claim is barred6.
- Wait 60 days before you sueYou can’t file a lawsuit until 60 days after you filed the notice7.
- Sue within two yearsThe lawsuit must be filed within two years after the claim arises7. That is two years, not four.
The claim usually arises when the clock would start for a claim against a private person. But it doesn’t start until you knew, or should have known, two things. You had a claim against a government body or its employee. And you knew which body or which employee8.
If a first lawsuit was filed in time but ended for a reason other than the merits, a new one may be filed within one year. This works only once, and only under set conditions7.
Parts of these rules changed in 2025.
Ask a lawyer early
A year goes quickly. The notice has strict rules about who gets it and what it says, so ask a lawyer before you send it.
The law, as written
Claims against governmental entities: notice of claimNotice within 1 year
Under the Governmental Immunity Act of Utah, a person with a claim against a governmental entity or its employee must file a notice of claim “within one year after the claim arises”6. When a claim arises is defined in the Act8.
More detail
§ 63G-7-402 has not been amended since 2008; §§ 63G-7-401 and 63G-7-403 were last amended in 2025.
Claims against governmental entities: suitSuit within 2 years after claim arises
In Utah, a claimant against a governmental entity must commence the action within two years after the claim arises7, and may sue in district court only once 60 days have passed after the notice of claim7.
More detail
In Utah, § 63G-7-403 also lets a claimant, under listed conditions, file a new action within one year after an earlier action failed or was dismissed, and only once7.
Good to know
Step 3: If you were partly at fault
In Utah, your own fault does not by itself stop your claim2. Your damages (the money for your harm) are cut by your share of the fault. But if you are found 50% or more at fault, you generally can’t recover2.
- Damages the court finds
- $100,000
- Your share of the fault: 20%
- You recover $80,000
- Your share of the fault: 49%
- You recover $51,000
- Your share of the fault: 50%
- You recover nothing
These numbers only show how the percentages work. They are not typical amounts. You can recover only if the others’ fault, added together, is more than yours2.
If more than one person is at fault, each one pays at most their own share of the damages3.
This is one reason not to guess about fault, or agree to a version of events, when an insurance company asks. Talking to the other driver’s insurance company has more on those calls.
The law, as written
Bar to recoveryModified 50% bar
In Utah, the fault of a person seeking recovery may not alone bar recovery by that person2, but may recover only from defendants whose fault, combined with that of immune persons and nonparties to whom fault is allocated, “exceeds the fault of the person seeking recovery”, so a claimant found 50% at fault recovers nothing2.
If a doctor, hospital or clinic was involved
Step 4: Medical claims: two years from finding out
In Utah, a lawsuit about a medical mistake must be filed within two years after you found out about the injury, or should have found out. It can never be filed more than four years after the mistake itself1.
Medical claims may have extra steps before you file.
Start early
A lawyer needs your records before they can judge a medical claim. How to get your medical records explains how to ask for them.
The law, as written
Medical malpractice2 years from discovery, 4-year repose
In Utah, a malpractice action against a health care provider “shall be commenced within two years after the plaintiff or patient discovers, or through the use of reasonable diligence should have discovered the injury,” and not later than four years after the act, omission, neglect or occurrence1.
More detail
A 2025 bill (H.B. 288) proposed amending § 78B-3-404; the official text in force shows the section last amended in 2012 (Laws of Utah 2012, ch. 384), so the bill did not change it1.
If they were under 18
Step 5: If the injured person is a child
While the injured person is under 18, the clock for most claims does not run. The same is true while a person is mentally incompetent9.
It is not confirmed whether this also pauses the medical deadline or the notice for claims against a government body.
Don’t wait for the child to grow up
Evidence and witnesses fade. A parent or guardian can ask a lawyer about the dates now.
The law, as written
Next
Step 6: What to do with this
- Write down the datesThe day you were hurt, the day you found out what caused it, and anything an insurance company, government body or hospital sent you.
- Ask a lawyer about your factsThese rules have exceptions that depend on details. Find injury law firms in Utah, listed A–Z or by distance, never ranked.
- Ask each firmWhich deadline applies to me, do I need to file a notice of claim, and by when?
More Utah rules
This page keeps to the rules that matter most for a medical malpractice case. The Utah page has all of them.
Injured in Utah: all deadlines and rules
Other case types in Utah:
After a medical malpractice: the general guide
What to do if you think a doctor, hospital or clinic hurt you: get care, get your records, and learn the extra steps and short deadlines that medical-malpractice claims often have, state by state.
How to check a lawyer’s license in Utah
Each state keeps a public list of lawyers. Before you hire anyone, look the lawyer up by name and read what the listing says about their license. If it isn’t clear, call the office that keeps the list.
How we list firms
How we list firms
We don’t rank firms. Listing is free and doesn’t depend on buying anything.
Firms are listed for free, in A–Z order, when they say they take medical malpractice cases. Every fact shows its source and date. We don’t recommend lawyers, and we don’t pass on your details.
Sources
Where the legal facts on this page come from
- Utah Code § 78B-3-404“(1) A malpractice action against a health care provider shall be commenced within two years after the plaintiff or patient discovers, or through the use of reasonable diligence should have discovered the injury, whichever first occurs, but not to exceed four years after the date of the alleged act, omission, neglect, or occurrence.”Read the source: Utah Code § 78B-3-404
- Utah Code § 78B-5-818“(1) The fault of a person seeking recovery may not alone bar recovery by that person. (2) A person seeking recovery may recover from any defendant or group of defendants whose fault, combined with the fault of persons immune from suit and nonparties to whom fault is allocated, exceeds the fault of the person seeking recovery prior to any reallocation of fault made under Subsection 78B-5-819(2).”Read the source: Utah Code § 78B-5-818
- Utah Code § 78B-5-820“(1) Subject to Section 78B-5-818, the maximum amount for which a defendant may be liable to any person seeking recovery is that percentage or proportion of the damages equivalent to the percentage or proportion of fault attributed to that defendant.”Read the source: Utah Code § 78B-5-820
- Utah Code § 31A-22-307“(1) Personal injury protection coverages and benefits include: (a) up to the minimum amount required coverage of not less than $3,000 per person, the reasonable value of all expenses for necessary: … (b) (i) the lesser of $250 per week or 85% of any loss of gross income and loss of earning capacity per person from inability to work, for a maximum of 52 consecutive weeks after the loss, except that this benefit need not be paid for the first three days of disability, unless the disability continues for longer than two consecutive weeks after the date of injury; and (ii) a special damage allowance not exceeding $20 per day for a maximum of 365 days, for services actually rendered or expenses reasonably incurred for services that, but for the injury, the injured person would have performed for the injured person's household, … … (c) funeral, burial, or cremation benefits not to exceed a total of $1,500 per person; and (d) compensation on account of death of a person, payable to the person's heirs, in the total of $3,000. … (6) Deductibles are not permitted with respect to the insurance coverages required under this section. (7) (a) A person shall bring an action on a written policy or contract for personal injury protection coverage within four years after the inception of loss. …”Read the source: Utah Code § 31A-22-307
- Utah Code § 78B-2-304“An action may be brought within two years: ... (3) for recovery of damages for a death caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another;”Read the source: Utah Code § 78B-2-304
- Utah Code § 63G-7-402“A claim against a governmental entity, or against an employee for an act or omission occurring during the performance of the employee's duties, within the scope of employment, or under color of authority, is barred unless notice of claim is filed with the person and according to the requirements of Section 63G-7-401 within one year after the claim arises regardless of whether or not the function giving rise to the claim is characterized as governmental.”Read the source: Utah Code § 63G-7-402
- Utah Code § 63G-7-403“(2)(a)(ii) A claimant may not file an action before the date that is 60 days after the claimant's notice of claim is filed. (b) Subject to Subsection (3), a claimant shall commence the action within two years after the claim arises, as provided in Subsection 63G-7-401(2), regardless of whether or not the function giving rise to the claim is characterized as governmental. (3)(b) A claimant may commence an action after the time limit described in Subsection (2)(b) if: (i) the claimant had commenced a previous action within the time limit of Subsection (2)(b); (ii) the previous action failed or was dismissed for a reason other than on the merits; and (iii) the claimant commences the new action within one year after the previous action failed or was dismissed. (c) A claimant may commence a new action under Subsection (3)(b) only once.”Read the source: Utah Code § 63G-7-403
- Utah Code § 63G-7-401“(2)(a) Except as provided in Subsection (2)(b), a claim arises when the statute of limitations that would apply if the claim were against a private person begins to run. (b) The statute of limitations does not begin to run until a claimant knew, or with the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known: (i) that the claimant had a claim against the governmental entity or the governmental entity's employee; and (ii) the identity of the governmental entity or the name of the employee.”Read the source: Utah Code § 63G-7-401
- Utah Code § 78B-2-108“(1) An individual may not bring a cause of action while the individual is: (a) under 18 years old; or (b) mentally incompetent without a legal guardian. (2) During the time that an individual is underage or mentally incompetent, the statute of limitations for a cause of action other than for the recovery of real property may not run.”Read the source: Utah Code § 78B-2-108
- Utah Code § 78B-2-307“An action may be brought within four years: ... (4) for relief not otherwise provided for by law.”Read the source: Utah Code § 78B-2-307
- Bingham v. Gourley, 2024 UT 38, 556 P.3d 53
- Utah Code § 31A-22-302“(1) Every policy of insurance or combination of policies purchased to satisfy the owner's or operator's security requirement of Section 41-12a-301 shall include: … (d) except as provided in Subsection (2) and subject to Subsection (4), personal injury protection under Sections 31A-22-306 through 31A-22-309. (2) A policy of insurance or combination of policies, purchased to satisfy the owner's or operator's security requirement of Section 41-12a-301 for a motorcycle, off-highway vehicle, street-legal all-terrain vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer is not required to have personal injury protection under Sections 31A-22-306 through 31A-22-309. … (b) Owners and operators of motorcycles, off-highway vehicles, street-legal all-terrain vehicles, trailers, and semitrailers are not covered by personal injury protection coverages in connection with injuries incurred while operating any of these vehicles. …”Read the source: Utah Code § 31A-22-302
- Utah Code § 31A-22-308“The following may receive benefits under personal injury protection coverage: (1) the named insured, when injured in an accident involving any motor vehicle, regardless of whether the accident occurs in this state, the United States, its territories or possessions, or Canada, except where the injury is the result of the use or operation of the named insured's own motor vehicle not actually insured under the policy; (2) persons related to the insured by blood, marriage, adoption, or guardianship who are residents of the insured's household, including those who usually make their home in the same household but temporarily live elsewhere under the circumstances described in Subsection (1), except where the person is injured as a result of the use or operation of the person's own motor vehicle not insured under the policy; and (3) any other natural person whose injuries arise out of an automobile accident occurring: (a) while the person occupies a motor vehicle described in the policy with the express or implied consent of the named insured; or (b) if the person is a pedestrian who is injured in an accident occurring in Utah involving the described motor vehicle. …”Read the source: Utah Code § 31A-22-308
- Utah Code § 31A-22-309“(1) (a) A person who has or is required to have direct benefit coverage under a policy that includes personal injury protection may not maintain a cause of action for general damages arising out of personal injuries alleged to have been caused by an automobile accident, except where the person sustains one or more of the following: (i) death; (ii) dismemberment; (iii) permanent disability or permanent impairment based upon objective findings; (iv) permanent disfigurement; (v) a bone fracture; or (vi) medical expenses to a person in excess of $3,000. (b) Subsection (1)(a) does not apply to a person making an uninsured motorist claim. … (4) When a person injured is also an insured party under any other policy, including those policies complying with this part, primary coverage is given by the policy insuring the motor vehicle in use during the accident. (5) (a) Payment of the benefits provided for in Section 31A-22-307 shall be made on a monthly basis as expenses are incurred. (b) Benefits for any period are overdue if the insurer does not pay the benefits within 30 days after the day on which the insurer receives reasonable proof of the fact and amount of expenses incurred during the period. …”Read the source: Utah Code § 31A-22-309
This is general information, not legal advice.