Utah Code 78B-3-106 allows heirs or a personal representative to recover damages that are just under all the circumstances of the case. Those fall into three groups: economic damages that replace measurable financial losses, non-economic damages for the relational harm survivors carry, and, in limited situations, punitive damages.
Utah law recognizes that a wrongful death imposes both financial and emotional losses on surviving family members. Compensatory damages are meant to address the support, companionship, and stability the person provided. This page explains the categories available under Utah law, how comparative fault can affect recovery, and why no responsible attorney will quote a dollar figure in a first conversation. This is general information about what the law allows, not a prediction about any specific case. For the deadline to bring a claim, see how to file a wrongful death claim in Utah.
Utah Code 78B-3-106 defines wrongful death as death caused by the wrongful act, neglect, or default of another. Under that statute the personal representative of the estate or the heirs may bring an action to recover compensation. Only heirs or personal representatives can file, and only one claim can be brought per decedent. See who can file a wrongful death lawsuit in Utah for the hierarchy.
Wrongful death claims resemble personal injury cases in that they seek compensatory damages, but they are brought by surviving family members rather than by the injured person. The damages address both tangible financial losses and the intangible losses carried by those left behind. Claims can be brought against individuals, companies, or government entities depending on the circumstances.
Economic damages replace measurable financial losses and the support and services the person would have provided. Calculating them involves projecting future contributions and adjusting to present value.
Where someone suffers a fatal injury but does not die immediately, the family may recover the medical expenses incurred between injury and death. These typically include hospital bills, ambulance transport, surgical procedures, medications, and other treatment. Depending on the circumstances, they may be recoverable through the wrongful death action or through a related survival action under Utah Code 78B-3-107.
Reasonable funeral and burial expenses are recoverable. These cover funeral home costs, burial or cremation, cemetery plots, headstones, and memorial services. The standard is reasonableness under the circumstances. If you have questions about what qualifies, an experienced wrongful death attorney can help evaluate specific costs.
One of the largest categories is the financial support the person would have provided. That includes future wages, expected raises and promotions, retirement contributions, health insurance, and other employment benefits over their remaining working years. Lost earning capacity is assessed from work history, education, career trajectory, and remaining working years. Age and health at the time of death affect the projection. For more on how age factors into these calculations, see how age influences wrongful death cases.
Self-employed individuals and homemakers also have economic value. Utah’s model jury instructions recognize the economic worth of household labor and services even where the person was not earning a traditional salary.
Childcare, home maintenance, yard work, cooking, transportation, and other domestic contributions have real economic value and are recognized as economic damages. Their value is typically calculated using market rates for comparable services, often supported by expert testimony.
Non-economic damages address intangible losses. They have no fixed dollar equivalent, which is why they turn on the closeness of the relationship between the deceased person and each surviving family member.
Under Utah Code 78B-3-106, surviving family members may pursue compensation for the loss of society, consortium, affection, counsel, advice, and daily companionship. A surviving spouse loses a life partner. Adult children lose a parent’s guidance. A parent loses the connection of a child. Each relationship carries its own value and the law accounts for those differences.
The sorrow, emotional distress, and psychological impact carried by surviving family members are compensable. Grief counseling costs may also factor into the claim. This category addresses the lasting emotional toll on those who remain, which is often heaviest where the death was sudden.
Punitive damages serve a different purpose than compensatory damages. They are not meant to compensate survivors but to punish conduct and deter similar behavior, and they carry a higher burden of proof.
Under Utah Code 78B-8-201, punitive damages are available only where the plaintiff first recovers compensatory damages and then proves by clear and convincing evidence that the at-fault party acted willfully and maliciously, engaged in intentionally fraudulent conduct, or showed knowing and reckless indifference to the rights of others. They are awarded in rare cases.
Compensatory damages are generally decided under a preponderance standard, while punitive damages require clear and convincing evidence. Both differ from the beyond a reasonable doubt standard used in criminal prosecutions. For a deeper look at how these categories differ, see compensatory vs. punitive damages in Utah.
A survival action is separate from a wrongful death action. Under Utah Code 78B-3-107, certain causes of action do not end when the injured person dies. The personal representative or heirs may pursue both economic and non-economic damages the deceased person could have claimed had they survived.
Survival claims typically cover what the person suffered between injury and death, including pain and suffering, lost earnings during that period, and medical bills. The key distinction is that survival action proceeds go to the estate rather than directly to individual family members, and estate distribution then follows the will or applicable law. See what qualifies as wrongful death in Utah for how the two claims differ.
Every case is different. Value turns on a mix of personal and legal factors.
Utah applies a modified comparative fault rule under Utah Code 78B-5-818. If the person who died is found partly responsible for what happened, the recovery is reduced by that share of fault, and if the share is large enough the claim can be barred entirely. Utah Code 78B-5-819 requires the factfinder to separately determine total damages and each party’s percentage of responsibility, which is why thorough investigation of every fact matters.
Deadlines matter just as much. A claim generally must be filed within two years of the date of death, and within one year for the notice required when a government entity is involved. See how to file a wrongful death claim in Utah.
Any attorney who gives you a dollar figure in an initial conversation is telling you something they cannot know. Every case involves a unique combination of facts: earning history and potential, the number and ages of dependents, the strength of the evidence, how fault is allocated, the available insurance, and a long list of other variables.
Before a responsible estimate is even possible, someone has to investigate the circumstances, gather financial records, consult economists or vocational experts about future earnings, review medical records, and assess the liability evidence. That takes time.
An honest first conversation should cover the categories of compensation that may apply, the general process, the documents worth gathering, the applicable deadlines, and realistic expectations about timeline. It should not include promises, predictions, or guarantees. Ethical rules prohibit attorneys from making misleading statements about anticipated outcomes.
If you have lost a family member and want to understand your options, Robert J. DeBry and Associates offers a free consultation. Call 801-888-8888 to speak with a member of the team.
Under Utah Code 78B-3-106 and 78B-3-107, families may recover economic damages such as medical bills, funeral expenses, lost wages and benefits, and loss of household services, along with non-economic damages such as loss of companionship, grief, and mental anguish. Punitive damages may be available where the conduct meets a higher standard.
Yes. Reasonable funeral, burial, or cremation costs and related memorial expenses are economic damages recoverable under Utah wrongful death law.
Pecuniary damages are measurable financial losses, which is the economic damages category. That includes lost earnings, medical bills, financial support contributions, and the value of household services the person provided.
Yes. Loss of companionship, society, and guidance, along with the grief and mental anguish of surviving family members, are non-economic damages recoverable under Utah Code 78B-3-106.
Tax treatment varies by the type of damages involved. Some categories may be excluded from taxable income under federal law, while others, such as punitive damages, are generally taxable. Families should consult a tax professional about their own situation.
Utah does not impose general caps on economic or non-economic damages in wrongful death cases. The Utah Constitution contains a provision limiting the legislature’s ability to cap wrongful death damages. How that protection applies to a particular case is worth discussing with an attorney.
This is general information, not legal advice. Contacting Robert J. DeBry & Associates or submitting a form does not create an attorney-client relationship.