Utah Lawsuit Loans That Carry Your Household Until the Case Pays
- Decision: typically one business day after your file reaches us
- Payments during the case: zero
- Credit or employment review: not part of our process
- If the case fails: you keep the funds and the account is closed
- Needed from you: a pending Utah claim and a lawyer on a contingent fee
Three Utah Plaintiffs. One Problem.
The Lehi commuter
A box truck drifts into her lane on I-15 near Point of the Mountain. Two herniated discs, one surgery, five kids at home, one income. Her own policy’s wage benefit is $250 a week. The mortgage in Utah County is a good deal more than that.
The Vernal roustabout
A subcontractor’s crew leaves a well site unsafe and he falls. Workers’ comp covers part of his pay, and his lawyer files a third-party suit against the company that caused it. That suit is the valuable one, and it will not be quick.
The St. George retiree
A botched hip revision leaves her needing a second operation. Utah requires a prelitigation panel review before a malpractice suit can even be filed. Her savings were meant for retirement, not for outlasting a hospital’s insurer.
Different injuries, same squeeze: a claim with real value, and a household that cannot coast until it pays. That squeeze is the one thing we fix.
What Utah’s No-Fault Insurance Pays, and Where It Stops
Utah is one of roughly a dozen no-fault auto states. After a crash, your own insurer pays first through personal injury protection, no matter who caused the wreck. That sounds generous until you read the amounts the statute actually requires (Utah Code § 31A-22-307).
One ambulance ride and an ER visit with imaging can use up the medical benefit before you are discharged. The wage benefit would not cover rent on a one-bedroom in Salt Lake County. And Utah has the largest average household size in the country, so that single reduced paycheck is often feeding six or seven people.
To step outside no-fault and pursue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering, you generally need more than $3,000 in medical bills, or a fracture, permanent impairment, disfigurement, or a death (§ 31A-22-309). Most people searching for funding cleared that bar long ago. The trouble is that clearing it starts a liability claim, and liability claims are slow.
Minimum PIP in Utah
Unless you bought more than the minimum, this is everything your own auto policy owes you:
- Medical: $3,000 per person
- Lost income: 85% of gross pay, capped at $250 a week, for no more than 52 weeks
- Household help: $20 a day for up to a year
- Funeral: $1,500
- Death benefit: $3,000
How Long Does a Utah Injury Case Really Take?
Utah courts have done more than most to keep civil cases moving. Under Rule 26, every case is sorted into a tier by the amount at stake: $50,000 or less, up to $300,000, and everything above. Each tier gets a fixed allowance of discovery time and deposition hours, running from roughly four months at the bottom to about seven at the top.
That helps. It does not make a serious case fast. Here is where the time still goes:
- Before anything is filed. Utah gives most negligence claims four years, so insurers feel little urgency early on. Many claims spend a year or more in treatment and pre-suit negotiation.
- Malpractice prelitigation. A notice of intent, then a review panel through the state’s licensing division, all before the complaint (§ 78B-3-416). Months pass before the court clock even starts.
- Extraordinary discovery. In high-value cases, defendants routinely ask the judge for more time than the tier allows, and frequently get it.
- Crowded calendars on the Wasatch Front. The Third District in Salt Lake City and the Fourth in Provo carry the heaviest civil loads in the state. Trial dates get bumped.
- Appeals. A plaintiff’s verdict against a well-funded defendant is rarely the last word.
Add it up and eighteen months to three years is an ordinary lifespan for a contested Utah claim. PIP wage benefits end at week 52.
Where Utahns Get Hurt, and the Claims We Fund
On the road
- Multi-vehicle crashes on I-15 between Ogden and Spanish Fork
- Semi-truck wrecks in Parleys Canyon on I-80, on I-70, and on US-6 through Spanish Fork Canyon
- Tourist-season collisions on US-191 near Moab and SR-9 near Zion
- Pedestrians and cyclists struck in Salt Lake City, plus TRAX and FrontRunner incidents involving UTA
- Drunk and distracted driving cases, including claims against the bar or restaurant that overserved
On the mountain, the trail, and the water
- Skier and snowboarder collisions, and lift or equipment failures, at Wasatch and Park City resorts. Utah’s skiing statute protects resorts from ordinary slope hazards, not from everything.
- Side-by-side and ATV rollovers tied to vehicle defects
- Guided rafting, canyoneering, and tour operator negligence around Moab and southern Utah
- Boat fires, propeller strikes, and carbon monoxide poisonings at Lake Powell, Bear Lake, and Flaming Gorge
On the job
Workers’ comp benefits themselves are not something we advance against. A lawsuit against a negligent third party is.
- Oil and gas injuries in the Uinta Basin caused by a company other than your employer
- Mine, smelter, and refinery accidents with third-party contractors or equipment makers at fault
- Construction falls and trench collapses along the fast-growing Silicon Slopes corridor
- Railroad worker claims under federal law out of the Ogden and Salt Lake yards
In hospitals, from products, and from prescriptions
- Surgical, birth, and diagnostic errors.
- Defective vehicles, tools, and consumer goods. See product liability funding.
- Dangerous medications. See defective drug funding.
- National device, chemical, and drug litigation. See mass tort funding.
- Fatal injuries from any of the above.
Abuse in youth programs and institutions
Utah has hosted more residential “troubled teen” programs than any other state, and former students have brought a wave of suits alleging physical and sexual abuse. The Legislature tightened oversight of those facilities in 2021. Utah has also eliminated the filing deadline for suing an abuser personally (§ 78B-2-308), though claims against the institution that employed them face shorter and more technical limits. We fund survivors’ cases with complete discretion. See sexual abuse lawsuit funding and Boy Scouts claim funding.
Business disputes
Founders, contractors, and small companies fighting larger opponents in Utah state or federal court can ask about commercial litigation funding.
The Four Things We Weigh
Your finances are not on the list. The file is.
- Liability. How clearly the evidence points at the defendant, and whether any share of fault might land on you.
- Injuries. Diagnosis, treatment so far, and what your doctors expect long term. Surgery and permanent impairment raise value. Soft-tissue cases with gaps in treatment lower it.
- The likely timeline. A case about to mediate and a case awaiting a panel hearing are in very different places.
- Who pays. Policy limits, umbrella coverage, corporate defendants, or a government entity subject to a statutory ceiling.
From those four we estimate what you should net, then offer a measured portion of it, leaving the lion’s share for the day you settle.
Three Conversations, Then a Deposit
You and us
Ten minutes online or by phone. Tell us how you were hurt, who represents you, and roughly what would steady the ship.
Us and your attorney’s office
We request the core documents: police or incident report, medical summary, insurance disclosures, and the demand or complaint if there is one. Nothing is asked of you here except a quick note to your lawyer that we will be in touch.
All three of us
We present figures in writing. You and your attorney review them together, ask whatever you want, and sign electronically if you are satisfied. Funds move the same day the signed agreement comes back, by bank transfer or overnight check.
Curious about the mechanics? See how settlement loans work.
Utah Regulates Lawsuit Funding. That Is Good News for You.
In many states, legal funding runs on contract law and little else. Utah chose a different path. The Maintenance Funding Practices Act (Utah Code Title 13, Chapter 57) puts consumer legal funding under the Utah Division of Consumer Protection. Among other things, the Act:
- requires funding providers to register with the state before serving Utah consumers
- requires clear written disclosures in the agreement, so the amount you may owe is not hidden in fine print
- bars providers from paying referral fees or commissions to your attorney or your doctors
- keeps the provider out of your case, with decisions about settlement left to you and your lawyer
Whoever you choose, ask whether they are registered in Utah and ask to see the disclosures before you sign. A legitimate company will be glad you asked.
For the basics of how repayment works, read our explainer on non-recourse funding.
Utah Injury Law in One Table
These rules shape what a claim is worth, which in turn shapes what any funder can responsibly advance.
| Utah rule | What it says | What it means for your advance |
|---|---|---|
| Filing deadlines | Four years for most negligence injuries (§ 78B-2-307). Two years for wrongful death (§ 78B-2-304), malpractice (§ 78B-3-404), and product liability (§ 78B-6-706). | A generous deadline means many claims are still pre-suit when money gets tight. We can fund at that stage once coverage is confirmed. |
| The 50% line | You recover only if your share of fault is below 50%, and your award shrinks by that share (§ 78B-5-818). | At an even split you get nothing, so disputed-fault files get careful review and smaller offers. |
| Each defendant pays only its own share | Utah abolished joint liability. A defendant found 30% at fault owes 30% (§§ 78B-5-818 to -820). | With several defendants, we look at what each one can pay, not just the deepest pocket. |
| Malpractice pain-and-suffering cap | Non-economic damages are capped at $450,000 (§ 78B-3-410). The Utah Supreme Court held in Smith v. United States (2015) that the cap cannot apply to wrongful death. | Malpractice advances are sized with the cap in mind unless the case involves a death. |
| Punitive damages | Beyond the first $50,000, half of any punitive award goes to the state (§ 78B-8-201). | We do not count on punitive damages when valuing a file. |
| Claims against government | A written notice of claim is due within one year (§ 63G-7-402), and total damages are limited by statute. This covers cities, counties, school districts, UDOT, and UTA. | Fundable, but the ceiling keeps advances modest. |
| Dog bites | Owners are strictly liable for injuries their dogs cause (§ 18-1-1). | Clear liability. Value depends on the homeowner’s policy. |
About the Cost
An advance is not cheap money, and it should never be sold as if it were. We give up the whole amount whenever a funded case fails, so the pricing has to account for that. Anyone comparing it to a car loan is comparing the wrong things.
You will notice there is no percentage printed here. Each Utah file is priced on its own facts: how solid liability is, how long the road ahead looks, which insurer or entity is paying, and how much you request. Quoting a figure before we have read your file would be guesswork, and guesswork is how people end up surprised at disbursement.
Instead you receive a written schedule showing, in dollars, what would be owed if the case resolved at various points in the future. Your attorney sees the same document. Nothing is charged to apply, nothing is charged to review, and declining the offer costs nothing.
One piece of advice we give every caller: request no more than it takes to steady things. A lean advance leaves more of the settlement where it belongs.
From Logan to St. George, and Everywhere Between
Four out of five Utahns live along the Wasatch Front, but injuries happen in all 29 counties, and so does our funding. There is no branch to visit. Cases in any of Utah’s eight judicial districts, its justice and district courts, and the federal District of Utah are all eligible.
- Salt Lake Valley: Salt Lake City, West Valley City, West Jordan, Sandy, South Jordan, Murray, Taylorsville, Draper, Herriman, Riverton
- Utah County: Provo, Orem, Lehi, American Fork, Pleasant Grove, Spanish Fork, Springville, Eagle Mountain, Saratoga Springs
- Davis and Weber Counties: Ogden, Layton, Bountiful, Clearfield, Kaysville, Roy, Syracuse
- Cache Valley and the north: Logan, Brigham City, Tremonton
- Summit and Wasatch Counties: Park City, Heber City, Kamas
- Southern Utah: St. George, Washington, Hurricane, Cedar City, Kanab
- Eastern and central Utah: Vernal, Roosevelt, Price, Moab, Richfield, Tooele
Visiting when you were hurt? Skiers, hikers, and national park travelers injured here usually end up with a Utah case and a Utah lawyer, and they qualify on the same terms. If you are new to the idea, our overview of pre-settlement loans is a good first read, and our team is reachable through the contact page.
Utah Pre-Settlement Funding FAQ
Are lawsuit loans legal and regulated in Utah?
Yes on both counts. Utah’s Maintenance Funding Practices Act places consumer legal funding under the Division of Consumer Protection, with registration and disclosure requirements for providers. That makes Utah one of the more protective states for plaintiffs who use funding.
My medical bills are still under $3,000. Can I apply?
Talk to your attorney first. Under Utah’s no-fault rules, you generally cannot bring a claim for pain and suffering after a car crash unless your medical expenses pass $3,000 or you suffered a qualifying injury such as a fracture or permanent impairment. If there is no liability claim yet, there is nothing for us to advance against. Once your lawyer confirms the threshold is met, we can look at it.
The adjuster says the crash was half my fault. What does that do to funding?
It matters a great deal in Utah, because a plaintiff found 50% responsible recovers nothing. Adjusters know that and lean on it. We look at the police report, photos, and witness accounts ourselves rather than accepting the insurer’s framing. If your lawyer believes your share is well under half and the evidence agrees, the case can still be funded.
Will an advance interfere with my PIP benefits or my health insurance?
No. PIP is owed by your own auto insurer under your policy, and health coverage follows its own rules. Neither depends on whether you take funding. One caution: if you receive needs-based benefits such as Medicaid or SSI, ask your attorney before accepting any lump sum, because extra cash in your account can affect eligibility.
I live in another state and was injured on a ski trip to Utah. Am I eligible?
Yes. What counts is a viable claim with a lawyer actively working it. Where you live does not change our review, and everything is done remotely.
My claim is against UTA or a city. Is that a problem?
Not a problem, but it is a factor. Claims against Utah governmental entities require a notice of claim within a year and are subject to statutory damage limits. Provided your attorney filed the notice on time, we can fund the case, with the advance scaled to the limit.
Do you get any say in whether I settle?
None. You and your attorney control the case from start to finish. We do not attend mediations, approve offers, or contact the defense. Utah’s funding statute reinforces that separation.
What if my settlement comes in lower than everyone expected?
Your attorney’s fee, case costs, and any medical liens are handled first, then the advance is repaid from what remains. If what remains is not enough, we accept the shortfall. You are never asked to make up the difference from your own pocket.
How do most Utah clients use their advance?
Housing comes first, whether that is rent in Salt Lake or a mortgage in Utah County. After that: winter heating bills, a replacement vehicle, insurance premiums, groceries for a big family, and the co-pays that pile up during rehab. You decide. We do not track it.
