Medical malpractice in Utah
Injury cap, with a death exception
Utah medical malpractice claims generally must be filed within two years of discovery and no later than four years after the care, usually after a required prelitigation panel. Non-death injury cases face a $450,000 noneconomic damages limit. Wrongful-death noneconomic damages follow a different constitutional path.
Last reviewed September 22, 2026
- Injury noneconomic
- $450,000
- Death noneconomic
- Not capped
- Usual filing window
- 2 years
Claims arising on or after May 15, 2010
Smith bars the cap in a wrongful-death case
From discovery, and within 4 years of the act
Damage caps
For a non-death malpractice claim arising on or after May 15, 2010, noneconomic damages generally may not exceed $450,000. Economic damages are not limited by that statute. The Utah Supreme Court has held that the noneconomic cap cannot be applied to wrongful-death noneconomic damages protected by the state constitution.
Not capped
Economic damages
Economic losses remain limited by proof. Section 78B-3-410 does not cap them.
Split by claim
Noneconomic damages
For a cause of action arising on or after May 15, 2010, noneconomic loss in a non-death malpractice action may not exceed $450,000. Earlier arising dates use lower historical bands in the statute. This page does not restate those older dollars. Confirm the arising date before using the $450,000 figure. The cap does not apply to wrongful-death noneconomic damages after Smith v. United States.
Do not apply $450,000 to wrongful-death noneconomic damages. Punitive awards are also outside the noneconomic cap.
Confirm how multiple defendants share the injury noneconomic limit on the facts. The wrongful-death exception is about the type of claim, not about adding a second cap.
Smith v. United States. In 2015, the Utah Supreme Court held that the Malpractice Act noneconomic cap cannot be applied to wrongful-death noneconomic damages protected by Utah Constitution article XVI, section 5. The $450,000 figure remains the injury rule for a qualifying arising date. It is not the wrongful-death rule.
Noneconomic rule by claim type
The claim type selects the rule for a cause of action arising on or after May 15, 2010. These are statutory descriptions, not payment averages. Earlier arising dates use historical bands that this page does not restate.
| Milestone | Non-death injury | Wrongful death |
|---|---|---|
| Arising on or after May 15, 2010Review year | $450,000 | Not applied after Smith |
The $450,000 injury figure is Utah Code section 78B-3-410 for a cause arising on or after May 15, 2010. Smith v. United States, 2015 UT 68, holds the cap unconstitutional as applied to wrongful-death noneconomic damages. Punitive damages are outside the noneconomic cap. Bingham v. Gourley (2024) is a recent challenge to the four-year repose. This page still treats that outer limit as controlling.
Punitive damages
Punitive damages are outside the noneconomic cap in section 78B-3-410. This page does not state a separate punitive dollar ceiling.
Filing deadlines
File within two years of discovery, and no more than four years from the act in most cases. Complete the required notice and panel steps, and obtain a certificate of compliance, before an ordinary court filing.
- General rule
A malpractice action must be commenced within two years after the plaintiff or patient discovers, or through reasonable diligence should have discovered, the injury. It may not be commenced more than four years after the alleged act, omission, neglect, or occurrence.
- Foreign object or concealment
A foreign object left in the body, and fraudulent concealment, follow one-year discovery paths in section 78B-3-404.
- Four-year repose
Utah courts treat the four-year outer limit as a statute of repose. Bingham v. Gourley (2024) is a recent constitutional challenge. This page treats the four-year limit as still controlling unless a later holding changes it.
- Prelitigation panel
Claimants generally must serve a notice of intent, complete Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing prelitigation panel review or a statutory bypass, and obtain a certificate of compliance before filing suit. An affidavit of merit can apply after a no-merit finding or a non-cooperation path. Panel timing and certificate issuance are the process traps.
What cases often look like
These notes describe public legal patterns. They are not case counts, win rates, or rankings.
Injury and death do not share one ceiling
The valuation split is a $450,000 noneconomic ceiling for a qualifying non-death injury, and no noneconomic cap on wrongful death after Smith.
The panel comes before the courthouse
Notice, prelitigation panel review, and a certificate of compliance are the ordinary path into court. An affidavit of merit can block the case after a no-merit panel finding.
Four years is still the outer calendar
Discovery does not extend the claim past four years from the act in an ordinary case. A 2024 challenge did not, on this research pass, retire that repose.
Payout context
Payment amounts vary by year, injury, and setting. This page does not state an average payout, a median, or a case count. To predict the payout for a Utah case, use MedMalPredict AI - Medical Malpractice Outcome Prediction.
Injury claims follow a noneconomic ceiling. Wrongful-death noneconomic damages follow a different constitutional path.
Sources
Official statute and agency pages checked September 22, 2026. First research pass on September 22, 2026. This summary still needs legal review before it is treated as legal advice. Noneconomic damages in a malpractice action are capped at $450,000 for a cause of action arising on or after May 15, 2010, under Utah Code section 78B-3-410. Earlier arising dates use lower historical bands in the statute. This page does not restate those older dollars. The cap does not apply to punitive awards. Under Smith v. United States, 2015 UT 68, the cap is unconstitutional as applied to wrongful-death noneconomic damages protected by Utah Constitution article XVI, section 5. Do not apply $450,000 to wrongful-death noneconomic damages. The filing period is two years from discovery and no more than four years from the act under section 78B-3-404, with foreign-object and fraudulent-concealment paths. Claimants generally must complete prelitigation panel review and obtain a certificate of compliance before an ordinary court filing. Sections 78B-3-412, 78B-3-416, and 78B-3-423, and Utah Admin. Code R156-78B, govern that process. Bingham v. Gourley (2024) addressed a challenge to the repose. This page treats the four-year outer limit as still controlling unless a later holding changes it.
- Utah Code § 78B-3-410 (statute mirror) (opens in a new tab)Accessed September 22, 2026
- Utah Code Title 78B, Chapter 3 (official PDF) (opens in a new tab)Accessed September 22, 2026
- Smith v. United States, 2015 UT 68 (opens in a new tab)Accessed September 22, 2026
- Utah Admin. Code R156-78B-14 (opens in a new tab)Accessed September 22, 2026
Review a case with MedMalPredict
Use MedMalPredict to organize records and timelines. Speak with a Utah attorney about panel filing and whether the claim is an injury case or a wrongful-death case under Smith.