When the Insurance Company Blames the Person Who Died

Losing someone in a crash is hard enough. It is worse when the insurer starts suggesting the person who died caused it — and they are not here to answer.

That tactic is not random. Under Utah law, blame assigned to the person who died comes directly out of what the family can recover.

Utah measures fault in percentages

Utah follows a modified comparative fault rule. Under Utah Code § 78B-5-818, someone seeking recovery may recover only from defendants whose fault “exceeds the fault of the person seeking recovery.” Whatever is awarded is then reduced in proportion to that person’s own share.

In practice:

• If the other driver carries 80% of the fault, the recovery is reduced by the remaining 20%.
• If fault lands evenly at 50/50, the defendant’s fault no longer exceeds the claimant’s, and recovery is barred completely.

That 50% line is why an adjuster fights over a few percentage points. Moving fault from 45% to 50% does not trim a claim. It ends it.

In a fatal case, that share is assigned to your loved one

In a wrongful death claim, fault attributed to the person who died reduces what the surviving family receives, and at a high enough percentage erases it. That creates an argument the family cannot answer: the one person who knows what they saw is gone. A single line in a crash report, or a surviving driver’s uncontested account of a wreck on Riverdale Road or I-15, can harden into the official story before anyone questions it.

Fault can be pointed at people who are not in the case

Utah’s statute also allows fault to be allocated to nonparties and to parties immune from suit — an unidentified driver, or someone who cannot be sued at all. The percentage assigned to that empty chair still comes off the top of the family’s recovery.

A 2026 change Utah families should know about

For years, Utah law kept seat belt evidence out of civil cases. That has changed. Senate Bill 74, signed in March 2026 and effective May 6, 2026, amended Utah Code § 41-6a-1806. Failure to use a safety belt or child restraint may now constitute comparative negligence, and may be introduced in civil litigation on the issues of negligence, injuries, or mitigation of damages.

For families in Ogden and Weber County, a defense theme that was off-limits is now fair game, making early evidence about how the crash happened more important than before.

What protects a family’s claim early

• Ask that the vehicle be preserved before the insurer scraps it; its event data recorder may hold speed and braking data
• Identify independent witnesses quickly
• Document the scene: sight lines, signal timing, lighting
• Be cautious about recorded statements, taken for the insurer’s benefit
• Treat the adjuster’s fault split as an opening position, not a finding

Fault percentages are not facts handed down by an insurer. They are contested, and often change once someone investigates independently. Understanding how fault is disputed after a serious crash matters as much as the medical proof.

Talk to Stephen Farr Law

If your family lost someone in a crash in Ogden or anywhere in northern Utah, you do not have to accept the insurer’s version of who was to blame. Stephen Farr Law offers a free consultation, and there is no fee unless we win. Call (833) 465-9744.

This article provides general information about Utah law and is not legal advice. Every case depends on its own facts.