Average Dog Bite Settlement in Utah: Calculator and Comprehensive Guide 2025

Average dog bite settlements in Utah are in the low five figures for moderate injuries, with many negotiated outcomes in the $20,000–$50,000 corridor when liability is clear and scarring is limited. A substantially higher settlements happen when facial disfigurement, nerve injury, or surgery drives non‑economic damages and wage loss. However, the historical averages per claim have ranged from about $34,548 to $45,760, depending on year and dataset

Utah’s strict liability statute makes owners and keepers responsible for injuries their dogs cause. However, the state’s modified comparative negligence rule reduces awards by claimant fault and bars recovery at 50% fault or more, which materially shapes 2025 valuation strategies and negotiation posture.

The Legal Framework in Utah for Dog Bite Settlements

The strict liability and a 50% ba rules define the legal frameworks for dog bites in Utah.

Under Utah Code § 18‑1‑1, Utah imposes strict liability on dog owners and keepers for injuries caused by their dogs. This is irrespective of prior viciousness or owner knowledge, which generally allows claim presentation without proving negligence in the traditional sense.

The modified comparative negligence under § 78B‑5‑818 reduces damages by the claimant’s fault percentage, barring recovery entirely at 50% fault or more. This rule makes provocation or trespass findings pivotal when liability is contested.

This two‑step structure largely explains why Utah settlements concentrate around injury severity and documentation quality.

Statute of Limitations and Timing leverage

Utah’s general limitations period for personal injury actions, including dog bite claims, is four years. The time limitation influences negotiation leverage as the deadline approaches, especially in cases needing specialist prognoses for scar revision timing or neuropsychological evaluation.

Missing the four‑year deadline risks dismissal. The time-bound nature of the cases indicates that calendar control and evidence preservation are integral to valuation and settlement posture.

Comparative Negligence: Example Calculations

Under Utah law § 78B‑5‑818, there is no recovery if the claimant’s fault is 50% or more. Otherwise, the settlement is reduced by the claimant’s fault percentage. This directly impacts the expected settlement value at mediation.

Let’s see this with an example.

Assume an incident iwth gross compensatory damages of $100,000 and the claimant’s fault is 20%. The net lawful recovery is calculated like this:

$100,000×(1−0.20)=$80,000

The calculation assumes that there are adequate policy limits.

On the other hand, a 50% fault finding would bar recovery completely. This threshold reality motivates early factual development on provocation, trespass, leash compliance, and witness credibility, as those inputs change expected value by double digits in Utah

Average Dog Bite Settlement Amount in Utah

The legal firms in Utah present tiered guidance for dog bite settlement amounts. The average values for different types of injuries in 2025 are:

• Minor injuries: $5,000–$20,000. This includes urgent care, short‑term wound care, no visible scarring, minimal wage loss.
• Moderate injuries: $20,000–$50,000. ER treatment, sutures, defined follow‑up, limited but visible scarring, and intermittent missed work.
• Serious injuries: $50,000–$100,000+. Facial scarring, nerve involvement, plastic‑surgery consults, PTSD treatment, or durable activity limits.

As per the report by KSL citing QuoteWizard, the historical average for Utah settlement averages per claim is around $45,760 in 2018 across 116 claims totalling about $5.31 million, and $34,548 in 2019. It may be noted that Utah’s 2018 data placed the state as the third‑highest for dog‑bite claim cost.

Utah’s “average” is best treated as a severity‑tiered range, not a single statewide number, because settlements vary by injury complexity, scarring, wage loss, insurance limits, and comparative fault allocations under Utah law.

Utah vs National Context

Utah’s strict‑liability statute and 50% bar make it more favorable than one‑bite jurisdictions at the liability stage. However, it is potentially harsher at fault thresholds where insurers develop evidence of provocation or trespass, which can zero out recovery at 50%.

The 2024 national average claim cost of $69,272 reported by Insurance Information Institute(IIII), is a directional indicator of rising medical and indemnity costs. Yet, Utah’s practitioners’ ranges for typical cases still cluster below that national mean because the distribution includes many modest‑severity events offset by fewer catastrophic pediatric facial injuries that can command higher valuations.

Historical averages in Utah mentioned earlier show variations, and they also demonstrate how a state’s annual mix can drift beneath or above a national mean depending on case mix and insurer reserving practices in a given year. This data indicates that in a small dataset like Utah’s, a handful of serious outcomes can push a yearly average up or down.

Comparative Table: Utah Ranges and Benchmarks

Practical Examples in Utah

Here are 3 practical scenarios for settlements related to dog bites in Utah:

1. Moderate case. ER, sutures, follow‑up, discreet scarring, no provocation. Plausible band: $20,000–$50,000 if documentation is strong and limits allow
2. Serious case. Deep punctures, nerve involvement, facial scarring, counseling for PTSD. Expect $50,000–$100,000+ exposure with low claimant fault and adequate coverage
3. Fault‑sensitive case. Similar facts but credible minor provocation. A 30% allocation cuts the net by nearly a third. A 50% finding bars recovery entirely under Utah’s statute

Methodologies and Standards that influence Valuation

The dog bite settlement claim valuation in Utah depends on the following standards:

• Statutory framework analysis: Apply Utah Code § 18‑1‑1 for strict liability, then Utah Code § 78B‑5‑818 for comparative fault and the 50% bar. This two‑step analysis is foundational to Utah outcomes.
• CPT/ICD‑10‑anchored damages review: Bills and diagnosis codes structure economic damages and guide future‑care projections in life‑care opinions.
• Dunbar Bite Scale mapping: Level 3–5 bites correlate with higher non‑economic valuations, especially with facial involvement and nerve damage.
• IRAC for dispute framing: Issue‑Rule‑Application‑Conclusion is a staple for briefs and demand narratives; it clarifies how facts meet Utah’s legal standards.
• Daubert/Rule 702 reliability checks: Plastic surgeons, psychologists, and vocational experts must ground opinions in accepted methods to survive motion practice.

Arbitration as a Strategic Lever

Utah’s dog attack arbitration statute, § 18‑1‑4, permits claimants to elect binding arbitration with a recovery cap of $50,000. Utah practitioners often describe this procedural choice as a speed‑for‑certainty trade for mid‑value claims. When the expected case value, post‑fault, sits comfortably under $50,000 and policy limits are modest, arbitration is the right choice. It can reduce litigation friction, compress time to payment, and lower defense‑side spend that sometimes indirectly benefits final offers. On the other hand, cases with high scarring value, reconstructive surgery, or large wage loss typically forgo arbitration to avoid the cap.

Victims should watch the trade‑offs. If scarring and wage loss suggest six figures, arbitration can undercompensate. If the realistic range is below the cap, the time savings and reduced litigation drag can be worth it. Timing and prognosis matter.

Cost–benefit thinking for arbitration

Electing dog‑bite arbitration under § 18‑1‑4 can reduce both resolution time and the cost of capital for claimants when a fair case value sits under the $50,000 cap. For a case with a realistic settlement value at $35,000–$45,000 with modest policy limits, the cap may be acceptable. However, if there is a plastic surgery opinion that forecasts $60,000+ in total value, it is better to pursue full damages in court

The trade‑off is meaningful. The victim can accept a hard cap for speed and procedural simplicity or preserve full upside for scarring and wage‑loss claims that can exceed the cap after comparative‑fault reductions. Utah counsel often calibrate that call after initial medical stabilization and plastic‑surgery consults.

Utah-specific signals Insurers watch

Facial scarring moves numbers. Adjusters in Utah weigh visibility and permanence. Nerve injuries, infection, and PTSD also push valuations. Pediatric cases often carry higher projected care and psychosocial impact. Pediatric cases, especially involving facial injuries, often see higher per‑claim costs due to longer projected care horizons and psychosocial impacts. This is another reason that partially explains why single‑year averages can spike in smaller states like Utah when a handful of severe cases move in the same calendar period.

Conversely, claims with credible trespass evidence or recorded antagonizing conduct often trigger aggressive fault allocations under § 78B‑5‑818. Claims where the victim has provoked the dog often get reduced offers and may also lead to denials that must be litigated.

Common Challenges and Troubleshooting

Some of the common challenges the victim faces and the troubleshooting mechanisms are provided below:

1. Fault disputes near 50%: Where facts suggest minor provocation, adjusters tend to argue fault up to the bar. In these scenarios, victims are required to produce witness statements, scene photos, and animal control records to stabilize percentages under § 78B‑5‑818.
2. Undershooting non‑economic value: Without plastic‑surgery consults or mental‑health evaluations for PTSD/anxiety, scarring and psychological damages can be undervalued against Utah’s practitioner tiers, constraining offers.
3. Policy‑limit ceilings: Homeowner liability limits can cap recovery. Victims should verify the limits early. Avoid chasing theoretical values above available coverage unless excess avenues exist.
4. Timeliness: Waiting on late prognoses risks brushing up against the four‑year statute, weakening leverage and increasing dismissal risk if filings slip past § 78B‑2‑307.

Awareness, Consideration, Decision

If you are a victim of a dog bite in Utah, the following facts can be considered before filing the dog-bite settlement

• Awareness. Utah imposes strict liability and a 50% bar. Understand the structure before modeling value.
• Consideration. Benchmark against Utah‑specific ranges. Compare to national claim‑cost trends. Map arbitration eligibility against a realistic post‑fault forecast and policy limits.
• Decision. If the expected net value is under $50,000 and speed matters, arbitration can be rational. If scarring, surgery, or wage loss pushes above the cap, maintain the litigation pathway and track the four‑year window.

For other states, you can use our dog bite claim calculator here.