UTAH CAR ACCIDENT ARBITRATION. CALL/TXT JAKE (801) 373-6345.
In most car accident cases, arbitration is a choice made by the parties or elected by the injured plaintiff party. In certain types of underinsured, or uninsured motorist claims, arbitration may be forced by the insurance company through the subject insurance policy language. Arbitration can be by statute, by the insurance policy contract or by agreement between the parties.
Common Statutory Car Accident Arbitrations in Utah
31A-22-321 Car Accident Arbitration.
Max Limits. You are limited to a max $50,000 arbitration award. You can’t take an excess policy limits judgment above and beyond the policy limits. Electing 321 arbitration you agree to not being able to obtain an excess judgment or go after the tortfeasor’s personal assets.
De Novo Appeal. Either party can appeal De Novo (From Latin, meaning “from the new.”) to the district court in the county where car accident occurred and ask for a jury trial. De Novo means in non-lawyers speak means—Do Over in District Court with a jury. You get an additional 90 days discovery after a De Novo appeal is filed. You can thereafter elect experts or pay the jury demand fee. 
If the appealing party does not better their position on appeal, there are costs and experts cost shifting that can occur.
Shorter Fact Discovery. 321 car accident arbitration has a shorter, 120 fact discovery period.
31A-22-305.3 Uninsured Motorist Arbitration and 31A-22-305 Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Elective Arbitration. Both these statutes have mandatory arbitration provisions which the injured plaintiff can elect. 305.3 deals with underinsured coverages. 305 deals with uninsured coverage situations.
Max Limits. When you elect UIM, or UM arbitration you are locked into only the policy limits that are applicable. You can’t take an excess judgment unless you play the costs shifting game outlined in the statute.
Appeal. A De Novo, “Do Over Appeal” is applicable to both statutes where either party can appeal an unfavorable arbitration verdict to the district court.
Insurance Policy Arbitration. “Policy Arbitration.”
Policy arbitration or arbitration that is forced upon the injured plaintiff by the language of the car insurance policy is just that. The literal policy language requires injured plaintiffs to arbitrate. This is contractual arbitration.
BENEFITS OF USING ARBITRATION IN YOUR UTAH CAR ACCIDENT.
Arbitration is clearly faster and cheaper. The main drawback is that you are locked into a max policy limits award—if that. Most arbitration verdicts are nothing special and just average.
Experts Witnesses. Expert witnesses cost a lot of money. Commonly your Utah personal injury attorney will spend $2,500 on an expert witness. Expert witness costs can easily run near or over $10,000 on large cases. Arbitration relieves the parties from having to bring their expert witnesses to the arbitration. Instead either party can just rely upon their expert reports, rather than live testimony.
Shorter Fact Discovery. Arbitration track car accident cases have shorter fact discovery periods. Arbitration is all about getting to the arbitration verdict fast.
Being fast and inexpensive is where arbitration shines. Arbitration producing large awards is not were arbitration shines.
Inter-Family Covered Person Arbitration. This is where you are driving an hurt someone in your own car and they are a family member or specific covered person. Inter Family Covered Person Arbitratio is found at Utah Code 31A-22-303(8)(a).
WHEN NOT TO USE ARBITRATION IN A UTAH CAR ACCIDENT.
Never use arbitration on large, car accident cases where severe injuries are present and large insurance policies are available to pay those injuries. Arbitration cases tend to be smaller where speed and costs are more important. Jury trial track cases are for larger cases with bigger injuries and larger liability insurance policies. If your current Utah car accident attorney doesn’t understand this—time to find a new attorney.
Arbitration is consistently a baby splitting mechanism. You never get zero money, but you never get a home run money award.
WHO ATTENDS A UTAH CAR ACCIDENT ARBITRATION?
The injured plaintiff. You attend arbitration and are the important witness normally heard.
Other Witnesses. You can and often do have other witnesses testify to how the injuries have effected the injured plaintiff.
Defendant At-Fault Party. Most often the defendant at-fault driver does not appear at the arbitration because they add little value. Sometimes when liability is seriously contested will the defendant at-fault party testify at the arbitration.
Arbiter. The selected arbiter attends the arbitration.
Insurance Defense Attorney. The insurance defense attorney who represents both the insurance company and the at-fault party attends the arbitration.
Insurance Adjuster. Not often, but sometimes the at-fault insurance company adjuster will attend arbitration.
Your Utah Injury Attorney. Choosing the right injury attorney to represent you matters. Choosing an attorney who recognizes when to even put a case into arbitration is critical.
WHO ARE THE ARBITERS IN UTAH CAR ACCIDENT ARBITRATIONS?
Arbiters are like car accident mediators and are often the same person. Utah car accident arbiters are attorneys who have practiced in the insurance/injury field for 20 years plus. Selected arbiters have vast experience in valuing car accident injury claims. They are well respected attorneys in the personal injury community. Arbiters usually have only done defense work, or plaintiffs work. Occasionally the arbiter has equal experience on both sides.
CAN YOU APPEAL AN ARBITRATION?
Your ability to appeal an arbitration award depends on what type of arbitration you used. 321, UM and UIM statutory arbitration have clear appeal processes. In all three of these statutory types of car accident arbitrations there are costs and fee shifting to the non-appealing party if the appealing party doesn’t improve their position.
Some types of arbitration are binding an non-appealable outside of fraud. In these types of arbitration the parties agree to waive any appeal rights.
Appeal rights can always be stipulated away. Meaning the parties can agree that the arbitration is binding, final and not appealable absent fraud.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CAR ACCIDENT ARBITRATON AND CAR ACCIDENT MEDIATION.
The fundamental difference between car accident arbitration and mediation is that arbitration is a binding decision.
In car accident arbitration there will be a decision on the value of your car accident case. An arbitration decision ends the case unless an appeal is filed.
Mediation is voluntary and you can always walk away. Once you decide to settle at mediation, a mediated agreement is binding and not appealable outside of fraud.
IS ARBITRATION CONFIDENTIAL?
The parties can always agree to make arbitration confidential, but most of the time it is not discussed or important. Settlement confidentiality agreements certainly can make what occurs at arbitration confidential.
WHEN DOES ARBITRATION OCCUR IN UTAH CAR ACCIDENT CASES?
Nothing in the statutes or law requires arbitration to occur at the end of the case. But most car accident arbitrations are conducted after the parties have conducted fact and expert discovery. This way the parties know what to expect at the arbitration and can better understand their exposures and risks.