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H.B. 354

             1     

RECOVERY OF SPECIAL DAMAGES FOR

             2     
INJURIES

             3     
2000 GENERAL SESSION

             4     
STATE OF UTAH

             5     
Sponsor: A. Lamont Tyler

             6      AN ACT RELATING TO THE JUDICIAL CODE; DEFINING SPECIAL DAMAGES; AND
             7      CLARIFYING THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH THEY MAY BE RECOVERED IN
             8      CERTAIN ACTIONS.
             9      This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
             10      AMENDS:
             11          78-11-12, as last amended by Chapter 113, Laws of Utah 1991
             12      Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
             13          Section 1. Section 78-11-12 is amended to read:
             14           78-11-12. Survival of action for injury to person or death upon death of wrongdoer
             15      or injured person -- Exception and restriction to out-of-pocket expenses.
             16          (1) (a) Causes of action arising out of personal injury to the person or death caused by the
             17      wrongful act or negligence of another do not abate upon the death of the wrongdoer or the injured
             18      person. The injured person or the personal representatives or heirs of the person who died have
             19      a cause of action against the wrongdoer or the personal representatives of the wrongdoer for
             20      special and general damages, subject to Subsection (1)(b).
             21          (b) If prior to judgment or settlement the injured person dies as a result of a cause other
             22      than the injury received as a result of the wrongful act or negligence of the wrongdoer, the personal
             23      representatives or heirs of that person are entitled to receive no more than the [out-of-pocket
             24      expenses] special damages incurred by or on behalf of that injured person before his or her death
             25      as [the] a result of [his] the complained of injury.
             26          (c) (i) As used in this section, "special damages" means medical expenses, expenses
             27      incident to the injured person's needs such as crutches, wheelchairs, necessary household,

             28      workplace, and automobile modifications, travel, lodging and meal expenses, income loss, and
             29      other readily quantifiable losses, expenses, or damages.
             30          (ii) "Special damages" does not include pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and
             31      other not readily quantifiable damages frequently referred to as general damages.
             32          (2) Under Subsection (1) neither the injured person nor the personal representatives or
             33      heirs of the person who died may recover judgment except upon competent satisfactory evidence
             34      other than the testimony of that injured person.




Legislative Review Note
    as of 2-7-00 2:26 PM

A limited legal review of this legislation raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel

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