Your injury AND your car. We fight for both.

Most Utah PI firms leave thousands on the table.

Walk through any Utah personal injury firm's intake process. The first question is about your injuries. The second is about your treatment. The third is about your pain. The vehicle gets a checkbox — "repaired" or "totaled" — and then disappears from the file.

That's not accidental. Handling property-damage claims well requires a USPAP-certified appraiser, a working knowledge of CCC One / Mitchell / Audatex valuation platforms, a library of Utah-specific comparable sales, and the patience to fight insurers who count on you giving up. Most firms don't have any of that in-house. So they refer it out, or ignore it. Either way, you lose.

The two claims, side by side.

Under Utah law, after an accident caused by another driver, you are entitled to recover these items separately. They do not overlap — a fair settlement includes all of them.

Why our clients recover more.

How the dual claim actually works.

Step 1 — Intake & vehicle documentation

On our first call, we gather your medical details and your vehicle's year, make, model, VIN, mileage, trim, and pre-accident condition. That vehicle data starts building the property-damage file the same day.

Step 2 — Parallel workstreams

Our injury team pulls your medical records, liability evidence, and policy-limit data. Simultaneously, our USPAP-certified appraisers pull comparable sales (Utah-specific), run the 17c formula (and flag its flaws), and build a defensible diminished-value report or total-loss-dispute package.

Step 3 — Combined demand

We issue one coordinated demand letter to the at-fault insurer covering injury + property damage. The adjuster can't split you off — both claims move together on the same timeline.

Step 4 — One settlement check

When the case resolves, you get paid on both claims simultaneously. No "we settled the injury, now go fight the PD piece yourself" — that's how $5,000+ gets left behind at other firms.

Step 5 — Litigation (if needed)

If the insurer refuses to pay fairly on either claim, Brad files. 30 years of Utah trial experience behind every pleading. Insurance carriers know the name on the caption and negotiate accordingly.

The Utah law behind your dual claim.

Property damage is separate from bodily injury. Utah follows the collateral-source doctrine and permits third-party property-damage claims independent of injury claims. Your PIP coverage (Utah Code 31A-22-307) handles first-party medical — it does not touch property damage.

Diminished value is recognized in Utah — no statute, but solid legal foundation. Utah has no single diminished-value code section. The right comes from common-law tort under the "make whole" doctrine — you are entitled to the full pre-accident value of the property the at-fault driver damaged. When the Carfax record permanently lowers that market value, the at-fault driver's insurer owes the gap.

The Utah authorities that back every DV claim:

• R590-190 — Utah's Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Rule. Prohibits carriers from systematically underpaying property-damage claims.
• Utah Code § 31A-26-301 — defines claim settlement practices that constitute bad faith.
• Utah Code § 31A-26-303 — requires prompt, fair, equitable settlements and full-value restoration.
• Utah Code § 31A-21-313 — appraisal clause; forces binding third-party valuation when you and the carrier disagree on value.
• Utah Code § 78B-2-305 — three-year statute of limitations for property damage claims (personal injury is four years under 78B-2-307).

Appraisal clause is enforceable. Every Utah auto policy contains an appraisal clause under § 31A-21-313. In total-loss disputes, invoking it forces the carrier to a binding third-party valuation — where BCAA-certified appraisers producing USPAP-compliant reports consistently out-value CCC One by $2,000–$8,000.

BCAA-certified. BOCAA-credentialed. In-house.

The difference between LawyerUp and every other Utah PI firm starts with one credential: BCAA — Board Certified Auto Appraiser, issued by BOCAA (the Board of Certified Auto Appraisers). This is the strongest appraiser credential in the industry. Our lead appraisers Adam Witt (handling PDP-brand cases) and Eric Brimhall (handling iMedX-brand cases) both hold the BCAA designation and produce USPAP-compliant appraisal reports designed to withstand appraisal-clause umpire review and Utah court admission.

What this means for you: when a CCC One report says your 2022 F-250 King Ranch is worth $42,500 and a Utah dealer will sell you the same truck for $52,000, we don't argue with the adjuster. We file a BCAA appraisal that shows the $52,000 number with recent Utah dealer-auction comps, invoke the appraisal clause under § 31A-21-313, and let the umpire decide. Umpires, looking at two appraisals — one that says "CCC One algorithm says $42,500" and one that says "here are four identical trucks sold in Utah last quarter for $51K–$53K" — pick the documented one nearly every time.

Know who you're fighting. We do.

Every major carrier has a documented tactical profile on property damage claims. We see these patterns across hundreds of Utah cases:

• State Farm — heavily relies on the 17c formula for diminished value (a widely criticized formula the insurance industry itself developed). Often denies DV outright on first demand. CCC One valuations frequently undervalue total loss. Counter: BCAA appraisal plus formal demand backed by § 31A-26-301 regulatory citation. Adjusters have real settlement authority on second call.
• GEICO — typically offers 50–60% of actual diminished value. In-house valuation tools undercount comparables. Counter: data-driven BCAA appraisal showing recent sold comps; GEICO generally settles fast once they see the file.
• Progressive — uses a percentage-based DV formula not reflecting actual market loss. Delays the claim hoping you settle low. Pulls comparables from distant markets (Nevada, Idaho) to undervalue. Counter: challenge each comparable, cite R590-190's fair-investigation requirement, invoke appraisal clause on any ongoing total-loss dispute.
• Allstate — aggressive claim management. Initially denies DV exists as a category. Uses the proprietary Colossus system. Counter: Utah Code §31A-22-309 + R590-190 regulatory citation; regulatory-complaint pressure moves them faster than case-merits arguments.
• USAA — the most fair of the majors. Total loss offers generally closer to real value, but still worth challenging with a BCAA appraisal. Counter: professional appraisal + good-faith negotiation.
• Farmers — denies DV claiming "repairs restored the vehicle." Uses outdated market data for total loss. Counter: Carfax data showing 10–25% resale loss regardless of repair quality.

What we tell every client on day one.

Utah courts enforce a duty to mitigate damages — the injured party must take reasonable steps to limit their own losses. Insurance adjusters weaponize this to deduct tow-storage fees, excessive rental days, and repair-delay-driven value loss from your payout. We tell every client the same things during intake:

• Call the tow yard within 48 hours. Storage runs $30–$100/day. A car sitting 30 days = $2,250. Insurers often only cover the first 5–7 days.
• Get written confirmation if the insurer is directing or covering storage. Texts and emails count. Verbal promises don't.
• Push for total-loss declaration fast if the car is clearly totaled. Once declared, the insurer arranges pickup and storage ends.
• Pick up the vehicle within 3 business days of repair completion unless there's a documented reason not to.
• Return the rental when your vehicle is drivable, when the total-loss settlement is funded, or when the body shop offers a loaner.
• Document every delay. Insurer delay is the insurer's mitigation problem, not yours — but only if you documented it.

Proper mitigation advice on day one is worth $3,000–$8,000 to the average Utah client.

Case studies. Real numbers.

• 2023 Tesla Model Y, rear-ended in Sandy. Injury settlement: $48,000. Initial carrier DV offer: $0. BCAA appraisal: $14,800. Final settlement including DV: $62,800. Injury-only firm would have stopped at $48,000.
• 2021 F-250 King Ranch, T-boned in Ogden. Injury settlement: $125,000. Carrier total-loss offer: $48,200. Appraisal-clause recovery: $57,500. Final combined: $134,300.
• 2019 Honda Accord, rear-end in Provo. Injury settlement: $31,000. Carrier DV offer: $1,100. BCAA appraisal: $4,750. Final combined: $34,650.
• 2024 Lexus RX 350, rear-end in West Valley. Injury: $67,000. Carrier DV offer: $2,800. BCAA appraisal: $11,200. Final combined: $76,700.

The gap between what an injury-only firm recovers and what we recover averages $4,500–$15,000 per case. Across the number of Utah PI cases filed each year, insurers keep hundreds of millions of dollars every year because most firms don't touch property damage.

Bad faith, undisputed funds, and regulatory leverage.

When a carrier refuses to pay a fair settlement after appraisal, three Utah-specific tools open up:

Undisputed-funds demand. Even when you and the carrier disagree on the full valuation, the carrier's own stated number is a floor. Under R590-190 and § 31A-26-303, the carrier must pay the undisputed amount promptly — while the disputed portion continues through appraisal. Carriers that withhold the undisputed amount to pressure you into accepting their lowball are committing an unfair claims practice, reportable to the Utah Insurance Department.

Bad-faith claim. Under Utah's common-law duty of good faith and fair dealing, plus §§ 31A-26-301 and 31A-26-303, an insurer that refuses a reasonable valuation after appraisal exposes itself to a separate bad-faith cause of action. That claim can recover consequential damages, attorney's fees, and in egregious cases punitive damages — on top of the original policy dispute. Insurers settle quickly when bad-faith exposure is credible.

Utah Insurance Department complaint. We file a formal complaint with the Utah Insurance Department (insurance.utah.gov, (801) 957-9200) citing the specific R590-190 violations. Carriers route escalations from the Department to senior claims staff with higher settlement authority. The complaint alone often produces a revised offer within two weeks.

Common dual-claim questions.

Is there extra cost for the dual claim?

No. Our contingency fee covers both claims. If we don't recover, you owe nothing.

Will it slow down my injury settlement?

No. Both claims run in parallel. In fact, the injury claim often settles faster when the adjuster knows we will not release property damage for free.

What if my car is already repaired?

You still have a claim. Diminished value survives repair — the Carfax entry lowers resale value permanently. Bring what you have (repair invoice, before/after photos, Carfax).

What if the insurance already paid for my car?

That payment typically covers only the repair cost or ACV — not the diminished value or loss-of-use. Those claims remain open. Call us before signing a release.