diff --git a/packages/utils/src/index.ts b/packages/utils/src/index.ts
index aebb78d..fe49542 100644
--- a/packages/utils/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/utils/src/index.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,9 @@ export function coerceString(value: unknown): string | null {
 
 export function getErrorMessage(error: unknown, fallback: string): string {
   if (error instanceof Error) {
+    // viem's BaseError extends Error and exposes a terse shortMessage; prefer it.
+    const short = coerceString((error as Record<string, unknown>).shortMessage);
+    if (short) return short;
     const msg = coerceString(error.message);
     if (msg) return msg;
   }