How Colorado Car Accident Claims Work

Most people meet the claims process exactly once, at the worst possible moment. Knowing its shape in advance makes it considerably less intimidating.

Colorado is an at-fault state

Compensation comes from the party responsible for the crash, through their insurance. That makes fault the central question in almost every claim, and it is why the other side’s insurer starts building its version of events immediately.

Colorado applies modified comparative negligence. Your recovery is reduced by your share of the fault, and if your share reaches 50 percent, you recover nothing. This is why an insurer’s early attempts to assign you a slice of the blame are never merely conversational.

The first days

Three things matter more than anything else early on:

• Get evaluated. Some serious injuries, including brain injuries, present

quietly at first. A gap between the crash and the first medical record is the argument an insurer will make later.

• Document the scene. Photographs, the responding officer’s information, and

the names of witnesses are far easier to collect now than in six months.

• Be careful with recorded statements. An adjuster for the other driver is not

a neutral party, and a recorded account given while you are shaken is difficult to walk back.

Building the claim

Once treatment is underway, the work is evidentiary: medical records, wage loss, the accident report, any available video, and where the injuries are serious, opinions from treating physicians or reconstruction experts. The claim is not ready to value until the medical picture is clear enough to know what the future looks like.

Demand and negotiation

When the picture is complete, a demand goes to the insurer setting out liability, the injuries, and the losses. Negotiation follows. A first offer is an opening position, not an assessment of what a case is worth.

Filing suit

If negotiation does not produce a fair result, the claim proceeds to litigation. Colorado’s deadlines are strict, and missing one ends a claim regardless of its merits. For most motor vehicle claims the statute of limitations is three years from the date of the crash; other kinds of injury claims can be shorter. Because these deadlines vary with the facts, and because certain defendants carry additional notice requirements, do not rely on a general figure for your own case.

What tends to make a difference

Prompt treatment, careful records, restraint on social media, and getting advice before signing anything — including a settlement, which is final.

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This article is general information about Colorado law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Deadlines and rules vary with the facts of each case. Speak with an attorney about your situation.