Practice Area
Hurt in a crash that wasn’t your fault? You’ll work directly with the attorney handling your claim, and you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.
When you hire Smith & Weidinger, you work with the lawyer handling your case, not a call center. Founding partner Matthew A. Weidinger focuses on serious-injury cases with complex liability and damages. Before co-founding the firm, he worked at large and small personal injury firms in Denver and Colorado Springs and served as a Deputy District Attorney in Mesa County.
We handle car accident claims from our offices in Denver (1040 S. Gaylord St.) and Colorado Springs (415 N. Tejon St.), and across the Front Range. We’ve secured a $500,000 uninsured motorist settlement for a Denver client rear-ended by a distracted driver, a $350,000 settlement in Weld County for aggravated neck and back injuries, and a $100,000 settlement in El Paso County after a red-light runner tried to blame our client.
Colorado is an at-fault state, and several insurance policies can come into play after a crash.
Most Colorado car accident lawsuits must be filed within three years of the crash (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)). Claims involving a government vehicle need written notice within 182 days, and uninsured motorist claims have their own timing rules. Evidence disappears long before any of those deadlines, so start early.
You can recover economic damages, like medical bills, future care, lost wages, and lost earning capacity, and Colorado doesn’t cap them. Non-economic damages, like pain and suffering, are capped at $1.5 million for crashes on or after January 1, 2025. Exemplary damages may be available when a driver acted willfully and wantonly, as in drunk driving. The biggest factors in value are how serious and lasting your injuries are, how clear fault is, how much insurance is available, and how well your losses are documented.
Colorado personal injury
Adjusters are trained to get statements that shrink claims. Get a free consultation with a Colorado injury attorney first. Not a screener.
You pay nothing upfront.
Not a call center.
Serious-injury crashes and the insurance claims that follow.
Commercial trucking crashes with complex liability.
Injuries caused by dangerous property conditions.
Insurance companies value claims with software and settlement histories, and they start low. What moves the number is evidence: proof of fault they can’t argue with, medical records that tie every injury to the crash, and a clear record of how your life changed.
We build that record from the first week, so the claim is ready when your doctors have a clear picture of your recovery.
Every car accident claim is built from the same pieces:
Police reports, photos, video, witnesses, and vehicle data. Some of it is overwritten within days, so we send preservation letters early.
Gaps in treatment are the first thing adjusters use against you. We help you keep care consistent and documented.
The at-fault driver's coverage, your UM/UIM and MedPay, and any employer or other party that shares responsibility.
Bills, lost pay, future care, and the day-to-day impact insurers most like to discount.
Health plans and providers that want to be repaid. We negotiate them so more of the settlement stays with you.
We look at all of it. Then we decide, with you, whether to settle or file suit.
You talk with a lawyer, not a screener. We explain your options, the deadlines that apply, and how our contingency fee works.
Get the care you need. We deal with the insurance companies and help coordinate MedPay, health insurance, and providers so your treatment doesn't stall.
We collect the reports, photos, video, witness statements, and records, and we send preservation letters before evidence is lost.
Once your doctors have a clear picture of your recovery, we document your losses (medical bills, lost income, future care, and how the injury changed your life) and present the claim.
We negotiate with every insurer involved, and with the health plans and providers that want to be repaid, so more of the settlement stays with you.
If the insurer won't be fair, we file suit before the deadline and prepare the case for trial. Most cases settle, and that preparation is what gets them to a fair number.
Recent outcomes in car accident cases.
Settlement for a client rear-ended at high speed by a distracted driver.
Settlement for aggravation of neck and back injuries.
Settlement for a client struck by a red-light runner who tried to blame our client.
Settlement for a client with neck and back strains.
Results depend on the specific facts and legal circumstances of each case. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome.
Unedited, from our Google profile.
Reviews are published on Google by the people who wrote them. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
These come up in almost every call after a crash: what it costs, how long you have, and what to say to the insurance company. The answers below are general. Your injuries, the facts of the crash, and the coverage decide how they apply to you.
We handle car accident cases on a contingency fee. You pay nothing upfront, and our fee comes out of what we recover. If we don’t recover anything, you don’t owe us a fee. We go over the agreement in writing at your consultation.
Most car accident lawsuits must be filed within three years of the crash. If a government vehicle or agency was involved, written notice is due within 182 days. Because evidence disappears quickly, talk to a lawyer as soon as you can.
You can give basic information, but you don’t have to give a recorded statement, and it’s wise not to until you’ve spoken with a lawyer. Adjusters are trained to ask questions that shift blame or minimize injuries.
You can still recover in Colorado if you were less than 50% at fault. Your compensation is reduced by your share of fault. At 20% fault, you recover 80% of your damages.
Your own uninsured motorist coverage may pay for your injuries. It’s included in Colorado auto policies unless you rejected it in writing, and it can also apply when the other driver fled or doesn’t carry enough insurance.
Not necessarily. A traffic conviction generally can’t be used as evidence in a Colorado civil case, but how the ticket is resolved still affects your record, your points, and your insurance. Talk to us before you pay it. We also defend traffic charges, so we can handle both.
