Best Personal Injury Lawyers in Colorado (2026)

In Colorado, the deadline to file a standard personal injury lawsuit is generally 2 years after the claim accrues.

Governing statutes: C.R.S. §§ 13‑80‑102 and 13‑80‑108. General personal injury claims, including negligence and strict-liability claims, generally must be filed within two years of accrual; motor vehicle-related bodily-injury claims follow a separate three-year rule under C.R.S. § 13‑80‑101(1)(n).

Medical malpractice claims in Colorado have their own deadline: 2 years from accrual or discovery; generally no more than 3 years from the act or omission.

C.R.S. §§ 13‑80‑102.5 and 13‑80‑108. Medical malpractice suits generally must be filed within two years after the injury and its cause were discovered or reasonably should have been discovered, but ordinarily no more than three years after the act or omission. Statutory exceptions include knowing concealment, an unauthorized foreign object, circumstances in which the injury and its cause could not reasonably have been known, and certain disability-related situations.

Wrongful death claims in Colorado: 2 years from date of death (3 years for motor vehicle death; 4 years if vehicular homicide and leaving scene).

C.R.S. §§ 13‑21‑204, 13‑80‑101, 13‑80‑102, and 13‑80‑108. The four-year period applies when the defendant committed vehicular homicide and, as part of the same criminal episode, left the scene of an accident resulting in death.

If a government entity is involved, a much shorter notice deadline usually applies in Colorado: 182 days (written notice), then file suit within the applicable statute of limitations.

C.R.S. §§ 24‑10‑109 and 24‑10‑118. Claims covered by the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act generally require written notice within 182 days after discovery of the injury; failure to comply bars the covered claim even if the ordinary limitations period has not expired. Statutory exceptions may apply to particular causes of action.

Colorado follows: Modified comparative negligence: the plaintiff’s recovery is reduced by their percentage of fault; if the plaintiff is 50% or more at fault, there is no recovery. (C.R.S. § 13‑21‑111). Colorado uses a modified comparative negligence system: damages are diminished proportionally to the plaintiff’s fault, and judgment is entered for the defendant when the plaintiff’s negligence is equal to or greater than the negligence of the person against whom recovery is sought.

Damage caps in Colorado: General non-economic damages are capped at $1.5 million for claims governed by the provisions effective January 1, 2025. Wrongful death and medical malpractice claims have separate caps and applicability rules under C.R.S. §§ 13‑21‑203 and 13‑64‑302. (C.R.S. § 13‑21‑102.5; HB 24‑1472)

Colorado does not impose the claimed 25% limit on contingency fees in personal injury and wrongful death cases. Proposed Initiative 2023‑2024 #170, which would have created that limit, was withdrawn and did not take effect. Contingent-fee agreements remain subject to Colorado Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5, including its written-agreement and reasonable-fee requirements.