What is the statute of limitations for personal injury claims in Colorado?

2 years for personal injury; 3 years for motor vehicle. Source: Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-102. Filing after the period expires generally bars the claim absent a recognised tolling exception (minority, incapacity, or in some jurisdictions delayed discovery of the injury).

Are there caps on damages in Colorado?

Yes — Colorado applies the following caps: Non-economic damages cap ($1,500,000 for actions filed from 1 January 2025 (not malpractice or wrongful death)) under Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-21-102.5, as amended by HB24-1472; Medical malpractice cap ($530,000 non-economic for acts in 2026 ($415,000 for 2024 and 2025); $1M total, which a court may exceed for good cause) under Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-64-302, as amended by HB24-1472. See the caps section above for the conditions under which each applies.

Does Colorado operate a no-fault auto insurance scheme?

No. Colorado is a traditional tort jurisdiction for auto claims. The at-fault driver's insurer is the primary source of recovery.

How are settlements typically valued in Colorado?

Practitioners and adjusters in Colorado value claims using the same building blocks applied across United States: medical specials, future care projections, lost earnings (past and future), and general damages for pain and suffering. The fault rule (modified comparative, 50% bar) and any applicable cap then adjust the gross figure. Caps in this state can compress the upper end of the band materially, particularly in catastrophic-injury cases.

Should I hire a Colorado attorney for a personal injury claim?

For anything beyond a clear soft-tissue claim with admitted liability and modest damages, yes. Colorado's fault rule and any applicable caps materially affect the calculus, and adjusters value represented claims significantly higher than unrepresented ones. Most Colorado personal injury attorneys work on contingency (no fee unless you recover), with fees typically in the 33–40% range.

★ US · West

Personal injury in
Colorado.

By MyClaimWorth EditorialReviewed by Abd Shanti, FounderPublished 9 May 2026Updated 26 October 20267 min read

Colorado applies modified-50 comparative fault with a $1.5 million non-economic damages cap for actions filed from 2025 and a $1 million medical-malpractice ceiling on total recovery.

Colorado operates modified comparative negligence with a 50% bar. Non-economic damages are capped under § 13-21-102.5: since HB24-1472, $1,500,000 in civil actions filed on or after 1 January 2025 (other than malpractice and wrongful death), adjusted for inflation every two years from 2028.

Medical malpractice has a separate cap: non-economic damages of $530,000 for acts in 2026 ($415,000 for claims accruing in 2024 or 2025), rising each year to $875,000 in 2029, and a total recovery ceiling of $1 million that a court may exceed for good cause. The personal injury statute of limitations is two years generally, with a three-year window specifically for motor-vehicle claims.

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★ statute of limitations

2 years for personal injury; 3 years for motor vehicle

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-102

★ fault rule

Modified comparative, 50% bar

Modified comparative, recovery barred at 50% claimant fault.

★ CO · statutory caps

What caps recovery.

Caps and ceilings imposed by Colorado law that bear on settlement values.

Non-economic damages cap
Personal injury
$1,500,000 for actions filed from 1 January 2025 (not malpractice or wrongful death)
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-21-102.5, as amended by HB24-1472
Medical malpractice cap
Med-mal claims
$530,000 non-economic for acts in 2026 ($415,000 for 2024 and 2025); $1M total, which a court may exceed for good cause
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-64-302, as amended by HB24-1472

★ CO · key facts

What makes Colorado different.

The handful of details that distinguish this jurisdiction from its neighbours.

Modified-50% bar
$1.5M non-econ cap for actions filed from 2025
Med-mal: $530k non-econ for 2026 acts, $1M total
2-year SOL (3 years for motor)

★ CO · by injury

Claim values by injury type.

Reported decisions, the limitation clock, and how fault is apportioned for each injury type under Colorado law.

★ CO · court decisions

What Colorado courts have decided.

Reported Colorado decisions for each injury type, each with a link to the judgment and to the full injury guide.

Whiplash
Walker v. Ford Motor Co.
Colorado Supreme Court · 2017
Nearly $3 million verdict reversed
Forrest Walker was rear ended while driving his 1998 Ford Explorer in Boulder; his car shot forward and his seat yielded backward, and he said he suffered head and neck injuries.
whiplash in Colorado →
Whiplash
Mohammadi v. Kinslow
Colorado Court of Appeals · 2022
Dismissal reversed; complaint reinstated
Daniala Mohammadi was 16 in November 2015 when Mark Kinslow, turning right, hit her bicycle as she crossed an intersection.
whiplash in Colorado →
Back & spine
Scholle v. Ehrichs
Colorado Court of Appeals · 2022
$9,292,887 economic damages; cap exceeded
In August 2015 Daniel Scholle had an elective discectomy and anterior lumbar fusion at Sky Ridge Medical Center.
back & spine in Colorado →
Back & spine
Peitz v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office
Colorado Court of Appeals · 2024
Maximum medical improvement order set aside
Jason Peitz, a mechanic for the Pueblo water board, hurt his lower back in February 2020; an MRI showed stenosis at L4-5, and a lumbar fusion was discussed.
back & spine in Colorado →
Head & brain
Westin Operator v. Groh
Colorado Supreme Court · 2015
Summary judgment reversed; case goes to trial
After a night out, Jillian Groh brought friends back to her room at the Westin in Denver.
head & brain in Colorado →
Head & brain
Yeutter v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office
Colorado Court of Appeals · 2019
Permanent total disability denied; affirmed
Joseph Yeutter, a controls engineer, was struck in the head and shoulder by a robotic arm in August 2012, suffering a skull fracture, inner ear nerve damage, a broken arm and fractures of both eye sockets.
head & brain in Colorado →
Fracture
Nesjan v. J & A Distributing
Colorado Court of Appeals · 2025
Dismissal reversed; complaint reinstated
On 14 May 2021 mechanic Tormod Nesjan chocked the wheels of a box truck brought to his shop and went underneath to check a suspected driveshaft problem.
fracture in Colorado →
Fracture
Andrade v. Johnson
Colorado Court of Appeals · 2016
Negligence claim revived
Emma Andrade, who walked with a cane, was on her way to a birthday party in Colorado Springs when she slipped and fell on the public sidewalk next to Margaret Johnson’s house.
fracture in Colorado →
Medical negligence
Gresser v. Banner Health
Colorado Court of Appeals · 2023
$27,647,274.23 verdict; $39.8 million judgment affirmed
C.G. was born at North Colorado Medical Center and moved to intensive care late on her second day; by the next morning she had E. coli sepsis and suffered irreversible neurological injuries, including cerebral palsy.
medical negligence in Colorado →
Medical negligence
In re P.W. v. Children’s Hospital Colorado
Colorado Supreme Court · 2016
Hospital’s fault defenses dismissed
K.W., 16, was admitted to the psychiatric unit at Children’s Hospital in June 2013 after a suicide attempt and placed on high suicide precautions, which required staff to keep him in sight.
medical negligence in Colorado →
Workplace
Amerigas Propane v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office
Colorado Court of Appeals · 2016
Reopening denied; award vacated
Victor England, a propane delivery driver, fell on ice in December 2012 and had a total shoulder replacement and a second surgery.
workplace in Colorado →
Workplace
Bolton v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office
Colorado Court of Appeals · 2019
End of maintenance benefits affirmed
Jennifer Bolton, a Cherry Creek teacher, fell backward at work in November 2013 and was diagnosed with a concussion and neck and low back strains, then with depression.
workplace in Colorado →

★ CO · rules that decide claims

The rules in Colorado.

Statutes and rulings that come up again and again in Colorado injury claims, each with its source.

Noneconomic damages cap	$1,500,000 in civil actions filed on or after 1 January 2025 (other than malpractice and wrongful death), adjusted for inflation every two years from 2028.HB24-1472 (2024), amending C.R.S. § 13-21-102.5
Deadline for car crash claims	Three years for “all tort actions for bodily injury or property damage arising out of the use or operation of a motor vehicle”; most other negligence claims have two years.C.R.S. §§ 13-80-101(1)(n)(I), 13-80-102(1)(a), as quoted in Nesjan v. J & A Distributing (Colo. App. 2025)
Injured minors	When a disability such as being under 18 ends, the person may sue “within the period fixed by the applicable statute of limitations or within two years after the removal of the disability, whichever period expires later.”C.R.S. § 13-81-103(1)(c), as quoted in Mohammadi v. Kinslow (Colo. App. 2022)
Seat belt use	Not wearing a seat belt can reduce damages for pain and suffering only, never economic loss or medical payments.C.R.S. § 42-4-237(7); see our seat belt table
Malpractice cap on total damages	Damages against health care providers are capped at $1 million for a course of care, but a court may award more in economic damages when it finds good cause and that the cap would be unfair.C.R.S. § 13-64-302(1)(b), as described in Gresser v. Banner Health (Colo. App. 2023)
Fault rule	Modified comparative fault: your damages are cut by your share, and you recover only if your negligence was “not as great as the negligence of the person against whom recovery is sought.”C.R.S. § 13-21-111, as quoted in In re P.W. v. Children’s Hospital Colorado (Colo. 2016)
Claims against government	Written notice within 182 days of discovering the injury; for claims from 1 January 2026 the caps are $505,000 per person and $1,421,000 per occurrence.C.R.S. §§ 24-10-109, 24-10-114; see our notice table
Public sidewalks	Property owners have no common law duty to people hurt on the public sidewalk next to their property, including from naturally accumulating snow and ice, unless a code or statute creates one.Andrade v. Johnson (Colo. App. 2016)

★ other US jurisdictions

Compare across United States.

How Colorado compares with its neighbours in the West on fault rule and limitation period.

Jurisdiction	Fault rule	Limitation
Colorado· you are here	Modified comparative, 50% bar	2 years for personal injury; 3 years for motor vehicle
Alaska (AK)	Pure comparative negligence	2 years from date of injury or discovery
California (CA)	Pure comparative negligence	2 years for personal injury; 1 year for medical malpractice (with 3-year repose)
Hawaii (HI)	Modified comparative, 51% bar	2 years from date of injury
Idaho (ID)	Modified comparative, 50% bar	2 years from date of injury
Montana (MT)	Modified comparative, 51% bar	3 years from date of injury
Nevada (NV)	Modified comparative, 51% bar	2 years for personal injury; 3 years for medical malpractice
Oregon (OR)	Modified comparative, 51% bar	2 years from date of injury
Utah (UT)	Modified comparative, 50% bar	4 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpractice
Washington (WA)	Pure comparative negligence	3 years from date of injury
Wyoming (WY)	Modified comparative, 51% bar	4 years from date of injury

Every United States jurisdiction compared

★ CO · frequently asked

Common questions.

Common questions about personal injury claims in Colorado, answered with the relevant statutory references.

What is the statute of limitations for personal injury claims in Colorado?
2 years for personal injury; 3 years for motor vehicle. Source: Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-102. Filing after the period expires generally bars the claim absent a recognised tolling exception (minority, incapacity, or in some jurisdictions delayed discovery of the injury).
What fault rule applies in Colorado?
Modified comparative, 50% bar. Modified comparative, recovery barred at 50% claimant fault.
Are there caps on damages in Colorado?
Yes — Colorado applies the following caps: Non-economic damages cap ($1,500,000 for actions filed from 1 January 2025 (not malpractice or wrongful death)) under Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-21-102.5, as amended by HB24-1472; Medical malpractice cap ($530,000 non-economic for acts in 2026 ($415,000 for 2024 and 2025); $1M total, which a court may exceed for good cause) under Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-64-302, as amended by HB24-1472. See the caps section above for the conditions under which each applies.
Does Colorado operate a no-fault auto insurance scheme?
No. Colorado is a traditional tort jurisdiction for auto claims. The at-fault driver's insurer is the primary source of recovery.
How are settlements typically valued in Colorado?
Practitioners and adjusters in Colorado value claims using the same building blocks applied across United States: medical specials, future care projections, lost earnings (past and future), and general damages for pain and suffering. The fault rule (modified comparative, 50% bar) and any applicable cap then adjust the gross figure. Caps in this state can compress the upper end of the band materially, particularly in catastrophic-injury cases.
Should I hire a Colorado attorney for a personal injury claim?
For anything beyond a clear soft-tissue claim with admitted liability and modest damages, yes. Colorado's fault rule and any applicable caps materially affect the calculus, and adjusters value represented claims significantly higher than unrepresented ones. Most Colorado personal injury attorneys work on contingency (no fee unless you recover), with fees typically in the 33–40% range.

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★ federal context

Back to United States

All injury bands, statutes, and procedural pathway at the US level.

★ the working

How we derive bands

Per-jurisdiction methodology, estimates, and known limits.

★ standing authority

Sources we cite

The statutes, guidelines and court sites the pages cite.

★ editorial note

This page summarises the Colorado statutory framework as of 2026-10-26. It is not legal advice. Statutes change, published verdicts move, and the position within any band depends on facts the page can't see. For representation, consult an attorney qualified in Colorado. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.

Personal injury inColorado.

Personal injury in
Colorado.