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★ Colorado · fracture

Fracture settlements
in Colorado.

By Reviewed by Abd Shanti, Founder9 min read

A mechanic crushed when a box truck rolled over him in 2021 sued on the third anniversary. The trial court said two years had run, but the Court of Appeals held that inspecting a truck is “use” of a motor vehicle, so he had three. A woman who broke her leg on a Colorado Springs sidewalk also got a second chance through a city code.

Facts that decide a fracture claim in Colorado

Deadline for car crash claimsThree 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)
Public sidewalksProperty 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)
Fault ruleModified 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 governmentWritten 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
united states · sister site
Your fracture claim in Colorado. See the number for your own case.

FairSettlement gives you a free estimate for your own fracture case in about two minutes, no cost and no obligation.

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★ CO · reported fracture outcomes

What Colorado courts have awarded.

Real Colorado decisions and verdicts, each linked to the court record or official report.

  • 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. He alleged the driveshaft came loose and the truck rolled backward over him, fracturing his ribs, neck, back and right leg. He sued exactly three years later. The court held that inspecting and repairing a truck is use of a motor vehicle, so the three year deadline applied, and reinstated the case.

  • 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. She needed surgery to repair a broken leg. Owners usually owe no common law duty for public sidewalks, and the premises liability claim failed, but the court held a city code section expressly made owners who break it liable and revived her negligence claim.

★ CO · fracture · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a fracture settlement in Colorado.

  1. 1

    Count the deadline carefully. Nesjan filed on the last day of three years and won only because the motor vehicle rule applied.

  2. 2

    Look for local codes. Andrade’s claim against a homeowner depended on a Colorado Springs ordinance, not state law.

  3. 3

    Claims against a city for a sidewalk need notice within 182 days.

  4. 4

    Prepare for the vehicle owner to argue a two year deadline. The owner in Nesjan won dismissal at first before the appeal.

★ CO · statute of limitations
2 years for personal injury; 3 years for motor vehicle

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-102

★ CO · fault rule
Modified comparative, 50% bar

Modified comparative, recovery barred at 50% claimant fault.

★ CO · caps

What caps recovery.

Statutory caps that may bear on a fracture settlement in Colorado.

★ fracture · same region & fault regime

Compare to like jurisdictions.

How Colorado's fault rule and limitation period compare to jurisdictions in the same US region and to those running the same fault rule for fracture claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationFracture page
Colorado · you are hereModified comparative, 50% bar2 years for personal injury; 3 years for motor vehicle—
HawaiiModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryHI · fracture →
IdahoModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryID · fracture →
MontanaModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryMT · fracture →
NevadaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years for personal injury; 3 years for medical malpracticeNV · fracture →
OregonModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryOR · fracture →
UtahModified comparative, 50% bar4 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeUT · fracture →
GeorgiaModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryGA · fracture →
KansasModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryKS · fracture →
MaineModified comparative, 50% bar6 years for personal injury, longest in the USME · fracture →
NebraskaModified comparative, 50% bar4 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeNE · fracture →
ConnecticutModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryCT · fracture →
DelawareModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryDE · fracture →
★ CO · fracture · frequently asked

Common questions.

Each answer is independently coherent and references the relevant statute or authority document.

united states · sister site
Hurt in a car crash in Colorado? See what your own claim could be worth.

FairSettlement, our US sister site, gives you a free estimate in about two minutes. No cost and no obligation.

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Sources

Checked 2026-09-29.

★ all of CO
Colorado overview

Fault rule, statute, caps, and key facts for Colorado as a whole.

★ national frame
Fracture in United States

Fracture band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Fracture · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of fracture bands.

★ editorial note

Figures on this page are not quotes for any specific case. For representation, consult an attorney admitted in Colorado. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.