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★ Colorado · whiplash

Whiplash settlements
in Colorado.

By Reviewed by Abd Shanti, Founder9 min read

Colorado raised its cap on pain and suffering from about half a million dollars to $1.5 million for lawsuits filed from 2025, and car crash victims get three years to sue instead of two. A driver whose seat collapsed backward in a rear end crash won nearly $3 million against Ford, but the verdict was reversed over the jury instructions.

Facts that decide a whiplash claim in Colorado

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 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)
Injured minorsWhen 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 useNot 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
united states · sister site
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★ CO · reported whiplash outcomes

What Colorado courts have awarded.

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

  • 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. He settled with the other driver and sued Ford over the seat design. The jury awarded nearly $3 million plus interest. The Supreme Court held the jury should have been told to use only the risk benefit test for a technical design, and affirmed the Court of Appeals’ reversal of the verdict.

  • 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. She turned 18 on 1 January 2017 and sued on 30 December 2019. The trial court dismissed the case as late, but the Court of Appeals held the three year period did not start until her 18th birthday and reinstated it.

★ CO · whiplash · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a whiplash settlement in Colorado.

  1. 1

    Check the filing date against the cap. The $1.5 million limit applies to actions filed on or after 1 January 2025; older cases carry the lower cap.

  2. 2

    Vehicle design can add a defendant. Walker sued Ford because the seat gave way, not only the driver who hit him.

  3. 3

    Minors get extra time. Mohammadi’s three years ran from her 18th birthday.

  4. 4

    Cyclists and pedestrians hit by cars also get the three year motor vehicle deadline, since the claim arises from a vehicle’s operation.

★ 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 whiplash settlement in Colorado.

★ whiplash · 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 whiplash claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationWhiplash 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 · whiplash →
IdahoModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryID · whiplash →
MontanaModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryMT · whiplash →
NevadaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years for personal injury; 3 years for medical malpracticeNV · whiplash →
OregonModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryOR · whiplash →
UtahModified comparative, 50% bar4 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeUT · whiplash →
GeorgiaModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryGA · whiplash →
KansasModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryKS · whiplash →
MaineModified comparative, 50% bar6 years for personal injury, longest in the USME · whiplash →
NebraskaModified comparative, 50% bar4 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeNE · whiplash →
ConnecticutModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryCT · whiplash →
DelawareModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryDE · whiplash →
★ CO · whiplash · 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
Whiplash in United States

Whiplash band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Whiplash · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of whiplash 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.