What to do after a car accident in Colorado

The minutes after a crash are a blur. Once everyone is safe and help is on the way, the rules that decide what happens next come from Colorado law, and several of them differ from what you may have read for other states. This page covers what is specifically true here: the deadlines, the coverage rules, the fault standard, and the dollar figures. The general steps at the scene live on the national guide; below is the Colorado layer.

Reporting the crash and getting the report

Colorado drivers have to stop and report crashes that cause injury, death, or apparent property damage. When the Colorado State Patrol works the scene, the report is held by its Central Records Unit, which sells a basic report of 10 pages or fewer for $5, plus $0.25 for each additional page.¹ Crashes handled by a city police department or a county sheriff are held by that agency instead. Get the report or case number before you leave if you can. For how to pull the document, see the Colorado crash report guide.

Colorado is an at-fault (tort) state

Colorado ran a no-fault (PIP) insurance system until July 1, 2003, when the legislature let it expire and moved back to a traditional tort system.² Today the driver who caused the crash, through their insurer, is responsible for the harm.³ That shapes how you should think about your own policy:

• Every auto policy sold in Colorado carries at least 25/50/15 in liability coverage: $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 per crash for bodily injury, and $15,000 for property damage (C.R.S. 10-4-620).⁴
• Insurers must offer you at least $5,000 in medical payments (MedPay) coverage, which pays your medical bills no matter who was at fault. A policy can leave it off only if you reject it in writing (C.R.S. 10-4-635).²
• Every policy must include uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage unless the named insured rejects it in writing (C.R.S. 10-4-609).⁵ Because so many drivers carry only the state minimum, UM/UIM is often what actually pays after a serious injury.

You have three years, not two

Most Colorado injury claims carry a two-year filing deadline. Crashes are the exception. A claim for bodily injury or property damage arising from the use of a motor vehicle gets three years from the date of the crash (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)(I)).⁶ Miss that window and the court will almost certainly dismiss the case, however clear the other driver's fault.

Two things can shrink the window fast. Wrongful death claims run on a shorter two-year clock. And if a government vehicle or a badly maintained public road played a part, the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act requires written notice of your claim within 182 days of the injury, or the claim is barred no matter how strong it is (C.R.S. 24-10-109).⁷ Three years is never a reason to sit on a case.

The 50 percent fault bar

Colorado uses modified comparative negligence (C.R.S. 13-21-111). Your award is cut by your share of fault, and if you are found 50 percent or more responsible, you recover nothing.⁸ Twenty percent at fault on a $100,000 claim leaves you $80,000. Fifty percent leaves you zero. Insurers understand that math, which is why they work to pin fault on you. Photos, witness names, and the crash report all matter for that reason.

What you can recover, and where the caps sit

Your economic damages (medical bills, lost wages, future treatment, vehicle repair) are not capped in Colorado. Noneconomic damages (pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life) are, and Colorado is one of the few states that caps them in ordinary injury cases rather than only in medical malpractice. For claims filed on or after January 1, 2025, HB24-1472 raised the cap to $1,500,000 for personal injury and $2,125,000 for wrongful death, with inflation adjustments every two years starting January 1, 2028 (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5).⁹¹⁰ Medical malpractice sits under its own, lower set of phased caps.

If a drunk or reckless driver hit you, Colorado allows exemplary (punitive) damages for willful and wanton conduct. They are capped at the amount of your actual damages, but a court can raise them to three times that figure with clear and convincing evidence of aggravating circumstances (C.R.S. 13-21-102).¹¹ Colorado's dram shop law can also reach a bar or retailer that knowingly served a visibly intoxicated or underage patron, under its own separate cap (C.R.S. 44-3-801).¹²

Colorado driving rules that can decide fault

A handful of state-specific rules often settle who was negligent.

Since January 1, 2025, Colorado bars all drivers from holding or manually using a phone or other mobile device behind the wheel (C.R.S. 42-4-239, enacted by SB24-065).¹³ Enforcement is secondary, so an officer cannot pull you over for the phone alone and has to observe another violation first.¹⁴ Even so, a phone in the other driver's hand is strong evidence of negligence in a civil claim.

Winter changes things. Colorado's traction law, often posted as Code 15, can require snow tires, adequate tread depth, four- or all-wheel drive, or chains, and CDOT activates it on I-70 and other mountain corridors from roughly September through May (C.R.S. 42-4-106).¹⁵¹⁶ Driving on bald tires through a posted traction zone can count against you if a crash follows.

For riders, only motorcyclists and passengers under 18 must wear a DOT-compliant helmet, though eye protection is required at every age (C.R.S. 42-4-1502).¹⁷ Lane splitting past moving traffic is still illegal. Lane filtering, passing stopped traffic at 15 mph or less under set conditions, has been legal since August 7, 2024 under SB24-079 and is scheduled to sunset on September 1, 2027 (C.R.S. 42-4-1503).¹⁸¹⁹

Your vehicle's lost value

A properly repaired car is still worth less once a wreck sits on its history, and Colorado lets you pursue that lost resale value from the at-fault driver. The specifics are on the Colorado diminished value page.

Getting help

If you were hurt, or the other side is disputing fault, talk to a Colorado attorney before you give a recorded statement or accept a quick settlement offer. You can find a personal injury attorney who handles crashes in your part of the state.

This article is general information about Colorado law, not legal advice.

Sources

1. Colorado State Patrol, Online Accident Report Request. https://csp.colorado.gov/colorado-state-patrol-on-line-accident-report-request

2. C.R.S. 10-4-635, medical payments coverage and Colorado's 2003 shift from no-fault to tort. Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 10. https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-10.pdf

3. Colorado Division of Insurance (DORA), Auto Insurance. https://doi.colorado.gov/types-of-insurance/auto-insurance

4. C.R.S. 10-4-620, minimum liability limits. Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 10. https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-10.pdf

5. C.R.S. 10-4-609, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 10. https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-10.pdf

6. C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)(I), three-year limit for motor vehicle tort actions. Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 13. https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-13.pdf

7. C.R.S. 24-10-109, notice requirement under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act. Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 24. https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-24.pdf

8. C.R.S. 13-21-111, comparative negligence. Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 13. https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-13.pdf

9. HB24-1472, Raise Damage Limit Tort Actions. Colorado General Assembly. https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb24-1472

10. C.R.S. 13-21-102.5, limitations on noneconomic loss. Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 13. https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-13.pdf

11. C.R.S. 13-21-102, exemplary damages. Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 13. https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-13.pdf

12. C.R.S. 44-3-801, civil liability for serving alcohol (dram shop). Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 44. https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-44.pdf

13. SB24-065, Mobile Electronic Devices and Motor Vehicle Driving. Colorado General Assembly. https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb24-065

14. The Hands-Free Law, Colorado Department of Transportation. https://www.codot.gov/safety/distracteddriving/colorado-hands-free-law

15. Passenger Vehicle Traction and Chain Laws, Colorado Department of Transportation. https://www.codot.gov/travel/winter-driving/tractionlaw

16. C.R.S. 42-4-106, traction and chain authority. Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 42. https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-42.pdf

17. C.R.S. 42-4-1502, motorcycle helmet and eye protection. Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 42. https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-42.pdf

18. SB24-079, Motorcycle Lane Filtering. Colorado General Assembly. https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb24-079

19. C.R.S. 42-4-1503, lane filtering. Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 42. https://content.leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-42.pdf