Car Accident Lawyers in Colorado Springs

Colorado gives you three years from the crash to file an injury claim arising from a motor vehicle, a year longer than most other injury claims. That time goes faster than it sounds when you are treating for injuries and trying to get back to work, and evidence like vehicle data and nearby video is gone within days or weeks.

Who pays after a crash

Colorado car insurance is fault-based. The at-fault driver’s liability insurer pays for the harm its driver caused, up to the policy limits. Your own policy can pay too. Medical payments coverage, which Colorado insurers must offer with every policy, pays early medical bills no matter who caused the crash. If the other driver has no insurance, or not enough to cover your losses, your uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is often the largest source of recovery.

Finding every policy that applies is one of the first things we do. A household member’s policy, an employer’s policy for a driver who was working, or a rideshare company’s policy can all change what is available.

Rear-end collisions

The trailing driver is usually at fault, because every driver must keep a safe following distance. Usually is not always: insurers argue about sudden stops, brake lights that didn’t work, and chain reactions where a third car started it. Rear-end crashes also cause neck and back injuries that don’t show on an X-ray, so insurers often treat them as minor. Consistent treatment records are what answer that.

Intersection and left-turn crashes

Intersection cases turn on who had the right of way, and the drivers almost always disagree. Signal timing, the location of the damage on each vehicle, witness accounts, and video from traffic cameras or nearby businesses decide them. Business video is often recorded over within days, which is why it needs to be requested right away.

Head-on and rollover crashes

These produce the most serious injuries. A head-on crash usually means someone crossed the center line: through impairment, fatigue, distraction, or a wrong turn onto a divided road. Rollovers raise a second question about the vehicle itself. Roof crush, seat and belt failures, and tire defects can turn a survivable crash into a catastrophic one, and a claim against the manufacturer may run alongside the claim against the driver. See product liability.

Distracted driving

Since January 1, 2025, Colorado law has barred drivers from holding or manually using a phone while driving, including at red lights. Phone records can show whether a driver was texting or on a call at the moment of the crash, but they have to be requested through the legal process, and carriers don’t keep everything forever.

Injured passengers

A passenger is rarely at fault, which simplifies the claim, but it can mean claims against more than one driver, including the driver of the car you were in. That is uncomfortable when the driver is a friend or family member. The claim is against their insurance, and it is often the only way your medical bills get paid.

What about seat belts?

If you weren’t wearing a seat belt, Colorado law lets the defense use that to reduce your pain and suffering damages. It can’t be used to reduce what you recover for medical bills, lost wages, or other economic losses, and it doesn’t bar the claim.

Other kinds of car crashes

Some car crashes raise issues of their own:

• Uber and Lyft accidents, where the coverage depends on what the driver’s app was doing.
• Drunk driver accidents, where punitive damages and claims against whoever served the driver may apply.
• Uninsured, underinsured, and hit-and-run crashes, where the claim is against your own insurance company.

How we handle car accident claims

We secure the evidence first: the crash report, photographs, vehicle data, video, and witness statements. We identify every applicable policy and handle the adjusters. We document your medical care and lost income as it develops, and we don’t settle before the full extent of the injury is known.