If you or somebody you care about has sustained an injury or property damage in a car accident caused by another driver in Colorado, you should be able to recover compensation for your losses. However, there are various aspects of these claims that individuals are not aware of, particularly the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations sets forth the timeframe with which an individual has to file a lawsuit against the alleged negligent party after an accident occurs.
In the state of Colorado, individuals have to abide by the three-year statute of limitations put in place for car accidents (Colorado Revised Statute 13-80-101(1)).
This means that individuals who sustain injuries or property damage in a car accident have a three-year timeframe with which to file a lawsuit against the alleged negligent driver. If they fail to file a lawsuit within this timeframe, it is very likely that the case will be dismissed, and the individual will be unable to recover the compensation they are entitled to.
Colorado, unlike other states in the country, has a separate statute of limitations for car accidents that it does for other types of injury claims. Overall, the personal injury statute of limitations for Colorado is two years from the date an injury occurs. Similar to vehicle accidents, this means that injury victims have two years from the date an injury occurs to file a lawsuit against the alleged negligent party. This general personal injury statute of limitations applies to any type of injury that occurs that does not involve vehicle accidents, including slip and fall incidents, defective product claims, dog bite incidents, and more.
It is crucial to understand that insurance carriers have very strict reporting deadlines when it comes to injury claims. Anytime a person is injured, they need to be aware of which insurance carriers will be involved, if any, in paying compensation. Insurance carriers typically require that injuries be reported to them within a day or two after the incident occurs. Failing to promptly report an injury to an insurance carrier could result in a claim delay or even an outright denial from the insurance carrier.
If you or somebody you love has sustained an injury caused by the careless or negligent actions of another driver in Colorado, you need to turn to an attorney as soon as you can. A skilled Denver car accident lawyer will get to work as quickly as possible and make sure that your claim is filed on time with the insurance carriers or, if necessary, with the civil court system. Just because the injury statute of limitations for vehicle accidents is three years does not mean that you should take this long to file your claim. Let an attorney begin their investigation, gather the evidence needed to prove liability, and handle all communication and negotiations with the insurance carriers.
