The clock starts on the date of injury. The controlling statute is Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-102. Filing one day late dismisses the case with prejudice.
Colorado's personal-injury statute of limitations is a hard procedural deadline. Once it passes, your right to ask a Colorado court to award damages does not just weaken , it disappears entirely. Defense lawyers file a motion to dismiss, the judge grants it, and the case is over before a single fact has been argued.
Colorado applies the same 2-year limitations period to personal injury, medical malpractice, and wrongful-death claims (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-102). Property-damage claims run separately, with a 2-year deadline.
The statute itself, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-102, is the controlling authority. Interpretive decisions come from CO Sup. Ct., which has repeatedly enforced the deadline against late-filed plaintiffs.
Accrual in Colorado means the date you sustained the injury. The fact that you settled with the at-fault driver's insurer or filed a PIP claim does not extend the period. Only a proper civil complaint stops the clock.
Under Colorado's discovery doctrine, if an injury is not immediately apparent, the clock can be delayed until the plaintiff discovers , or, with reasonable diligence, should have discovered , both the harm and its connection to the defendant's conduct.
Once the deadline passes, the defendant has an absolute defense. They can ignore settlement demands, refuse to mediate, and simply wait for the dismissal motion to be granted. There is no leverage left.
Colorado, like nearly every U.S. state, tolls the statute of limitations for plaintiffs who are minors at the time of injury. The clock does not start until the minor turns 18 (or, in some states, the age of majority specified by statute), at which point the standard limitations period begins to run.
Colorado courts have recognized tolling for plaintiffs whose mental condition prevents them from understanding or pursuing their legal rights. The burden of proof is on the plaintiff. Temporary impairment after the accident, such as pain medication or short hospitalizations, does not qualify in most Colorado cases.
If the at-fault party leaves Colorado after the injury, the SOL is typically tolled for the period of absence. Modern long-arm statutes and the increasing availability of service via the Colorado insurance commissioner have narrowed this rule.
If the defendant actively concealed the cause of action, Colorado courts can extend the SOL until the concealment is discovered or could have been discovered with reasonable diligence. Passive non-disclosure does not usually qualify.
Government-defendant claims in Colorado carry a two-deadline trap: a short administrative notice period (often six months) AND the general civil SOL. Both must be met. Personal-injury attorneys treat the notice deadline as the operative one.
Beating the SOL is necessary but not sufficient. A Colorado jury will also be asked to apportion fault , and the result determines how much of your damages you actually recover.
Colorado applies modified comparative fault (50% bar). Colorado uses modified comparative fault: recovery is barred if plaintiff is 50% or more at fault. Authority: Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-21-111.
| Claim type | Deadline | Statute | Clock starts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal injury (negligence) | 2 years | Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-102 | Date of injury |
| Medical malpractice | 2 years | Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-102 | Discovery or treatment end |
| Wrongful death | 2 years | Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-102 | Date of death |
| Property damage | 2 years | Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-102 | Date of damage |
Colorado is a pure at-fault (tort) state for car-accident claims. That means injured parties can sue the at-fault driver directly. The minimum liability coverage required under Colo. Rev. Stat. § 10-4-619 is 25/50/15.
Colorado requires UM coverage at a minimum of 25/50 (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 10-4-609). Stacking treatment: allowed w offset.
Colorado caps non-economic damages in medical-malpractice cases at $300,000. Punitive damages are limited per statute (1x compensatory). Authority: Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-64-302.
Colorado tolls the running of the SOL while the defendant is absent from the state. The defense bears the burden of proving the dates of absence, and tolling typically does not apply to defendants who can be served via long-arm statute or through their Colorado insurer.
Insurance negotiations do not toll the statute. Colorado courts have repeatedly held that an adjuster's willingness to talk settlement is not a waiver of the SOL defense. Plaintiffs' lawyers routinely file protective complaints in the final 30 days even if talks are ongoing.
No. A workers' compensation claim is a separate administrative remedy with its own deadlines. If a third party (not your employer) caused the injury, you must still file the civil personal-injury suit within the standard Colorado SOL.
Tolling pauses the clock. Colorado recognizes tolling for minority, mental incapacity, defendant absence, and (in narrow cases) fraudulent concealment of the cause of action by the defendant.
Choice-of-law principles generally apply the SOL of the state where the injury occurred (the lex loci delicti rule), but Colorado courts also look at the borrowing statute and the parties' connections. Cross-state cases benefit from early counsel.
Yes, in limited circumstances. Colorado permits tolling agreements between the parties that extend the deadline, but they must be in writing, signed by an authorized representative of each side, and entered before the original deadline expires.
No. Only proper filing of a civil complaint in a Colorado court stops the SOL. Demand letters, pre-suit mediation, and adjuster negotiations have no legal effect on the statutory deadline.
In most states the personal-injury SOL applies uniformly to negligence-based claims regardless of accident type. Colorado does have separate deadlines for medical-malpractice, wrongful-death, and certain intentional-tort claims, addressed on dedicated pages.
Last verified against primary sources on 2026-05-16.