Clear, sourced information about what happens after a Colorado crash
What to do at the scene, in the first week, and in the first month — and what can wait.
The short answer
Get checked, report it, photograph everything, and be careful what you say to the other driver’s insurer. Everything else can wait a day.See a doctor even if you feel fine. The gap between a crash and the first medical record is the single most common thing an insurer uses to argue that an injury came from somewhere else.
Tell your own insurer. You generally have a duty under your policy to notify them promptly, and that is a different thing from giving the other driver’s insurer a recorded statement.
Start a file: bills, mileage to appointments, days missed, and a short note each day about what you could not do. Reconstructing this later never goes well.
Request the crash report from the agency that responded. Check that the basic facts are right — direction of travel, lane, vehicle descriptions. Reports do contain errors and they are easier to correct early.
Do not settle the injury while you are still being treated. Property damage can be settled separately; read what you are signing so you are not releasing the injury claim with it.
Deciding whether to hire anyone. In Colorado, a claim for injury or property damage arising out of the use or operation of a motor vehicle must be brought within three years. C.R.S. § 13-80-101(1)(n) verified 2026-09-11 The pressure to decide in the first week comes from the insurer, not from the law.
Every statement on this page traces to one of the sources below. Where the text was read somewhere other than the body that issued it, that is noted.
The questions people send in the days right after a crash, before anything has been decided.
No. Soft-tissue and head injuries commonly present a day or more later, and treating when symptoms appear is the normal course. What it does mean is that the gap between the crash and the first appointment becomes something an insurer will point at, so it is worth having the timeline written down.
Often, if you raise it early. Request the report from the agency that responded and check the basic facts — direction of travel, lane, vehicle descriptions. Reports do contain errors, and they are far easier to correct in the first weeks than months later.
Usually yes, they are separate. The care is in what you sign: read the release on a property-damage cheque or form so you are not signing away the injury claim along with the repair.
No. A Colorado motor-vehicle claim generally has three years — C.R.S. § 13-80-101(1)(n). The pressure to decide in the first week comes from the insurer, not from the law. The exception is a crash involving a public entity, where a 182-day notice runs first.
A few questions about what happened, and you get the guidance that matches it. Free, no obligation, and you can stop at any point.