Clear, sourced information about what happens after a Colorado crash
Colorado gives motor-vehicle claims longer than most injury claims, and government claims far less. Both facts catch people out.
The short answer
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 2026-09-11Colorado runs two clocks. Most personal injury claims get two years. Claims arising out of the use or operation of a motor vehicle get three.
Most other Colorado personal injury claims carry a two-year deadline, which is why the motor-vehicle rule is the one that matters after a crash. C.R.S. § 13-80-102 verified 2026-09-11
The practical effect is that people who were told "two years" by a friend, or who read a general injury article, sometimes believe they are out of time when they are not — and occasionally the reverse, when the claim is not really a motor-vehicle claim at all.
If a city bus, a state vehicle, a county truck or any other public entity is involved, a separate and far shorter clock starts first.
A claim against a Colorado public entity requires written notice within 182 days of discovering the injury, delivered by personal service or certified mail; miss it and the claim is barred no matter how strong it is. C.R.S. § 24-10-109 verified 2026-09-11
That notice is a precondition, not a formality. A claim that would otherwise be strong can end on this point alone.
Colorado limits who may bring a wrongful death claim: the surviving spouse, then the decedent’s heirs, meaning lineal descendants rather than parents, with parents able to sue for an unmarried minor who left no descendants. C.R.S. § 13-21-201(1) verified 2026-09-11
In the first year after a death, a Colorado wrongful death claim may be brought by the surviving spouse, by the heirs only on the spouse’s written election, or, where there is no spouse, by the heirs or a designated beneficiary. In the second year the spouse, the heirs, or both together may bring it. C.R.S. § 13-21-201(1) verified 2026-09-14
Treatment that is still ongoing does not pause it. Negotiations with an insurer do not pause it. An insurer being slow does not pause it. Filing suit, or reaching a signed settlement, is what stops it.
| Situation | Deadline | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Injury or property damage from a crash | 3 years | C.R.S. § 13-80-101(1)(n) |
| Most other personal injury claims | 2 years | C.R.S. § 13-80-102 |
| Notice of a claim against a public entity | 182 days | C.R.S. § 24-10-109 |
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 four that come up most, answered from the same statutes cited above.
Three, for a claim arising out of the use or operation of a motor vehicle — C.R.S. § 13-80-101(1)(n). The two-year figure people usually have in mind is the general personal injury limit at C.R.S. § 13-80-102, which is what most articles written for other states describe.
No. Ongoing treatment does not pause it, an open claim with an insurer does not pause it, and an adjuster taking months to respond does not pause it. Filing suit, or signing a settlement, is what stops it.
Yes, and it changes it sharply. Written notice under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act has to go in within 182 days — C.R.S. § 24-10-109 — and that clock runs first, long before the three-year one. It is a precondition to the claim, not a formality.
Which clock applies turns on facts like who was involved and how old the claimant is, and there are exceptions this page does not try to cover. If the date is near or behind you, that is worth asking a lawyer about promptly rather than settling it from a web page.
A few questions about what happened, and you get the guidance that matches it. Free, no obligation, and you can stop at any point.