The Colorado statute of limitations for personal injury is two years from the date of the injury for most claims, under C.R.S. 13-80-102.1Justia. Colorado Code 13-80-102 – General Limitation of Actions – Two Years Motor vehicle injuries get three years. A handful of other situations run shorter, longer, or on their own rules, and missing the applicable deadline almost always ends the case for good.
The Two-Year Default
The two-year rule covers the broadest range of injury claims: slip-and-falls, dog bites, assaults, and most other harm caused by another person’s negligence or intentional conduct. The clock starts on the date the injury occurred. File your complaint with the court after that two-year mark and you lose the right to pursue compensation.
One carve-out matters up front: injuries involving the use or operation of a motor vehicle do not fall under this two-year rule. Those follow a separate, longer timeline.
Three Years for Car Crashes and Other Motor Vehicle Injuries
If your injury came from a car crash, motorcycle collision, or any accident involving the use or operation of a motor vehicle, you have three years under C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n).2Justia. Colorado Code 13-80-101 – General Limitation of Actions – Three Years The three-year window starts on the date of the collision and applies whether you were a driver, passenger, pedestrian, or cyclist. Bodily injury and property damage claims tied to motor vehicle use are both covered.
The extra year matters because serious crash injuries often involve extended treatment, multiple surgeries, and drawn-out insurance negotiations. That third year goes faster than most people expect.
Medical Malpractice: Two Years, With a Three-Year Ceiling
Healthcare-related injuries have their own statute at C.R.S. 13-80-102.5. You generally have two years from the date you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the injury and its connection to a provider’s conduct.3Justia. Colorado Code 13-80-102.5 – Limitation of Actions – Medical or Health Care
Colorado also imposes a hard outer boundary called a statute of repose. No medical malpractice suit can be filed more than three years after the act or omission that caused the harm, no matter when you found out about it.3Justia. Colorado Code 13-80-102.5 – Limitation of Actions – Medical or Health Care That three-year cap is one of the shortest in the country.
Two exceptions push past the three-year ceiling. If a provider knowingly concealed the malpractice, you get two years from when you discovered (or should have discovered) the concealment. If a foreign object such as a surgical sponge was left inside your body, the two-year discovery rule applies from the date you actually learned about it, even if more than three years have passed since the procedure.
Wrongful Death
When someone dies because of another party’s negligence or wrongful act, surviving family members have two years from the date of death to file. Colorado staggers who can bring the claim: the surviving spouse has the exclusive right to file during the first year, heirs may file during the second year if the spouse does not act, and the estate’s personal representative can file on behalf of beneficiaries if no family member steps forward.
One narrow exception extends the deadline to four years. If the death resulted from vehicular homicide and the at-fault driver also left the scene, the wrongful death claim gets a four-year window.1Justia. Colorado Code 13-80-102 – General Limitation of Actions – Two Years Both elements must be present. A fatal hit-and-run is the textbook case.
Claims Against Government Entities: 182 Days to Give Notice
Suing a city, county, school district, or state agency involves an extra procedural hurdle that trips up even experienced plaintiffs. Under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act, you must file a written notice of your claim within 182 days of discovering the injury. This is a hard jurisdictional requirement. Miss it and the claim is permanently barred, no matter how strong the case.4Justia. Colorado Code 24-10-109 – Notice Required – Contents – To Whom Given – Limitations
Notice must be delivered by registered or certified mail with return receipt requested, or by personal service, to the appropriate government office. For claims against the state, that office is the Attorney General.5Office of the State Controller (OSC). CGIA Summary After proper notice, you still have to file the actual lawsuit within the standard two-year (or three-year, for motor vehicle injuries) statute of limitations. The 182-day notice sits inside those longer deadlines, and it’s the one most likely to be missed.
Shorter and Specialized Deadlines
A few categories run on their own clocks:
- Dram shop claims. If a bar or restaurant unlawfully served alcohol to someone who then injured you, you have only one year from the date of the incident to file. This is one of the shortest personal injury deadlines in Colorado and it surprises people who assume the general two-year rule applies.
- Ski area injuries. Claims against ski area operators under the Colorado Ski Safety Act generally follow the standard two-year deadline.
- Construction defect injuries. The two-year discovery rule applies, so the clock starts when you discovered or should have discovered the defect. Colorado also imposes a six-year statute of repose from the date construction was substantially completed, with a possible extension to eight years if the defect is discovered in years five or six.
When the Clock Pauses
Colorado law recognizes situations where holding the clock against an injured person would be unfair. In those cases the statute is “tolled,” meaning it pauses and resumes later.
Minors
If the injured person is under 18 and has no legal representative handling their affairs, the statute does not begin running until they turn 18. The normal deadline then kicks in: age 20 for a standard two-year claim, age 21 for a three-year motor vehicle claim.6Justia. Colorado Code 13-81-103 – Statute Begins to Run – When
There’s a wrinkle. If a parent, guardian, or other legal representative is appointed while the child is still a minor, the normal statute starts running at the time of appointment, and the representative gets at least two years from that date to act.6Justia. Colorado Code 13-81-103 – Statute Begins to Run – When
Government claims are different. The 182-day notice requirement applies to everyone, including minors. There is no tolling for age when a government entity is involved.4Justia. Colorado Code 24-10-109 – Notice Required – Contents – To Whom Given – Limitations
Mental Incapacity
Adults who are mentally incapacitated at the time of their injury receive similar protection. If no legal representative has been appointed, the statute pauses until the disability is removed. Once the person regains capacity, the deadline becomes the standard limitation period or two years from recovery, whichever is longer.6Justia. Colorado Code 13-81-103 – Statute Begins to Run – When If a guardian or conservator is appointed during the incapacity, the clock starts at appointment and the guardian gets at least two years to act. Courts require medical evidence to support any assertion of incapacity.
Injuries You Didn’t Know About Right Away
Some injuries don’t announce themselves on the day they happen. Colorado’s discovery rule starts the statute when you knew, or reasonably should have known, about your injury and its connection to someone else’s conduct. This comes up most often in medical malpractice, where a misdiagnosis or surgical error might not produce symptoms for months or years.
The discovery rule doesn’t buy unlimited time. In medical malpractice, the three-year statute of repose still operates as an absolute outer boundary unless fraud or concealment is involved. For other personal injury claims, the discovery rule delays the start of the clock but doesn’t remove the deadline once it begins running.
What Happens if You File Late
Filing one day late is almost always fatal. The defendant will raise the expired statute of limitations as an affirmative defense, and judges grant these motions routinely. Once the court confirms the deadline has passed, the case is dismissed and cannot be refiled.
The consequences reach beyond the courtroom. Insurance companies track filing deadlines closely. The moment an insurer confirms that your statute has expired, settlement negotiations end. There is no reason for them to offer anything when they know the claim can never become a lawsuit. No compensation for medical bills, no recovery for lost income, no matter how clear the other party’s fault.
The way to avoid that outcome is to identify the deadline that fits your specific type of claim and file well before it runs. When multiple deadlines overlap, the shortest one controls what you have to do first.