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US 550 north of Durango, the Million Dollar Highway. CGH Injury Lawyers represents DUI accident victims across La Plata County.

IT'S MORE THAN MONEY.

Durango DUI Accident Lawyers Who Pursue Every Source of Recovery

A drunk or drugged driver on US 550, US 160, or Main Avenue in Durango does not just cause a crash. They create a civil claim against the driver, potentially against the bar that overserved them, and possibly against your own insurance when coverage runs short. CGH Injury Lawyers represents DUI accident victims in La Plata County from our Denver office. We pursue every defendant and every dollar. You pay nothing unless we win.

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A DUI crash on US 550 north of Durango, on US 160 near the Farmington corridor, or on Main Avenue through downtown leaves you with injuries, medical bills, and an insurer focused on minimizing what it pays. CGH Injury Lawyers handles DUI accident claims for La Plata County victims from our Denver office. We pursue the impaired driver, any bar or restaurant that overserved them, and your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage when the driver's limits fall short. We file in the District Court, La Plata County, 6th Judicial District when an insurer will not be fair.

  • The criminal case the district attorney files against the drunk driver is a separate proceeding from your civil claim. The criminal case punishes the driver. Your civil claim pursues your full financial recovery, and it moves on its own timeline regardless of how the criminal case proceeds.
  • Colorado law lets you pursue more than the driver. A bar or restaurant in Durango that willfully and knowingly served a visibly intoxicated person who then caused your crash can face a dram shop claim under C.R.S. 44-3-801. That claim must be started within one year after the alcohol was sold or served. Evidence from bars along Durango's Main Avenue and the Durango entertainment corridor disappears fast. We act immediately to preserve it.
  • There is no CGH office in Durango. The firm's only physical office is at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. We serve La Plata County DUI accident clients from that office, travel to Durango as cases require, and file directly in the District Court, La Plata County, 6th Judicial District at 1060 East Second Ave, Suite 106, Durango, CO 81301.

The law behind a DUI crash claim

Why proving fault in a Durango DUI crash is different from a standard car accident case

In most car crash cases, you must prove the other driver was careless. In a DUI crash, the legal framework gives you a significant head start. Impaired driving is a violation of a safety statute that exists precisely to prevent the kind of harm that happened to you.

Colorado follows the doctrine of negligence per se. When a person violates a safety statute written to protect a defined class of people from a defined kind of harm, that violation can itself establish negligence, without requiring the injured person to separately argue that the defendant acted carelessly. Drunk and drugged driving laws are classic examples: they exist to keep impaired drivers from injuring other people on the road.

In practical terms, this means the real dispute in most Durango DUI accident cases is not about whether the impaired driver did something wrong. It is about the value of the harm, who has insurance to pay it, and whether any other parties share responsibility. That is a very different fight from a standard car crash, and it is one we are built for.

On a corridor like US 550 north of Durango, where the curves are tight, the drop-offs are severe, and there are no guardrails on significant stretches, an impaired driver compounds the hazard every other driver already faces. When that combination causes a crash, fault analysis starts from a foundation the other side rarely contests.

Every source of recovery

Beyond the driver: the bar, the restaurant, and your own coverage

The drunk driver is the obvious target, but they are often not the only one. Colorado law gives DUI accident victims tools to reach a bar that overserved the driver and their own insurance when the driver's policy is not enough.

Durango dram shop claims: C.R.S. 44-3-801

  • Colorado's Dram Shop Act (C.R.S. 44-3-801) lets an injured person sue a licensed vendor that willfully and knowingly served alcohol to a visibly intoxicated patron who then caused the harm.
  • The same statute covers serving a person under 21. A vendor, and in that specific situation a private social host, can face liability under C.R.S. 44-3-801(4) when a minor who received alcohol at their establishment caused the harm.
  • A dram shop recovery is in addition to the driver's own liability, so it layers a second source of compensation on top of the driver's policy.
  • The lawsuit must be commenced within one year after the alcohol was sold or served (C.R.S. 44-3-801(3)(a)(II)). Bars and restaurants on Main Avenue, the Durango downtown entertainment corridor, and near Purgatory Resort are covered by this statute when they overserve a patron who then drives.

Your own policy: UM and UIM coverage

  • If the drunk driver had no insurance at all, your uninsured motorist (UM) coverage steps into the at-fault driver's place and pays what the driver would have owed.
  • If the driver carried insurance but the limits are too low for your injuries, your underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage can fill the gap between the driver's limits and your actual losses.
  • UM and UIM claims run on their own deadline under C.R.S. 13-80-107.5, the statute the Colorado Supreme Court applied in Pham v. State Farm, 2013 CO 17. Do not assume this clock matches the three-year deadline against the driver.
  • On a remote corridor like US 550 between Durango and Silverton, an uninsured drunk driver is a real risk. We map every policy from the start so no available coverage is left behind.

The one-year dram shop clock is the shortest deadline you face, and it runs from when the alcohol was served. Many families wait for the criminal case to progress before thinking about the bar, and by then the window has closed. We evaluate every defendant at the very start and act on dram shop evidence before it disappears.

Two separate legal processes

The criminal DUI case and your civil injury claim run on different tracks

After a DUI crash in Durango, two separate proceedings begin. One is brought by the State to punish the driver. The other is your civil claim to recover what you lost. They have different parties, different goals, and different timelines.

The criminal case

  • Brought by the La Plata County District Attorney on behalf of the State of Colorado, not by you.
  • Goals include jail, fines, license revocation, probation, and a criminal record for the driver.
  • The court may order restitution, but restitution is limited to documented out-of-pocket losses, paid by the driver personally, and rarely reflects the full scope of your harm.
  • A criminal conviction or guilty plea in La Plata County District Court becomes powerful evidence in your civil claim, but your civil claim does not wait for the criminal case to finish.

Your civil claim

  • Brought by you against the driver, any overserving bar or restaurant, and any other responsible party.
  • The goal is full monetary recovery: medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and the long-term costs of your injury.
  • Paid by insurance in the vast majority of cases, not out of the driver's personal finances.
  • Can succeed even if the driver is never criminally convicted, because the civil standard of proof is lower than criminal.

The civil case only has to prove fault by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely than not. The criminal case must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. A driver can avoid criminal conviction and still be held fully liable to you in the civil case. We do not wait for the criminal docket to clear before protecting your civil rights and preserving the evidence your claim depends on.

Local knowledge

Durango courts. Durango trauma care. Durango DUI corridors.

A La Plata County DUI accident claim is built on local facts: the road where it happened, the hospital that treated you, and the courthouse where your case may be filed. Here is the ground we work on for every Durango DUI client.

Courthouse

District Court, La Plata County, 6th Judicial District

A Durango DUI accident lawsuit that exceeds the county-court jurisdictional limit is filed in the District Court, La Plata County, part of Colorado's 6th Judicial District, at 1060 East Second Ave, Suite 106, Durango, CO 81301. La Plata County juries bring a different perspective on mountain road crashes than a Front Range jury would. Defense firms active in the 6th District respond differently to counsel that handles La Plata County cases directly and is genuinely ready to try them. We do not refer your case to local counsel. We handle it ourselves from our Denver office and travel to Durango as the case requires.

Trauma Care

CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital, Level III Trauma Center

Serious injuries from DUI crashes in La Plata County are typically treated at CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital (formerly Mercy Regional Medical Center) in Durango, the region's designated Level III Trauma Center for southwest Colorado. DUI crash injuries on steep corridors like US 550 frequently involve traumatic brain injury, spinal damage, and internal trauma. The records generated at CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital become the medical foundation for every category of damages in your civil claim. We know how to read those records, work with treating physicians, and retain life-care planners when future costs need to be documented for a La Plata County jury.

High-Risk DUI Roads

US 550, US 160, Main Avenue, and La Plata County corridors

US 550 runs through Durango as Camino del Rio and Main Avenue before climbing north as the Million Dollar Highway through Coal Bank Pass, Molas Pass, and Red Mountain Pass toward Silverton and Ouray. CDOT documented 53 crashes over a 15-mile section south of Ouray from 2020 to 2024, with 33 involving vehicles leaving the roadway. An impaired driver on this corridor, which has no guardrails on significant stretches and lanes as narrow as 23 feet, is an acute danger to every sober driver on the road. US 160 carries east-west traffic through Durango toward Wolf Creek Pass and toward Farmington, New Mexico, with documented CDOT winter closure schedules. The US 550 and US 160 convergence point at the south end of Durango is a documented crash zone. Main Avenue through downtown Durango, where traffic from Purgatory Resort, Fort Lewis College, and the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad all mix, generates DUI exposure throughout the tourist season.

After the crash

What to do immediately after a DUI accident in Durango

The steps you take in the hours after a DUI crash on US 550, US 160, or anywhere in La Plata County shape every part of what follows. These protect your health and preserve the evidence that becomes your claim.

  1. Call 911 and request a DUI investigation

    On US 550 or US 160, call 911 immediately. Tell the dispatcher you suspect the other driver is impaired. A Colorado State Patrol or La Plata County Sheriff response creates the official record of the crash and the DUI investigation, including field sobriety testing, chemical testing, and any arrest. That arrest record and any toxicology results become central evidence in your civil claim. If it is safe to do so on a mountain road, stay with your vehicle and wait for officers to arrive.

  2. Get to CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital

    Accept emergency transport or go directly to CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital, La Plata County's Level III Trauma Center. DUI crashes at highway speeds on mountain corridors produce injuries that may not be fully apparent at the scene, including traumatic brain injury and internal damage. Get a full examination, follow all recommended care, and keep every record. The medical documentation created at CommonSpirit Mercy becomes the core of your damages evidence.

  3. Document the scene and the driver

    If you are physically able, photograph the vehicles, the crash location, road conditions, posted speed limits, and your visible injuries. Note any open containers, the smell of alcohol, or other signs of impairment you observed. If the driver came from a bar or restaurant on Main Avenue or another Durango establishment, note that. Take contact information from any witnesses before they leave the area. This information is part of the dram shop investigation.

  4. Do not give a recorded statement to the insurer

    The at-fault driver's insurer will try to reach you quickly. Do not give a recorded statement, estimate the extent of your injuries, or sign any documents before speaking with an attorney. Insurance adjusters handling La Plata County DUI crash claims are experienced at extracting statements that shift comparative fault onto the victim under C.R.S. 13-21-111. Once you say something on the record, you cannot take it back.

  5. Preserve bar and restaurant evidence immediately

    If the drunk driver came from a Durango bar or restaurant, the surveillance video and point-of-sale records that prove when and how much they were served are often overwritten within days. The one-year dram shop deadline under C.R.S. 44-3-801(3)(a)(II) is hard enough; losing the underlying evidence to routine overwriting makes the case significantly harder. We send preservation demands to establishments at the start of a case.

  6. Contact CGH Injury Lawyers

    The three-year deadline for a motor vehicle injury claim (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)) and the one-year dram shop clock run from different starting points. We serve La Plata County DUI accident clients from our Denver office and offer a free consultation with no fee unless we win. Call (303) 209-9395 or use the form on this page.

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Compensation

What you can recover after a Durango DUI accident, and how the law's categories work

A DUI crash is not just a medical bill event. Colorado law recognizes two broad categories of compensatory damages, and drunk driving conduct opens the door to punitive damages that ordinary crash cases typically do not include.

Economic damages (never capped)

  • Emergency care, surgery, and hospital treatment at CommonSpirit Mercy Hospital
  • Future medical costs and rehabilitation
  • Lost wages and lost earning capacity
  • Vehicle damage and property losses
  • Out-of-pocket expenses tied to the crash and recovery
  • In a fatal DUI crash, funeral and burial costs and the family's financial losses

Non-economic and physical-impairment damages

  • Pain and suffering (capped at $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5)
  • Emotional distress and PTSD, which are common after a violent DUI crash on a mountain road
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Loss of consortium for a spouse or family member
  • Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement (not capped under any circumstances under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5))

Punitive damages and how comparative fault applies to DUI crash cases

  • Drunk driving is the kind of willful and wanton conduct that can support punitive, or exemplary, damages on top of your compensatory recovery. Punitive damages in Colorado are capped at the amount of actual damages awarded (C.R.S. 13-21-102). Proving willful and wanton conduct is required, and against a driver who chose to drive while impaired, that standard is often met.
  • Colorado uses modified comparative fault (C.R.S. 13-21-111). You can still recover damages even if you were partly at fault for the crash, as long as you were less than 50 percent responsible. If you are found 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. Against an impaired driver, that argument usually has little to stand on, but insurers still try it. We use the DUI arrest evidence and crash reconstruction to keep fault where it belongs.
  • Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement is not capped. In serious DUI crash cases on US 550 or US 160 involving permanent disability, spine injury, or traumatic brain injury, the uncapped impairment category frequently drives the most significant part of the recovery.

We structure the claim to reach every category of loss the law allows and explain honestly how the caps and the dram shop recovery combine with your other sources in your specific case.

Deadlines that decide your case

The multiple deadlines running in a Durango DUI accident case

A DUI crash in La Plata County can involve three separate deadlines running from different starting events. Missing the shortest one quietly ends a claim against a key defendant. Here is what each clock looks like.

  • The claim against the drunk driver: Colorado gives you three years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit for injuries arising out of the use or operation of a motor vehicle (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)). This is the longest window, but three years feels long until it does not.
  • The dram shop claim against the bar or restaurant: one year from when the alcohol was sold or served (C.R.S. 44-3-801(3)(a)(II)). This is the most urgent clock. Bar security footage, pour records, and bartender recollection all degrade within weeks. This deadline must be evaluated and acted on immediately.
  • The UM or UIM claim under your own policy: governed by its own deadline under C.R.S. 13-80-107.5, the statute the Colorado Supreme Court applied in Pham v. State Farm, 2013 CO 17. Confirm this clock separately from the claim against the driver.

Because these deadlines run from different events and have different lengths, the only safe approach is to have an attorney map every clock that applies to your specific Durango DUI crash at the beginning. We do that as part of the free initial case review, at no cost and no obligation.

Your team

The team handling your Durango DUI accident case

CGH Injury Lawyers is a eight-attorney Colorado firm founded in 2016, formerly Cheney Galluzzi and Howard. Managing Partner Kevin Cheney is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and has tried over 25 cases to verdict. Timothy G. Tarr has been recognized by Best Lawyers every year since 2023. Every La Plata County DUI accident case is handled by a licensed Colorado attorney, not a paralegal. CGH Injury Lawyers does not have a Durango office. The firm serves La Plata County clients from its only office at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205, and travels to Durango as each case requires.

ABOTA member on the team Tim Tarr: Best Lawyers in America since 2023 Over 25 cases to verdict Statewide Colorado coverage Bilingual EN / ES Free consultation No fee unless we win

Frequently asked questions

Durango DUI accident questions, answered

Can I sue the bar that served the drunk driver who hit me on US 550 or Main Avenue in Durango?

Often, yes. Colorado's Dram Shop Act (C.R.S. 44-3-801) lets an injured person file a civil claim against a licensed vendor that willfully and knowingly served alcohol to a visibly intoxicated patron, or to anyone under 21, who then caused the crash. A bar on Main Avenue, near Purgatory Resort, or anywhere in the Durango area can face this liability. The catch is the deadline: the lawsuit must be started within one year of when the alcohol was served (C.R.S. 44-3-801(3)(a)(II)). That clock moves fast, and the surveillance footage and pour records that prove the claim disappear quickly. We evaluate dram shop exposure at the very start of every DUI case.

Does the criminal DUI case handle my financial recovery automatically?

No. The La Plata County District Attorney handles the criminal case to punish the driver, and while the court may order restitution, restitution is limited to documented out-of-pocket losses and is paid by the driver personally, usually slowly and partially. It does not cover pain and suffering, emotional distress, or future medical costs. Your civil claim is what reaches full compensation. It is paid by insurance, not by the driver's pocket, and it remains available regardless of how the criminal case proceeds. We build your civil claim alongside the criminal case, not after it.

What if the drunk driver had no insurance?

An uninsured drunk driver on a remote La Plata County road is a real risk, especially on isolated stretches of US 550 north of Durango or US 160 heading toward Farmington. If you carry uninsured motorist (UM) coverage, it steps into the at-fault driver's place and pays what the driver would have owed. If the driver had insurance but not enough, your underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage fills the gap. These claims run on their own deadline under C.R.S. 13-80-107.5, the statute the Colorado Supreme Court applied in Pham v. State Farm, 2013 CO 17, which is a separate clock from the one against the driver. We check every policy that could respond.

How long do I have to file a DUI accident lawsuit in Durango?

There are multiple deadlines. The claim against the driver must be filed within three years of the crash (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)). A dram shop claim against a bar or restaurant must be commenced within one year of when the alcohol was sold or served (C.R.S. 44-3-801(3)(a)(II)). A UM or UIM claim under your own policy has its own deadline under C.R.S. 13-80-107.5. These clocks start from different events. The dram shop clock is the shortest and most urgent. Have an attorney confirm all of your specific deadlines as early as possible.

Can I still recover if the insurer says I was partly at fault in the DUI crash?

Potentially, yes. Colorado follows a modified comparative fault rule (C.R.S. 13-21-111). You can recover damages as long as you were less than 50 percent responsible. Your award is then reduced by your share of fault. If you are found 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. Against an impaired driver that bar is hard to clear, but insurers still argue it. On a mountain road like US 550, they may claim you were speeding for conditions or failed to take evasive action. We use the crash reconstruction, the DUI evidence, and the road conditions at the time to counter that framing and protect your claim's value.

Does CGH Injury Lawyers have a Durango office?

No. CGH Injury Lawyers has one physical office, at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. We serve La Plata County DUI accident victims from that office, file cases in the District Court, La Plata County, 6th Judicial District at 1060 East Second Ave, Suite 106, Durango, CO 81301, and travel to Durango as the case requires. We do not claim a Durango address. You can reach us at (303) 209-9395 or through the form on this page.

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IT'S MORE THAN MONEY.

A drunk driver hurt you in Durango. We handle everything else.

Free consultation. No fee unless we win. Serving La Plata County from our Denver office. Available in English and Spanish.

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CGH Injury Lawyers · Serving Durango and La Plata County from 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205