Emotional Distress After an Injury in Denver: When Colorado Law Allows a Claim

This page provides content for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always consult a licensed attorney for advice specific to your situation.

What Emotional Distress Means in a Colorado Injury Case

What you’re feeling after a crash or a bad fall matters, and Colorado law does recognize emotional harm in some situations. Medical bills and lost pay are one kind of loss. The law also has a name for harm that doesn’t come with a receipt: noneconomic loss.

The statute defines noneconomic loss as “nonpecuniary harm for which damages are recoverable by the person suffering the direct or primary loss or injury, including pain and suffering, inconvenience, emotional stress, and impairment of the quality of life” (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5).

So emotional stress is named in the law. In everyday terms, that can cover things like:

• Fear of driving or riding in a car after a crash
• Trouble sleeping, or nightmares about what happened
• Anxiety or depression that began after the injury
• Grief over activities you can no longer do
• Strain on your relationships at home

This list describes experiences, and it isn’t a diagnosis. A doctor or a licensed mental health professional is the right person to evaluate what you’re going through.

If you’re in crisis or considering harming yourself, please don’t wait on a legal question. You can call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Three Ways an Emotional Distress Claim Can Come Up

When you ask whether you can bring a claim for emotional distress, the answer depends on which of these three situations you’re in.

Situation	What it looks like	What has to be shown
Part of a physical injury claim	You were hurt in a crash or a fall, and the emotional harm came with it.	The elements of negligence, with emotional stress as one of your losses
Negligent infliction of emotional distress	Someone’s negligence put you at an unreasonable risk of physical harm and caused you to fear physical consequences or long-lasting emotional disturbance, even without an impact.	The four elements in Instruction 9:2
Extreme and outrageous conduct	Someone acted in a way that was extreme and outrageous, intending to cause severe distress or acting recklessly.	The three elements in Instruction 23:1

Each one is covered below.

Emotional Distress as Part of a Physical Injury Claim

This is the most direct of the three. If another person’s negligence caused your injury, the claim can include what the injury did to you emotionally, as well as your medical bills and lost income.

Colorado’s civil jury instructions, which the state courts publish on their website, list what you must prove in a negligence claim (Instruction 9:1):

1. You had injuries, damages, or losses.
2. The other person was negligent.
3. That negligence was a cause of your injuries, damages, or losses.

Emotional harm fits under the first item as one of the losses. You don’t file a separate emotional distress lawsuit in this situation. The emotional harm is part of the same claim, alongside everything else the injury cost you.

Our guide to pain and suffering damages in Colorado explains how the law treats these losses.

Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress in Colorado

Sometimes there’s no physical impact at all. A truck runs a red light and misses you by inches, and you haven’t been the same since. Colorado law has a claim for that, and it’s a narrow one.

The civil jury instructions list four things that all have to be proven (Instruction 9:2):

1. The defendant was negligent.
2. The negligence “created an unreasonable risk of physical harm” to you.
3. The negligence caused you “to be put in fear” for your safety, and that fear “was shown by physical consequences or long continued emotional disturbance, rather than only momentary fright, shock, or other similar and immediate emotional distress.”
4. Your fear caused your injuries, damages, or losses.

Two parts of that carry most of the weight. You had to be at risk of physical harm yourself. And the fear has to be more than a passing scare, shown in physical effects or in emotional disturbance that lasts.

Extreme and Outrageous Conduct: Colorado’s Version of Intentional Infliction

Colorado calls intentional infliction of emotional distress “extreme and outrageous conduct.” The civil jury instructions list three elements (Instruction 23:1):

1. The defendant engaged in extreme and outrageous conduct.
2. The defendant did so “recklessly or with the intent of causing the plaintiff severe emotional distress.”
3. The conduct caused you severe emotional distress.

The definitions show how demanding the standard is:

• Extreme and outrageous conduct is conduct that is “so outrageous in character and so extreme in degree that a reasonable member of the community would regard the conduct as atrocious, going beyond all possible bounds of decency and utterly intolerable in a civilized community” (Instruction 23:2).
• Severe emotional distress “consists of highly unpleasant mental reactions” and “is so extreme that no person of ordinary sensibilities could be expected to tolerate and endure it” (Instruction 23:4).

Instruction 23:2 also says a “simple act of unkindness or insult, standing alone, does not constitute outrageous conduct.” Rudeness or a harsh word, by itself, doesn’t meet that definition. The instruction adds that a series of acts may, and so may a single incident, be regarded by a reasonable member of the community that way.

The authority notes to the instruction say that “proof of accompanying physical injury is not required.” Proof of severe emotional distress is still required (Instruction 23:1).

A careless driver or a store that missed a spill generally doesn’t fit this claim, because carelessness differs from intentionally causing or recklessly disregarding distress. In those cases, emotional harm is handled as part of the injury claim described above.

How Emotional Distress Is Shown

Emotional harm doesn’t show up on an X-ray, so the proof looks different. The burden is the same as in any civil case, a preponderance of the evidence (C.R.S. 13-25-127). These kinds of records can help support your claim:

• Records from a therapist, counselor, psychologist, or psychiatrist
• Notes from your primary care doctor about sleep, mood, or anxiety
• Prescriptions written after the injury
• Your account of how daily life has changed
• Accounts from family, friends, or coworkers who have seen the change
• A journal you’ve kept since the injury

Getting care matters in itself. Records of that care also document emotional harm.

It also helps to be honest about your history.

If you were treated for anxiety or depression before the injury, the insurance company may ask about it. An earlier condition isn’t the end of the conversation. The question becomes what the injury changed.

How Much Can You Sue for Emotional Distress? Colorado’s Limits

A web page can’t put a number on your case. What a claim may recover depends on the injury, the proof, and who is responsible. What can be stated is the limit Colorado law sets on noneconomic damages.

As the statute reads, the higher limit covers a claim that accrues on or after January 1, 2025, and a civil action filed on or after January 1, 2025, and before January 1, 2026. In those cases the total damages for direct or derivative noneconomic loss “must not exceed the sum of one million five hundred thousand dollars” (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5). The General Assembly’s summary of the bill that raised the limit says it went “from $250,000 to $1.5 million” (HB24-1472).

The statute calls for inflation adjustments starting January 1, 2028. An older claim may fall under the earlier, lower limit, depending on when it arose and when it was filed.

A few points about that limit:

• It’s a cap on what can be awarded. It isn’t a typical amount or a starting point.
• Medical malpractice and wrongful death cases follow separate limits.
• The statute says it doesn’t “limit the recovery of compensatory damages for physical impairment or disfigurement.”
• Emotional stress to someone apart from the injured person is “derivative” loss, and the statute allows it only when “the court finds justification by clear and convincing evidence.”

Our page on personal injury settlement value in Colorado explains what goes into valuing a claim.

Deadlines for an Emotional Distress Lawsuit in Colorado

An emotional distress lawsuit has to be started on time, like any other injury claim. The deadline depends on what caused the harm.

What happened	Time to start the case	Source
A tort such as negligence or outrageous conduct	Two years after the claim accrues	C.R.S. 13-80-102
Bodily injury or property damage arising out of the use or operation of a motor vehicle	Generally three years after the claim accrues	C.R.S. 13-80-101
A claim against a public entity	As short as two years, with written notice required within 182 days after discovering the injury	C.R.S. 13-80-102, 24-10-109

The two-year statute names “outrageous conduct” in its list of tort actions (C.R.S. 13-80-102). The same statute sends tort claims arising out of the use or operation of a motor vehicle to the three-year rule, which covers actions for bodily injury or property damage (C.R.S. 13-80-101). If a public entity or its employee on the job was involved, written notice comes first and the filing deadline may be as short as two years (C.R.S. 24-10-109; C.R.S. 13-80-102).

If your claim involves fear and no physical injury, don’t assume the longer deadline covers it. Ask about the date early.

Which deadline applies to you depends on the facts. Our post on the Colorado personal injury statute of limitations covers the timing rules in more detail.

Is Suing for Emotional Distress the Right Step for You?

Suing for emotional distress is a decision only you can make. These questions can help you think it through:

• Was there a physical injury? If so, the emotional harm may be part of that claim.
• Were you in physical danger? That’s a requirement for a negligent infliction claim.
• Has the distress lasted? The law separates lasting harm from a momentary fright.
• Is there a record of it? Treatment records and other people’s accounts can support a claim.
• Who was responsible, and are they insured? A claim needs someone who can be held to account for it.

You don’t have to answer these alone. Going over them with a lawyer doesn’t commit you to filing anything.

Talk to a Denver Personal Injury Lawyer

If an injury has left you struggling emotionally, a Denver personal injury lawyer can look at what happened and tell you which of these paths, if any, fits. Our Colorado personal injury page explains more about how these claims work. To schedule a consultation, call (303) 209-9395 or send a note through our Denver contact page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Written by CGH Injury Lawyers.

Last reviewed: October 7, 2026.

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