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Fort Collins, Colorado. CGH Injury Lawyers represents DUI accident victims in Fort Collins and Larimer County.
Fort Collins, Colorado

Fort Collins DUI Accident Lawyers Who Pursue Every Party That Owes You

If a drunk or drugged driver hit you on College Avenue, I-25, or anywhere in Larimer County, you have a civil claim that runs completely separately from any criminal case. We represent the victim. We serve Fort Collins from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St. No fee unless we win.

No fee unless we win
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Serving Fort Collins from our Denver office CGH Injury Lawyers 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201 Denver, CO 80205 (303) 209-9395 Se habla espanol
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  • Colorado follows the doctrine of negligence per se. A drunk or drugged driver who violates the state's impaired driving laws is presumed negligent for causing a crash. In most Fort Collins DUI cases, the fight is over the value of your harm and which insurance policies pay, not over whether the driver did something wrong.
  • A bar or restaurant in Fort Collins that willfully and knowingly served alcohol to a visibly intoxicated patron who then caused the crash can be held liable under Colorado's Dram Shop Act (C.R.S. 44-3-801). That claim must be filed within one year after the alcohol was served, which is much shorter than the three-year deadline to sue the driver.
  • When the impaired driver is uninsured or carries too little coverage, your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage often becomes the primary recovery source. UM and UIM claims run on their own deadline under C.R.S. 13-80-107.5, separate from the clock against the driver.

CGH Injury Lawyers represents people hurt by impaired drivers throughout Fort Collins and Larimer County. We pursue the driver, any bar or restaurant that overserved them, and your own insurance when it must step in. CGH Injury Lawyers does not have a Fort Collins office. We serve Larimer County from our Denver office and come to you. Free first consultation, no fee unless we win.

The law that governs your case

Why a DUI crash case in Fort Collins is different from an ordinary car accident claim

When a sober driver causes a crash on College Avenue, the fight usually centers on who was careless and by how much. When an impaired driver causes that same crash, the legal landscape shifts in ways that can dramatically expand what you are owed and who is required to pay it.

Colorado follows the doctrine of negligence per se. When a person violates a safety statute written to protect the public from a specific kind of harm, that violation can itself establish negligence without requiring you to prove separately that they failed to use reasonable care. Colorado's drunk and drugged driving laws exist for exactly the purpose of keeping impaired drivers from injuring others on roads like US 287 and I-25.

What this means practically: you usually do not need to reconstruct the crash frame by frame to prove the impaired driver was at fault. The DUI arrest, the toxicology results, and the police report documenting impairment do most of that work. The real contested issues in a Fort Collins DUI injury case are almost always the scope of your harm, the amount and source of the insurance available to pay it, and whether a third party such as a bar or restaurant created part of the liability.

One additional feature of drunk driving conduct: it is the kind of willful and wanton behavior that can open the door to punitive damages under C.R.S. 13-21-102. Ordinary crash cases rarely support that claim. DUI cases sometimes do, which gives us a lever that does not exist in a standard negligence case.

Two separate cases

The Larimer County criminal case against the driver and your civil claim for full compensation

After a DUI crash in Fort Collins, two completely different legal processes run on parallel tracks in different courthouses with different purposes. Most victims do not realize how little the criminal case actually does for their financial recovery.

The criminal case in Larimer County

  • Brought by the District Attorney for Larimer County, not by you.
  • Heard at the Larimer County Justice Center, not the civil courthouse.
  • The goal is to punish the driver with jail, fines, license consequences, and probation.
  • You are a witness and a victim, not a party who controls the outcome.
  • The court may order restitution, but that is limited and rarely covers your full losses.
  • A conviction or guilty plea becomes powerful evidence in your civil claim, but waiting for it can be costly.

Your civil claim for full damages

  • Brought by you against the driver and any other responsible party, including bars or restaurants that overserved them.
  • Filed in the District Court, Larimer County, 8th Judicial District, when a lawsuit is necessary.
  • The goal is money: medical bills, lost income, pain, suffering, and the other losses the law recognizes.
  • You control the decisions, with your lawyer's guidance.
  • It is paid by insurance in the vast majority of cases, not by the driver personally.
  • It can proceed and succeed whether or not the driver is ever criminally convicted.

The criminal case must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Your civil claim only has to prove fault by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely than not. A driver can avoid a criminal conviction on a technicality and still be fully liable to you. We do not wait for the criminal case to finish before protecting your civil rights, because while you wait, the bar's security footage is being overwritten and the one-year dram shop deadline is running.

Every source of recovery

Who can be held responsible for a Fort Collins DUI crash beyond the driver alone

The impaired driver is the obvious defendant. But they are frequently not the only one, and sometimes not the one with the deepest insurance coverage. Old Town Fort Collins has dozens of bars and restaurants. Colorado law lets us reach the one that put the driver on the road.

Old Town bars and restaurants: dram shop liability

  • Colorado's Dram Shop Act (C.R.S. 44-3-801) lets injured people 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 anyone under 21. A vendor, and in that narrow situation even a private social host, can be liable under C.R.S. 44-3-801(4) for giving a minor alcohol or a place to drink.
  • Old Town Fort Collins concentrates a large number of licensed bars and restaurants within a small area. If the driver was drinking there before the crash, we investigate that venue from day one.
  • A dram shop recovery is in addition to the driver's own liability, so it can add a second, often better-funded, source of compensation.

Your own coverage: UM and UIM

  • If the drunk driver had no insurance, your uninsured motorist (UM) coverage steps into the at-fault driver's place and pays your losses.
  • If the driver had insurance but not enough to cover your injuries, your underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage fills the gap.
  • UM and UIM claims have their own statute of limitations under C.R.S. 13-80-107.5, the statute the Colorado Supreme Court applied in Pham v. State Farm, 2013 CO 17. They do not automatically share the three-year deadline that applies to the claim against the driver.

The dram shop deadline is particularly dangerous in Fort Collins. If the driver spent the evening at an Old Town bar and the crash happened near College Avenue and Prospect Road late at night, the window to sue that bar is one year from the date the alcohol was sold or served (C.R.S. 44-3-801(3)(a)(II)). Security camera footage at the bar and point-of-sale records are typically retained for only 30 to 90 days. Many victims wait for the criminal case to resolve before thinking about who else to pursue, and the dram shop claim is gone by then. We map every potential defendant and every deadline at the very start of your case.

Local knowledge

Fort Collins courts. Fort Collins trauma care. The corridors where DUI crashes happen.

A DUI accident claim arising in Fort Collins is a Larimer County case. The courthouse, the hospitals, and the specific corridors where impaired-driver crashes concentrate in this city all shape how we build your claim.

Courthouse

District Court, Larimer County, 8th Judicial District

A Fort Collins civil personal-injury lawsuit that exceeds the county-court jurisdictional limit is filed in the District Court, Larimer County, 8th Judicial District, at the Larimer County Justice Center, 201 LaPorte Avenue, Suite 100, Fort Collins, CO 80521. The jury pool drawn from Larimer County residents, the local rules, and the defense firms active in northern Colorado differ from what you encounter in Denver metro courts. CGH handles 8th Judicial District cases directly from our Denver office and does not refer them to outside counsel.

Trauma Care

UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital and Banner Fort Collins Medical Center

UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital is a Level III Trauma Center verified by the American College of Surgeons and designated by the State of Colorado. It is the primary facility where victims of serious DUI crashes in Fort Collins are transported. Banner Fort Collins Medical Center holds a Level 4 Trauma Center designation from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Medical records from both hospitals, including emergency imaging, surgical notes, and discharge summaries, document the full extent of injuries sustained in a DUI collision and form the core of your damages claim.

High-Risk Corridors for DUI Crashes

College Avenue, I-25, US 287 North, and the Old Town entertainment district

US Highway 287 runs through Fort Collins as College Avenue, carrying more than 40,000 vehicles per day south of Prospect Road. The intersections at Drake Road and Horsetooth Road are among the city's most accident-prone. Interstate 25 is Fort Collins's main north-south spine, subject to high speeds and frequent commercial truck traffic. Old Town Fort Collins is the city's primary bar and restaurant district, concentrated within a few blocks of College Avenue. Late-night departures from Old Town onto College Avenue and the surrounding surface streets are a documented pattern in impaired-driver crashes in this city. If the crash happened on any of these corridors after midnight, bar receipt records and security camera footage from Old Town venues can be critical evidence we move quickly to preserve.

After the crash

What to do immediately after a DUI accident in Fort Collins

The steps you take in the first hours and days after a DUI crash determine whether the evidence is preserved and whether every source of compensation is reached. Here is exactly what we recommend.

  1. Call 911 and request both police and medical help

    A police response matters in a DUI crash in ways it does not in an ordinary collision. The officer can perform field sobriety tests, request blood or breath tests, and make an arrest if probable cause exists. The arrest report, toxicology results, and body-camera footage become evidence in your civil claim. Even if you feel able to walk away, internal injuries, concussions, and soft-tissue damage from a high-force impact can take 24 to 48 hours to fully appear. Get examined at UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital or Banner Fort Collins Medical Center and keep every record.

  2. Photograph the scene before it changes

    Photograph the vehicles, the road surface, the intersection or stretch of College Avenue or I-25 where it happened, skid marks, debris, and your injuries. Note which direction each vehicle was traveling and where they came to rest. Identify every witness and get contact information. If you can see a bar or restaurant name on the driver's receipt, clothing, or wristband, document that too.

  3. Do not give a recorded statement to any insurer

    The at-fault driver's insurer may call within days and sound helpful. Their recorded statement request is not routine paperwork. In a DUI case where liability is usually clear, the insurer's priority shifts to minimizing the value of your injuries. Do not accept or decline anything before speaking with us. The same applies to your own insurer if a UM or UIM claim may be involved.

  4. Call CGH before evidence disappears

    Old Town bar security footage is typically overwritten within 30 to 90 days. Point-of-sale records that document how much the driver was served follow a similar retention schedule. The dram shop clock starts from the date the alcohol was sold or served, not the date you hire a lawyer. We move immediately to preserve bar records, pull the crash report and arrest records, identify every insurance source, and map every deadline. Call (303) 209-9395 to start your free review.

  5. We coordinate with the criminal case while building your civil claim

    We track the Larimer County criminal prosecution, support a well-documented restitution request when it can be substantiated, and use any conviction or plea as evidence in your civil case. The two tracks run simultaneously. Waiting for the criminal case to conclude before engaging with your civil rights is one of the costliest mistakes a DUI crash victim can make.

  6. We build the full Larimer County case

    We gather the complete medical record from UCHealth Poudre Valley and Banner Fort Collins, build the economic damages picture including future care and lost earning capacity, identify every defendant, and prepare the file for trial in the District Court, Larimer County, 8th Judicial District if an insurer refuses to pay fairly.

Compensation

What Fort Collins DUI accident victims can recover, and how Colorado's caps and rules apply

A DUI crash rarely produces just one category of loss. Colorado law recognizes two broad types of compensatory damages, and drunk driving conduct can also unlock punitive damages that an ordinary negligence case cannot reach.

Economic damages (never capped)

  • Emergency care, surgery, imaging, and follow-up treatment
  • Future medical and rehabilitation costs
  • Lost wages and lost earning capacity
  • Vehicle and property damage
  • In a fatal crash, funeral costs and the family's financial losses

Non-economic and punitive damages

  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress and PTSD, which are common after a high-force DUI collision
  • Permanent scarring, disfigurement, and physical impairment (not subject to the non-economic cap)
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Punitive damages when the drunk driving conduct qualifies as willful and wanton under C.R.S. 13-21-102

How Colorado's damage caps apply to a Fort Collins DUI injury claim

  • Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering are capped at $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, with inflation adjustments beginning in 2028 (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5). Claims that accrued in prior years carry lower, inflation-adjusted caps based on the accrual date.
  • Economic damages such as medical bills and lost wages are never capped. Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement is also not subject to the non-economic cap. In serious DUI crash cases, the uncapped economic losses and the uncapped impairment damages are typically where the largest share of the recovery lives.
  • Punitive damages in Colorado generally cannot exceed the amount of actual damages awarded (C.R.S. 13-21-102), and they require proof of willful and wanton conduct. Drunk driving is exactly the category of recklessness that can satisfy that standard. We evaluate the punitive claim on every DUI case and pursue it where the evidence supports it.
  • If the DUI crash killed a family member, the wrongful death non-economic cap for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025 is $2,125,000 (C.R.S. 13-21-203(1)(a)). If the death resulted from a felonious killing, there is no cap at all. These figures differ from the cap on injury claims and must be tracked separately.

We structure every Fort Collins DUI claim to maximize recovery in every category, explain honestly how each cap and source of coverage applies to your specific situation, and do not accept the insurer's characterization of which losses are or are not compensable.

Insurer tactics

Defenses the insurance company will try after a Fort Collins DUI crash, and how we answer them

Even when their driver was impaired and the DUI arrest is on record, insurance adjusters look for ways to reduce what they owe. Understanding each defense and the Colorado law that limits it is how we keep a strong case strong.

  1. "You were partly at fault too"

    Colorado uses modified comparative fault under C.R.S. 13-21-111. You can recover damages even if you were partly responsible, as long as your share of fault is less than 50 percent. If you are found 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. This is why adjusters try to find fault on your side even when a drunk driver ran a red light on College Avenue at 2 in the morning. Against an impaired driver, that argument rarely has evidentiary support, and we use the crash reconstruction and the DUI evidence to return the fault to where it belongs.

  2. "Your injuries are not that serious"

    High-force DUI collisions on I-25 and US 287 often produce injuries that do not show on a single emergency X-ray: traumatic brain injuries, soft-tissue damage to the spine, nerve injuries, and the psychological aftermath of a violent crash. Insurers routinely minimize what they cannot see in an initial ER record. We answer with a complete medical record, treating-physician testimony, and where needed, life-care planning that puts future costs on paper in a form a Larimer County jury can evaluate.

  3. "The criminal case handles the victim's compensation"

    It does not. Criminal restitution, if ordered by the Larimer County criminal court, is generally limited to specific documented out-of-pocket losses. It does not pay for pain and suffering, future losses, or emotional distress. It is also paid by the driver personally, which often means slow and partial collection. Your civil claim is the legal vehicle built to reach full compensation, and we make sure it does not get quietly abandoned while everyone waits for the criminal docket to move.

  4. "There is no insurance money to collect"

    Impaired drivers are disproportionately likely to be uninsured or underinsured. When the driver's own policy is too small or nonexistent, we turn to your UM and UIM coverage and to any dram shop claim against the bar or restaurant that overserved the driver before the crash on College Avenue or near Old Town. The defense that there is no money available is almost always incomplete once every policy has been identified and every defendant has been evaluated.

Deadlines that decide your case

The multiple deadlines in a Fort Collins DUI injury case

A Fort Collins DUI crash can involve three different deadlines running from three different starting points. Missing the shortest one can permanently end a claim against the party with the most insurance.

  • The claim against the at-fault 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)).
  • A dram shop claim against the bar or restaurant that overserved the driver: one year from the date the alcohol was sold or served (C.R.S. 44-3-801(3)(a)(II)). This is the shortest clock and the most frequently missed. It has nothing to do with when the criminal case resolves.
  • A 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. Do not assume the UM or UIM clock matches the three-year deadline for the claim against the driver.
  • If a government-owned vehicle or government employee was involved in causing the crash, written notice under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1) is required within 182 days of discovering the injury. Missing that notice bars the claim against the government entity entirely.

Because these clocks start from different events and run for different lengths, a lawyer needs to map all of them at the start of your case, not just the longest one. We do that in the free review. No deadline is allowed to slip while we are on your case.

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Your team

The attorneys handling your Fort Collins 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 DUI injury case is handled by a licensed Colorado attorney, not a paralegal. CGH Injury Lawyers does not have a Fort Collins office. We serve Fort Collins and all of Larimer County from our Denver office and come to you.

ABOTA member on the team Tim Tarr: Best Lawyers in America since 2023 Over 25 cases to verdict 8th Judicial District experience Statewide Colorado coverage Bilingual EN / ES Free consultation No fee unless we win
Questions

Fort Collins DUI accident, frequently asked questions

Should I wait for the criminal DUI case in Larimer County to finish before starting my civil claim?

No. Waiting is one of the most common and costly mistakes DUI crash victims make. A dram shop claim against a bar that served the driver must be filed within one year of the date the alcohol was sold or served (C.R.S. 44-3-801(3)(a)(II)). Security footage from Old Town bars and point-of-sale records that prove how much was served are typically overwritten within 30 to 90 days. Any conviction or guilty plea in the criminal case can later strengthen your civil claim, but your civil claim can succeed without it. We open the civil case immediately so no deadline is missed while the criminal case takes its own course.

Can I sue the Old Town bar or restaurant that served the drunk driver before the crash?

Often yes. Colorado's Dram Shop Act (C.R.S. 44-3-801) lets you sue a licensed vendor that willfully and knowingly served alcohol to a visibly intoxicated patron who then caused a crash, or that served anyone under 21 who caused harm. Old Town Fort Collins concentrates a large number of licensed bars and restaurants within a few blocks. If the driver came from that area before the crash, we investigate the venue from the first day of your case. A dram shop recovery is separate from and in addition to the claim against the driver, which can make a significant difference when the driver's own insurance limits are low.

What if the drunk driver who hit me had no insurance or too little?

This situation is common in DUI crashes, and your own policy is often the answer. Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage steps in when the at-fault driver had no insurance. Underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage fills the gap when the driver's limits are too low to cover your losses. Both claims run on their own statute of limitations under C.R.S. 13-80-107.5, the statute the Colorado Supreme Court applied in Pham v. State Farm, 2013 CO 17. That clock does not automatically match the three-year deadline for the claim against the driver. We identify every policy in play and file each claim before each respective deadline.

Can I recover punitive damages against a drunk driver in Fort Collins?

Sometimes. Driving while impaired is the kind of willful and wanton conduct that can support a claim for punitive, or exemplary, damages on top of your compensatory recovery. Under C.R.S. 13-21-102, punitive damages generally cannot exceed the amount of actual damages awarded, and they require proof of willful and wanton conduct. An ordinary car crash does not usually support a punitive claim. A drunk driver with a high blood alcohol level who caused serious harm often does. We evaluate every Fort Collins DUI case for punitive potential at the start.

The insurer says I was partly at fault even though the other driver was drunk. Does that end my case?

Not automatically. Colorado uses modified comparative fault under C.R.S. 13-21-111. You can still recover as long as your share of fault is less than 50 percent. If you are found 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing, which is exactly why insurers try to shift blame onto victims even when the other driver was impaired. Against a drunk driver, that argument usually has very little factual support. We use the crash reconstruction, the police report, and the toxicology evidence to put fault where it belongs.

Does CGH Injury Lawyers have an office in Fort Collins?

No. CGH Injury Lawyers has one office, at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. We serve Fort Collins and Larimer County clients from that office, file cases in the District Court, Larimer County, 8th Judicial District, and meet you wherever is most convenient. You can reach us at (303) 209-9395 for a free case review.

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CGH Injury Lawyers · 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205 · Serving Fort Collins from our Denver office