Greeley Truck Accident Lawyers Who Hold Carriers Accountable in Weld County

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, including a commercial truck, under C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n). However, the evidence that proves the case, including ECM black-box data and dashcam footage, often survives for only 30 to 90 days. Waiting until month 35 to act means the most valuable evidence is long gone. If a government-owned vehicle or a public agency caused or contributed to the crash, a written notice of claim is also required within 182 days of discovering the injury under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1). That notice is a jurisdictional prerequisite, meaning a missed deadline permanently bars the claim.

Photograph your injuries, the vehicles, the road conditions, and any skid marks or debris before they are cleared. Get witness names and contact information at the scene. Do not wash your vehicle or allow repairs until an attorney has reviewed it. The most important evidence, including the truck's electronic logging device data, ECM black-box data, and dashcam footage, lives on the carrier's systems and can be overwritten without a timely legal preservation demand. That demand has to come from an attorney, and it has to go out within the first 72 hours. Carrier defense teams begin preserving evidence favorable to the carrier immediately. You need a lawyer moving at the same speed.

Multiple parties can share liability in a commercial trucking crash. The driver is responsible for direct negligence such as fatigued driving or distracted operation. The carrier that employed or contracted the driver can be liable under respondeat superior if the driver was acting within the scope of employment, or directly liable for negligent hiring, training, supervision, or failure to maintain the vehicle under C.R.S. 42-4-235. The company that loaded the cargo can be responsible if improper securement contributed to the crash. A parts manufacturer can face a products liability claim if a defective component failed. The Graves Amendment (49 U.S.C. 30106) does not shield a lessor that was negligent in maintenance or knew the driver was unqualified. We investigate every link in the chain.

Economic damages such as medical bills from Banner North Colorado Medical Center, future care costs, lost wages, and lost earning capacity are not capped. Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering are capped at $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025 under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5, with inflation adjustments starting in 2028. Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement is not capped at all under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5), and this category drives much of the value in catastrophic truck crash cases. Punitive damages are governed by C.R.S. 13-21-102 and require proof of willful and wanton conduct.

Often, yes. Colorado follows a modified comparative negligence rule under C.R.S. 13-21-111. If you are less than 50 percent at fault, you can recover, though your award is reduced in proportion to your share of fault. If you are 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. Carrier insurers routinely try to inflate the injured driver's fault percentage to trigger that bar or to reduce the payout. Our job is to counter that effort with the regulatory violation record, the ECM data, and the carrier's own maintenance history, so the fault percentage accurately reflects what the carrier did wrong on US 34 or US 85.

A Greeley truck accident lawsuit that exceeds the county-court jurisdictional limit is filed in Weld County District Court in the 19th Judicial District. The courthouse is at 901 9th Ave, Greeley, CO 80631, with a clerk's office at the Centennial Center, 915 10th Street, Greeley, CO 80631. Weld County procedure, the local jury pool, and the carrier-side defense firms that appear in the 19th Judicial District differ from those in other Colorado districts. CGH Injury Lawyers handles 19th Judicial District cases directly from our Denver office and does not contract them out.

Under 49 CFR Part 395, commercial drivers are limited to 11 hours of driving after 10 consecutive hours off duty, within a 14-hour on-duty window. A 30-minute break is required after 8 cumulative hours of driving, and drivers cannot exceed 60 hours on duty in 7 consecutive days, or 70 hours in 8 days. Electronic logging devices required since December 2017 record the actual hours driven. When a carrier's ELD data shows a driver on US 34 exceeded those limits before the crash, that violation supports both a negligence claim against the driver and a negligent supervision or entrustment claim against the carrier. Carriers that manipulate or fail to audit ELD records can face punitive exposure under C.R.S. 13-21-102.

No. The carrier's insurer will contact you quickly after a crash on US 34 or US 85, often within the first 24 to 48 hours. A recorded statement given before you understand the full scope of your injuries or the carrier's regulatory violations can be used to minimize your recovery. You are not required to give one. Politely decline, note the adjuster's name and contact information, and call CGH Injury Lawyers at (303) 209-9395 before saying anything further. We communicate with the carrier and its insurer on your behalf from that point forward.