Highlands Ranch Truck Accident Lawyers Who Hold the Carrier Accountable

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 (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)). If the truck was operated by or for a government entity, a written notice of claim is required within 182 days of discovering the injury under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (C.R.S. 24-10-109). Missing that 182-day notice bars the claim entirely. Because shorter deadlines can apply depending on the facts, confirm your specific deadline with a Highlands Ranch truck accident attorney as early as possible after the crash.

Multiple parties can share liability. The driver is responsible for their own negligent conduct, such as driving fatigued or distracted on the C-470 beltway or the I-25 corridor. The trucking company can be vicariously liable under respondeat superior if the driver was an employee, or directly liable for negligent hiring, training, supervision, or maintenance. Cargo loaders, freight brokers, and third-party maintenance contractors can also be liable. If a defective part contributed to the crash, the manufacturer may bear responsibility as well. Colorado's modified comparative negligence rule (C.R.S. 13-21-111) assigns fault percentages to each party, so identifying every liable defendant matters from the start.

The most critical evidence includes the truck's electronic logging device data (required by federal law since December 2017), the driver's hours-of-service logs, the engine control module black box data recording speed and hard braking events, dashcam footage from the cab, and the carrier's maintenance records. Federal law requires carriers to keep ELD data for six months, but engine control module data is often retained for only 30 days and dashcam footage for 30 to 90 days. A spoliation letter demanding preservation of all this material must be sent within 72 hours of the crash, before the carrier or its insurer can claim the data was routinely overwritten. Do not wait to contact an attorney after a Douglas County truck crash.

Often, yes. Colorado follows a modified comparative negligence rule under C.R.S. 13-21-111. If your share of fault is less than 50 percent, you can recover, though your award is reduced in proportion to your fault percentage. If you are found to be 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. This is exactly why truck carriers and their insurers aggressively argue after a C-470 or US-85 crash that you share the blame, and why having an attorney who can document the carrier's regulatory violations from the first day makes a difference in how fault is ultimately assigned.

Economic damages such as medical bills, lost wages, and future care costs are never capped in Colorado. 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 beginning in 2028. Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement is not capped at all under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5), and those uncapped categories drive the most significant recovery in serious commercial truck injury cases. If a family member was killed in a Highlands Ranch truck crash, wrongful death non-economic damages are capped at $2.125 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025 under C.R.S. 13-21-203, unless the death resulted from a felonious killing, in which case there is no cap.

No. CGH Injury Lawyers has one office, at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. We serve Highlands Ranch and all of Douglas County from that office, file cases in the Douglas County Combined Courts (District Court, 23rd Judicial District) at 4000 Justice Way, Castle Rock, CO 80109, and we meet clients where it is convenient. We do not keep a Highlands Ranch address and do not advertise one. Call (303) 209-9395 any time for a free case review.

The FMCSA limits commercial truck drivers to 11 hours of driving after 10 consecutive hours off duty, within a 14-hour on-duty window that cannot be extended by breaks. Drivers must take a 30-minute break after 8 cumulative hours of driving and cannot exceed 60 hours on duty in 7 consecutive days or 70 hours in 8 days. These rules exist because fatigue is a leading cause of commercial truck crashes. When a driver or carrier violates Hours of Service rules and a crash follows, the ELD data recording actual drive time becomes the clearest evidence of why the crash happened.

No. A quick first offer from a carrier's insurer is almost always designed to close the claim before you understand its full value. Accepting a settlement waives your right to pursue additional compensation later, even if your injuries turn out to be more serious than they appeared in the first weeks. Truck carriers in Douglas County carry substantial commercial insurance policies, and the adjuster's job is to settle your claim for as little as possible. Call CGH Injury Lawyers at (303) 209-9395 before responding to any offer, at no cost to you.