Jefferson County’s court
The district court for the county sits in the Jefferson Combined Court at 100 Jefferson County Parkway, Golden, CO 80401. The county is in the 1st Judicial District, along with Gilpin County.
IT'S MORE THAN MONEY.
Mountain View Bad Faith Insurance Lawyers for UIM Claims Against Your Own Carrier
After a crash, a break-in or a medical emergency, the last thing you expect is a standoff with your insurance company. If that’s where you are, Colorado law gives you two ways to hold the company to its obligations. Call (303) 209-9395 and walk us through it.
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(303) 209-9395
Mountain View, Jefferson County
Why policyholders call us
CGH Injury Lawyers represents Mountain View residents against insurers that deny, delay, or underpay claims without a reasonable basis. Your first conversation with us is free, and we do not get paid unless we win.
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- ABOTA trial advocate on the team
- Trial-ready, not settlement-shy
- No fee unless we win
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ABOTA trial advocate on the team
Trial lawyers, not a settlement mill
8 attorneys, bilingual EN / ES
The driver who hit you had a bare-minimum policy, and your own underinsured motorist carrier is now treating you like an opponent. A Mountain View bad faith insurance lawyer can look at how that carrier has handled your claim and whether its position had a reasonable basis.
From its Denver office, CGH Injury Lawyers represents policyholders who live in Mountain View. Give us a call at (303) 209-9395, or leave a message on our contact page.
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 This Page Covers
- The kinds of claims that can turn into a bad faith dispute
- How underinsured motorist coverage works with Colorado’s bad faith rules
- Colorado’s statutory and common-law bad faith standards
- Jefferson County’s courthouse and where to find trauma records
- Our case process, possible damages, insurer defenses, and deadlines
Key Takeaways
- Your insurer has a duty to you. Colorado’s civil jury instructions recognize a duty of good faith and fair dealing that an insurance company owes its insureds (Colorado Civil Jury Instructions, ch. 25).
- Your own UIM coverage counts. A claim under your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage is made on a policy that covers you, which is where the statute focuses.
- Reasonableness is the measuring stick. Colorado’s statute labels an insurer’s delay or denial unreasonable once it’s shown to rest on no reasonable basis (C.R.S. 10-3-1115(2)).
- The statute can double the benefit. Winning a statutory claim can mean twice the covered benefit, with reasonable attorney fees and court costs added.
- UIM timing is special. A bad faith claim over unpaid UIM benefits can’t accrue until you’ve obtained a judgment against, or settled with, the underinsured driver.
Situations That Can Start a Mountain View Bad Faith Dispute
These are some of the ways a dispute with your own insurer can begin:
- An underinsured motorist claim after a crash with a driver whose limits didn’t cover your losses
- A renter’s or homeowner’s theft claim held up by repeated requests for the same receipts
- A health insurance denial for emergency care
- A water or storm damage claim with a payment well below the repair estimate
Each of these involves a first-party claim, meaning a claim on coverage that protects you. That’s the ground where Colorado’s bad faith statute applies. Which kind of claim you have shapes the evidence we go after first, whether that’s crash reports, receipts, or medical records.
Your own UIM coverage
Underinsured Motorist Claims and Bad Faith
Colorado’s uninsured motorist statute describes what UIM coverage is for. Under C.R.S. 10-4-609(1)(c), the coverage “shall cover the difference, if any, between the amount of the limits of any legal liability coverage and the amount of the damages sustained,” excluding exemplary damages, up to the coverage you bought. After a crash, the injury claim against the other driver is separate, and a Mountain View car accident lawyer can help with it.
When you claim that coverage, you’re dealing with your insurer, not the other driver’s. That distinction matters. The statute’s definition of first-party claimant leaves out anyone pursuing another person’s liability coverage (C.R.S. 10-3-1115(1)(b)).
Keep your own record while the UIM claim is open:
- The other driver’s liability limits and any settlement offer from that carrier
- Every letter or email from your own insurer about the UIM claim
- Medical bills and records from the crash forward
- Proof of lost pay, if you missed work
Timing is the other piece. A bad faith claim for nonpayment of UIM benefits can’t accrue until you’ve obtained a judgment against, or settled with, the underinsured driver, according to the jury instructions. A Mountain View uninsured motorist lawyer can look at where your claim stands on that timeline.
Common law vs. statute
The Statutory Claim and the Common-Law Claim
Colorado law provides two avenues. According to the jury instructions, the statutory right stands apart from common-law bad faith and adds to it, and the same facts can support both (Colorado Civil Jury Instructions, ch. 25). More on how the two fit together is on our Colorado bad faith insurance lawyer page.
| Point of comparison | Common-law bad faith | Statutory bad faith |
|---|---|---|
| Source of the rule | Travelers Insurance Co. v. Savio (Colorado Supreme Court, 1985) | C.R.S. 10-3-1115 and 10-3-1116 |
| Elements | Unreasonable conduct and knowing or reckless disregard of that | Delay or denial of a covered benefit with no reasonable basis |
| Relief available | Compensation for harm the bad faith caused | Double the covered benefit, reasonable attorney fees, and court costs |
The statutory standard
Colorado prohibits an insurer from unreasonably delaying or denying benefits owed to or on behalf of a first-party claimant (C.R.S. 10-3-1115(1)(a)). The statute treats the conduct as unreasonable if it happened without a reasonable basis.
The common-law standard
In Savio, the Colorado Supreme Court described two elements: unreasonable conduct and knowledge of that unreasonableness or reckless disregard of it. Because the statutory claim requires proof of unreasonable conduct only, the common-law claim sets a higher bar.
Local Knowledge
Mountain View’s County Court and Medical Records
Jefferson County includes Mountain View on its list of cities and towns. The court that hears a suit against an insurer isn’t fixed in advance; your home and the places the insurer does business both play a part.
Trauma care records
The state’s trauma list doesn’t show a designated facility in Mountain View itself. Denver Health Medical Center, at 777 Bannock Street in Denver, is listed as Level I on the Colorado health department’s designated trauma facilities list.
If your insurer disputes a medical bill after a crash, the emergency and hospital records can help show what care was needed. Requesting them early keeps the claim file complete.
Ask for the full chart, not only the billing summary. Notes from the emergency department, imaging reports and discharge instructions can each help show something an adjuster questions.
Why CGH
How CGH Injury Lawyers Approaches These Cases
Built for trial
Each case is prepared as if it will be tried.
Trial advocacy credentials
Kevin Cheney, our Managing Partner, belongs to the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).
Case review
We go through your policy, the correspondence, and the timeline of the claim.
A Denver office and a Spanish line
We’re at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, and Spanish speakers can call (303) 835-9177.
How we handle your case
What Happens After You Call
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We review the claim
The policy, every piece of correspondence, and the timeline all get read.
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We identify the claims
Your facts may fit common-law bad faith, the statute, or both.
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We make a formal demand
The insurer receives a written demand from the firm.
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We gather support
Claims-file materials and documentation come first, with outside expert input where it helps.
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We file in the proper court
Once we’ve checked your facts, that could mean the district court for Jefferson County, at the Jefferson Combined Court in Golden.
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We pursue what’s owed
That includes the underlying benefit, statutory damages, and attorney fees where applicable.
Compensation
Damages in a Mountain View Bad Faith Claim
The value of a claim depends on the policy, the losses, and the insurer’s conduct. The file review comes before any discussion of amounts.
Statutory relief
A first-party claimant whose claim was unreasonably delayed or denied can sue in district court under section 10-3-1116(1) of the Colorado Revised Statutes for double the covered benefit, along with reasonable attorney fees and court costs. Per the jury instructions, an unreasonably delayed benefit paid before judgment doesn’t reduce that doubled amount.
Common-law relief
Colorado’s instruction on common-law bad faith damages lists:
- Economic losses, including those you’ll probably have in the future
- Noneconomic losses or injuries
- Physical impairment or disfigurement, if supported by the evidence
Punitive damages. A jury can award them in some cases. The instructions caution that proving bad faith alone does not establish a punitive damages claim.
Insurer defenses
Defenses Your Insurer May Raise
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“The value of your UIM claim is fairly debatable”
A fairly debatable claim may be challenged, even if the insurer’s decision later proves mistaken. The jury instructions say debatability weighs against bad faith but isn’t outcome-determinative without more, and a denial with no reasonable basis isn’t fairly debatable.
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“Our position is justified by what we learned since”
An insurer’s decision is evaluated on the information it had at the time. Colorado’s pattern instructions trace that point to Schultz v. GEICO Casualty Co.
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“Your claim is still being evaluated”
When the evaluation stretches on with nothing new requested and nothing decided, the timeline can become evidence of its own, and we build it carefully.
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“We need a recorded statement before we go further”
Talk to a lawyer before you give one on a disputed claim, so you know what the statement covers and how it may be used.
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Deadlines and next steps
Deadlines for a Mountain View Bad Faith Claim
Common-law bad faith is a tort. The jury instructions apply the two-year limit of C.R.S. 13-80-102, which starts once you knew, or through reasonable diligence should have known, the injury and what caused it.
For a statutory claim, Rooftop Restoration, Inc. v. American Family Mutual Insurance Co. answered one question: the one-year limit in C.R.S. 13-80-103(1)(d) has no application to a section 10-3-1116(1) suit.
For UIM bad faith, remember that the claim can’t accrue until you’ve obtained a judgment against, or settled with, the underinsured driver. Deadlines depend on dates that can be argued over, so have a lawyer confirm yours.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a stalled UIM claim a bad faith insurance claim in Colorado?
It can be. Your own UIM coverage protects you, so a statutory bad faith insurance claim in Colorado may exist if the insurer delayed or denied benefits without a reasonable basis. A bad faith claim for nonpayment can’t accrue until you’ve obtained a judgment against, or settled with, the underinsured driver.
What does underinsured motorist coverage pay?
Under C.R.S. 10-4-609(1)(c), it covers the difference, if any, between the at-fault driver’s liability limits and your damages, excluding exemplary damages, up to your coverage amount.
Can I bring a bad faith claim against the at-fault driver’s insurer?
Generally not under the statute. It protects people claiming under their own coverage, and it leaves out claims made against somebody else’s liability policy.
What can a Mountain View bad faith case recover?
That depends on the facts. If the statutory claim is proven, C.R.S. 10-3-1116(1) allows two times the covered benefit plus reasonable attorney fees and court costs; a common-law claim can allow economic and noneconomic damages the bad faith caused.
Does the statute cover a renters theft claim?
It can. A renters or homeowners policy that insures you is first-party coverage, and property policies aren’t among the statute’s exclusions for workers’ compensation, title and life insurance. Under the statute, the question is whether the insurer had a reasonable basis for its delay or denial.
Where would my case be filed?
The answer turns on your situation, such as your address and the insurer’s places of business. For someone in Mountain View, one candidate is Jefferson County’s district court, housed in the Jefferson Combined Court in Golden.
Does CGH Injury Lawyers have a Mountain View office?
No. Our office is in Denver, 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, and Mountain View clients work with us from there. Phone (303) 209-9395.
Keep Reading
Related pages
It's More Than Money.
Speak With a Mountain View Bad Faith Insurance Attorney
You’ve dealt with the insurer’s side of the file long enough. A bad-faith insurance attorney can put your side of it on order. Call (303) 209-9395 or send us the details through the contact page.
Our Mountain View personal injury lawyers page lists the other cases we take.
Prefer to read first? See how Colorado bad faith law works.
CGH Injury Lawyers · 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205
Cheney Galluzzi & Howard, LLC, d/b/a CGH Injury Lawyers. Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case turns on its own facts, injuries, and available insurance coverage. This site is for general information and is not legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.