IT'S MORE THAN MONEY.
Colorado Hit and Run Accident Lawyers
When a driver hits you and flees, you do not have to find them to be paid for your injuries. Your own uninsured motorist coverage steps in and treats the fleeing driver as uninsured. We handle hit-and-run claims across every Colorado county. You pay nothing unless we win your case.
No fee unless we winA hit-and-run feels like the worst possible luck, because the one person who owes you money just drove away. In Colorado, that is usually not the end of your claim. Your own auto policy is built for exactly this moment, and recovery often does not depend on the police ever finding the driver who hit you.
- When the driver who hit you flees and is never identified, your uninsured motorist (UM) coverage pays your injuries. Colorado law treats an unidentified at-fault driver as uninsured for that purpose (C.R.S. 10-4-609).
- A hit-and-run runs on two separate tracks. The state can prosecute the fleeing driver as a felony under C.R.S. 42-4-1601, while you pursue a civil insurance claim. You do not need a conviction, or even an identified driver, to recover.
- Evidence disappears fast. Nearby camera footage often overwrites within days, and witness memory fades, so the first hours after the crash frequently decide how strong the claim can be.
CGH Injury Lawyers represents people hit by fleeing drivers across every county in Colorado, including drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and cyclists. We open the UM claim, run an independent investigation to identify the driver where possible, and prepare every case for trial or arbitration. No upfront fees, and a free first consultation. Call (303) 209-9395 to ask for a hit-and-run claim review.
The first hour matters most
What to do right after a hit-and-run in Colorado
The steps you take in the first hour set the ceiling on what you can recover later. Memory fades, camera footage gets overwritten, and witnesses scatter. Do these in order.
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Call 911 and stay at the scene
Tell the dispatcher you were struck by a vehicle that left. Give your location, the direction the driver fled, and any description you have. Do not chase the other driver, because a pursuit puts you at risk and can complicate an otherwise strong claim.
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Write down everything you remember
Record the time, intersection, weather, vehicle color and body style, any partial plate, and the flight direction before any of it fades. Photograph your injuries, your vehicle damage, debris, and any paint transfer.
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Identify witnesses before they leave
Anyone who saw the impact is valuable. Get names and phone numbers and, if you can, a short voice memo of what they saw, including any plate fragment. People walk off within minutes.
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Get medical care today
See a provider even if you feel only shaken. Concussion symptoms and soft-tissue pain often appear or worsen hours later, and a same-day record connects your injuries to the crash.
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Note every nearby camera
Doorbell cameras, gas stations, banks, transit buses, and traffic cameras may have caught the fleeing vehicle. Write down each location and angle. Our investigators canvass the block independently within hours of being retained.
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Call a lawyer before any recorded statement
Once you open a UM claim, even your own insurer is on the other side of the table. Speak with an attorney before giving a recorded statement or signing a broad medical authorization. We can review the claim at (303) 209-9395.
One more practical step: report the crash to the police and get the report number, because your carrier needs it to open the UM claim. If officers did not respond at the scene, you can usually file a report at a local police station within a short window. Then report the crash to your own insurer promptly, since most policies require prompt notice.
The legal framework decoded
How uninsured motorist coverage pays when the driver is never found
This is the single most important thing most hit-and-run victims do not know. When the at-fault driver flees and cannot be identified, your own auto policy treats that driver as uninsured, and your uninsured motorist coverage pays your damages.
Colorado law requires every auto insurer in the state to offer uninsured motorist coverage equal to your bodily injury liability limits, and any rejection of that coverage must be made by the named insured in writing (C.R.S. 10-4-609). Under C.R.S. 10-4-609(4), uninsured motorist coverage automatically includes underinsured motorist coverage, so most Colorado drivers carry this protection even if they never asked for it by name.
For a hit-and-run, the key is that there is no other driver's policy to pay you, because the driver is unknown. Your UM coverage fills that gap and pays the medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages a serious crash causes, up to your policy limit. Recovery does not require the police to ever identify the person who hit you.
Why UM is usually the real source of recovery
- When the driver is never found, there is no liability policy and no person to collect a judgment from. UM coverage is the practical path.
- Even when the driver is later caught, many fleeing drivers are uninsured or have no assets, so collecting from them personally is often impossible.
- Pedestrians and cyclists are covered too. The UM portion of any auto policy in your household can apply even though you were not in a car.
- Stacking may multiply the available limit when your household has more than one vehicle or policy, which we map from your declarations pages.
What still has to be proven
- That a hit-and-run actually happened. A prompt police report and witness or camera evidence corroborate that the crash was caused by a fleeing vehicle.
- That the other driver was at fault, the same liability question as any crash, which is why scene evidence matters.
- The nature and extent of your injuries, documented through your medical records and treatment history.
- Your coverage and limits, which we confirm by pulling every declarations page and endorsement on file.
Two separate cases
The criminal hit-and-run charge versus your civil claim
A hit-and-run produces two cases that run on parallel tracks. The state can prosecute the fleeing driver. You pursue a separate civil insurance claim. Understanding the difference keeps you from waiting on the wrong one.
The criminal case (the state versus the driver)
- Colorado requires a driver involved in an injury crash to stop, stay, and give information and aid (C.R.S. 42-4-1601).
- Leaving the scene of a crash that caused serious bodily injury is a class 4 felony, and leaving the scene of a fatal crash is a class 3 felony (C.R.S. 42-4-1601).
- If the crash caused injury that does not rise to serious bodily injury, leaving the scene is a class 1 misdemeanor traffic offense (C.R.S. 42-4-1601).
- The prosecutor controls the criminal case. A criminal conviction can support your civil claim, but it is not required for you to recover.
Your civil case (you versus the insurance)
- Your civil claim is for money to cover your injuries and losses, pursued through UM coverage, a third party's liability policy, or both.
- The civil burden of proof is lower than the criminal standard, so an acquittal in the criminal case does not end your civil claim.
- You can build and file the civil claim without waiting for the criminal case to resolve, and you should, because civil deadlines run on their own clock.
- If the driver is never charged because they are never found, your civil UM claim still proceeds against your own insurer.
A common and costly misunderstanding is to treat the criminal case as your case. It is not. The criminal charge punishes the driver. It does not put a dollar in your pocket. Your recovery comes from the civil claim, and that claim can move forward whether or not the driver is ever identified, charged, or convicted.
How we handle your case
How we build a Colorado hit-and-run claim
A hit-and-run case lives or dies on the early investigation and on how the UM claim is handled. The work starts with evidence preservation and ends, when it has to, in front of a jury or arbitrator.
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Free case review
We review what happened, your injuries, and your coverage, then tell you honestly how recovery would work and what the next concrete step is. This costs you nothing.
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Race to preserve evidence
We canvass the area for cameras with a sightline to the impact or the escape route and request preservation in writing, because much of that footage is overwritten within days. We also lock down witness statements early.
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Work to identify the driver
Broken headlights, mirror fragments, paint transfer, and trim can be matched to specific vehicle makes and model-year ranges. In serious cases we coordinate with law enforcement on data sources civil lawyers cannot reach alone.
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Open and protect the UM claim
We pull every declarations page, confirm your UM coverage and any stacking, and calendar the contractual notice deadlines in your policy, which are often shorter than the statute.
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Document the full injury, then demand
We build the medical record, including future care and the psychological impact of being hit and abandoned, then send a documented demand with a full damages calculation.
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Litigate or arbitrate
If the insurer will not be fair, we file suit or invoke the policy's arbitration clause, and our trial lawyers present your case to a Colorado jury when that is what full recovery requires.
We do not throw out a settlement number on a first phone call. The value of a hit-and-run case turns on the medical record, the available UM limits, any stacking, and the strength of the evidence. What we can do on that first call is open the right claim, flag the deadlines, and tell you the next step. Past results never guarantee or predict a future outcome.
Compensation
What compensation can you recover after a hit-and-run?
A hit-and-run claim can reach the same categories of damages as any serious crash. The practical limit is usually your available UM coverage rather than the law, which is why mapping every policy matters so much.
Economic damages
- Emergency care, hospitalization, surgery, and follow-up treatment
- Future medical care, therapy, and rehabilitation costs
- Lost wages and lost earning capacity
- Out-of-pocket costs and property damage tied to the crash
Non-economic damages
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress, which is common after being struck and abandoned
- Permanent scarring, disfigurement, and physical impairment
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Two points about Colorado damage rules. Economic damages such as medical bills and lost wages are never capped, and compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement is also not subject to the non-economic cap. Colorado does cap non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, at 1.5 million dollars for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, with inflation adjustments beginning in 2028 (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5). In a UM hit-and-run claim, the more common ceiling is the amount of UM coverage you carry, which is exactly why we look for every policy that might apply.
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Insurer pushback
What your insurer will argue, and how we answer it
In a hit-and-run UM claim you are negotiating against your own carrier, and the same playbook used on third-party claims gets pointed at you. Knowing the tactics going in is half the battle.
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"There is no proof a phantom car caused this"
When there was no contact, a driver swerves into your lane and you crash avoiding them, Colorado allows UM recovery in some cases, but insurers demand corroboration. We answer this with the police report, witness statements, dashcam or nearby camera footage, and scene evidence that ties the crash to the fleeing vehicle.
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"You reported it too late"
Policies require prompt notice of a hit-and-run, and adjusters use a delay to argue prejudice. We document when and how you reported the crash, secure the report number, and put the notice in writing so the timeline is clear and defensible.
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"This was mostly your fault"
Colorado follows modified comparative negligence (C.R.S. 13-21-111). If you are less than 50 percent at fault you still recover, with your award reduced by your share. If you are 50 percent or more at fault you recover nothing. Adjusters inflate your share to shrink the payout, even on a UM claim, so we challenge that assessment with the evidence.
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"Your injuries were pre-existing"
Carriers request blanket medical authorizations reaching back years, then argue your injuries predate the crash. We narrow the authorization to what is relevant and use your treatment records to separate the crash injuries from your history.
When an insurer unreasonably delays or denies a UM claim it knows is valid, Colorado gives you a separate statutory remedy for bad faith (C.R.S. 10-3-1115 and 10-3-1116). When we add a documented bad-faith claim, the negotiation dynamic often shifts. That is why every lowball offer gets a written response from us that documents the insurer's conduct for the file.
Deadlines and reporting
Reporting the crash and the deadline to file
Two timing issues decide whether a strong hit-and-run claim stays viable: reporting the crash and giving prompt notice, and the deadline to bring the UM claim itself.
- Report the crash to law enforcement and get the report number, then give prompt notice to your own insurer. Most auto policies require prompt notice of a hit-and-run, and a gap can hand the carrier an argument.
- Colorado UM and UIM claims are governed by C.R.S. 13-80-107.5, the statute the Colorado Supreme Court applied in Pham v. State Farm, 2013 CO 17. The deadline turns on the procedural history of the underlying claim, which is why an early review matters.
- Your policy may also set a contractual notice or filing deadline shorter than the statute. Missing that contractual deadline can give the insurer a defense, so it should be calendared as soon as the claim opens.
Because these deadlines run from different events and a UM timeline can be fact-specific, the safest move is to have a lawyer map every deadline to your exact case early, rather than assume you have years to act.
Your team
The team handling your case
CGH Injury Lawyers is a eight-attorney Colorado firm founded in 2016, formerly Cheney Galluzzi & Howard, LLC. Managing Partner Kevin Cheney is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and Treasurer of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association. Timothy G. Tarr has been recognized by Best Lawyers every year since 2023. Every hit-and-run case is handled by a licensed Colorado attorney, not a paralegal.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions about Colorado hit-and-run claims
Can I recover if the hit-and-run driver is never found?
Yes. When the at-fault driver flees and is never identified, your own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage pays your injuries, because Colorado treats an unidentified at-fault driver as uninsured for that purpose (C.R.S. 10-4-609). You file and pursue the UM claim against your own insurer, and you do not need the police to ever identify the driver to recover.
What if I did not get the license plate?
You can still recover. Identifying the at-fault driver is not required to make a UM claim under your own policy. Police may still identify the driver later through camera footage, witness tips, or vehicle parts evidence, but your civil recovery through UM coverage does not depend on that happening. Report what you do remember, including any partial plate, vehicle color, and body style.
Is a hit-and-run a felony in Colorado?
It can be. Leaving the scene of a crash that caused serious bodily injury is a class 4 felony, and leaving the scene of a fatal crash is a class 3 felony. If the crash caused injury that does not rise to serious bodily injury, leaving the scene is a class 1 misdemeanor traffic offense (C.R.S. 42-4-1601). The criminal charge is separate from your civil insurance claim.
I was a pedestrian or cyclist. Am I still covered?
Often, yes. The uninsured motorist portion of any auto policy in your household can apply even though you were not in a car. If you were walking in a crosswalk or riding a bike when a driver struck you and fled, your own auto insurance, or a household member's, frequently provides UM coverage. We review every policy that might apply to your specific situation.
How long do I have to file a hit-and-run claim in Colorado?
Colorado UM and UIM claims are governed by C.R.S. 13-80-107.5, the statute the Colorado Supreme Court applied in Pham v. State Farm, 2013 CO 17. The deadline turns on the procedural history of the underlying claim, and your policy may also set a shorter contractual notice or filing deadline. Because the timing is fact-specific, have a lawyer review your policy promptly so every deadline can be mapped to your case.
Do I have to wait for the criminal case before filing my claim?
No. The criminal case and your civil claim run on separate tracks. You can build and file the civil claim without waiting for any criminal case to resolve, and you should, because civil deadlines run on their own clock. A criminal conviction can help your civil claim, but it is not required, and an acquittal does not end your civil claim because the civil burden of proof is lower.
My UM limit may be too low to cover my injuries. What now?
There may be more coverage than you realize. We check whether household policies stack, whether umbrella coverage applies, whether the driver is later identified and carries liability insurance, and whether a third party bears any responsibility. Pulling every declarations page is the first step, because the available limit often depends on policy language and household facts.
Will my own insurer really fight my hit-and-run claim?
Often, yes. Once you open a UM claim, your carrier is on the other side of the transaction. Adjusters request recorded statements, broad medical authorizations, and use low first offers and delay. If an insurer unreasonably delays or denies a valid claim, Colorado gives you a separate statutory bad-faith remedy (C.R.S. 10-3-1115 and 10-3-1116). Speak with a lawyer before giving any recorded statement.
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IT'S MORE THAN MONEY.
The driver ran. Your claim does not have to.
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