Filing deadlines for Windsor TBI cases
If your brain injury resulted from a motor vehicle crash on I-25, CO-392, CO-257, US-34, or any other Windsor road involving a motor vehicle, Colorado gives you three years from the date of the collision to file a personal injury lawsuit under C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n). This three-year motor vehicle tort deadline applies to crashes involving cars, motorcycles, trucks, bicycles struck by a motor vehicle, pedestrians struck by a motor vehicle, and other motor-vehicle-caused injuries. If the at-fault party is a government entity, such as a Town of Windsor vehicle, a Weld County vehicle, a Larimer County vehicle, or a road defect on a government-maintained road, you must also serve a written notice of claim within 182 days of discovering the injury under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1). Missing the 182-day government notice bars that portion of the claim entirely. Brain injury symptoms that emerge weeks after the crash do not restart either deadline. Act early.
Government entity liability (CGIA): what it means for Windsor cases
When a government entity caused or contributed to a Windsor brain injury, the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (C.R.S. 24-10-101 et seq.) applies. In addition to the 182-day notice requirement, damages recoverable from a government defendant are capped separately. For claims accruing on or after January 1, 2026, the CGIA cap is $505,000 per person and $1,421,000 in the aggregate under C.R.S. 24-10-114. These caps are distinct from the general non-economic cap and apply only to the government-entity defendant. Windsor's dual-county location means crashes near the county line may involve municipal, county, and state jurisdictions on the same stretch of road. Identifying every potentially responsible government party and hitting the notice deadline for each one is a task that must be done correctly the first time.
Punitive damages for willful conduct
If the Windsor crash that caused the brain injury involved willful and wanton conduct, such as a driver who was intoxicated or who deliberately ran a red light on CO-392, punitive damages may be available. Colorado limits punitive damages to a maximum of one times the actual damages awarded under C.R.S. 13-21-102(1)(a), with the court having discretion to raise the amount up to three times actual damages if the defendant continued that willful conduct after the lawsuit was filed. Punitive damages are separate from and in addition to compensatory damages.
Underinsured motorist coverage and Windsor TBI cases
Colorado's minimum auto insurance limits are often far too low to cover the medical bills and lifetime care costs of a serious TBI. When the at-fault driver's policy is exhausted, underinsured motorist coverage allows you to claim against your own policy for the difference between what the other driver's policy paid and the full value of your claim. In Windsor corridor crashes, especially high-speed collisions at the I-25 and CO-392 interchange, underinsured motorist coverage can be the difference between a partial recovery and a full one. We review every available policy in every brain injury case we handle.