Colorado Pedestrian Accident Attorneys
If you need a pedestrian accident attorney after a serious injury, Marlo Greer and the attorneys at Greer Law Group help people pursue compensation when a negligent driver causes serious harm.
Pedestrians have no protection when a vehicle hits them, so even a low-speed crash can cause serious, lasting injuries. Anyone who walks along a street or crosses at an intersection can be at risk.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a pedestrian crash in Colorado and someone else is at fault, you may be eligible to receive compensation for your injuries and the suffering they have caused. Don’t suffer in silence while the party that is at fault goes on with their life as if nothing happened. Call Greer Law Group at our Denver office today at 303-331-6460 to speak to a Greer Law Group attorney and explore your options.
What Are Some Common Causes of Pedestrian Injuries?
The Arizona State University Center for Problem-Oriented Policing published a study that listed some of the most common causes of pedestrian crashes. Researchers broke the causes down into three main categories, listed here:
- Pedestrian Behavior: Types of pedestrian behavior that led to crashes in the ASU study included jaywalking, crossing against the light, jogging or walking in the wrong direction, standing between parked cars, or standing in the road.
- Vehicle and Driver Factors: In the study, pedestrian crashes were often caused by distracted or impaired driving, excessive speed, high volume of both pedestrian and vehicle traffic, and vehicle types, with light trucks and SUVs likely to cause more serious pedestrian injuries due to their increased bumper height.
- Physical Environment: The ASU study found that physical factors such as lack of crosswalks or crossing devices, wide roads, lack of sidewalks, and crossing signals that changed too fast were factors that increased pedestrian crashes.
Common Pedestrian Accident Injuries in Colorado
Arizona State University researchers have found that when a pedestrian is hit by a regular passenger car, the bumper typically hits them in the lower legs, often throwing them into the windshield. This may cause injuries to the lower extremities, as well as head injuries and possible lacerations if the windshield breaks.
Light trucks and SUVs often strike pedestrians higher on the body, and victims may be thrown forward. The greater size and weight of these vehicles can make these crashes more dangerous.
The most common injuries to pedestrians in crashes include soft-tissue damage, broken bones and fractures, traumatic brain injuries, and spinal cord injuries. Any of these injuries can be life-changing. If someone else is at fault for your crash, you may be entitled to compensation to help get you back on track.
What Is “Comparative Negligence” and How Does It Apply to My Colorado Pedestrian Accident Case?
In some states, a method of determining fault in a crash is called contributory negligence. In contributory negligence, if the plaintiff is found to be at fault in any part for their crash, they are barred from receiving compensatory damages. Other states use a comparative negligence model.
In its pure form, a comparative negligence process allows the plaintiff to receive damages, but those damages are reduced by the percentage of the liability that they carry for their crash. For example, if a plaintiff is found to be 10% negligent in their crash, they are only eligible to receive 90% of the full damage award. Even if the plaintiff is 99% liable, they are still able to recover 1% of the damages awarded in this “pure” model.
Colorado uses a modified comparative negligence model. What this means is that if you are found to be partially at fault for your crash, you may receive damages, but they will be reduced by the amount of your liability, just as in the pure model of comparative negligence.
What is “modified” about Colorado’s comparative negligence model is that if you are found to be 50% or more liable, you cannot receive any damages at all. In this way, Colorado’s negligence model is a kind of hybrid of the two models.
What Kinds of Compensation Can I Seek for My Pedestrian Accident in Colorado?
There are two main types of compensation that the victim of a pedestrian crash can seek: economic (or pecuniary) damages and non-economic (non-pecuniary) damages. If you are working with a pedestrian accident attorney in Colorado, they can help you understand and pursue these damages effectively.
Economic damages encompass all of the direct costs that you have incurred as a result of your pedestrian crash injuries. These can be things like medical bills, lost wages, costs of over-the-counter medications and medical devices like wheelchairs or crutches, and non-medical costs like the cost of travel and lodging when going to out-of-town doctor’s appointments.
Non-economic damages are paid in compensation for intangible losses, like the loss of an activity or hobby, physical pain that you have suffered, or mental and emotional trauma that has resulted from your crash, for example. Some consequences of a crash that would be considered non-economic might be post-traumatic stress disorder, panic attacks, a divorce caused by the trauma of the injuries, scarring or disfigurement, or the loss of a limb.
When a defendant’s conduct involves fraud, malice, or willful and wanton behavior, punitive damages (called exemplary damages in Colorado) may be awarded on top of economic and non-economic damages. They cannot be requested in the original complaint, but the claim can be added later if the evidence supports it.
Are There Limits on Damage Awards in Colorado?
Colorado does not have limits on the amount of economic damage compensation you can be awarded. These costs are straightforward and easily documented. Non-economic damages do carry limits, however. For claims that arise on or after January 1, 2025, the limit on non-economic damages in Colorado is $1.5 million, and it will be adjusted for inflation starting in 2028. Damages for physical impairment or disfigurement are not subject to this cap.
The Colorado Secretary of State publishes a Certificate with all of the current damage caps. Check there to find out what the caps are at the time of your claim.
Should punitive damages be awarded, they are generally limited to an amount equal to the total economic and non-economic damages awarded. For example, if you were awarded $20,000 in economic and non-economic damages combined, then any punitive damages awarded would be limited to $20,000 in additional compensation. The limit on punitive damages can be raised in certain circumstances, however, at the discretion of the court.
It can be difficult to decide on the right amount to seek as compensation for pain and suffering or other non-economic damages. It is important to ask for damages that are not so low that you will be left without fair compensation for your injuries, but not so high that it looks like you are being unreasonable in your request. A personal injury lawyer can help you determine the right number.
How Can a Colorado Pedestrian Accident Lawyer Help in My Case?
Recovering from a pedestrian crash is difficult enough. You should focus on healing instead of fighting insurance companies on your own. To receive compensation, there are many steps that need to be taken. The crash needs to be thoroughly investigated, witnesses need to be interviewed, legal paperwork needs to be filed, and either a settlement needs to be negotiated or a trial needs to happen.
You need to rest and recover, not deal with all of those headaches. A Denver pedestrian accident attorney from Greer Law Group can take all of that work off of your plate so that you can heal. You will rest easy knowing that everything is being handled and that your interests are being professionally represented.
Our attorneys are ready to pursue fair compensation for you. We know how to take on big insurance companies and their legal teams. You are not alone. We can help you get the compensation you need to get your life back on track and keep your family afloat in this difficult time.
Marlo Greer and the pedestrian accident attorneys at Greer Law Group have the right combination of compassion and toughness to stand with you. You need us on your side, and we will be there every step of the way. Our Colorado pedestrian accident attorneys are here to help. 303-331-6460
Colorado Pedestrian Accident FAQs
If you were hit by a car or other motor vehicle, you generally have three years, because Colorado’s three-year deadline covers injury claims arising from the use or operation of a motor vehicle (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)). If a government vehicle or employee was involved, a written notice of claim is due within 182 days of discovering the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109).
Yes. Where traffic signals are not in place or not working, a driver must yield to a pedestrian crossing within a crosswalk, slowing down or stopping if needed, when the pedestrian is on the driver’s half of the road or close enough from the other half to be in danger. A driver also may not pass a vehicle that has stopped at a crosswalk to let a pedestrian cross (C.R.S. 42-4-802).
Yes, as long as your share of fault is less than the fault of the party you are suing. Your award is reduced by your percentage of fault. If your fault is as great as or greater than theirs, you cannot recover (C.R.S. 13-21-111).
Economic damages are not capped. For claims that accrue on or after January 1, 2025, non-economic damages are capped at $1.5 million, and damages for physical impairment or disfigurement are not limited by that cap (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5). Punitive damages, called exemplary damages in Colorado, are generally limited to the amount of actual damages, though a court can increase them in limited situations (C.R.S. 13-21-102).
Greer Law Group, led by trial lawyer Marlo Greer, represents pedestrians seriously or permanently injured in Colorado crashes from its Denver office. Call 303-331-6460 to talk with the team about your case.