Hiring a Personal Injury or Car Accident Lawyer in Colorado
What an injury lawyer costs in Colorado and how they usually charge, the deadlines and fault rules to know before you call, how to check a lawyer's license, and free help. We do not recommend or rank lawyers.
What a lawyer costs in Colorado: fee rules
| Rules on contingency fees | Colorado's former contingent fee rules (C.R.C.P. Chapter 23.3) were repealed and reenacted in Colo. RPC 1.5(c), effective January 1, 2021. The terms of a contingent fee agreement must be communicated in writing before or within a reasonable time after the representation begins and must include, among other things: the names of lawyer and client; the claim and each event that triggers the lawyer's right to be paid; how the fee is figured, including the percentage or amounts on settlement, trial, appeal or other final disposition and whether it is computed before or after deducting costs and other amounts owed; what the lawyer may be paid if the representation ends early; an estimate of expenses, whether the lawyer may advance them and the client's obligation to pay expenses if there is no recovery; the possibility of court-awarded costs or fees against or in favor of the client; and the client's rights if the lawyer brings in associated counsel. Colorado's Rule 1.5(d) prohibits domestic relations fees contingent on securing a divorce or on the amount of alimony, support or property settlement, and contingent fees for representing a criminal defendant. Repeal of C.R.C.P. 23.3: https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/Rule_Change_2020-31.pdf |
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| If you disagree with a lawyer's bill | The Colorado Bar Association's Legal Fee Arbitration Committee provides a service to help lawyers and clients resolve fee disputes, as referenced by the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel. Colorado Bar Association committee: http://www.cobar.org/For-Members/Committees/Legal-Fee-Arbitration-Committee |
| If a lawyer takes your money | Colorado's Attorneys' Fund for Client Protection may compensate clients who lost money or property because a Colorado-licensed attorney, acting as their lawyer or court-appointed fiduciary, received and converted it. Fee disputes, poor investments and malpractice are not covered. The limit is $50,000 per claim, with an aggregate maximum of $100,000 for all claims against a single attorney; no interest is paid. Claims must be filed within three years of when you knew or should have known of the dishonest conduct. There is no filing fee; the claim form must be signed and notarized. Fund page: https://www.coloradolegalregulation.com/complaints/cpf/ |
Colorado rules to know first
| Deadline to sue for an injury | Most tort lawsuits, including negligence claims for personal injury, must be filed within two years after the claim accrues. Injury and property-damage claims arising from the use or operation of a motor vehicle have three years. Assault, battery, false imprisonment, libel and slander have one year. |
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| Fault rule | Modified comparative negligence (50% bar). An injured person can recover if his or her negligence was not as great as the negligence of the person being sued; damages are reduced by the injured person's percentage of fault. If the injured person's share is equal to or greater than the defendant's, the court enters judgment for the defendant. Each defendant generally pays only its own percentage of fault. |
| Damage caps | Yes. For civil actions filed on or after January 1, 2025 (or claims accruing on or after that date), total non-economic damages (pain and suffering, emotional stress, impairment of quality of life) are capped at $1,500,000, to be adjusted for inflation starting January 1, 2028. For actions filed before 2025, the earlier cap of $250,000 (up to $500,000 with clear and convincing justification, as adjusted for inflation) applies. Separate limits apply to medical malpractice and wrongful death. In wrongful death cases, non-economic damages are capped at $2,125,000 for actions filed in 2025 or claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, with no limit if the death was a felonious killing. Economic damages are not capped by these sections. Read in the 2024 Colorado Revised Statutes (uncertified printout), which includes the 2024 amendments effective January 1, 2025. |
Find and check a lawyer
| Lawyer referral service | The Colorado Bar Association does not give legal advice or run a referral line; it offers a Find a Lawyer directory of member attorneys searchable by legal matter, location or name, with a filter for attorneys accepting "alternative fee arrangements" for people with moderate incomes. CBA offices: 303-860-1115, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Contact page: https://www.cobar.org/contact |
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| Check that the lawyer is licensed | The Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, an independent office of the Colorado Supreme Court, runs the Attorney / LLP Search & Disciplinary History tool. Search by registration number or by first and last name to see a lawyer's (or licensed legal paraprofessional's) status and disciplinary history; a lawyer must have "active" status and be in good standing to practice in Colorado. Copies of Presiding Disciplinary Judge decisions and orders are linked as a courtesy. |
| Check discipline history or file a complaint | Complaints (requests for investigation) about Colorado lawyers go to the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel's central intake division, by phone at (303) 457-5800 or toll-free (877) 888-1370, or through its online complaint form. Unsolicited emails and anonymous complaints are not accepted. An intake attorney or investigator contacts you, on average within 7 to 14 days. Have ready your contact details, the lawyer's name and registration number, relevant dates, and any court case numbers. Disciplinary history appears in the office's attorney search. |
Free legal help
| Free legal aid | Colorado Legal Services, the LSC-funded legal aid program for Colorado, gives free civil legal help to eligible low-income people in family, consumer/debt, housing, senior, government benefits, immigration and other civil matters (not every office handles every case type). Apply with the online intake form at coloradolegalservices.org or call your local office. The courts' local Self-Help Centers answer questions about court cases and forms. CBA page: https://www.cobar.org/For-the-Public/What-to-do-if-you-need-a-Lawyer |
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General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.