A Colorado truck accident lawyer builds the claim from the records the trucking company keeps about the truck and the truck driver. Those records include the driver qualification file, hours logs and maintenance records. Federal rules set how long a carrier keeps each of them.
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Article summary
Key things to know
- Colorado generally gives three years to file a lawsuit over an injury from a motor vehicle crash and two years for a wrongful death, with exceptions.
- A claim against a city, county or the state starts with written notice, which must come within 182 days of discovery.
- Someone partly at fault can often still recover in Colorado, and the award shrinks by their share.
- A count of CDOT’s crash listing shows 4,795 crashes in 2025 with a medium or heavy truck typed in the listing, 53 of them fatal.
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What a Colorado truck accident attorney does
A Colorado truck accident attorney handles claims against the truck driver and the trucking company behind a crash. The work starts with evidence. A claim can name the driver, the carrier, a shipper or a maintenance shop. The law firm asks the carrier to keep its driver logs, the driver file and the repair records before they are lost.
Next comes the trucking company’s insurance company, which a Colorado truck accident lawyer answers. The lawyer checks each offer against the medical expenses and lost wages. If the insurer will not make an offer that covers the loss, the client can file a truck accident lawsuit.
The right Colorado truck accident lawyer knows the federal trucking rules and the Colorado rules that sit on top of them.
Other injury claims, which a Colorado personal injury lawyer handles, can follow different deadlines.
What to do after an 18-wheeler accident
After a commercial truck accident, the first step is medical care, even if an injury seems minor.
Records made early document truck accident injuries and the treatment, and they support the claim for medical bills.
Photos of the scene, the investigating officer’s report and the names of other drivers and witnesses help rebuild the crash. CDOT says an individual crash report is requested through the Colorado Department of Revenue. Our guide to steps after a truck accident lists the others.
A carrier also faces a federal testing deadline.
For drivers covered by the testing rules, federal law generally requires a trucking company to test a surviving truck driver for alcohol and drugs as soon as practicable after a fatal crash. Attempts to test stop after 8 hours for alcohol and 32 hours for drugs. The rule also covers a nonfatal crash with a person who immediately receives treatment away from the scene or a vehicle towed for disabling damage. Testing in those crashes depends on a moving violation citation to the driver within the testing window.
Calling a Colorado truck accident lawyer early
The carrier’s insurance company contacts many injured people early. A Colorado truck accident lawyer takes those calls and asks the trucking company to keep the driver’s logs and the repair records. The lawyer checks the commercial truck’s inspection history against the federal rules. A Colorado truck accident lawyer separates the truck driver’s share of fault from the share that belongs to the trucking company or a maintenance shop.
A large truck owned by a city or county falls under the Governmental Immunity Act.
Law for a truck accident in Colorado and the deadlines
Most Colorado truck accident cases follow the general rules below.
| Rule | What the law says | Colorado revised statutes |
|---|---|---|
| Injury lawsuit deadline | Generally three years for bodily injury or property damage from a motor vehicle accident | 13-80-101, 13-80-102 |
| Wrongful death lawsuit deadline | Generally two years from the date of death, with exceptions | 13-80-102, 13-80-108 |
| Claims against public entities | Written notice within 182 days of discovering the injury, and a lawsuit only after the entity denies the claim or 90 days after the notice, whichever comes first | 24-10-109 |
| Shared fault | Damages are reduced by the injured person’s share of fault. In a claim against one defendant, an equal or greater share bars recovery, and several parties require a separate comparison | 13-21-111 |
| Several liability | A defendant is generally liable only for its own percentage of fault, with exceptions such as conspiracy, and an employer may also answer for its driver’s negligence | 13-21-111.5 |
These are general rules with exceptions.
Filing deadlines
Questions about how much time you have?
Federal and state regulations for a Colorado truck
A truck accident in Colorado is judged against federal and state rules. Federal safety regulations for the trucking industry come from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Colorado State Patrol rules require interstate and intrastate carriers operating in Colorado to follow the federal driving, equipment, hours of service and maintenance parts, with modifications the rule lists. The national truck accident lawyer page covers the federal regulations in detail.
Which trucks the regulations cover
Under the federal safety rules, a commercial truck in interstate commerce is generally a commercial motor vehicle when its gross vehicle or combination weight rating, or its actual weight, is 10,001 pounds or more. The rules reach crashes involving tractor trailers and other commercial trucks above that weight.
Colorado’s own definition includes a vehicle with a gross vehicle or combination weight rating of at least 16,001 pounds that is used in commerce on public highways, among other categories. A semi truck that never leaves Colorado is still under the State Patrol’s rules, and a carrier that operates only within the state needs an intrastate USDOT number.
Driving hours and electronic logs
Federal rules generally limit a property-carrying truck driver to 11 hours of driving inside a 14-hour window that starts after 10 consecutive hours off. A 30-minute break is generally required after 8 hours of driving. The driver may not drive after 60 hours on duty in 7 days, or 70 hours in 8 days if the carrier runs trucks every day of the week.
Drivers who must keep records of duty status generally must use an electronic logging device, and the carrier keeps those records for at least six months. A truck accident attorney compares the logs with the hours limits and looks for signs of driver fatigue.
Driver files and maintenance records
A motor carrier must keep a driver qualification file for each truck driver it employs. Federal rules generally set the minimum age at 21 for interstate driving, and the State Patrol’s rule generally allows drivers who operate only within Colorado to be 18, with exceptions such as hazardous materials.
The carrier must also systematically inspect, repair and maintain its trucks, and the maintenance record requirement generally covers each vehicle it controls for 30 consecutive days. Drivers file inspection reports in the cases the rule requires, and the carrier keeps them for three months.
Insurance on commercial trucks
Federal rules set a $750,000 liability minimum for a for-hire carrier hauling general freight in interstate commerce in a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more. The minimum is higher for oil and certain hazardous materials. Colorado applies the federal financial responsibility rules to a commercial truck operating here, with exceptions the State Patrol’s rule lists. The insurance and other coverage behind a carrier depend on the carrier and the claim.
Colorado truck crash statistics
A count of the Colorado Department of Transportation’s public crash listing shows 4,795 crashes in 2025 in which one of the first two vehicles was a medium or heavy truck. In those crashes, 53 were fatal and 59 people were killed. The listing was updated through July 20, 2026, and CDOT says its crash data is subject to revision.
CDOT’s medium and heavy truck type covers vehicles rated over 10,000 pounds. It is a floor, because the listing types only the first two vehicles, so a truck that is the third vehicle in a crash is missed. It is not a count of 18-wheelers or a statement about fault.
In an October 2024 release, the Colorado State Patrol named I-70 as the roadway with the most commercial motor vehicle related crashes and said it focuses on the mountain corridor. Commercial vehicles of at least 16,001 pounds generally must carry chains from September 1 to May 31 on named routes, including I-70 west of Morrison.
How truck accidents differ from car accidents
A truck crash is not one of the ordinary car accidents between two passenger vehicles. A truck’s size, its cargo and the company behind it all change the claim. People call a tractor trailer a semi, a big rig or an 18-wheeler.
A semi truck accident claim generally follows Colorado law on injury claims, and trucking safety regulations may add duties and records.
In this kind of crash, the trailer, the cargo and the company that loaded it matter alongside the semi truck driver. Federal rules require cargo to be secured against leaking, spilling, blowing or falling, and against shifting that affects stability. Unsecured cargo can turn a lane change into an 18-wheeler accident.
After a crash with a semi truck, semi truck accident attorneys start a truck accident investigation by asking early for the driver file, the logs and the inspection reports.
Delivery vans, box trucks and tow trucks in Colorado
Tow trucks, delivery vans and semi trucks all appear in commercial truck accidents, and big truck accidents are not limited to tractor trailers. After a commercial vehicle accident, a lawyer investigates the business behind the commercial vehicle, including its own conduct and its driver’s conduct.
A box truck or delivery van run by a business can raise the same questions, as in an Amazon delivery accident or other commercial vehicle accidents.
Why large truck collisions differ from car accidents
FMCSA says a large truck is often 20 to 30 times heavier than a passenger vehicle, and a fully loaded tractor-trailer can weigh up to 80,000 pounds. That weight increases the risk of more severe crash damage, injuries and fatalities for truck accident victims.
FMCSA also says a large truck has large blind spots and can need up to two football fields to stop, facts that bear on big truck accidents. In truck collisions, a passenger vehicle can slide under a trailer that is struck from behind. NHTSA says 80 percent of the large trucks in fatal crashes in 2024 were in crashes with more than one vehicle, compared with 63 percent of passenger vehicles.
In 2024, 70 percent of the people killed in large truck crashes in the United States were occupants of other vehicles, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Insurance companies and truck accident claims
Commercial truck accidents often involve the carrier’s insurance company, and its adjusters do not work for truck accident victims. An adjuster may ask for a recorded statement or offer a quick payment before treatment is finished. Those calls are covered in our guide to handling an insurance adjuster.
A truck accident lawyer compares any offer with the care still ahead before valuing the personal injury claim. A truck accident attorney or accident attorney also explains what the insurance carrier owes under the policy.
Who is liable for a truck accident in Colorado
In Colorado truck accident cases, the negligent truck driver and the trucking company are the first two potentially liable parties. A serious truck accident can also involve the company that loaded the trailer, and a semi truck accident lawyer sorts out which trucking company, broker or shipper answers for what. Our explainer on commercial truck wreck fault separates the driver from the employer.
Under the federal rules, a carrier may not require or permit a driver to drive while fatigue or illness makes driving unsafe. Colorado law still lets the injured person bring direct negligence claims against an employer that admits it is responsible for its driver’s negligence, and take discovery on them.
Colorado generally apportions liability by fault, with an exception for people who consciously conspire to commit a tortious act. With multiple potentially liable parties, each defendant is generally liable only for its own percentage of fault.
A jury may assign fault to a nonparty under the statute’s notice or settlement requirements. If more than one company contributed, naming every responsible company early matters, including whoever loaded the cargo or repaired the truck.
A claim against a Colorado public entity falls under the Governmental Immunity Act.
Immunity may be waived for injuries from a public employee’s operation, in the course of employment, of an entity-owned or leased vehicle. It may also be waived for certain dangerous highway conditions, subject to statutory exceptions. Written notice is due within 182 days after the injury is discovered, and a late notice bars the claim.
How shared fault works in Colorado
Colorado uses modified comparative fault. A person partly at fault can recover damages reduced by that person’s share. Against a single defendant, an injured person whose negligence equals or exceeds the defendant’s recovers nothing.
With several parties, a lawyer reviews how Colorado compares fault among them. Our explainer on comparative negligence in Colorado walks through the rule.
Trucking companies and their insurers may try to shift blame to injury victims. A truck accident lawyer answers that with the police report and the carrier’s records.
Recovering compensation after a Colorado truck crash
A claim seeks payment from the liable parties for the cost of the crash. Medical bills, lost wages and property damage from truck accident injuries show the loss in dollars. A truck accident lawyer helps injured people seek compensation for each loss they can prove and recover compensation from the parties responsible.
Colorado limits noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, in many injury and wrongful death claims. Claims against a public entity have separate limits, and the others depend on the kind of claim and on accrual and filing dates. The general injury limit does not cap medical bills or lost earnings. A Colorado truck accident lawyer explains which limit applies to the crash.
A jury may award exemplary damages, in addition to actual damages, when the injury involved fraud, malice or willful and wanton conduct.
The amount generally may not exceed the actual damages, and a claim for them cannot be in the first complaint. Exemplary damages are generally unavailable against a public entity.
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How Colorado truck accident cases move forward
The insurance claim and a lawsuit
A claim that does not settle needs a truck accident lawsuit filed before the state deadline runs, and a Colorado truck accident lawyer prepares that filing. Colorado district courts are the trial courts of general jurisdiction, such as the Denver District Court in the 2nd Judicial District.
Fatal truck accidents and wrongful death
Fatal truck accidents may give a family a wrongful death claim of its own. Colorado assigns the right to bring the action by relationship and by year after the death, with the spouse first in the first year. Other relatives bring it in other circumstances. Wrongful death damages in Colorado can include noneconomic loss such as grief and loss of companionship.
Two years is the general period for a wrongful death lawsuit in Colorado, shorter than the period for an injury. A claim against a public entity also requires the 182-day notice. Colorado wrongful death attorneys confirm who brings the claim and who shares the proceeds.
Choosing the right Colorado truck accident lawyer
A crash with a commercial truck brings in a trucking company and an insurer. A truck accident lawyer with experience in truck accident cases can answer these questions before you sign.
- Who will work on my case from day to day?
- Have you handled semi truck accident cases in Colorado?
- Which deadline applies to my claim?
- How are fees and case costs handled?
Truck accident lawyers across Colorado
- Denver metro. Denver truck accidents, Aurora truck accidents, Centennial truck accidents, Highlands Ranch truck accidents, Westminster truck accidents, Thornton truck accidents, Arvada truck accidents
- Boulder and the northern Front Range. Boulder truck accidents, Fort Collins truck accidents, Greeley truck accidents
- Southern Colorado. Colorado Springs truck accidents, Pueblo truck accidents
- Buses. Bus accidents
Talk to a Colorado truck accident attorney
The case evaluation page lets you request a consultation with a Colorado truck accident lawyer at our firm about the crash, relevant records and possible deadlines. After a client hires our law firm, our legal team pursues compensation while the client focuses on treatment.
Zinda Law Group is a personal injury law firm. Its personal injury attorneys include Colorado truck accident attorneys who represent injury victims in truck accident cases across the state. Firms can be compared through what hiring a lawyer costs.
Our firm works on a contingency fee basis, so there is no out-of-pocket cost to secure the legal representation you need. That’s our No Win, No Fee Guarantee.
