Timely action is vital. It is important to understand what kind of claim you have and to contact an attorney as soon as possible, to properly manage and investigate your claim from the beginning, and to avoid losing the ability to bring your claim before the applicable statute of limitations or other formal notice period expires.

The ‘statute of limitations’ refers to the amount of time you have to file suit after which your claim is time-barred and gone forever.

In Colorado, Statutes of Limitations for some of the most common forms of civil claim lawsuits are as follows: 

• Personal Injury involving a motor vehicle – 3 years, Colo. Rev. Stat. (‘CRS’) § 13-80-101
• Personal Injury – 2 years, CRS § 13-80-102
• Product Liability – 2 years, CRS § 13-80-102 
• Property Damage involving a motor vehicle – 3 years, CRS § 13-80-101
• Property Damage – 2 years, CRS § 13-80-102
• Contract Actions, including personal contracts and actions – 3 years - CRS § 13-80-101
• Fraud, Misrepresentation, Concealment, or Deceit – 3 years - CRS § 13-80-101
• Actions for Wrongful Death – 2 years – CRS §  13-80-102
• Actions against any Veterinarian – 2 years – CRS § 13-80-102
• Tort Actions, including claims for negligence, trespass, malicious abuse of process, malicious prosecution, outrageous conduct, interference with relationships, and tortious breach of contract - 2 years – CRS §  13-80-102
• Actions alleging negligence, breach of contract, lack of informed consent, or other action arising in tort or contract to recover damages from any health care institution or any health care professional - 2 years – CRS § 13-80-102.5
• Actions for medical malpractice action must be brought within two years after the date the injury and its cause were known or should have been known with the exercise of reasonable diligence. CRS § §§ 13-80-102.5 and 13-80-108. In no event may a medical malpractice action be brought more than three years after the act or omission that gave rise to the action, unless the malpractice was knowingly concealed, the act or omission consisted of leaving an unauthorized foreign object in the body of the claimant, or both the physical injury and its cause are not known or could not have been known through the exercise of reasonable diligence. CRS § § 13-80-102.5
• Actions involving assault, battery, false imprisonment, false arrest, libel, and slander – 1 year - CRS §  13-80-103
• Notice Requirements – Colorado Governmental Immunity Act:
• Actions involving a governmental entity or employee, any party seeking damages, including damages, must provide the entity notice consistent with the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (CGIA).  Notice of a claim must be sent in writing within “one-hundred and eight-two days” after the “date of the discovery of the injury, regardless of whether the person then knew of all elements of claim or of a cause of action for such injury.” CRS § 24-10-109. Failure to provide a claim notice within the 180-day window will result in the claim being barred by the CGIA.