Statute of Limitations for General Personal Injury / Negligence in Colorado

Overview

Run this scenario in DocketMath using the Statute Of Limitations calculator.

In Colorado, most general personal injury / negligence lawsuits have a 2-year filing deadline. The rule you’ll most often see is Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.) § 13-80-102(1)(a), which sets the limitations period for many claims involving injuries to persons, including many negligence-based claims.

In practice, the timeline often works like this:

• The “clock” generally starts on the date the injury occurs (with certain legal doctrines that can shift when the claim accrues).
• If you file after the deadline, the case can be dismissed or barred, even if the underlying facts are strong.
• If your situation involves multiple theories (for example, negligence plus another type of claim), different deadlines may apply depending on the claim category.

Limitation period

For general personal injury and negligence claims in Colorado, the standard limitations period is typically 2 years under C.R.S. § 13-80-102(1)(a).

What claims does the 2-year period commonly cover?

In many everyday scenarios, this 2-year period applies when the lawsuit is based on matters like:

• Negligence (failure to use reasonable care),
• Bodily injury or harm to the person,
• Personal injury-type harm that doesn’t fall under a more specific statute.

Examples people often associate with the “general personal injury” bucket include:

• Car crashes involving bodily injury,
• Slip-and-fall incidents,
• Many forms of workplace injuries brought as personal injury or negligence (though some employment-related claims can be governed by other statutes),
• Some medical-related harm claims can still be analyzed under special rules—so medical contexts often warrant extra care (see “Key exceptions”).

When does the clock start?

The default rule is that limitations generally run from the date the injury occurs. However, Colorado recognizes doctrines that can affect when the claim is considered to have accrued, including in some situations discovery-related concepts.

If you’re trying to estimate your deadline, a practical approach is:

1. Start with the injury date as your baseline.
2. Ask whether your facts fit an exception that changes the start date (for example, certain latent injury/discovery situations or other claim-specific timing rules).

How do you calculate a deadline?

A typical method is:

1. Identify the accrual date (often the injury date, unless an exception alters it),
2. Add the limitations period (commonly 2 years for general personal injury/negligence),
3. Account for calendar/filing realities (e.g., whether the “last day” falls on a weekend/holiday and how the court accepts filings).

DocketMath can help you do the arithmetic and see how changes in the start date impact the end date. Use the tool here: /tools/statute-of-limitations.

Key exceptions

Colorado has several important exceptions and special rules that can change either (a) the length of the limitations period or (b) when the deadline starts running. The most common “gotchas” include the following.

1) Medical-related claims may have different deadlines

Claims involving medical malpractice or certain forms of professional negligence often follow timing rules that do not match the general 2-year personal injury/negligence statute.

2) Minor children can affect enforcement/tolling in some cases

If the injured person was a minor, Colorado law may allow tolling (pausing the deadline) or other timing rules for claims brought on behalf of minors.

Because people often compute deadlines as simply “injury date + 2 years,” this is a frequent source of mistakes. Whether tolling applies depends on statutory requirements.

3) Claims involving certain public entities can involve different requirements

If the defendant is a public entity or an employee acting within the scope of employment, Colorado may impose notice requirements and/or different timing/claims-handling steps than in private-defendant cases.

Even when the substantive limitations statute is similar, failing to satisfy required procedural steps can still affect whether a claim can proceed.

4) Latent injury / discovery concepts can matter

Some injuries are not immediately apparent. In certain circumstances, Colorado may treat the accrual date differently, depending on the type of claim and whether discovery/accrual concepts apply.

Practical implication: two people injured on the same day might have different deadlines if one injury is latent or not reasonably discoverable at the outset and the claim fits the relevant doctrine.

5) Multiple claims can create multiple deadlines

A single incident can generate multiple legal theories (for example):

• negligence,
• premises liability-type allegations,
• product-related harm,
• professional/service-related theories.

Different causes of action can fall under different statutes and deadlines, meaning part of a case may be timely while another part may not.

Statute citation

The common 2-year limitations period for many general personal injury / negligence claims in Colorado is:

• C.R.S. § 13-80-102(1)(a) — 2 years for actions for injuries to persons and related claims within the statute’s scope.

If your situation involves a special category (e.g., professional services/medical malpractice, minors, or public entities), the applicable statute may differ and may change either:

• the length of the limitations period, and/or
• the accrual date (the date the period starts running).

Because these issues are statute-driven, the correct answer depends on how the claim is categorized—not just the facts of what happened.

Use the calculator

DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations calculator helps you estimate a filing deadline based on a chosen start (accrual) date and the relevant limitations period. You can start with the common baseline (often 2 years under C.R.S. § 13-80-102(1)(a)), then adjust if an exception likely affects accrual or timing.

Inputs you should consider

Check whether these inputs fit your situation:

• Date of injury / accrual date (baseline):

  • If you know the injury date, use it.
  • If your claim is based on a latent injury or discovery-like scenario (depending on the claim type), the accrual date may be different.

• Claim category:

  • Choose the general personal injury / negligence option tied to the C.R.S. § 13-80-102(1)(a) framework when appropriate.
  • If your situation is more specialized (professional services, minors, public entities, etc.), the category may change.

• Jurisdiction: Colorado (US-CO):

  • Confirm the calculator is set to the correct jurisdiction so the rules applied match Colorado.

How outputs change

Small changes to your inputs can move the “last day to file” noticeably:

• Changing the accrual date by 30 days typically moves the deadline by about 30 days.
• Selecting a specialized claim category can change the deadline more dramatically because it can alter the limitations period and/or accrual rules.

Quick example (for orientation)

If the injury date is March 15, 2024, then a 2-year deadline under C.R.S. § 13-80-102(1)(a) would land around March 15, 2026, subject to calendar and filing rules. If the accrual/discovery start date differs, the end date shifts accordingly.

To run your own calculation, use: /tools/statute-of-limitations.

Sources and references

Start with the primary authority for Colorado and confirm the effective date before relying on any output. If the rule has been amended, update the inputs and rerun the calculation.

• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-101

Related reading

• Choosing the right statute of limitations tool for Vermont — How to choose the right calculator
• Statute of limitations in Singapore: how to estimate the deadline — Full how-to guide with jurisdiction-specific rules
• Choosing the right statute of limitations tool for Connecticut — How to choose the right calculator