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Have you been injured in a car accident in Denver, Fort Collins or Colorado Springs, Colorado?
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Click any of the topics below to read more information about auto law and your rights in Colorado:
- Definition of Damages
- How to Establish a Right to an Automobile Claim
- What Can Be Recovered in an Automobile Accident Claim?
- Who Will Pay for Medical Expenses After an Automobile Accident?
- Should I Get an Attorney?
- Uninsured and Under-insured Coverage
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recover your losses,
whether it is to compensate
for lost wages, medical bills,
pain and suffering,
or other harms and losses.
When you've been injured in a car accident, your whole life can change. Similarly, if someone you love is killed in a car crash, the emotional and financial distress can be overwhelming.
At Bachus & Schanker, LLC, Denver car accident lawyers stand ready to consider the potential cases of car accident victims and the families of wrongful death victims. We serve all of Colorado, particularly car accidents in Denver and along the Front Range, including Colorado Springs and Fort Collins.. We're here to help them recover their losses, whether it is to compensate for lost wages, medical bills, pain and suffering, or other harms and losses.
When we take a case, the Colorado car accident attorneys at Bachus & Schanker, LLC strive to understand the unique challenges present in each case to better assist our clients with questions they may have and ensure that their legal rights are protected.
In Colorado, car accidents result from a number of common factors: speeding, texting and cell phone usage, careless driving, reckless driving, negligence, failing to obey traffic signals, drugs, alcohol, defective products, and other factors.
Consider that, nationwide, in 2007 there were 6.2 million police-reported motor vehicle crashes. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), over 41,000 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes. That's an average of 112 lives lost every day in 2007?someone died in a motor vehicle crash every 13 minutes.
According to statistics compiled by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), 554 people were killed in car accidents in Colorado in 2007, and thousands more suffered serious injuries.
Colorado Car Accident Law Concerning Injuries or Death
Under Colorado law, the person who causes a car accident is financially responsible for all of the provable damages related to the accident. Typical damages following a car accident may include damages to property (such as car damage), and bodily injury (damage to the vehicle occupants themselves). For legal purposes, a bodily injury claim is generally sub-divided into two categories:
- (1) Economic Damages (past and future medical expenses, wage loss, and additional expenses related to physical impairment and disfigurement)
- (2) Non-Economic Damages (pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, inconvenience, physical impairment, and other similar losses)
"I was very pleased with all the effort put into this case on my behalf. I appreciate the extra effort put in place to contact me when I was not easy to reach. My attorney and case manager were wonderful to work with. I am glad I chose Bachus & Schanker and will recommend your firm to anyone I know is in need of your services."
Tracy, Bachus & Schanker Client
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The dollar value of these categories of damages can add up quickly. Thankfully, Colorado law requires every owner of an automobile in the State of Colorado to buy a minimum amount of car insurance to pay for these categories of damages. There are two types of mandatory car insurance in Colorado:
- (1) PROPERTY DAMAGE LIABILITY COVERAGE- this coverage pays for the damage to the automobile involved in the accident and is paid out on behalf of the at-fault driver.
- (2) BODILY INJURY LIABILITY COVERAGE- this coverage pays on behalf of the at-fault driver for bodily injuries sustained in a motor vehicle collision. The State of Colorado requires that every owner of an automobile have at least $25,000.00 in bodily injury liability insurance coverage.
In Colorado, the person who caused the accident (the at-fault driver) and/or their insurance company is financially responsible for all of your accident-related injuries, damages, and losses.
How to Establish a Right to a Colorado Car Accident Claim
To establish a claim for your personal injuries related to a motor vehicle accident, three requirements must be met: 1) Fault for the car accident must be proved, and it must be clear that the at-fault driver is responsible for causing the accident; 2) you must have incurred damages; and 3) you must prove that the damages being claimed were caused by the automobile accident.
What Can Be Recovered in a car Accident Claim?
The recoverable bodily injury damages can be divided into different categories: 1) economic damages, which include past and future medical expenses, past and future wage loss, impairment of earning capacity, and other out-of-pocket expenses; 2) non-economic damages, which include inconvenience, loss of quality of life, emotional distress, pain and suffering; and 3) physical impairment and disfigurement.
Who Will Pay for Medical Expenses After an Automobile Accident?
After being injured in a car accident, the first question many people want answered is "who will pay for my medical expenses?" The person who causes the automobile accident (or their insurance company) is ultimately financially responsible for all of the reasonable and medically necessary accident-related medical expenses. Unfortunately, in most cases, the medical expenses are not paid by the at-fault driver (or their insurance company) at the time the medical expenses are incurred. Instead, in most cases, -reimbursement for the medical expenses is one part of a single lump sum settlement fund that is negotiated only after all accident-related medical care is complete. Therefore, in the short term, (before the final settlement) in most cases, the medical expenses need to be covered by some other source. The choice made among potential payment sources for medical care may have different implications on the personal injury case.
In most injury cases it is important to have an injury lawyer examine all of the potential insurance sources that may provide coverage to you as a result of your accident.
In most injury cases it is important to have a Colorado car accident lawyer examine all of the potential insurance sources that may provide coverage to you as a result of your accident. At Bachus & Schanker, LLC, for our clients, we may examine several different interim medical bill payment sources; this examination may include examination of our clients' own car insurance coverage to see if the policy includes "medical payment" benefits. A "medical payment" benefit is an optional form of coverage that may require our clients' own auto insurance company to pay some portion of our clients' medical expenses. If no medical payment coverage exists, our lawyers may look to our clients' health insurance to cover medical expenses. If there is no health insurance available to help cover medical expenses, the car accident attorneys at Bachus & Schanker, LLC may work with the health care professionals chosen by our clients to see if the providers are willing to provide medical care through an agreed upon "medical lien."
A medical lien means that you pay the medical provider once you receive your personal injury settlement.
Should I Hire a Colorado car accident lawyer?
People often wonder if their accident or their injuries are big enough to even justify hiring an attorney. Given all the complexities that may be involved in handling injury claims, it is very important to consider having any type of car accident injury claim reviewed by Colorado car accident lawyers.
An initial consultation with Bachus & Schanker, LLC regarding injuries sustained in a car accident is always free. If Bachus & Schanker agrees to take the case, most clients will be offered the opportunity to have us work on a "contingency fee" basis. This means the law firm is paid a percentage of what is recovered, rather than charging by the hour for our legal services.
Uninsured Motorist Laws for car accidents in Colorado
Although Colorado law requires every automobile owner in Colorado to maintain insurance on their vehicle, many drivers who cause accidents do not have car insurance and are therefore "uninsured motorists". In other cases, the driver who causes an accident may be insured but may not have enough insurance coverage to pay for all of the medical expenses and lost wages incurred due to the accident and is therefore "under-insured."
When contacted by people injured in car accidents, we are frequently asked "What happens to my case if the person who caused the accident is uninsured or doesn't have enough insurance?"
A new law, effective January 1, 2008 changes Colorado's uninsured (UM) and under-insured (UIM) coverage so consumers finally get the coverage they pay for when they are injured by an uninsured or under-insured motorist.
We've created a comprehensive guide to uninsured motorist law in Colorado so you can learn more about this law and how it effects you and your family.
If you're in need of a free consultation from a Denver car accident lawyer, or an attorney who serves all of Colorado, we can help.
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