If you were injured because of someone else’s actions, it’s normal to feel overwhelmed by the idea of filing a lawsuit. You’re dealing with enough stress as it is, and legal action can feel like one more thing you don’t have the bandwidth to take on right now. Fortunately, you don’t have to handle the process alone—Olson Personal Injury Lawyers is here to guide you every step of the way, starting with this comprehensive guide.
Despite common misconceptions, filing a lawsuit is not usually the first step in a Colorado personal injury case. These cases go through many stages before they ever involve the court, and many never reach a courtroom. This guide to filing a personal injury lawsuit breaks down those phases so you can know what to expect before you proceed with legal action.
The actions you take before filing a Colorado injury lawsuit play a critical role in your case’s strength. Medical treatment, documentation, and early decisions form the backbone of a personal injury claim. The following overview outlines the process in three phases—preparing a claim, filing a lawsuit, and what may follow—to provide a clear roadmap of how a personal injury case develops and what each phase is designed to accomplish.
The first phase focuses on building your claim’s foundation while also attempting to settle it without court involvement. In many cases, these steps lead to a successful resolution, making a lawsuit unnecessary.
Early medical attention protects both your health and your legal claim. Seeing a doctor soon after an accident creates a strong record linking your injuries to the incident, which makes it harder for insurers to dispute their connection.
Once you start receiving treatment, you’ll want to follow your doctor’s orders and attend all follow-up appointments. Consistent treatment helps you demonstrate your injuries’ impact by reinforcing that they were serious enough to need continued medical attention.
Comprehensive documentation helps to establish the facts of the case and reduces the risk of the insurer unfairly shifting blame onto you. Evidence can fade and witnesses’ memories can become less reliable over time, so gathering documentation early is critical to a successful claim.
Be sure to gather photos of the accident scene, visible injuries, and any property damage. Write down witnesses’ contact information, and keep notes about how your injury affects your daily life. Keep copies of police or incident reports, and save all relevant medical and repair records.
An insurance claim is different from a lawsuit. A claim involves seeking compensation through insurance, while a lawsuit means filing a case in court. Most personal injury cases start with insurance because the at-fault party likely has coverage for these types of situations. Depending on the situation, you may also have insurance to cover some of your damages.
Once you open your claim, an insurance adjuster will review the incident, assess liability, and evaluate your damages. While they may act like they’re on your side, adjusters work for the insurance company and don’t have your best interests at heart. They may use tactics to get you to say something that hurts your case, so staying silent is often the right course of action before you have an attorney.
Our personal injury firm offers a free consultation to discuss your case. During this initial meeting, we’ll listen to your story, review the available evidence, and explain your rights and options.
Reaching out to our lawyers does not mean you are filing a personal injury lawsuit. Instead, it’s a first step toward understanding how strong your case is and whether we can help you.
If we determine that you have a viable claim, we’ll begin investigating liability by examining how the incident occurred and identifying who is at fault. We’ll also assess your damages with a comprehensive look into how the injury affected you in the past and how we expect it to affect you in the future. We’ll calculate the full scope of your losses—including medical expenses, future care needs, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life—to determine how much money to demand from the insurance company.
You may have already gathered documentation before involving our lawyers, but we’ll take it a step further. You’ll provide any evidence you have, such as accident scene photos and witness information, and we’ll identify any gaps in the existing record.
Our team will conduct a deeper investigation by requesting medical records, obtaining police reports, compiling wage and employment data, and determining whether any surveillance footage captured the incident. Taken together, this evidence tells a compelling story that connects the incident to your injuries and demonstrates how the injury changed your day-to-day life.
A demand letter is a formal written request for compensation that outlines the basis for liability and what damages you’re seeking. Our lawyers will prepare this document and send it to the insurance company.
This step typically starts the negotiation process. We’ll handle all communications with the insurer on your behalf, presenting our arguments and evidence to pursue a fair settlement. Many cases settle at this stage, but we’re prepared to file a lawsuit if the insurance company refuses to make a favorable settlement offer.
If a case does not resolve through negotiation, filing a lawsuit is often the next step.
A personal injury lawsuit begins when our attorneys file a complaint with the court. This document outlines what happened, who is liable, and what damages we’re seeking. Filing the complaint formally brings the case into the court system and triggers specific court rules, deadlines, and procedures. Colorado’s statute of limitations typically gives you only two years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit, however, motor vehicle accident cases generally allow three years, and claims involving government entities may require notice within as little as 182 days. We’ll ensure all deadlines are properly calculated and met.
After we file the lawsuit, a third-party individual called a process server will deliver the complaint in person to the defendant. This step gives the defendant official notice of the lawsuit and allows them to respond.
The defendant may file a formal response to the lawsuit, admitting or denying the allegations and raising any defenses. If desired, they may instead file a motion asking the court to dismiss the case. If the defendant fails to respond on time, the court may enter a default judgment in your favor.
Discovery is the phase of a lawsuit where both sides formally exchange information. It allows each party to learn what evidence the other has and to evaluate the case’s strengths and weaknesses.
This process can include written questions called interrogatories, document requests, and depositions where witnesses give sworn testimony. Discovery often takes several months and plays a key role in replacing assumptions with provable facts.
After discovery, both sides may make another serious effort to resolve the case by making offers and counteroffers based on the evidence developed during discovery. It’s usually the last major opportunity to resolve the case before trial.
Courts often encourage mediation at this stage, where a neutral third party guides structured negotiations between the parties. These sessions provide a focused setting to explore resolution options without the time and expense of a trial.
When court-involved negotiations don’t lead to a fair outcome, the case may continue toward trial.
Trial serves as a last resort rather than the default outcome in personal injury cases, and most never reach this stage. When a case does go this far, the court becomes the sole decision maker.
At trial, both sides present evidence, call witnesses, and make arguments before a judge and jury. A judge oversees and guides the process, while a jury decides whether to award compensation.
If the court rules in your favor, it issues a judgment that specifies the amount of compensation awarded to you. Our attorneys will handle the steps needed to help you get your personal injury payout from the defendant or their insurance company, which may require some follow-up.
The insurer will typically send a check to our firm. We’ll take out the portion of our fees and pay any liens before issuing the remaining compensation to you to use as you see fit.
If you were injured due to someone else’s actions, Olson Personal Injury Lawyers is here to help you file a personal injury claim. We’re prepared to guide you through every step of the process, from gathering evidence to representing you in court.
Our firm offers a free consultation to help you understand your options and next steps. Contact us online or call (970) 633-3673 to speak with a member of our team today.
