Colorado Tort Law Update

• Published date: 10 January 2022
• Law Firm: Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP
• Author: Amy Johnson, Johnnie Nguyen and Katherine Vaughn

Denver, Colo. (January 6, 2022) - Colorado is an at-fault, modified comparative negligence state, so a plaintiff can recover only if his or her negligence is less than 50% when compared against the negligence of all other tortfeasor. Colorado's comparative negligence act, codified at C.R.S ' 13-21-111, mandates a comparison of the relative degree of negligence of the plaintiff, the defendants, and any responsible non-parties. Colorado law permits defendants to designate a nonparty to be at fault for the accident pursuant to C.R.S. ' 13-21-111.5. Any negligence attributed to the nonparty driver reduces the damages awarded to the plaintiff in proportion with the negligence percentage assigned.

Colorado also has a rebuttable presumption of negligence on the driver of a vehicle that rear-ends another vehicle. Although defendants can rebut this presumption by arguing that they were not negligent on the day of the...