Breckenridge Car Accident Lawyer
Wade Zobel represents people injured in crashes in Breckenridge and across Summit County. You talk to the attorney handling your case, not an intake center.
No fee unless we recover money for you. Se habla español.
Free consultation. No obligation.
Colorado deadline to file a crash injury claim
Up front. Contingency fee, in writing before you sign
English and Spanish, with the attorney himself
Colorado minimum insurance. Often not enough for one surgery
Injured in a Crash in Breckenridge?
You have three years from the date of the crash to file, not two. Claims that come from the use or operation of a motor vehicle get three years under C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n). The two year deadline people are usually quoted applies to most other injury claims, not to this one.
Wade Zobel represents people injured in crashes in Breckenridge and across Summit County. You talk to the attorney handling your case, not an intake center. The first conversation costs nothing, and you pay no fee unless we recover money for you.
Call (720) 434-6674 for a free consultation, in English or Spanish.
Three Years, Not Two
Injury claims arising from the use or operation of a motor vehicle generally must be filed within three years of the crash. Most other injury claims get two years under C.R.S. 13-80-102.
Claims against a government entity have a much shorter notice deadline. If a city, county, or state vehicle was involved, do not wait.
Report the Crash, Even the Small One
This is the single most common mistake we see after a crash in a resort town, and the law is not what most people think it is.
The Driver's Duty Has No Dollar Threshold
The driver of a vehicle in a crash that results in injury, serious bodily injury, death, or any property damage must give immediate notice to the nearest police authority. There is no minimum dollar amount attached to that duty. Failing to do it is a class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense.
Where the $1,000 Figure Actually Comes From
The figure people repeat belongs to a different rule. It says an officer is not required to investigate and file a report when the damage to any one person’s property looks like it is under one thousand dollars and nobody was hurt.
Two exceptions are written into that same sentence, and they matter: the officer must investigate and file a report if one of the people involved asks for it, or if one of them cannot show proof of insurance.
So if you are standing in a parking structure off Park Avenue and an officer tells you the damage is too small to bother with, you can ask for the report anyway. Ask. A week later, when you are hurting more than you were that night and the other driver’s story has changed, that report is the difference between a claim and your word against theirs.
Where Crashes Happen in Breckenridge
Highway 9 Through Town
Colorado Highway 9 is the only way in and out of Breckenridge from the north, and it becomes Park Avenue and Main Street as it runs through town. Skiers heading for the gondola lots, delivery trucks, buses, and people crossing on foot all funnel through the same stretch. Traffic slows and stacks in ways drivers unfamiliar with the town do not expect, and rear end collisions there are common.
Parking Structures and Lots
Low speed does not mean low injury. A crash at 10 miles per hour in a garage still snaps a neck forward, and it is the category of crash where insurers most often argue that nothing serious could have happened. Photographs of both vehicles, taken before anything is moved, do more work in these claims than in any other.
Swan Mountain Road and the Route to I-70
Most people reach Breckenridge by taking I-70 to Exit 203 at Frisco and driving south on Highway 9. Others cut across on Swan Mountain Road, which has tight curves, steep grade, and limited sight distance, and which stays icy in shaded sections long after the main highway has cleared.
When the Other Driver Lives in Another State
Breckenridge fills with people who do not live here, which changes a claim in ways that catch residents off guard.
You Still File in Colorado
The crash happened here, so Colorado law applies and the case belongs in Colorado. That does not change because the other driver went home to Texas on Sunday.
Their Policy May Be Larger Than a Colorado Minimum
Colorado requires liability coverage of $25,000 for injury to one person, $50,000 for all persons in one accident, and $15,000 for property damage. Other states set their own minimums, and many drivers carry more than any minimum. Finding out what coverage actually exists is one of the first things worth doing, because it often sets the ceiling on the claim.
Get Their Information Before They Leave Town
Name, insurer, policy number, plate, and a photo of the license and the insurance card. A visitor who drives home that night is much harder to reach than a neighbor.
If You Were the Visitor
If you were hurt here and have since gone home, you can still bring a claim in Colorado. You do not have to be a Colorado resident, and most of the process is handled by phone, email, and video.
Get a copy of the Colorado crash report before you leave if you can. Keep the name of the clinic that treated you here, because those records live in Colorado and are separate from anything your doctor at home creates.
Getting Treated After a Crash in Breckenridge
There is no hospital inside Breckenridge. The nearest is St. Anthony Summit Hospital in Frisco. There are also emergency clinics at the base areas of Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, and Keystone.
Get evaluated even if you feel like you can walk it off. Adrenaline and cold both mask injuries, and a gap between the crash and your first medical visit is the most common argument insurers use to reduce a claim.
What Happens If You Were Partly at Fault
Colorado uses modified comparative negligence with a 50 percent bar (C.R.S. 13-21-111). If you are assigned part of the fault, your recovery is reduced by that share. If you are assigned 50 percent or more, you recover nothing.
That rule is why an adjuster will ask about your speed, your tires, and whether you were looking at your phone.
Every point of blame moved onto you is money the insurer does not pay.
Where Your Case Would Be Filed
Summit County cases are filed at the Summit County Justice Center, 501 N. Park Avenue, Breckenridge, CO 80424, part of Colorado’s Fifth Judicial District, which also covers Eagle, Lake, and Clear Creek counties.
Most claims settle without a trial. The court still matters, because insurers evaluate claims differently depending on where they would have to defend them.
What Is a Car Accident Case Worth?
This is the question people search most after a crash in Colorado, and it is the one most firms answer with nothing.
Bring us your own declarations page. We will read your coverage with you.
There Is No Average Worth Using
You will find “average settlement” figures published online. They are built from cases that have nothing to do with yours, and a broken wrist with three months of therapy and a back injury that never fully resolves are not the same claim. An average across the two describes neither.
What Actually Sets the Number
The full cost of your medical treatment, including what you still need. The income you lost and the income you will lose. Whether the injury is permanent. How much insurance coverage exists on the other side and on your own policy. And what share of fault ends up assigned to you under the 50 percent bar.
Coverage Is Often the Real Ceiling
A serious injury caused by a driver carrying a Colorado minimum policy is limited by that policy unless there is other coverage to reach. That is why checking your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage early can matter more than anything else that happens in the first month.
Be Careful With a Fast Offer
An offer that arrives before you finish treating is priced on what is known so far, which is the least it will ever be. Once you sign a release, the claim is closed even if the injury turns out to be worse.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Why Clients in Breckenridge Call Wade Zobel
Wade Zobel handles his own cases. You are not routed through a screening department and handed to a case manager you never chose.
- He represents clients in Spanish himself, not through a staff translator
- Free consultation and a contingency fee, in writing before you sign
- Virtual meetings, so you do not have to drive to Denver
What Clients Say
Frequently Asked Questions
The damage looked minor and we did not call the police. Is my claim dead?
No, but it is harder. Report it now, get checked by a doctor, and write down everything you remember today rather than next week. Photos, texts with the other driver, and the names of anyone who saw it all help fill the gap.
What percentage does an accident lawyer take?
Zobel Legal Group works on contingency. There is no fee for the consultation and no fee unless we recover money for you. The percentage is set out in writing before you sign anything, so you know it before you commit.
The insurance company already called me. What should I do?
Do not sign anything and do not give a recorded statement yet. You can tell them your attorney will be in touch. That is enough, and it does not hurt your claim.
How long after an accident can you file a claim in Colorado?
Three years for claims arising from the use or operation of a motor vehicle (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)), and two years for most other injury claims (C.R.S. 13-80-102). Claims against a government entity have a much shorter notice deadline, so if a city, county, or state vehicle was involved, do not wait.
How long does a car accident case take?
It depends on how long your treatment lasts and whether the insurer disputes fault. Straightforward claims can resolve in months. Serious or contested cases take longer. Settling before you know the full extent of an injury is usually the more expensive mistake.
Talk to a Breckenridge Car Accident Lawyer Today
If you were injured in a crash in Breckenridge or anywhere in Summit County, the consultation is free and there is no obligation. Call (720) 434-6674 or send us your information through our contact form. Se habla español.