Auto Accident Lawyer Englewood

The insurance adjuster calls before you even get home from the hospital. They sound friendly. They say they just want to help. They ask if you can give a quick recorded statement—just to get the process moving.

This is not help. This is strategy.

The adjuster works for a company whose business model depends on paying you as little as possible. Every question they ask is designed to limit what you recover. Every delay they create is calculated to pressure you into settling before you understand what your case is actually worth.

If you have been injured in a car accident in Englewood, the first 72 hours shape everything that comes after. The decisions you make right now—who you talk to, what you say, what you sign—determine whether you recover full compensation or walk away with a fraction of what your case is worth.

McCormick & Murphy, P.C. represents people across the Denver metro area who have been injured in auto accidents. We have seen every tactic the insurance companies use, and we know exactly how to counter them. Call 888-668-1182 to speak with an attorney who will protect your rights from day one.

What Happens in the First 72 Hours After an Accident

The moments after a collision are chaos. You are checking for injuries. You are exchanging information. You are trying to process what just happened.

While you are doing that, the insurance company is already building a defense.

Adjusters know that most people do not understand their rights immediately after an accident. They know you are overwhelmed. They know you are in pain. They know you have never dealt with a personal injury claim before. And they use all of that to their advantage.

The first call usually comes within hours. The adjuster will sound sympathetic. They will say they want to resolve this quickly so you can focus on healing. They will ask you to describe what happened—just in your own words, nothing formal.

That “informal” conversation is being recorded. Every word you say will be analyzed for anything that can be used to reduce or deny your claim. If you say your neck feels “okay” because you are trying to be polite, that statement will be used to argue your injuries are not serious. If you cannot remember every detail because you are still in shock, that will be framed as inconsistency.

You are not required to give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company. You are not required to provide medical authorizations. You are not required to settle quickly just because they are pressuring you.

What you are required to do is protect your legal rights. That means speaking with an attorney before you speak with any insurance company—including your own.

Why Your Own Insurance Company Is Not Always on Your Side

People assume their own insurance company will help them. You have paid premiums for years. You have been a good customer. When you need them, they will be there.

That assumption costs people thousands of dollars every single day.

Your insurance company is not your advocate. They are a business. And like every business, their goal is to maximize profit. Every dollar they pay you is a dollar that does not go to their shareholders.

If you have uninsured motorist coverage or underinsured motorist coverage—which is exactly what you need when the other driver has no insurance or not enough—you are now making a claim against your own policy. Your insurance company becomes the opponent. They will investigate your claim the same way the other driver’s insurer would. They will look for reasons to deny or reduce your compensation.

Even when you are not making a UM or UIM claim, your own insurer can create problems. They may argue that your policy does not cover certain damages. They may delay processing your medical payments coverage. They may push you to settle with the at-fault driver’s insurer for less than you deserve so they do not have to pay out on your underinsured coverage.

This is not speculation. This is what we see in case after case across Denver, Lakewood, Arvada, and Englewood.

How Fault Is Determined and Why It Matters

Colorado follows a modified comparative negligence rule. That means you can recover compensation even if you were partially at fault for the accident—as long as you were less than 50 percent responsible.

If you were 20 percent at fault, your recovery is reduced by 20 percent. If you were 49 percent at fault, you still recover—reduced by 49 percent. But if you are found to be 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing.

Insurance companies know this. And they use it.

Even when their driver clearly caused the accident, adjusters will try to shift some blame onto you. They will claim you were speeding. They will say you could have braked sooner. They will argue that you were distracted or that you failed to take evasive action.

The goal is to push your fault percentage high enough that either you recover nothing or your compensation is reduced so dramatically that you give up and accept a low settlement.

Fighting back requires evidence. Police reports. Witness statements. Accident reconstruction analysis. Medical records that document the severity and cause of your injuries. Photos from the scene. Data from the vehicles’ event recorders.

The insurance company has investigators and lawyers working to build their version of events. You need someone doing the same thing for you. Waiting weeks to hire an attorney means waiting weeks to gather evidence—and in that time, witnesses forget details, physical evidence disappears, and surveillance footage gets deleted.

What You Can Actually Recover After a Car Accident

Most people think a personal injury claim only covers medical bills and car repairs. That is a fraction of what you are entitled to recover.

Medical expenses include every dollar you have spent or will spend treating your injuries. Emergency room visits. Ambulance transport. Surgery. Physical therapy. Prescription medications. Follow-up appointments. Medical equipment. Mental health counseling for trauma from the accident.

Future medical costs matter just as much as current bills. If your doctor says you will need ongoing treatment—more surgeries, long-term physical therapy, pain management—those costs are part of your claim. The insurance company will fight this. They will argue that future treatment is speculative or unnecessary. You need medical experts who can document why that treatment is required and what it will cost.

Lost income is not just the paychecks you missed while you were in the hospital. It includes every hour of work you lost because of medical appointments, recovery time, or permanent disability. If your injuries prevent you from returning to the job you had before the accident, you can recover the difference between what you used to earn and what you can earn now.

Pain and suffering compensation covers the physical pain and emotional distress the accident caused. Chronic pain. Anxiety. Depression. Loss of enjoyment of life. The inability to do activities you used to love. These damages are real even though they do not come with a receipt.

Property damage includes the cost to repair or replace your vehicle and any personal items damaged in the crash.

The insurance company will not offer you full compensation for all of this. They will lowball the medical expenses. They will ignore future costs. They will offer nothing for pain and suffering or try to minimize it to an insulting amount. They will claim you should have gone back to work sooner.

The first settlement offer is almost never a fair offer. It is an opening move designed to see if you will take far less than your case is worth.

What Happens When the Other Driver Has No Insurance

Colorado law requires drivers to carry liability insurance, but not every driver follows the law. If you are hit by an uninsured driver, you do not lose your right to compensation—but recovering it becomes more complicated.

This is where uninsured motorist coverage on your own policy becomes critical. UM coverage is designed exactly for this situation. It steps in when the at-fault driver has no insurance to pay your claim.

But here is the problem: now you are making a claim against your own insurance company. The insurer you have been paying premiums to for years suddenly becomes the party fighting against your claim. They will investigate just as aggressively as the other side would. They will dispute the value of your injuries. They will argue over fault. They will delay and lowball and pressure you to settle.

Underinsured motorist coverage works the same way. If the at-fault driver has insurance but not enough to cover your damages, your UIM coverage can make up the difference. But your insurer will fight to pay as little as possible.

You need an attorney who knows how to handle UM and UIM claims, who understands the policy language insurers use to try to deny coverage, and who is willing to take your case to trial if that is what it takes to recover full compensation.

Pre-Existing Conditions and How Insurance Companies Use Them Against You

If you had any medical condition before the accident—back pain, neck pain, arthritis, prior injuries—the insurance company will use it to deny or reduce your claim.

They will argue that your current pain is not from the accident. They will say you are just trying to blame the crash for problems you already had. They will claim there is no way to separate the old injury from the new one, so they should not have to pay for any of it.

This is a standard tactic and it is wrong.

Colorado law is clear: you can recover compensation even if you had a pre-existing condition, as long as the accident made it worse. If your back hurt before the collision but now it hurts more, the accident caused additional injury. If you managed your arthritis with occasional medication but now you need surgery, the crash caused new damage.

Proving that requires medical evidence. You need doctors who can explain what changed after the accident. You need records that show the difference between your condition before and after. You need testimony that establishes causation.

Insurance companies count on you not knowing this. They count on you getting discouraged and giving up. They count on you accepting their argument that pre-existing conditions mean no recovery.

Why Signing Anything Before Talking to an Attorney Is a Mistake

The insurance company will send you documents to sign. Medical authorizations. Recorded statement forms. Settlement releases.

Do not sign anything until you have spoken with an attorney.

A medical authorization gives the insurer access to your entire medical history—not just records related to the accident. They will comb through years of records looking for anything they can use to deny or reduce your claim. An old injury. A prior accident. A mental health diagnosis. Anything that can be twisted to argue that your current problems are not from this crash.

A settlement release ends your case. Once you sign, you cannot come back for more money even if you discover later that your injuries are worse than you thought. Even if you need surgery you did not know about when you settled. Even if the insurance company lied about what your case was worth.

People sign these documents because the adjuster makes it sound routine. They say everyone signs them. They say it is the only way to move your claim forward. They imply that refusing to sign makes you difficult or suspicious.

None of that is true. You have the right to protect your claim. You have the right to consult with an attorney before you provide anything to the insurance company.

Serving Clients Across the Denver Metro Area

McCormick & Murphy, P.C. represents clients throughout the Denver region, including Englewood, Lakewood, Arvada, Westminster, Thornton, Wheat Ridge, Aurora, Littleton, Centennial, Greenwood Village, Highlands Ranch, Broomfield, and surrounding communities. We understand how Colorado law applies to your case, how local courts handle auto accident claims, and what tactics Denver-area insurance companies use to avoid paying fair compensation.

Our office is located at 1547 N Gaylord St UNIT 303, Denver, CO 80206. We also serve clients in Boulder, Fort Collins, Loveland, Longmont, and across the Front Range.

What to Expect When You Call

When you contact McCormick & Murphy, P.C., you speak directly with an attorney—not a paralegal, not an intake coordinator, not a call center. We will ask you what happened, what injuries you suffered, and what the insurance company has said or done so far.

We will explain what your case is likely worth based on similar cases we have handled. We will tell you what evidence you need to gather. We will advise you on what to say—and what not to say—to insurance adjusters.

If we take your case, we handle it on a contingency fee basis. You do not pay anything unless we recover compensation for you. No upfront fees. No hourly billing. No surprise charges.

From the moment you hire us, we take over all communication with the insurance companies. You do not have to field their calls or answer their questions. You focus on recovering. We focus on building your case.

Your Rights Do Not Wait

Colorado law gives you three years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. That sounds like a long time. It is not.

Evidence disappears. Witnesses move away or forget critical details. Medical records become harder to obtain. The insurance company uses every delay to argue that your injuries are not serious—if they were, you would have acted sooner.

More importantly, the decisions you make in the first days after the accident shape the entire trajectory of your case. A recorded statement given before you spoke with an attorney can destroy your claim. A settlement signed too early can leave you with nothing when you discover your injuries are worse than you thought.

The insurance company is already working on their defense. You should be working on yours.