Denver Car Accident Lawyer

The first call after a car accident usually comes faster than you expect. The insurance adjuster is polite, sympathetic even. They want to know how you are doing. They want your version of what happened. They might mention a check they can get to you quickly if you just give them a recorded statement and sign a few forms.

That phone call is not a courtesy. It is strategy.

Insurance companies know the first 72 hours after an accident are when people make the decisions that cost them the most money. You are in pain. You are confused about what happens next. You do not know what your case is worth or what rights you actually have. And the adjuster calling you is counting on all of that.

McCormick & Murphy, P.C. represents people injured in car accidents across Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, Wheat Ridge, Arvada, Westminster, Thornton, Commerce City, Englewood, Littleton, Centennial, Greenwood Village, and throughout the metro area. We handle rear-end collisions, head-on crashes, intersection accidents, distracted driving cases, drunk driver injuries, hit-and-run claims, and every other kind of vehicle collision that leaves someone hurt and wondering what to do next.

If you were injured in a car accident and the insurance company is already calling, you need to understand what is happening before you say anything that can be used against you later. Kirk McCormick and Jay Murphy have seen what happens when people talk too soon, sign too fast, or trust that the adjuster has their best interests in mind.

They do not. They never did. And we can prove it.

What Happens in the First 72 Hours After a Denver Car Accident

The decisions you make in the first three days after a collision will determine how much money you recover and whether the insurance company takes your claim seriously. Most people do not realize how many legal landmines exist in that narrow window of time.

The other driver’s insurance company will contact you quickly. They will ask for a recorded statement. They will ask you to describe your injuries. They will ask if you think you were partly at fault. Every answer you give is being evaluated for ways to reduce what they owe you or deny your claim entirely.

You are not required to give them that statement. You are not required to answer their questions. And you should not do either without talking to an attorney first.

Your own insurance company may also become a problem. If the other driver does not have enough coverage or if they fled the scene, you will need to file a claim under your own uninsured or underinsured motorist policy. That puts you in the strange position of fighting with the company you have been paying premiums to for years. They will use the same tactics against you that the other side uses.

Medical treatment in those first 72 hours also matters more than most people realize. If you wait too long to see a doctor, the insurance company will argue your injuries are not serious. If you go to the emergency room but do not follow up with your primary care doctor or a specialist, they will claim you recovered. If you miss even one appointment, they will say you are not really hurt.

Document everything. Take photos of your vehicle, the accident scene, your injuries, and any property damage. Get the other driver’s insurance information and license plate number. Collect contact information from witnesses. If the police respond, get the report number. If they do not respond, file your own report with the Denver Police Department or the agency with jurisdiction where the crash occurred.

Do not apologize. Do not say you are fine. Do not speculate about what happened or who was at fault. These statements get written down, recorded, and used against you later even if you meant them as simple courtesy.

How Fault Is Determined in Colorado Car Accident Cases

Colorado follows a modified comparative negligence rule. That means you can still recover damages even if you were partly at fault for the accident, as long as your share of the blame is less than 50 percent. If you are found 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing.

The insurance company knows this. That is why their first priority is to shift as much blame onto you as possible. If they can get you to 50 percent or higher, they pay nothing. If they can get you to 30 percent, they cut your settlement by 30 percent. Every percentage point of fault they assign to you is money they keep.

They will use your recorded statement to build that argument. They will take things you said in the moment when you were still in shock and turn them into admissions of liability. They will point to any delay in medical treatment as proof you were not really injured. They will argue that if you did not call the police, the accident must not have been serious.

Fault is usually determined by a combination of the police report, witness statements, traffic laws, physical evidence, and sometimes accident reconstruction. Running a red light, failing to yield, following too closely, speeding, distracted driving, and driving under the influence are all clear violations that establish fault. But even in cases where liability seems obvious, insurance companies will look for ways to argue you contributed to the crash.

If you were rear-ended at a stoplight, they might claim your brake lights were not working. If someone turned left in front of you, they might argue you were speeding. If you were hit by a drunk driver, they might still try to assign you a percentage of fault for not avoiding the collision.

We gather the evidence that proves what actually happened. We get the police report, talk to witnesses, obtain traffic camera footage when it exists, and work with accident reconstruction experts when necessary. We do not let the insurance company rewrite history.

What You Can Recover After a Car Accident in Colorado

Colorado law allows you to recover several types of damages after a car accident. The insurance company will tell you about some of them. They will not tell you about all of them. And they will almost never offer you the full amount you are entitled to receive.

Medical expenses include emergency room treatment, hospital stays, surgery, physical therapy, prescription medications, medical equipment, and future medical care related to your injuries. You can recover the full cost of treatment you have already received and the estimated cost of treatment you will need in the future.

Lost wages cover the income you lost while recovering from your injuries. If you missed work because of doctor appointments, physical therapy, or because your injuries prevented you from performing your job, you are entitled to compensation for that lost income. If your injuries are severe enough that you cannot return to your previous job or cannot work at all, you can also recover future lost earning capacity.

Pain and suffering damages compensate you for the physical pain and emotional distress caused by the accident and your injuries. This is not a luxury or a bonus. It is a recognized category of damages under Colorado law. The insurance company will try to minimize or eliminate this part of your claim because it is often the largest component of your total recovery.

Property damage covers the cost to repair or replace your vehicle and any other personal property damaged in the crash. This is usually the easiest part of the claim to resolve, but even here the insurance company may offer you less than your car is actually worth.

Permanent disability or disfigurement can increase the value of your claim significantly if your injuries result in lasting physical limitations, scarring, or impairment. These damages recognize that your life has been permanently altered by someone else’s negligence.

The insurance company will not explain all of this to you. They will focus on your medical bills and maybe your lost wages. They will offer you a check that covers your immediate expenses and hope you do not realize you are entitled to much more. Once you sign the release and cash that check, you cannot come back later for additional money even if your injuries turn out to be worse than you thought.

Why Your Own Insurance Company Can Become the Problem

Most people assume their own insurance company is on their side. You have been paying premiums for years. You filed the claim properly. You did everything they asked. So they will treat you fairly, right?

Not always. Not even usually.

When you file an uninsured motorist claim or an underinsured motorist claim, you are asking your own insurance company to pay you money. That makes them your opponent. They will use the same tactics to reduce your claim that the other driver’s insurance company would use. They will question your injuries, challenge your medical treatment, argue about fault, and offer you far less than your case is worth.

Uninsured motorist coverage applies when the at-fault driver has no insurance at all. This happens more often than you might expect, especially in hit-and-run cases where the other driver flees the scene and is never identified. Your UM coverage steps in to compensate you for injuries the uninsured driver caused.

Underinsured motorist coverage applies when the at-fault driver has insurance but not enough to fully compensate you for your injuries. Colorado only requires drivers to carry $25,000 in bodily injury coverage per person. If your medical bills alone exceed that amount, the at-fault driver’s policy will not be enough. Your UIM coverage makes up the difference.

Both types of claims require you to prove your case to your own insurance company just as if you were suing a stranger. They will investigate your claim, question your treatment, and fight to pay you as little as possible. You may need to enter arbitration or even litigation against the company you have been paying to protect you.

This catches people off guard. They think because it is their own insurance company, the process will be simple and fair. It is not. You need someone on your side who knows how these claims work and will hold your own insurer to the terms of the policy you paid for.

The First Offer Is Never the Best Offer

Insurance adjusters are trained to settle claims quickly and cheaply. The fastest way to do that is to make an offer before you talk to a lawyer, before you understand the full extent of your injuries, and before you realize what your claim is actually worth.

That first offer might sound reasonable if you do not know any better. It might even sound generous. They will tell you it is a fair offer. They will tell you it is the best they can do. They will tell you it is only available for a limited time and if you do not accept it now, it might go away.

All of that is pressure designed to get you to settle before you know what you are giving up.

Soft tissue injuries can take weeks to fully manifest. What feels like minor soreness today might turn into chronic pain that requires months of treatment. Concussions and traumatic brain injuries can have delayed symptoms that do not appear until days or weeks after the crash. Psychological injuries like anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress can develop over time.

If you settle your claim before you know the full extent of your injuries, you cannot come back later for more money. The release you sign closes your claim permanently. If you need surgery six months from now, if you develop complications, if you cannot return to work, none of that matters. You already settled.

The insurance company knows this. That is why they want you to settle now. Before you see a specialist. Before you finish treatment. Before you talk to an attorney who will tell you what your case is actually worth.

We do not let our clients settle for the first offer. We do not let them settle until we know the full scope of their injuries, the total cost of their treatment, and the real impact the accident has had on their lives. Only then can we demand what they are actually owed.

Pre-Existing Conditions and How They Are Used Against You

If you had any prior injuries, any previous accidents, any chronic pain, or any ongoing medical treatment before this car accident, the insurance company will use it against you. They will argue that your current injuries are just a continuation of your pre-existing condition and the accident did not cause any new harm.

This is one of the most common and most unfair tactics insurance companies use. Under Colorado law, you can recover damages for aggravation of a pre-existing condition. If the accident made your old back injury worse, if it triggered symptoms that had been dormant, or if it required you to resume treatment you had completed years ago, you are entitled to compensation for that harm.

The insurance company will demand your complete medical history. They will comb through years of records looking for anything they can use to argue your injuries are not new. They will point to a car accident you were in five years ago, a slip and fall you had a decade ago, or even normal age-related degeneration shown on an old MRI.

You cannot hide your medical history. The insurance company will find it. But you can explain it. You can show how your condition was stable before the accident and how the crash caused a significant worsening. You can demonstrate that you had not needed treatment in years and now you need it again. You can prove that the accident caused new injuries that are separate from your old condition.

This requires medical evidence, expert testimony, and a clear understanding of how Colorado law treats aggravation of pre-existing conditions. It also requires an attorney who knows how to counter the insurance company’s arguments and present your case in a way that shows the true harm the accident caused.

Why You Should Never Give a Recorded Statement

When the insurance adjuster calls and asks for a recorded statement, they will make it sound routine. They will tell you it is just a formality. They will say it will only take a few minutes. They might even imply that you are required to give one.

You are not. Not to the other driver’s insurance company. You have no legal obligation to give them a recorded statement, and doing so can only hurt your claim.

The adjuster is not recording the call to help you. They are recording it to find inconsistencies, admissions, and statements they can use to reduce or deny your claim. They will ask questions designed to get you to minimize your injuries, admit partial fault, or contradict something you said before.

They might ask how you are feeling and then use your answer against you later. If you say you are doing okay, they will argue you are not really hurt. If you describe your injuries in detail, they will compare your statement to your medical records and highlight any differences as proof you are exaggerating.

They will ask you to describe what happened. If you leave out any detail or get the sequence of events slightly wrong, they will claim your story does not add up. If you speculate about what the other driver was doing or thinking, they will treat it as fact and use it to argue comparative fault.

They will ask if you have ever been injured before. If you say no and they later discover an old claim, they will accuse you of lying. If you say yes, they will argue that your current injuries are just a continuation of your past problems.

You may be required to give a statement to your own insurance company under the terms of your policy. But even then, you should talk to an attorney first to understand what questions you will be asked and how to answer them without damaging your claim.

The safest answer when the other driver’s insurance company calls is this: “I am not comfortable giving a recorded statement without speaking to an attorney first.” That is not an admission of anything. It is common sense.

What to Do Right Now If You Were Injured in a Denver Car Accident

If you are reading this because you were just in a car accident, there are things you need to do today. Not tomorrow. Not after you feel better. Today.

See a doctor even if you do not think you are seriously hurt. Adrenaline masks pain. Injuries that feel minor in the hours after a crash can turn out to be significant. A gap between the accident and your first medical visit gives the insurance company an excuse to argue you were not really injured.

Do not talk to the other driver’s insurance company. Do not give them a recorded statement. Do not sign anything they send you. If they keep calling, tell them you are represented by counsel and they need to contact your attorney. If you do not have an attorney yet, tell them you are not comfortable discussing the accident without legal advice.

Do not post about the accident on social media. Insurance companies monitor Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms looking for evidence to use against you. A photo of you smiling at a family gathering will be used to argue you are not in pain. A comment about going back to work will be used to argue you did not lose wages. Make your profiles private and do not post anything about the accident, your injuries, or your claim.

Keep records of everything. Save all medical bills, receipts, prescription information, and documentation of any out-of-pocket expenses. Keep a journal of your symptoms, your pain levels, and how your injuries are affecting your daily life. Take photos of your injuries as they heal. All of this becomes evidence.

Do not accept a settlement offer without talking to an attorney. The offer might sound good right now, but you have no way to know if it is fair unless someone who handles these cases every day reviews it and tells you what your claim is actually worth.

Call a lawyer who focuses on car accident cases and knows how to deal with Colorado insurance companies. You do not need to handle this alone. You do not need to figure out the legal process while you are trying to recover from your injuries. And you definitely do not need to trust that the insurance company will treat you fairly if you just cooperate and wait.

How McCormick & Murphy Handles Denver Car Accident Cases

Kirk McCormick and Jay Murphy do not process claims. They do not run a settlement mill. They handle every case themselves, and they only take on clients they believe in and cases they are willing to fight for.

When you call our office at 888-668-1182, you will talk to someone who listens to what happened and explains your options in plain language. If we take your case, we handle all communication with the insurance companies so you can focus on recovering. We gather the evidence that proves what the other driver did and what it cost you. We work with medical experts, accident reconstruction specialists, and economists when necessary to build the strongest case possible.

We do not settle for the first offer. We do not settle until we know the full extent of your injuries and the real value of your claim. And if the insurance company refuses to make a fair offer, we file a lawsuit and take the case to court.

Most car accident cases settle before trial, but insurance companies only make fair settlement offers when they know you are willing to go to trial if necessary. They need to believe you have an attorney who will actually fight for you, not just negotiate for a quick payout.

We represent clients in Denver, Wheat Ridge, Lakewood, Arvada, Westminster, Thornton, Northglenn, Commerce City, Aurora, Englewood, Littleton, Centennial, Greenwood Village, Lone Tree, Parker, Highlands Ranch, Castle Rock, Broomfield, Brighton, Longmont, Boulder, Louisville, Lafayette, Superior, Erie, Golden, and throughout the Denver metro area. We handle rear-end collisions, head-on crashes, intersection accidents, hit-and-run cases, drunk driver injuries, distracted driving accidents, and every other type of car accident that leaves someone hurt.

We work on a contingency fee basis, which means you do not pay anything unless we recover money for you. No upfront costs. No hourly fees. No surprise bills. If we do not win your case, you do not owe us anything.

You can reach McCormick & Murphy, P.C. at 888-668-1182 or visit our website to learn more about your rights after a car accident.