Pueblo Intersection Accident Lawyer

Intersection accidents happen fast. One second you have a green light, the next you’re being hit from the side by a driver who ran theirs. Or maybe the signal was yellow, or both of you thought you had the right of way, or someone was turning left when they shouldn’t have been.

Whatever happened, you’re now dealing with injuries, a damaged vehicle, and an insurance company that’s trying to pin some or all of the blame on you.

Here’s what most people don’t realize: intersections are the most documented locations on the road. Traffic cameras. Dashcams. Witnesses stopped at the same light. Skid marks. Signal timing records. Evidence is there if you know where to look and how to preserve it.

At McCormick & Murphy, we’ve handled intersection accident cases across Pueblo, Pueblo West, Cañon City, and the surrounding region. We know how to reconstruct what happened at an intersection, how to challenge disputed fault, and how to prove who had the right of way when the other driver’s story doesn’t match the facts.

Why Intersection Accidents Are Different

Most rear-end collisions have a clear at-fault party. Intersection accidents rarely do. There are multiple vehicles moving through the same space, each with their own version of who had the green light or who yielded properly.

Insurance companies know this. They use the ambiguity to reduce settlements or deny claims outright. They’ll suggest you were speeding, or didn’t look, or entered on yellow when you should have stopped.

That’s why evidence matters more in intersection cases than almost anywhere else. The accident report is just the starting point. We dig deeper.

Common Intersection Accident Scenarios in Pueblo

We see the same patterns at intersections across Pueblo. Some are busier than others, but the collision types stay consistent.

Red Light Violations

A driver runs a red light and crashes into cross traffic. These are often T-bone or broadside collisions that cause serious injury because the impact hits the side of your vehicle where there’s less protection.

Even when it seems obvious the other driver ran the red, their insurance will often claim the light was yellow or that you entered too early. We obtain signal timing records, camera footage, and witness statements to establish exactly what color the light was when each vehicle entered.

Left Turn Collisions

A driver turns left across traffic and misjudges the gap or fails to yield to oncoming cars. Colorado law is clear: the left-turning driver must yield unless they have a protected green arrow. But insurers will argue the oncoming car was speeding or appeared farther away than it was.

We reconstruct speed, distance, and timing to show whether the turn was safe or whether the turning driver violated your right of way.

Both Drivers Claim a Green Light

Sometimes both drivers insist they had a green. One of three things happened: someone is wrong, someone entered on yellow or red without realizing it, or the signal malfunctioned.

Signal malfunction cases are rare but they do happen. We request maintenance and inspection records from the city or CDOT to determine whether the signal was working correctly at the time of the crash.

Rolling Stops and Failure to Yield

At stop-sign controlled intersections, someone rolls through without coming to a complete stop or fails to yield to a vehicle that was already in the intersection.

These cases often come down to who entered first and who had the duty to wait. Dashcam footage and witness position become critical.

How Fault Is Determined in Intersection Accidents

Colorado uses a modified comparative negligence rule. You can still recover compensation even if you were partially at fault, as long as your share of the blame is 49% or less. Your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault.

This rule turns every intersection case into a fight over percentages. The insurance company doesn’t have to prove you were 100% at fault. They just need to get your percentage above 50% to deny your claim, or push it high enough to reduce what they owe you.

That’s why we focus on evidence from the start. The accident report shows what the officer observed after the fact. We focus on what the evidence proves about the moment of impact.

Evidence That Wins Intersection Accident Cases

The first 48 hours after an intersection accident are critical. Evidence disappears. Memories fade. Camera footage gets overwritten.

Traffic Camera Footage

Pueblo has cameras at several major intersections. So do many private businesses nearby. This footage doesn’t stay available forever. Most systems overwrite after 7 to 30 days unless someone requests it.

We send preservation letters immediately to the city, CDOT, and nearby businesses to secure this footage before it’s gone.

Signal Timing Records

Every traffic signal has a timing sequence on file. We request these records to show how long the yellow lasted, whether the all-red clearance interval was adequate, and whether the signal was functioning to spec.

In some cases, signal timing that’s too short for the speed limit can shift fault away from a driver accused of running a red.

Dashcam and Cell Phone Video

More drivers have dashcams now. Even if you don’t, someone stopped at the same light might. We canvass for witnesses and ask whether anyone captured video.

Skid Marks and Vehicle Damage

The position of skid marks, debris, and the point of rest for each vehicle tells a story about speed, direction, and who was where when the crash occurred. Accident reconstruction specialists can use this physical evidence to support or refute each driver’s account.

Witness Statements

Independent witnesses who were stopped at the same intersection or walking nearby are powerful. They have no reason to lie, and their statements often break a he-said-she-said stalemate.

Injuries We See in Intersection Accidents

Intersection collisions often involve side-impact or angular crashes. Your vehicle’s doors and side panels offer less protection than the front or rear crumple zones.

Common injuries include:

• Head and brain injuries from side-window impact
• Neck and spine injuries from lateral force
• Broken ribs, pelvis, and shoulder fractures
• Internal organ damage
• Knee and leg injuries from door intrusion

These injuries require immediate medical attention and often lead to long recovery times, surgeries, and permanent limitations. Your claim must account for all of it: past medical bills, future treatment, lost income, and the impact on your ability to work and live the way you did before.

What to Do After an Intersection Accident in Pueblo

If you’ve been hit at an intersection, what you do in the hours and days afterward can shape the outcome of your case.

Get medical attention immediately. Even if you feel okay. Adrenaline masks pain, and some injuries don’t show symptoms right away. A delay in treatment gives the insurance company an argument that your injuries weren’t serious or weren’t caused by the crash.

Document the scene if you can. Take photos of vehicle damage, the intersection, traffic signals, skid marks, and debris. Note the position of your car and the other vehicle. If there’s a traffic camera visible, photograph it.

Get contact information from witnesses. If someone stopped to help or saw what happened, get their name and number. The police report might not include everyone who saw the crash.

Don’t give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance company. You’re not required to. They’ll use your words to build a case against you, even if you’re just trying to be cooperative. Refer them to your lawyer.

Preserve your own dashcam or phone footage. If your car has a dashcam, save the file immediately. If you or a passenger took video at the scene, back it up.

Don’t apologize or admit fault at the scene. It’s human nature to say “I’m sorry” after an accident. Don’t. Colorado is a comparative fault state, and any statement you make can be used to assign you a percentage of blame.

Fighting Back When the Other Driver Blames You

The other driver will almost always say you’re at fault. They’ll tell the officer you ran the light, or entered the intersection too fast, or didn’t yield when you should have.

Sometimes they believe it. Sometimes they’re protecting themselves. Either way, their statement doesn’t decide your case.

We challenge disputed fault by:

• Requesting all available camera footage from the intersection and surrounding area
• Obtaining official signal timing and maintenance records
• Hiring accident reconstruction experts to analyze vehicle damage, skid marks, and physics
• Interviewing every witness and taking recorded statements
• Reviewing the other driver’s history for prior violations or crashes
• Analyzing cell phone records if distracted driving is suspected

Insurance companies count on you accepting their version of fault. We don’t.

Comparative Fault and What It Means for Your Settlement

Let’s say the insurance company agrees their driver ran a red light, but they claim you were speeding. They assign you 30% fault.

If your total damages are $100,000, they’ll offer $70,000.

But what if the evidence doesn’t support that 30%? What if you weren’t speeding at all, or the speed you were traveling was reasonable and wouldn’t have prevented the crash?

Every percentage point matters. A 10% difference in fault on a $100,000 claim is $10,000. We fight for accurate fault allocation because it directly affects what you recover.

How Long You Have to File a Claim in Colorado

Colorado’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims is three years from the date of the accident. Miss that deadline and you lose your right to sue, no matter how strong your case is.

Three years sounds like a long time. It’s not. Insurance companies will drag out negotiations, hoping you’ll take a low offer to avoid the hassle or because you’re running out of time.

We file cases when we need to, not when the insurance company is ready to be fair.

What Your Intersection Accident Claim Is Worth

Every case is different, but your claim should account for:

• Medical expenses: emergency room, surgery, physical therapy, medications, assistive devices, and future treatment
• Lost income: time off work during recovery and reduced earning capacity if you can’t return to your old job
• Property damage: vehicle repair or replacement, personal items damaged in the crash
• Pain and suffering: physical pain, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life
• Permanent disability or disfigurement: if your injuries leave lasting limitations or scars

Insurance adjusters will offer you a settlement early, often before you know the full extent of your injuries. Once you sign, you can’t come back for more even if your condition worsens or you need surgery later.

We don’t settle until we know what your case is really worth.

Serving Pueblo and Surrounding Communities

We represent clients injured in intersection accidents throughout Pueblo, Pueblo West, Salt Creek, Blende, Avondale, Boone, Colorado City, Rye, Cañon City, Florence, Penrose, Walsenburg, and Aguilar. If your crash happened in Southern Colorado, we can help.

Our office is located at 301 N Main St in Pueblo, and we meet clients where it’s convenient for them when injuries make travel difficult.

Why McCormick & Murphy

Kirk McCormick and Jay Murphy built this firm to fight for people who’ve been hurt by someone else’s negligence. We don’t represent insurance companies. We don’t defend corporations. We represent people.

When we take an intersection accident case, we:

• Investigate immediately to preserve evidence before it’s lost
• Handle all communication with insurance companies so you can focus on recovery
• Bring in experts when we need them to prove fault and damages
• Prepare every case for trial, even if we expect it to settle
• Never charge a fee unless we recover compensation for you

You don’t owe us anything to find out whether you have a case. We offer free consultations, and we’ll tell you honestly what we think your options are.

Your Rights Don’t Depend on Who the Other Driver Blames

Just because the other driver says you’re at fault doesn’t make it true. Just because the insurance company assigns you a percentage of blame doesn’t mean that percentage is accurate.

You have the right to challenge their version of what happened. You have the right to present evidence. You have the right to hold the at-fault driver accountable for the harm they caused.

Intersection accidents are complicated, but they’re also some of the most documented crashes on the road. The evidence is there. The question is whether you have someone who knows how to find it and use it.

If you’ve been injured in an intersection accident in Pueblo or anywhere in Southern Colorado, call McCormick & Murphy at 888-668-1182. We’ll answer your questions, explain your rights, and help you understand what comes next.

You don’t have to accept the insurance company’s version of fault. You don’t have to settle for less than your case is worth. You have options, and we’ll help you understand what they are.