Hit by a Car While Walking in Denver?

If you've been hit by a car, your first priority is getting out of the travel lane if you can move safely. Denver's high-volume roads — Colfax Avenue, Federal Boulevard, Broadway, Colorado Boulevard — are dangerous for anyone on foot, especially after a crash when other drivers may not see you.

Call 911 immediately. If the driver who hit you is still at the scene, do not let them leave without police documenting the incident. If the driver fled, give the dispatcher everything you can: vehicle make, model, color, direction of travel, any part of the plate number. Denver averages over 40 motor vehicle crashes per day, and police resources are stretched — providing detailed information immediately increases the chances of locating a hit-and-run driver.

Even if your injuries seem minor, get police on the scene. The crash report is your most important piece of evidence. Without it, proving what happened becomes exponentially harder.

Pedestrian injuries are almost never minor. When a 4,000-pound vehicle hits an unprotected human body, the result is broken bones, head trauma, spinal injuries, internal bleeding, and severe soft tissue damage. A pedestrian hit at 40 mph has roughly a 50% chance of dying. You may feel functional at the scene because of adrenaline, but that doesn't mean you're okay.

Get to an emergency room the same day. Denver Health Medical Center at 777 Bannock Street is Denver's Level I Adult Trauma Center and the primary 911 receiving hospital for the City and County of Denver. UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora is a second Level I trauma center. HCA HealthONE Swedish Medical Center at 501 East Hampden Avenue in Englewood is a Level I trauma and burn center. For children struck by vehicles, Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora is the region's leading pediatric trauma facility.

A same-day medical visit does two things: it gets you treated, and it creates a documented link between the crash and your injuries. If you wait days or weeks to see a doctor, the insurance company will argue your injuries came from something else or aren't as serious as you claim.

If you're physically able, pull out your phone before you leave the scene. Photograph the vehicle that hit you — front end, license plate, any damage to the hood or bumper. Pedestrian impacts leave distinctive marks on vehicles: dents in the hood, cracked windshields, broken headlights. Those marks are evidence.

Photograph the intersection or road where you were hit. Capture crosswalk markings (or the lack of them), traffic signals, sight lines, lighting conditions, and any road hazards. Take wide shots that show the full scene and close-ups of specific details.

Get contact information from witnesses. Other drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, people at bus stops — anyone who saw the crash. Write down the responding officer's name and badge number, and ask how to obtain a copy of the crash report.

If you were in a crosswalk, note whether the pedestrian signal was active. If the crosswalk was unmarked, note the intersection. Colorado law gives pedestrians the right of way in all crosswalks — marked and unmarked — and unmarked crosswalks exist at every intersection unless specifically signed otherwise.

Colorado law is clear about pedestrian rights. Under C.R.S. § 42-4-802, drivers must yield the right of way to pedestrians in crosswalks. Under C.R.S. § 42-4-805, every driver must exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian on the roadway — regardless of whether the pedestrian is in a crosswalk.

Denver has both marked crosswalks (painted stripes) and unmarked crosswalks. Under Colorado law, an unmarked crosswalk exists at every intersection — the invisible extension of the sidewalk across the street. Drivers are required to yield in both.

That said, pedestrians also have duties. C.R.S. § 42-4-803 provides that pedestrians crossing outside of a crosswalk must yield to vehicles. Under Colorado law, jaywalking constitutes negligence per se — meaning the violation itself is evidence of fault. This doesn't automatically bar your claim, but it gives the insurance company strong ammunition to argue comparative fault. Under Colorado's modified comparative negligence rule (C.R.S. § 13-21-111), if you're found 50% or more at fault, you recover nothing.

The insurance company will look for any evidence of shared fault — crossing against a signal, walking while distracted, wearing dark clothing at night. This is why documenting the scene and consulting an attorney before speaking to any insurance company are critical steps.

If the Denver Police Department responded to the scene, they'll generate a crash report automatically. If officers did not respond, file a report yourself — Colorado law (C.R.S. § 42-4-1606) requires drivers to file a written crash report with the Colorado Department of Revenue within 10 days if the crash caused injury.

To obtain your Denver Police crash report, contact the Denver Police Department Records Section at 1331 Cherokee Street, Room 420, Denver, CO 80204. Phone: 720-913-6029 (Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM). Reports can also be requested online. The fee is $10.00 for a standard accident report.

The police report is your single most important document. It captures the officer's observations, witness statements, diagrams of the crash scene, and often a preliminary determination of fault. If you believe the report contains errors — wrong location, incorrect description of events, missing witnesses — you can request a supplemental report or correction.

The at-fault driver's insurance company will contact you quickly — often within 48 hours. Their adjuster may sound sympathetic. They are not on your side. Their job is to pay as little as possible, and their most effective tool is getting you to say something that suggests you were partly at fault — which under Colorado's modified comparative negligence rule would reduce or eliminate your compensation.

You are not legally required to give them a recorded statement. If they ask, say: "I'm not prepared to give a statement at this time." They may also offer a quick settlement. Don't accept it — early offers in pedestrian cases are almost always far below the true value of the claim, especially before you know the full extent of your injuries.

Pedestrian injuries tend to be severe and expensive. Broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, and surgical reconstruction are common. A settlement that covers your current ER bill may not come close to covering six months of physical therapy, lost wages, or permanent disability.

Under C.R.S. § 13-80-101, you have three years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit in Colorado. For wrongful death claims, the deadline is shorter: 2 years from the date of death (C.R.S. § 13-21-204). Colorado courts enforce these deadlines strictly — miss them and your claim is permanently barred.

If your accident involved a government-maintained road or sidewalk — and many pedestrian crashes in Denver do, given the city's extensive road network and ongoing construction — the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (C.R.S. § 24-10-109) requires written notice within 182 days. That's roughly 6 months. This is one of the most commonly missed deadlines in Colorado personal injury law. If a poorly maintained crosswalk, missing signal, broken streetlight, or dangerous road design contributed to your accident, consult an attorney immediately.

Three years may sound like enough time, but building a strong pedestrian case takes longer than you think. Your attorney needs to gather evidence, obtain surveillance footage before it's overwritten, wait until you reach maximum medical improvement, and build a case that demonstrates the driver's fault.

If you were hit by a car as a pedestrian in Denver, talking to a personal injury attorney is the most important step you can take to protect your claim. Pedestrian cases often involve severe injuries, high medical costs, and aggressive insurance company tactics.

Colorado's modified comparative negligence rule means the insurance company will try to shift blame to you — crossing outside a crosswalk, wearing dark clothing, being distracted. An experienced Denver pedestrian accident attorney can counter these arguments, preserve critical evidence like surveillance camera footage, and negotiate a settlement that accounts for your full damages.

Most pedestrian accident attorneys in Denver work on contingency — you pay nothing unless they win your case. The typical contingency fee is 33% of the settlement before trial. Given the severity of pedestrian injuries, having professional representation often makes the difference between a fair recovery and being stuck with catastrophic medical bills.