Hit by a Drunk Driver in Colorado This Summer? What Injury Victims Should Know

The stretch between Memorial Day and Labor Day carries a grim nickname in Colorado: the 100 Deadliest Days. During that window in 2024, 221 people were killed on Colorado roads, and roughly one in three of those fatal crashes involved an impaired driver. If a drunk or drugged driver has hurt you or someone you love this summer, the days that follow can feel like a blur of pain, medical bills, and unanswered questions. As a Colorado drunk driving accident lawyer team, we at Anderson Hemmat have spent more than 30 years helping injured Coloradans hold reckless drivers accountable. Here is what you need to know about protecting your rights.

Summer Is the Most Dangerous Time to Be on Colorado Roads

The 100 Deadliest Days are not just a slogan. They reflect a real and measurable spike in serious crashes. Of the 3,325 serious injuries on Colorado roads in 2024, more than half happened between Memorial Day and Labor Day. More traffic, more tourists, more motorcycles, and more alcohol all collide during these months.

State agencies know it too. Every summer, the Colorado Department of Transportation and Colorado State Patrol launch their "The Heat Is On" enforcement campaign, adding saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints across the state. Even so, Colorado law enforcement made more than 14,000 DUI arrests in a single recent year. The counties that saw the most impaired-driving fatalities recently were El Paso, Adams, Weld, and Denver, which covers a large share of the Front Range where most of our clients live and work.

When an impaired driver chooses to get behind the wheel, the people who pay the price are almost never the drunk drivers themselves. They are the families in the other car.

A Drunk Driving Crash Is Both a Crime and a Civil Case

One of the most common points of confusion we hear from new clients is the difference between the criminal case and the civil claim. They are two separate matters, and understanding that distinction changes everything about your recovery.

The criminal case is the state of Colorado prosecuting the driver for breaking the law. It can send the driver to jail, suspend a license, or impose fines. What it does not do is pay your medical bills, replace your lost wages, or compensate you for your pain. Any fines go to the government, not to you.

Your civil injury claim is entirely separate. It is how you, the victim, pursue financial compensation for what the crash cost you. You do not have to wait for the criminal case to finish before starting your own claim. A criminal conviction can certainly strengthen your case, but it is not required. We have recovered full compensation for clients even where the criminal process moved slowly or stalled.

Why a Colorado Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Matters More Than You Think

Insurance companies are not on your side, even when liability seems obvious. After a drunk driving crash, the at-fault driver's insurer often moves fast to offer a quick, low settlement before you understand the full extent of your injuries. Many injury victims accept these offers out of fear and financial pressure, then discover months later that their medical needs far exceed what they were paid.

This is where a boutique firm changes the equation. At Anderson Hemmat, we keep our client-to-attorney ratios low on purpose, so you are known by name and never treated like a case number. We give regular status updates so you are never left wondering what is happening with your claim. And because our fees are contingency based, you pay nothing up front and nothing at all unless we win.

If you were recently hit by a drunk driver, call us at 303-782-9999 for a free case evaluation before you speak with the other driver's insurance company.

How Our Colorado Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers Pursue Every Source of Compensation

A serious injury can easily exceed an at-fault driver's insurance limits, especially when that driver carries only minimum coverage. Our job is to find every available source of recovery, not just the obvious one. Depending on the facts, that can include:

• The at-fault driver's liability insurance, which is the first and most common source of compensation.

• Your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM), which can step in when the drunk driver has too little insurance to cover your losses or flees the scene.

• Dram shop and social host liability under Colorado Revised Statutes section 44-3-801. A bar, restaurant, or private host can be held civilly liable for serving alcohol to someone who was already visibly intoxicated, or to anyone under 21, who then causes a crash. These claims carry their own rules, including a damages limit and a much shorter filing deadline, so they must be investigated immediately.

• Exemplary (punitive) damages. Because drunk driving reflects willful and wanton conduct, Colorado law may allow additional damages meant to punish the driver, over and above compensation for your actual losses. We pursue these whenever the facts support them.

Identifying these paths early, before evidence disappears, is one of the most valuable things an experienced trial-ready firm does for a drunk driving victim.

Act Quickly: Colorado's Deadlines Are Unforgiving

Colorado gives injury victims a limited window to file. For most motor vehicle injury claims, the deadline is three years from the date of the crash under C.R.S. section 13-80-101. That may sound like plenty of time, but it is not. Witnesses move, surveillance footage gets erased, and a bar's records of who it served can vanish in weeks.

Dram shop claims against an establishment that overserved the driver carry an even tighter deadline, often as little as one year. Waiting to call a lawyer can quietly close doors you did not know were open. The sooner we begin, the more we can protect.

If a drunk driver has turned your summer upside down, you do not have to figure this out alone. Our attorneys are available 24/7 by phone, text, or email, and we serve clients across Colorado from our offices in Denver and Colorado Springs. Call Anderson Hemmat today at 303-782-9999 or request your free, no-obligation case evaluation. There is no fee unless we win your case, and there is no better time to protect your rights than right now.