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Colorado Springs Sports Injury Lawyer

Q: Can I sue if I signed a waiver or accepted the risk?

Often yes, and the waiver is not the last word. Colorado's Ski Safety Act bars claims for the inherent risks of the sport — terrain, snow conditions, weather — but conduct beyond those, another participant's negligence, defective equipment and a facility's own failures are outside that bar. Waivers are enforced when properly drafted and fail when they are not, and a parent's release of a child's own claim is treated differently again. Keep the document.

Q: How long do I have to bring a claim for this injury in Colorado?

It depends on how you were hurt, not on the injury. Three years if a motor vehicle was involved (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)); two years for most other causes — a fall, a defective product, an assault (C.R.S. 13-80-102(1)(a)); and only 182 days to serve written notice if a public entity is responsible (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1), which the statute makes jurisdictional). Confirm which one governs early rather than assuming the longest.

Written by Timothy R. Bussey · Reviewed by Benjamin Wilcox · Last updated 3 September 2026

Key Takeaways

Deadline: 3 years if a motor vehicle was involved (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)); 2 years for most other injury claims (C.R.S. 13-80-102).
Who is liable: Usually the uphill skier — Colorado's Ski Safety Act, C.R.S.
If you were partly at fault: damages are reduced by your share and barred entirely at 50% (C.R.S. 13-21-111).
Where it is filed: El Paso County Combined Courts, 270 S Tejon St, Colorado Springs, CO 80903.

Who is at fault in a ski accident in Colorado?

Usually the uphill skier — Colorado's Ski Safety Act, C.R.S.

33-44-109(2), places the duty on the person coming from above to avoid the people below. The Act also draws the line that decides most of these cases: a collision with another skier is not an inherent risk of skiing, so it is not something you accepted by buying a lift ticket. Collisions caused by another person's negligence remain claimable.

Can I sue if I signed a waiver or accepted the risk?

Often yes, and the waiver is not the last word.

Colorado's Ski Safety Act bars claims for the inherent risks of the sport — terrain, snow conditions, weather — but conduct beyond those, another participant's negligence, defective equipment and a facility's own failures are outside that bar. Waivers are enforced when properly drafted and fail when they are not, and a parent's release of a child's own claim is treated differently again. Keep the document.

A signed waiver and the risks built into a sport do not bar every Colorado claim. You assume the inherent risks of an activity — and on the slopes C.R.S. 33-44-112 bars any claim against a ski area for those — but negligence beyond the inherent risk is still actionable. The clearest example is written into the statute itself: C.R.S. 33-44-109(1) says the risk of a skier-versus-skier collision is neither an inherent risk nor a risk assumed by a skier. Claims against a ski area must be brought within two years (C.R.S. 33-44-111). Call (719) 475-2555 for a free consultation.

Can You Sue for a Sports Injury in Colorado?

Yes, in the cases where the harm came from negligence rather than from the sport itself. Colorado law asks you to accept the risks that are inherent in an activity — and against a ski area, C.R.S. 33-44-112 bars those claims outright. It does not ask you to accept a coach who ignored a concussion protocol, a rental shop that never inspected the bindings, or another skier who hit you, which C.R.S. 33-44-109(1) says is not an assumed risk at all.

Two doctrines get treated as if they end the conversation, and neither does. Assumption of risk covers what is inherent in the activity — a hard tackle in football, moguls on a run — not a coach who ignored a concussion protocol or a rental shop that handed over bindings it never checked. A waiver is a contract, and a contract is read for what it actually says. The question is never “was there a waiver” but “does this waiver, under Colorado law, reach this conduct.”

What Does Colorado's Ski Safety Act Actually Bar?

It bars claims against a ski area for the inherent dangers and risks of skiing — and nothing wider. C.R.S. 33-44-112 is absolute as to those risks. But the same article, at 33-44-109(1), carves out the case people most often assume is hopeless.

What Colorado's Ski Safety Act does and does not bar
The situation	Barred?	Authority
Injury from an inherent danger or risk of skiing, claimed against a ski area	Yes — barred outright	C.R.S. 33-44-112
Another skier collides with you	No — expressly not an inherent risk and not assumed	C.R.S. 33-44-109(1)
Claim against a ski area outside the inherent risks	No, but must be filed within 2 years	C.R.S. 33-44-111
Injury on the premises of a rink, gym or field	No — governed by the Premises Liability Act	C.R.S. 13-21-115

Does a Waiver Signed for a Child Hold Up?

In Colorado a parent may waive a child's prospective negligence claim. C.R.S. 13-22-107 says so, and it says why: the legislature wanted children to have “the maximum opportunity to participate in sporting, recreational, educational, and other activities.”

That is a real obstacle and worth knowing before you are told there is no case. It is not the end of the analysis: a waiver reaches the negligence the parent agreed to accept, not conduct outside it, and the document has to actually cover the entity being sued and the activity that caused the harm. Bring the paperwork to the consultation — it is usually the first thing worth reading.

Who Can Be Liable for a Sports or Recreation Injury?

Whoever's negligence went beyond the risk you accepted. A facility, a coach or league, an equipment renter or manufacturer, a transport operator, or another participant.

Who can be liable for a Colorado sports or recreation injury
Who	When they are on the hook
A facility or landowner	Unsafe condition on the premises — C.R.S. 13-21-115
A coach, school or league	Ignoring its own protocol, including return-to-play after a head injury
An equipment renter or manufacturer	Gear that was defective, or never inspected before it was handed over
A ski area	Conduct outside the inherent dangers and risks of skiing
Another participant	Conduct beyond the risk of the sport — and a skier-versus-skier collision is never an assumed risk

What About Concussions and Head Injuries?

A head injury is the sports claim most often missed at the time and most serious later. Symptoms can present differently in different athletes, and a return-to-play decision made without a protocol is the failure that turns one concussion into a lasting injury.

Where a coach, school or league had a protocol and did not follow it, that is negligence outside the inherent risk of the sport. See our page on traumatic brain injury claims, and our reporting on concussions and sports injuries.

What Are the Deadlines on a Colorado Sports Injury Claim?

Two years in most cases, and the ski-area deadline is its own statute. Do not assume the general injury deadline applies to every defendant in the same incident.

Deadlines for a Colorado sports or recreation injury claim
Claim	Deadline	Authority
Against a ski area operator	2 years	C.R.S. 33-44-111
Most other injury claims	2 years	C.R.S. 13-80-102
If a motor vehicle was involved	3 years	C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)
If you were partly at fault	Recovery barred at 50%	C.R.S. 13-21-111

Which Colorado Statutes Govern a Sports Injury Claim?

These are the controlling sections, quoted in full from the Colorado General Assembly’s own published text.

C.R.S. 33-44-109(1) — duties of skiers

(1) Each skier solely has the responsibility for knowing the range of his own ability to negotiate any ski slope or trail and to ski within the limits of such ability. Each skier expressly accepts and assumes the risk of and all legal responsibility for any injury to person or property resulting from any of the inherent dangers and risks of skiing; except that a skier is not precluded under this article from suing another skier for any injury to person or property resulting from such other skier's acts or omissions. Notwithstanding any provision of law or statute to the contrary, the risk of a skier/skier collision is neither an inherent risk nor a risk assumed by a skier in an action by one skier against another.

C.R.S. 33-44-111 — statute of limitation

Statute of limitation. All actions against any ski area operator or its employees brought to recover damages for injury to person or property caused by the maintenance, supervision, or operation of a passenger tramway or a ski area shall be brought within two years after the claim for relief arises and not thereafter.

C.R.S. 33-44-112 — limitation on actions for inherent dangers and risks of skiing

Limitation on actions for injury resulting from inherent dangers and risks of skiing. Notwithstanding any judicial decision or any other law or statute to the contrary, including but not limited to sections 13-21-111 and 13-21-111.7, C.R.S., no skier may make any claim against or recover from any ski area operator for injury resulting from any of the inherent dangers and risks of skiing.

Why Choose The Bussey Law Firm for a Sports Injury Claim?

Timothy Bussey has represented injury victims across El Paso County since entering private practice in 1997, and the firm handles these claims from its Colorado Springs office at 12 E. Boulder Street. Consultations are free — call (719) 475-2555, or see our personal injury practice.

Frequently Asked Questions: Colorado Sports Injury Claims

If your question is not here, call (719) 475-2555.

Does signing a waiver mean I have no case?

No. A waiver is read for what it actually covers. It reaches the negligence you agreed to accept, not conduct outside it, and it has to cover the entity being sued and the activity that caused the harm.

Can I sue a ski area in Colorado?

Not for the inherent dangers and risks of skiing — C.R.S. 33-44-112 bars those claims. Claims outside those risks remain, and must be brought within two years (C.R.S. 33-44-111).

What if another skier hit me?

That is expressly not an inherent risk. C.R.S. 33-44-109(1) states the risk of a skier-versus-skier collision is neither inherent nor assumed, and a skier may sue another skier.

Can a parent sign away a child's right to sue?

In Colorado, yes — C.R.S. 13-22-107 permits a parent to waive a child's prospective negligence claim. The waiver still has to cover the defendant and the conduct at issue.

Who is responsible for a rented equipment failure?

Potentially the rental shop and the manufacturer. Keep the equipment and the rental agreement — both are evidence and both get lost quickly.

How long do I have to file?

Two years for most injury claims (C.R.S. 13-80-102) and two years against a ski area (C.R.S. 33-44-111). If a motor vehicle was involved the deadline is three years (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)).

What does a consultation cost?

Nothing. Call (719) 475-2555 for a free consultation.

How long do I have to bring a claim for this injury in Colorado?

It depends on how you were hurt, not on the injury. Three years if a motor vehicle was involved (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)); two years for most other causes — a fall, a defective product, an assault (C.R.S. 13-80-102(1)(a)); and only 182 days to serve written notice if a public entity is responsible (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1), which the statute makes jurisdictional). Confirm which one governs early rather than assuming the longest.

What does a sports injury claim cost to pursue?

Nothing up front, and nothing at all unless there is a recovery. A sports injury review is free and the firm is paid a percentage of what it recovers rather than by the hour, so asking costs nothing. Call (719) 475-2555.

Where is a Colorado sports or recreation injury claim filed?

In the El Paso County Combined Courts, 270 S Tejon St, Colorado Springs, CO 80903 — the district court serving El Paso County. Most claims settle without a court appearance, but the filing venue is what sets the deadline that matters.

Why does a waiver not end most of these claims?

Because a waiver reaches the risks inherent in the activity, not negligence outside them — and the Ski Safety Act says the same thing in reverse: C.R.S. 33-44-109(1) states the risk of a skier-versus-skier collision “is neither an inherent risk nor a risk assumed by a skier.”

Meet Our Sports Injury Attorney

Timothy R. Bussey

Timothy R. Bussey is the founder of The Bussey Law Firm, P.C. Since entering private practice in 1997 he has represented injury victims across El Paso County. He is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and a recipient of the Martindale-Hubbell Gold Client Champion Award.

Read more on Timothy Bussey’s profile, or see case results. Reviewed by Benjamin Wilcox.

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every case is decided on its own facts.

Additional Information

Sources and References

Statutory text quoted verbatim from the Colorado General Assembly’s published 2024 revised statutes, retrieved 21 August 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.

What Are the Colorado Deadlines and Rules on This Claim?

Which deadline applies depends on how the injury happened, not on what it is called. Colorado gives three years to a claim arising from the use or operation of a motor vehicle and two years to most other injury claims. Missing the deadline normally ends the claim regardless of its merits.

Colorado deadlines and rules that apply to this claim
A claim arising from the use or operation of a motor vehicle	3 years — C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)
Most other personal injury claims	2 years — C.R.S. 13-80-102
If you were partly at fault	Damages reduced by your share, barred at 50% — C.R.S. 13-21-111
Where a Colorado Springs claim is filed	El Paso County Combined Courts, 270 S Tejon St, Colorado Springs, CO 80903