Colorado Workers Comp Statute of Limitations
Missing this deadline doesn't just slow your claim down — in most cases, it ends it. Colorado law sets a hard cutoff for filing, and insurers know exactly how to use a missed date against you.
Filing Deadline
2 years
From the date of injury. Some exceptions apply — see tolling rules below. Not legal advice.
Why This Deadline Exists
Filing deadlines exist to give employers and insurers a reasonable window to investigate a claim while evidence and memories are still fresh. Colorado balances that against giving injured workers enough time to understand the full extent of an injury before locking in a filing date.
When the Deadline Can Be Extended
A handful of situations can extend — or 'toll' — this deadline. Occupational diseases that develop gradually often get a discovery-rule exception, starting the clock when the condition is diagnosed rather than when the underlying exposure began. Claims involving minors, and cases where an employer concealed the injury or fraudulently discouraged a claim, may also toll the deadline. These exceptions are narrow and fact-specific — don't assume one applies without confirming it with Colorado's workers comp agency or an attorney.
What Happens If You Miss It
If the deadline passes without a claim filed, Colorado's workers comp system will generally treat the claim as permanently barred — the insurer isn't required to pay, and there's usually no appeal process for a claim that was never timely filed in the first place.
Colorado Workers Comp Rules
- Waiting period: 3 days
- Attorney contingency fee: 20%
- State agency: Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Division of Workers' Compensation