RTD Buses, Denver City Trucks and Bad Roads: Claims Under Colorado’s Immunity Act

An RTD bus pulls away from a stop on Colorado Boulevard and sideswipes your car. A Denver Public Works plow clips you on Sixth Avenue. A crater of a pothole on a city street throws your scooter. Each of these is a claim against a public body, and Colorado treats them very differently from a fender bender with a neighbor.

Who counts as a public entity?

The definition in C.R.S. 24-10-103 is broad. It covers the state, counties, the City and County of Denver, other municipalities, school districts, special districts and every other district, agency or political subdivision organized under law. RTD is a regional transit district, and RTD’s own risk management page tells injured people that the 182-day notice in 24-10-109 applies to claims against it. A school district bus or a Colorado DOT truck would bring the same rules into play.

Which crashes are covered by a waiver?

Section 24-10-106(1) lists the situations where immunity is waived. Two come up again and again on Denver streets.

• Government vehicles. Paragraph (a) waives immunity for injuries from a public employee operating a motor vehicle owned or leased by the public entity, while in the course of employment. It excludes emergency vehicles operating within the privileges in section 42-4-108(2) and (3), such as a police car or ambulance running lights and siren that proceeds through a red light with due regard for safety.
• Dangerous road conditions. Paragraph (d)(I) waives immunity for a dangerous condition of a public highway, road or street that physically interferes with the movement of traffic, and of sidewalks within a city’s limits.

What makes a road defect a dangerous condition?

The definition in 24-10-103(1.3) is narrower than most people expect. It must be a physical condition that poses an unreasonable risk to the public, that the entity knew about or should have known about in the exercise of reasonable care, and that came from the entity’s negligence in constructing or maintaining the facility. Two exclusions often decide these cases. A dangerous condition does not exist solely because a facility’s design is inadequate. And the mere existence of wind, water, snow, ice or temperature is not, by itself, a dangerous condition. A pothole that sat unrepaired for weeks fits more easily than a curve someone thinks was designed poorly or a patch of black ice after a storm.

How do I file the notice?

The notice must be in writing and contain the items set out in 24-10-109(2).

• Your name and address, and your attorney’s name and address if you have one
• A concise statement of the facts, including date, time, place and circumstances
• The name and address of any public employee involved, if known
• A concise statement of the nature and extent of the injury
• The amount of money damages you are requesting

Claims against the state go to the attorney general. Claims against any other public entity go to its governing body or its attorney. A mailed notice is effective when sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or upon personal service.

For Denver, the City Attorney’s Office accepts notices through an online form on its file a claim page, or by mail to Claims Dept., City Attorney’s Office, 201 W. Colfax Ave., Dept. 1108, Denver, CO 80202. Hand delivery is accepted at the Mayor’s Office, 1437 Bannock St., Room 350. Questions go to 720-913-3274. The city notes its staff cannot give legal advice.

For RTD, the agency takes notices through an online claim form or by registered or certified mail or delivery to the RTD General Counsel Department, 1660 Blake Street, BLK-23, Denver, CO 80202.

What happens after the notice?

Both Denver and RTD say most investigations take six to eight weeks. Under 24-10-109(6), you cannot file suit until the entity denies the claim or 90 days pass after the notice, whichever comes first. RTD tells claimants that if they hear nothing within 90 days, the claim is presumed denied. The suit itself must still be filed within the two-year period for actions against public entities in C.R.S. 13-80-102.

How much can be recovered?

Section 24-10-114 sets the maximum recovery for any single occurrence, from all public entities and employees combined, and requires the Secretary of State to adjust it for inflation every four years. The Secretary of State’s certificate lists these figures.

• Claims accruing January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2025, $424,000 for one person and $1,195,000 for two or more, with no one person over $424,000
• Claims accruing January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2029, $505,000 for one person and $1,421,000 for two or more, with no one person over $505,000

A public entity’s governing body may raise those limits by resolution, but that is rare. When a bus crash hurts many passengers, the per-occurrence figure is shared among everyone injured, so your own UIM coverage can matter a great deal.

How it plays out on a Denver claim

A driver stopped at a light on Colorado Boulevard near Cherry Creek is rear-ended by a city-owned pickup. She feels fine that day but is diagnosed with a herniated disc a month later. The 182-day clock runs from when she discovered the injury, regardless of whether she knew every element of a claim, so the safe course is to count from the crash itself. She files the notice in week six with the facts, the employee’s name from the police report and a requested amount. The city denies the claim at week twelve, and she files suit well within two years. Her damages are later valued above $505,000, but the cap limits what the city can pay, and her own UIM policy is asked to cover the difference.

What about federal vehicles?

A crash with a U.S. Postal Service truck or another federal vehicle follows the Federal Tort Claims Act, with its own administrative claim form and a two-year window for presenting the claim to the agency. The Colorado notice does not satisfy it.

Checklist

• Identify whether the vehicle or road belongs to a public entity.
• Mark 182 days from the crash, and file the notice well before then.
• Use the entity’s online form or send by certified mail, return receipt requested.
• Include every item 24-10-109(2) requires, including a dollar amount.
• Wait for a denial or 90 days before suing, and sue within two years.
• Look at your own UM and UIM limits, since caps often leave a gap.