Colorado Dog Bite & Animal Attack Attorneys

At DearLegal, we connect you with experienced Colorado dog bite and animal attack attorneys who understand C.R.S. § 13-21-124 — Colorado’s strict-liability dog-bite statute for serious bodily injury — and the state’s modified 50% comparative fault rule.

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Free Colorado animal incident case review

A Colorado attorney will take a look. Or call 1-833-WELEGAL.

How we match your Colorado animal incident case

When you submit a Colorado animal incident matter, we route it through a national network of independent partner firms and put it in front of the one that fits best — based on the kind of case it is, what it is likely to involve, where it has to be handled, and who has capacity to take it on now.

Case type

A animal incident matter needs someone who handles animal incident work day to day, not a generalist. Practice area is the first filter.

Size and complexity

Some firms are built for catastrophic injury and multi-party litigation; others resolve straightforward claims quickly. We weigh what your matter is likely to involve against how each firm actually works.

Jurisdiction and licensing

Your matter is decided under Colorado law, so it goes to an attorney licensed in Colorado who regularly appears where your case would be heard.

Capacity and fit

Availability, conflicts of interest and language all matter. If the best-fit firm cannot take your case, we route it to the next one that can — or tell you plainly when no one in the network is the right answer.

Every partner reviews your case for free. Injury and workers’ compensation matters are handled on contingency — no fee unless you win. Other matters are quoted upfront, before you commit to anything.

Get started How DearLegal works

DearLegal provides marketing and matching services and is not a law firm. Submitting a case does not create an attorney-client relationship. Matches depend on case type, jurisdiction and firm availability.

Exhibit A

What happens with an animal incident claim in Colorado

Day 0
It happens.
Get medical care and keep every record — photos, names, the report number. In Colorado, what you document now is what your claim is built on.
Within 24 hours
Tell us what happened.
Two minutes on this page. A Colorado animal incident attorney reviews it for free and, if it’s a fit, you’re matched within 24 hours.
Weeks 1–4
Your attorney builds the file.
Reports, medical records, witnesses, camera footage, insurance policies. This is the part insurers hope you skip.
Months 1–6
Demand and negotiation.
Your attorney sends a demand and negotiates with the insurer. Colorado’s fault rule matters here — Modified comparative fault, 50% bar (C.R.S. § 13-21-111) — recovery barred if you are 50% or more at fault.
Before the 2-year deadline
Suit is filed if it has to be.
Colorado gives 2 years from the date it happened. Filing keeps your leverage; missing it ends the claim.
Resolution
Settlement or verdict.
You pay nothing along the way. The fee — typically 33% — comes only out of what’s recovered. If nothing is recovered, you owe nothing.

Statute of Limitations: 2 years
2 years from the date of the bite/attack (C.R.S. § 13-80-102)
Dog-Bite Statute: Strict liability
Strict liability for economic damages on “serious bodily injury” (C.R.S. § 13-21-124); common-law one-bite rule for non-economic damages and lesser injuries
Comparative Fault Rule: 50%
Modified comparative fault, 50% bar (C.R.S. § 13-21-111) — recovery barred if you are 50% or more at fault
Dangerous Dog Law: C.R.S. § 18-9-204.5
C.R.S. § 18-9-204.5 — dangerous-dog criminal statute; municipal codes layer in civil dangerous-dog designations
Leash Law: Local ordinance
Set by city/county ordinance — Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, and most municipalities require leashes in public; violation supports negligence per se
Typical attorney fee: 33%
33%–40% contingency — no fee unless you win

Colorado’s dog-bite statute (C.R.S. § 13-21-124) imposes strict liability on dog owners for economic damages when a victim suffers “serious bodily injury” or death — regardless of prior knowledge or viciousness. For non-economic damages and for less-serious bites, the common-law one-bite/scienter rule continues to apply. Colorado is a 50%-bar modified comparative fault state (C.R.S. § 13-21-111), so any plaintiff fault of 50% or more eliminates recovery. Government-defendant cases (police K-9s, municipal animal-control failures) require 182-day notice under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act. Open-range counties in eastern and southern Colorado complicate cattle-on-highway cases. An attorney enforces § 13-21-124, builds the prior-incident record, and protects the short notice deadlines.

Exhibit B

When to call an animal incident attorney in Colorado

Does any of this sound like you? Tap what applies.

0of 6 apply

Tick anything that applies. Even one is reason enough to talk to a Colorado animal incident attorney before you talk to an insurer.

Talk to an attorney anyway

Meanwhile, don’t

Not reporting the bite to Denver Animal Protection, Colorado Springs ALE, or county animal control — required for rabies-protocol and the evidence record
Failing to photograph injuries, the dog, and the scene before wounds heal
Accepting a cash offer from the dog owner before plastic-surgery and PTSD-treatment costs are known
Talking to the homeowner’s insurance without counsel — recorded statements get used to argue provocation or trespass under § 13-21-124(5)
Missing Colorado’s 2-year personal-injury SOL under § 13-80-102, or the 182-day CGIA notice deadline
Settling before scar-revision and mental-health treatment estimates are complete

Exhibit C

Animal Incident cases we take in Colorado

Which one is closest to yours?

Domestic dog bites on owner’s property

Bites that occur when a lawful visitor is on the dog owner’s property in Colorado. § 13-21-124 strict liability applies if the victim suffers serious bodily injury.

Sound like yours? A Colorado attorney reviews it free — no fee unless they win.

Start my free review

Exhibit D

How much do Colorado animal incident attorneys cost?

Sample settlement statement

Colorado · Animal Incident

Recovery$100,000

Attorney fee · 33%− $33,000

Case costs (advanced by firm)repaid at the end

To you$67,000

Due today$0

Try a different recovery$100,000

$5,000$3,000,000

Illustrative only. Your fee terms are set in a written agreement with your attorney and may include costs and expenses regardless of outcome.

Most Colorado animal incident attorneys work on contingency: the fee is a share of what they recover, and nothing if they don’t.

Colorado dog-bite and animal-attack attorneys typically work on a contingency-fee basis — 33% to 40% of the total recovery. With C.R.S. § 13-21-124’s strict-liability framework for serious bodily injury and the new $1.5M non-economic cap, skilled representation is more valuable than ever. Case costs (animal-control records, medical reviews, experts) are typically advanced by the firm and deducted from the final recovery.

A good attorney walks through every number at your free consultation — before you sign anything.

Get startedTakes about two minutes. No obligation.

Exhibit E

What your Colorado animal incident compensation can include

A Colorado animal incident recovery is built from several parts. Tap one to see what it covers.

Medical Expenses

ER care, wound treatment, antibiotics, rabies post-exposure prophylaxis, plastic surgery, scar revision, and future reconstruction. Automatic under § 13-21-124 for serious bodily injury cases.

DearLegal is a legal referral service, not a law firm. We connect individuals with licensed attorneys who can evaluate their case. Nothing on this page constitutes legal advice. Results vary based on individual circumstances.

Exhibit F

Colorado animal incident questions, answered

Still unsure? Tell us what happened and a Colorado attorney will review it for free.

Start free review

For “serious bodily injury” or death (C.R.S. § 13-21-124), strict liability applies for economic damages — no prior-bite history or owner negligence required. The owner is liable for medical bills and lost wages automatically. For non-economic damages (pain and suffering) or less-serious bites, the common-law one-bite/scienter rule applies, requiring proof the owner knew of dangerous propensities.

C.R.S. § 13-21-124(5) lists specific defenses to the strict-liability claim, including provocation, knowingly trespassing, working dog herding livestock, and military/police K-9 in performance of duty. Outside those defenses, the strict-liability claim proceeds. For non-economic damages, comparative fault under the 50% bar applies.

Usually yes. Standard Colorado homeowner’s policies include personal-liability coverage typically applicable to dog bites, with limits commonly $100,000–$500,000. Breed exclusions and prior-incident exclusions are common — Colorado does not prohibit them.

Renter’s insurance often covers dog bites. Colorado landlords can be liable under common-law negligence if they had actual knowledge of the dog’s viciousness and the right to remove it, but they are not strictly liable under § 13-21-124.

Yes — identifying the owner is essential. Denver Animal Protection, Colorado Springs Animal Law Enforcement, and other county agencies can require quarantine for rabies observation (typically 10 days). For unidentified dogs, post-exposure rabies prophylaxis may be required.

Colorado rabies-control rules require quarantine of any dog that bites a human (typically 10 days). Under C.R.S. § 18-9-204.5 and municipal dangerous-dog laws, a dog may be declared dangerous after a hearing and ordered euthanized, contained, or muzzled. A civil claim is separate.

Knowingly trespassing is a specific statutory defense to § 13-21-124 strict liability (§ 13-21-124(5)(b)). The case can still proceed under common-law scienter, but comparative fault often eliminates recovery if you crossed the 50% bar. Child trespassers retain protection under attractive-nuisance doctrine.

Animal Incident attorneys by city in Colorado

Same Colorado rules and the same attorneys — with what’s local to each city.

Other case types in Colorado

All Colorado practice areas →

Business Dispute attorneysSince Colorado's 2022 non-compete rewrite, most non-competes are simply void — unless you're selling a business or earn above the highly-compensated threshold.

Car Accident attorneysCrash cases get a rare third year on the clock in Colorado — but reach 50% fault and the state gives you nothing.

Consumer Protection attorneysThe Colorado Consumer Protection Act can triple your damages and shift attorney fees — and the Attorney General's office is an active co-enforcer.

Criminal Defense attorneysColorado has spent a decade redrawing its drug-sentencing lines — knowing exactly which felonies became misdemeanors, and when, can decide a case.

Defective Product attorneysColorado's Products Liability Act layers presumptions and a repose period over strict liability — older products get harder to sue over.

Employment attorneysThe Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act reaches employers federal law ignores, and recent reforms gave state-court plaintiffs damages parity with federal claims.

Family Law attorneysColorado divorce is pure no-fault — courts split marital property equitably and don't ask who wrecked the marriage.

Immigration attorneysDenver's immigration court hears the state's removal docket, and a 2019 Colorado law sharply limits ICE detainer cooperation.

Lemon Law attorneysColorado's lemon law gives new-vehicle buyers one year to force a buyback or replacement — with the manufacturer covering your attorney fees if you win.

Medical Malpractice attorneysA 2024 law unfroze Colorado's med-mal damages caps for the first time in decades — cases the old numbers quietly killed are suddenly viable.

Personal Injury attorneysTwo years for most injuries, three for car crashes, and a 50% fault bar that's one percentage point meaner than most states.

Slip and Fall attorneysColorado threw out the common law here — the Premises Liability Act decides your case by how it classifies you: invitee, licensee, or trespasser.

Social Security Disability attorneysColorado disability hearings run through Denver and Colorado Springs, with Tenth Circuit federal precedent governing every appeal.

Workers’ Compensation attorneysColorado comp runs through the state Division of Workers' Compensation, with Pinnacol Assurance backstopping employers no private carrier will write.

Colorado Dog Bite & Animal Attack Attorneys

How we match your Colorado animal incident case

Case type

Size and complexity

Jurisdiction and licensing

Capacity and fit

What happens with an animal incident claim in Colorado

It happens.

Tell us what happened.

Your attorney builds the file.

Demand and negotiation.

Suit is filed if it has to be.

Settlement or verdict.

When to call an animal incident attorney in Colorado

Animal Incident cases we take in Colorado

Domestic dog bites on owner’s property

Loose dog attacks in public

Child dog-bite victims

Postal carrier and delivery-worker bites

Trespasser bites

Strict-liability statute cases

One-bite/common-law negligence cases

Restraint-failure cases

Livestock attacks on humans

Horse-related injuries

Exotic-animal injuries

Animal-related auto accidents

How much do Colorado animal incident attorneys cost?

What your Colorado animal incident compensation can include

Medical Expenses

Lost Wages and Future Earnings

Pain and Suffering

Disfigurement and Permanent Scarring

Psychological Injuries and PTSD

Punitive Damages

Colorado animal incident questions, answered

Animal Incident attorneys by city in Colorado

Other case types in Colorado

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