Bitten by a Dog on the Job? Delivery Drivers May Have Two Claims in Colorado Springs

Bradford Pelton PC explains how Colorado Springs delivery drivers bitten by a dog on the job can pursue both a workers’ comp claim and a civil dog bite claim.

You Likely Have Two Claims, Not One

Most delivery drivers assume a dog attack on the clock means one path — workers’ comp — and that’s the single most expensive assumption we see. A workers comp dog bite delivery driver claim actually opens a second, parallel track: a civil claim against the dog’s owner. Workers’ compensation covers your medical bills and a portion of lost wages. It does not pay you a dime for pain, disfigurement, embarrassment, or the anxiety that follows a serious bite. The only way to recover for those is through the civil claim.

Attorney Alex Kerr has handled multiple cases just like this — drivers bitten while making routine deliveries at homes and apartment complexes across the region, from Fountain and Security-Widefield to the neighborhoods around Powers Boulevard and North Cheyenne Cañon. In each, running both claims together was the difference between partial coverage and a full recovery. The workers’ comp claim kept treatment and paychecks flowing. The civil claim addressed everything workers’ comp structurally leaves out.

Why Workers’ Comp Cannot Do It Alone

Colorado workers’ compensation is a no-fault system built to cover economic losses — medical treatment and roughly two-thirds of your average weekly wage while you’re out. Under Title 8 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, it does not compensate for non-economic damages like pain and suffering or scarring. That’s not a loophole; it’s the design. So when a driver has a permanent scar on the forearm or flinches every time a dog barks, the value of those harms lives entirely in the civil case against the owner.

How Colorado’s Strict Liability Dog Bite Law Helps Delivery Drivers

Under Colorado’s active 2026 dog bite statute, C.R.S. § 13-21-124, a dog owner is strictly liable when a bite causes serious bodily injury — meaning the injured driver does not have to prove the owner knew the dog was dangerous. The bite itself, paired with a qualifying injury, can be enough to establish liability. Under the statute, “serious bodily injury” carries the same meaning as in § 18-1-901(3)(p), encompassing injuries involving a substantial risk of death, a substantial risk of serious permanent disfigurement, a substantial risk of protracted loss or impairment of the function of any part or organ of the body, or breaks, fractures, or burns of the second or third degree — a definition broad enough to cover many of the injuries delivery drivers sustain in dog attacks.

This matters enormously for delivery drivers. You were doing your job. You didn’t provoke the animal. Under a common-law negligence theory, you’d be stuck proving the owner had prior knowledge of the dog’s aggression — a “one free bite” hurdle. Strict liability removes that. For serious injuries, the fact of the attack does much of the work. It is also worth knowing that the statute defines “bodily injury” separately to include any physical injury resulting in severe bruising, muscle tears, or skin lacerations requiring professional medical treatment, or any physical injury requiring corrective or cosmetic surgery — so even bites that fall short of the “serious bodily injury” threshold still carry legal significance. This is one reason our dog bite and premises liability matters often resolve on stronger footing than clients expect.

The Apartment Complex Angle

Delivery drivers entering a property to complete a delivery are generally treated as invitees under Colorado’s Premises Liability Act. That opens a potential third avenue. Under Colorado premises liability law, a landowner — including a landlord at an apartment complex in Cimarron Hills or Monument — can be liable for failing to use reasonable care against dangers they knew or should have known about. If a complex knew a tenant kept an aggressive dog and did nothing, that landlord may share responsibility alongside the dog’s owner. County-level data from a news report citing El Paso and Pueblo county records shows that reported dog bites across the two-county area totaled 702 in 2022, 685 in 2023, and 458 in 2024 — figures that underscore how frequently these incidents occur in the communities where our clients live and work.

The Psychological Injury Delivery Drivers Are Afraid to Report

Psychological trauma from a dog attack is a legitimate, compensable injury under Colorado workers’ compensation law — but it is chronically under-reported because clients feel embarrassed to mention nightmares, anxiety, or a new fear of dogs to their doctor. Under Colorado workers’ compensation law, “mental impairment” includes a recognized psychological disability arising from a physical work injury, and a violent dog attack may give rise to compensable psychological injury depending on the facts of the case.

Here’s the hard truth Alex Kerr counsels every client on: if you don’t tell your treating physician about the fear responses, those injuries go undocumented, untreated, and uncompensated. As Alex Kerr puts it, there is nothing embarrassing about being shaken after a dog lunges at you — but there is real cost to hiding it. That proactive counseling directly shapes the medical record, and the medical record shapes the value of both claims.

What the Mental Impairment Rules Actually Cap

Under C.R.S. § 8-41-301(2)(b)(I), benefits paid by reason of mental impairment are capped at 36 weeks (raised from an earlier 12-week limit), with weekly amounts no less than $150 and no more than 50% of the state average weekly wage. But — and this is the point drivers miss — that cap applies only to the mental-impairment category. It does not cap the workers’ comp benefits for your underlying physical bite injury. And it has nothing to do with your civil claim, where psychological suffering is compensated as pain and suffering with no such statutory ceiling. Bradford Pelton PC walks clients through exactly this distinction so no one leaves recoverable money on the table.

Finding the Dog Owner’s Insurance: The Practical Obstacle

The single hardest practical step in a Colorado dog bite civil claim is locating the owner’s insurance — and the fix starts at the scene. Call animal control after an attack whenever you can. An animal control report documents the owner’s identity and the property address the same way a police report documents a car crash, giving an attorney a factual anchor to trace homeowner’s or renter’s coverage. Notably, C.R.S. § 13-21-124 explicitly excludes liability in certain situations — including trespass, posted warnings, peace officer or military use, knowing provocation, and certain animal-industry occupations — so documenting that you were lawfully on the property and did not provoke the dog is every bit as important as documenting the identity of the owner.

If animal control wasn’t called, the critical fallback is simple: write down and preserve the exact address of the attack. In our experience handling these cases from Woodland Park to Pueblo, that address is often all Alex Kerr needs to run an independent, records-based investigation and identify the responsible party’s coverage. We take on that investigative burden so clients aren’t left cold-calling insurers on their own. It’s the same hands-on approach clients describe in our reviews.

The Deadlines That Govern Both Claims

Both tracks run on tight, separate deadlines measured from the date of injury, so prompt action protects everything at once. You must report the injury to your employer within four working days under C.R.S. § 8-43-102. Your formal workers’ compensation claim must generally be filed within two years under C.R.S. § 8-43-103 — extendable to three years only with a reasonable excuse and no prejudice to the employer. And your civil dog bite lawsuit carries its own two-year statute of limitations from the date of the bite.

El Paso County work injuries fall under the statewide Colorado Division of Workers’ Compensation, with disputes heard in the Office of Administrative Courts. Miss the reporting window or a filing deadline and you can forfeit a claim entirely — which is why we tell drivers in Falcon, Manitou Springs, and Black Forest alike to report the injury, seek care, and get a straight assessment early. If your delivery route also puts you at risk on the road, our automobile accident team handles those overlapping injuries too.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is different. Contact Bradford Pelton PC for a free consultation to discuss your specific situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sue the dog owner if I was bitten while making a delivery and already filed a workers’ comp claim?

Yes. In Colorado, a workers’ compensation claim and a civil dog bite claim against the owner are two separate legal tracks that can be pursued at the same time. Workers’ comp covers your medical care and lost wages, while the civil claim under C.R.S. § 13-21-124 recovers pain and suffering, scarring, and psychological harm that workers’ comp does not. Filing one does not waive the other.

Does workers’ compensation cover PTSD or anxiety from a dog attack?

Yes, psychological trauma from a work-related dog attack can be a compensable injury under Colorado workers’ compensation law. C.R.S. § 8-41-301 recognizes a permanent psychological disability arising from a physical work injury, though benefits paid by reason of mental impairment are capped at 36 weeks. You must report symptoms like nightmares or anxiety to your treating physician, because undocumented psychological injuries cannot be treated or compensated.

What should I do immediately after being bitten by a dog while making a delivery in Colorado Springs?

Immediately after a dog bite on the job in Colorado Springs, seek medical care, report the injury to your employer within four working days as required by C.R.S. § 8-43-102, and call animal control if you can. If animal control is not contacted, write down and preserve the exact property address of the attack. These steps protect both your workers’ comp claim and your civil claim against the dog owner.

How do I find out if the dog owner has insurance for a dog bite claim?

An animal control report is the most reliable way to identify the dog owner and locate potential homeowner’s or renter’s insurance, because it documents the owner’s identity and property address. If no report exists, the preserved address of the attack allows an attorney to conduct an independent, records-based investigation to trace coverage. Bradford Pelton PC handles this investigation for clients so they do not have to navigate it alone.