When Joan Stahl, a DoorDash contractor working in Colorado Springs, slipped on ice on a customer’s driveway while making a delivery, she landed in the hardest spot the personal injury system can put a person: injured on the job, but not eligible for workers’ compensation because she was a 1099 contractor rather than an employee. She turned to Bradford Pelton PC. Under Attorney Alex Kerr, the firm worked her case as a straight premises liability action under Colorado’s Premises Liability Act, C.R.S. 13-21-115, and delivered a favorable resolution before trial.
“Alex Kerr has been my Attorney for my personal injury case. He has gone the distance for me and has taken care of every detail so all I had to do was focus on healing.”
This is a walk-through of why the case was legally difficult, how Colorado’s premises liability statute frames the analysis for delivery workers, and what the numbers looked like on the damages side. If you’re a gig worker who was injured on the job, this is the framework a Colorado personal injury attorney will use to look at your case.
The gig-worker gap: no workers’ comp, but a premises claim
The first legal issue in Joan’s case was one every gig worker faces after an on-the-job injury. Under C.R.S. 8-40-201, Colorado’s Workers’ Compensation Act defines an “employee” narrowly, and platform contractors like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Instacart drivers are almost always classified as independent contractors under C.R.S. 8-40-202. That classification takes workers’ compensation off the table. The exclusivity provision at C.R.S. 8-41-101, which normally bars an injured employee from suing their employer directly, doesn’t apply either, because there is no employer in the statutory sense.
What that leaves is the third-party tort claim: the injured contractor sues the property owner whose negligent condition caused the fall, not the platform. That is a premises liability claim under C.R.S. 13-21-115.
How Colorado’s Premises Liability Act frames a slip-and-fall
C.R.S. 13-21-115 is the exclusive remedy for anyone injured on someone else’s property in Colorado. The statute categorizes every visitor into one of three classes, and the duty owed by the landowner depends on which class the injured person fits:
- Invitee. Someone on the property for the mutual benefit of both parties, or for business purposes. The landowner must exercise reasonable care to protect against dangers they knew about or should have known about.
- Licensee. A social guest or someone with the landowner’s consent but not for business. The landowner must exercise reasonable care to protect against dangers they actually knew about.
- Trespasser. Someone on the property without permission. The landowner must only refrain from willful and wanton conduct.
A delivery driver making a lawful delivery to a customer’s door is an invitee. The customer benefited from the delivery, and Joan was there for that business purpose. That triggered the highest duty of care under the statute: the property owner had to exercise reasonable care to protect against dangers they knew or should have known about, including icy walkways.
The causation problem
Joan’s case had a wrinkle. The initial slip on ice caused an injury. Weeks later, her knee gave out at home and she suffered a secondary injury — a knee tear — that required more extensive treatment than the original fall. Insurance defense counsel argued the home injury was independent and not compensable.
“We had to have medical experts, a doctor on her team and a further expert show that but for her having that initial fall, she wouldn’t have had the subsequent tear of the knee that she hurt in her home.”
Under Colorado law, a plaintiff can recover for all injuries proximately caused by the defendant’s negligence, including foreseeable secondary injuries flowing from the original wrong. That is the “but-for” and proximate cause standard applied in Colorado’s Reigel v. SavaSeniorCare LLC line of cases and codified into pattern jury instruction CJI-Civ 9:18. Establishing the causal chain required treating physicians and an independent medical expert to align on causation. Once they did, defense pushback collapsed.
What’s recoverable: economic and non-economic damages in Colorado
Colorado personal injury damages fall into two categories, and each is subject to different rules:
Economic damages are provable out-of-pocket costs: medical bills (past and future), lost wages, lost earning capacity, and any measurable financial impact. For a knee injury involving surgery, imaging, and physical therapy, medical costs alone typically run $30,000 to $150,000 depending on complexity. Lost wages for a full-time gig worker sidelined for months can add tens of thousands more. Economic damages are not capped in Colorado.
Non-economic damages compensate pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and emotional distress. These are capped under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5. For personal injury cases filed after January 1, 2020, the cap is $642,180, adjusted every two years for inflation by the Secretary of State (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(3)). The cap can be doubled to about $1.28 million on clear and convincing evidence of the severity of the injury.
“When my client was able to show that because of this injury, she had a large change in her life… those were great changes and challenges that she experienced due to this.”
Proving non-economic damages is not just about medical records. It requires evidence of how the injury changed the client’s daily life: activities she can no longer do, sleep disruption, the effect on family relationships. In Joan’s case, gathering that evidence — day-in-the-life testimony, family statements, and personal impact documentation — moved the case from a defense-friendly medical-bills-only posture to one where the full statutory range of non-economic damages was on the table.
Comparative negligence: the 50% bar
Colorado is a modified comparative negligence state under C.R.S. 13-21-111. A plaintiff can recover damages only if their share of fault is less than 50%. If a jury finds the plaintiff 50% or more at fault, the plaintiff recovers nothing. If the plaintiff is under 50%, damages are reduced by the plaintiff’s percentage of fault.
In Joan’s case, the defense argued Joan should have seen the ice and avoided it. The counterargument was that a delivery driver, focused on getting the delivery to the door under a platform’s time pressure, is exercising the reasonable care expected of an invitee performing the business she was there to perform. The comparative negligence apportionment ended up favorable enough that it did not meaningfully reduce recovery.
The outcome
The case resolved before trial, with established causation, damages fully developed, and the defense unable to sustain the arguments that had initially looked like they might limit recovery. The resolution acknowledged both the economic side (medical costs and lost gig income) and the non-economic side (the change to Joan’s daily life).
“He and Gianna have been very caring and gave me the confidence to know he had my best interest at heart.”
What this case means for injured gig workers in Colorado
If you are a DoorDash, Uber, Uber Eats, Instacart, Amazon Flex, or other platform contractor who was injured while working in Colorado, the analysis will run the same way as Joan’s:
- Workers’ compensation is almost certainly not available because you are not an employee under C.R.S. 8-40-201.
- Your primary recovery route is a premises liability claim under C.R.S. 13-21-115 against the property owner whose negligent condition caused the injury.
- Your status as an invitee triggers the highest duty of care owed by that landowner.
- Damages include uncapped economic losses (medical bills, lost income, lost earning capacity) and non-economic damages capped at $642,180 under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5 (post-2020 cases).
- Colorado’s modified comparative negligence rule at C.R.S. 13-21-111 means your fault matters — if you are found 50% or more at fault, you recover nothing.
- The statute of limitations under C.R.S. 13-80-102 is generally two years from the date of injury, so early legal review matters.
For a related Colorado Springs slip-and-fall analysis, see How to Prove a Slip-and-Fall Case Wasn’t Your Fault in Colorado Springs. For a broader look at premises liability doctrine in Colorado, see What Is Premises Liability and When Can You Sue a Property Owner in Colorado Springs.
Frequently asked questions
Can a DoorDash or Uber Eats contractor get workers’ comp for an on-the-job injury in Colorado?
Almost never. C.R.S. 8-40-201 and 8-40-202 classify platform drivers as independent contractors, not employees, which places them outside the workers’ compensation system. The recovery route is a third-party tort claim against whoever caused the injury.
What statute governs premises liability in Colorado?
C.R.S. 13-21-115, the Colorado Premises Liability Act. It is the exclusive remedy for injuries occurring on someone else’s property. The statute categorizes visitors as invitees, licensees, or trespassers, and the duty of care owed depends on that classification.
Is there a cap on damages in Colorado personal injury cases?
Economic damages (medical bills, lost wages, lost earning capacity) are not capped. Non-economic damages (pain and suffering) are capped under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5. As of 2024, the cap is $642,180 and can be increased to about $1,284,370 on clear and convincing evidence of the severity of the injury.
What if I was partly at fault for my injury?
Colorado uses modified comparative negligence under C.R.S. 13-21-111. If your share of fault is less than 50%, you recover, but your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault. If your fault is 50% or more, you recover nothing.
How long do I have to file a personal injury lawsuit in Colorado?
Generally two years from the date of injury under C.R.S. 13-80-102 for most tort claims, and three years for motor-vehicle-related claims under C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n). If you wait, evidence disappears and the claim can be extinguished entirely.
What do you charge for a personal injury case?
Bradford Pelton PC handles personal injury cases on a contingency basis: no fees unless we recover for you. The specific percentage and cost structure is discussed in the free consultation.
Do I have to go to court?
Most personal injury cases in Colorado resolve before trial, either through negotiated settlement or mediation. Joan’s case resolved pre-trial. That said, the way to get a serious pre-trial resolution is to prepare the case as if it were going to trial from day one. Insurance defense counsel reads a well-prepared case very differently from a case that looks like it will fold under pressure.
How do I get started?
Call Bradford Pelton PC at (719) 634-8828 for a free consultation. We will look at your injury, the location, the responsible party, and give you a straight read on whether there is a viable claim under Colorado law.