One of the oldest comparative negligence laws in the country
Under C.R.S. § 13-21-111, contributory negligence does not bar recovery so long as the claimant's negligence was not as great as the negligence of the person they're suing — but if it's equal to or greater, the court enters judgment for the defendant. What makes Colorado's version genuinely distinctive isn't just the threshold itself, but its age: this statute was enacted in 1971, making Colorado one of the earliest states in the country to move away from strict contributory negligence, years or even decades before many other states made the same change — whether by statute or by court decision.
The 50% bar, precisely
A claimant recovers a reduced, proportional amount as long as their own negligence is less than the negligence of the party they're suing. The moment their negligence is equal to or greater than that party's, recovery is barred entirely. A claimant found exactly 50% at fault recovers nothing under Colorado law; a claimant found 49% at fault recovers a proportional share.
A genuinely distinctive wrinkle: non-parties count too
Colorado's framework doesn't limit the comparison to just the claimant and the named defendant. The law allows a defendant to designate a nonparty as also being at fault for the injury, and the comparison of negligence can include those designated non-parties — not only the people actually being sued. This means a claimant's fault percentage is effectively measured against the combined fault of everyone found responsible, defendants and designated non-parties alike, which can genuinely change how the 50% threshold plays out in a case involving multiple potentially at-fault parties.
Worked example
Someone with $10,000 in damages, found 25% at fault, recovers $7,500 — reduced by their own share, since 25% is less than the combined fault of the other party or parties. That same person, found exactly 50% at fault instead, recovers nothing at all, even though their share of responsibility only shifted modestly.
Why the fight over fault stays high-stakes in Colorado
Because a claim can swing between a substantial recovery and zero based on a single contested percentage point near the 50% mark, and because Colorado's comparison can extend to non-parties as well as the named defendant, the fault argument in a Colorado claim is genuinely more complex than in many other states. See our guide to how adjusters build a fault argument in Colorado for what that fight actually looks like.