A workplace burn can leave you juggling a workers' compensation claim, a boss, an insurance adjuster, and a body that needs time to heal. When an equipment maker or a property owner who isn't your employer played a part, Colorado may allow a second claim. We help people burned at work in Greenwood Village sort it out from our Denver office.
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The panel was supposed to be de-energized. You opened it to replace a breaker in an office building's utility room, and an arc flash burned your hands and forearms before you could step back. After a burn like that, talking with a burn injury lawyer in Greenwood Village can show you which claims Colorado law may leave open to you.
The number for CGH Injury Lawyers is (303) 209-9395. If you'd rather write it out, our contact page has a short form.
An office building or job site can put several companies in the same room: the business that leases the space, the building owner, the company that made the panel or unit you were working on, and your employer. Sorting out which of them had a hand in the hazard is part of figuring out what claims exist.
A burn can happen on a ladder above a ceiling grid or at a kitchen counter, and Colorado law handles each setting under its own rules.
Electricians, HVAC technicians, facilities staff, roofers, and restaurant workers can be burned by current, superheated steam, tar, or cleaning chemicals. Under C.R.S. 8-41-102, workers' compensation is generally the only claim against your employer. A manufacturer whose switchgear failed, or a property owner outside your company who ignored a known hazard, can count as "another not in the same employ." Section 8-41-203(1)(a) then lets you take workers' compensation and also pursue that party for losses above the benefits.
Tools, batteries, extension cords, portable heaters, and industrial machines can overheat, spark, or ignite. Negligence and strict liability are both theories a product liability case in Colorado can rely on (C.R.S. 13-21-401(2)). Under strict liability, the two questions are about the item: was it defective, and did that defect cause the burn?
A crash can ignite spilled fuel or damage a battery pack, whether you were commuting or driving a service van between jobs. A crash burn can be part of a claim against a driver whose negligence caused the crash, and if you were on the clock, workers' compensation may be part of the picture too.
Faulty wiring, a gas leak, or a water heater set dangerously hot can burn a tenant or a guest. Under C.R.S. 13-21-115, duties run from the "landowner," a word that can include a landlord, and they vary with your status, which a judge settles from the facts. Invitees generally must prove the owner knew of the hazard or should have. Licensees generally must prove the owner actually knew of it.
These statutes apply whether the burn happened in an office park, on a roof, or at home.
Colorado gives tort claims generally two years to file. Negligence suits, including premises cases, fall under C.R.S. 13-80-102(1)(a), and strict liability product suits under C.R.S. 13-80-102(1)(b). Tort claims arising out of the use or operation of a motor vehicle generally have three years (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)), except that strict liability suits over a defective vehicle part generally remain subject to the two-year limit (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)(II)). The count generally begins on the date you learned of the injury and its cause, or reasonably should have (C.R.S. 13-80-108(1)). For a child, separate rules can change how the two- and three-year deadlines run.
A claim involving a government body has a much shorter first deadline. Think of a city maintenance crew that left a live wire exposed: when a public entity or one of its employees on the job may be responsible, written notice must be filed within 182 days after you discover the injury, whether or not you know all the elements of your claim at that point. Without a timely notice, the statute bars the action permanently (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)). Talk to a lawyer about your specific deadline before you assume one applies.
An insurer may argue that you didn't lock out a panel yourself or skipped a glove. Colorado's comparative negligence statute keeps your claim alive as long as your negligence is smaller than the defendant's, and it takes your percentage off the award. Once your share is equal to or greater than theirs, judgment goes to the defendant.
Consider a technician that a jury finds 30 percent responsible, with 70 percent assigned to the property owner who mislabeled the breaker panel. The technician's damages award would be cut by 30 percent.
Under the Act, people on property are divided into trespassers, licensees, and invitees. A worker or customer who enters to transact business in which both parties are interested can fall within the invitee definition. Invitees are owed the highest standard of care. For them, the question is whether the landowner unreasonably failed to guard against a danger it actually knew about or should have known about.
A social guest counts as a licensee. Licensees are generally limited to dangers the landowner actually knew about (C.R.S. 13-21-115(4)(b)). Invitees drop to that actual-knowledge standard when the property is classified for property tax purposes as agricultural or vacant land (C.R.S. 13-21-115(4)(c)(II)). The court, applying the statute's definitions to the facts, decides where you fit.
For claims arising on or after January 1, 2025, noneconomic damages in Colorado injury cases are limited to $1.5 million, adjusted for inflation starting January 1, 2028. Wrongful death and medical malpractice claims follow different rules.
The noneconomic limit applies to only some damages. Economic damages sit outside it, so a lost paycheck, a surgeon's bill, and future therapy aren't capped by it. Under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5), nothing in the section limits compensatory damages for physical impairment or disfigurement. Lost grip strength in a burned hand may be the kind of physical impairment that this provision covers.
Court
Greenwood Village is one of the municipalities Arapahoe County lists as part of the county. Arapahoe County belongs to Colorado's 18th Judicial District, which runs two courthouses in the county: the Arapahoe County Justice Center at 7325 S. Potomac Street, Centennial, CO 80112, home to district court, and the Arapahoe County Courthouse - Littleton. Where a lawsuit is filed depends on the facts.
Trauma care
No facility on the state's designated trauma facility list sits within Greenwood Village. Its Arapahoe County entries include HCA HealthONE Swedish, a Level I facility at 501 E Hampden Ave in Englewood, and AdventHealth Littleton, a Level II facility at 7700 S Broadway in Littleton. Whichever hospital treated you, gather every record from the first visit forward.
Fire agency
South Metro Fire Rescue lists Greenwood Village among the cities it serves, within a 287.5-square-mile area across Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties. Its website takes non-medical and medical records requests, which can matter if firefighters or paramedics responded to your burn.
Our office
We serve Greenwood Village clients from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205.
We don't publish burn settlement figures. What a claim is worth depends on how deep the burn goes, how much of the body it covers, where it is, and whether you can return to your trade.
A workplace burn can involve a workers' compensation claim and a claim against an outside party at the same time. We look at who controlled the site, the equipment, and the maintenance schedule. Service tickets, lockout logs, work orders, and the names of every business on site can show whether someone outside your employer had a hand in the hazard.
When a burn takes away the ability to climb, lift, or handle tools, the loss reaches past the first hospital bill. Burn surgeons, vocational experts, and medical economists work with our team on a Life Care Plan covering future treatment and the effect on your earning ability. For a worker in the trades, the vocational piece can be as important as the medical one: which jobs your hands still allow, and what those jobs pay.
Managing Partner Kevin Cheney is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). CGH Injury Lawyers, formerly Cheney Galluzzi & Howard, was founded in Denver in 2016 and prepares each case as if it will be tried.
If we don't see a claim the facts and law will support, we'll say that directly.
Call (303) 835-9177 to reach us in Spanish.
MedlinePlus notes that "Burns on the face, hands, feet, and genitals can be particularly serious." Call 911 in an emergency.
Include the date, the building and room, the equipment involved, whether the circuit was supposed to be locked out, and who was nearby. Keep a copy, and write down the name of the person you reported it to.
Note equipment brands and model numbers, the building's owner and manager, and any other businesses working there that day. Any one of them could matter to a claim beyond workers' compensation.
Capture the panel, tool, or machine; any warning labels or missing ones; and the burn as it heals.
Ask that it not be repaired, thrown out, or returned to service until it can be inspected. If a breaker, meter, or tool was swapped out after the incident, ask where the old part went and who has it now.
Before you give a recorded statement to an insurance company, you can ask to speak with a lawyer first. Call (303) 209-9395.
Save the claim number, letters from the insurer, work restrictions from your doctor, and records of any benefits paid. Those papers can matter later if an outside party turns out to be involved.
Colorado recognizes these categories. Which ones apply, and how much each is worth, depends on the facts.
Compensatory damages for physical impairment or disfigurement are not limited by C.R.S. 13-21-102.5, according to C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5). For a burned electrician or HVAC tech, lost dexterity or grip may be part of that impairment claim.
When a government body is responsible, Colorado sets separate maximum recoveries, with the dollar amounts revised by the Secretary of State every fourth year (C.R.S. 24-10-114).
That's generally true as to your employer. It isn't true as to a manufacturer or a property owner outside your company whose negligence or wrongdoing caused the burn.
An adjuster may argue you were careless. Colorado's rule trims your damages by whatever percentage is yours and bars recovery once your percentage equals or exceeds the other party's. We respond with evidence: expert testimony, fire origin analysis and maintenance records.
Skin that has closed over may still need grafts, scar management, and time away from your trade. A Life Care Plan documents those future costs.
Generally, tort claims arising out of the use or operation of a motor vehicle have three years (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)). A strict liability claim against the company that made a defective vehicle part generally stays at two years (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)(II), 13-80-102(1)(b)). Have a lawyer confirm your deadline.
The 18th Judicial District covers Arapahoe County, which includes Greenwood Village. Its district court is in Centennial at the Arapahoe County Justice Center, and it has a second courthouse in Littleton. Where a lawsuit is filed depends on the facts.
In part. Scarring may be compensated as disfigurement. Under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5), nothing in that section limits compensatory damages for physical impairment or disfigurement. The section's $1.5 million cap, for claims arising on or after January 1, 2025, applies to noneconomic damages. Lost wages and medical bills are economic and fall outside it.
Possibly. If a jury puts less of the fault on you than on the outside company, you can recover, reduced by your percentage. If your share equals or exceeds the company's, you can't recover (C.R.S. 13-21-111). A claim against your own employer, by contrast, generally runs through workers' compensation.
As far as your employer goes, generally yes. C.R.S. 8-41-102 makes workers' compensation generally the only claim against your own employer. A company that isn't your employer is a different matter. When an equipment manufacturer or a property owner who isn't your employer caused the burn, you can take workers' compensation and may also pursue that party for damages in excess of the compensation available (C.R.S. 8-41-203(1)(a)).
Possibly. Colorado generally limits product liability claims against a seller that didn't make the product (C.R.S. 13-21-402). Exceptions include a seller that knew about the defect, and a principal distributor or seller when a court can't get jurisdiction over the manufacturer (C.R.S. 13-21-401(1), 13-21-402). The manufacturer is a possible defendant.
It may. If workers' compensation has paid benefits, its insurer may have a right to be repaid from what you recover from the outside party (C.R.S. 8-41-203). Ask about this early so the repayment is accounted for.
No. Our office is at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. Reach us at (303) 209-9395.
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You may worry a claim will cause trouble at work, or you may not know your options yet. Call (303) 209-9395 or reach us through our contact page. We'll listen to what happened and tell you how we see it.
Learn more on our Greenwood Village personal injury lawyers page. You can also read the statewide guide from a Colorado burn injury attorney. For a property hazard, see our Greenwood Village premises liability lawyer page.
For a crash, see our Greenwood Village car accident lawyer page. Our office is at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205.
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