We represent Arvada burn survivors in claims against the landlords, employers, drivers, and manufacturers whose negligence caused that harm, and we build every stage of your recovery into the value of your case.
No fee unless we winIt's More Than Money.
When a fire starts because of exposed wiring, a disabled smoke detector, a blocked exit, or a landlord's failure to maintain the property, Colorado's Premises Liability Act governs whether that landlord can be held responsible. We investigate what the landlord knew, or should have known, before the fire.
A burn suffered on the job in Colorado is usually covered through the workers' compensation system rather than a lawsuit against your employer. That does not close every door. When a piece of equipment, a chemical product, or a party other than your employer caused or contributed to the burn, a separate claim against that third party may still be available alongside your workers' compensation benefits. We evaluate both tracks together.
A collision can cause burns through post-crash fire, battery or fuel-system failure, or contact with a hot surface. These claims typically proceed as a standard motor-vehicle negligence case, with Colorado's fault-sharing rules determining how liability is divided.
Colorado law can hold a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer strictly liable when a defective product, an appliance, a battery, a heating device, or a chemical product causes a burn injury, without requiring proof that the company was careless, only that the product itself was unreasonably dangerous. Product liability claims carry their own two-year filing deadline and a separate long-term evidentiary rule for older products.
We build the case around who is actually responsible, and we frequently investigate more than one liable party in the same claim.
A landowner's duty depends on why you were on the property. As an invitee, someone present for a business purpose or a public invitation, a landlord or property owner must exercise reasonable care to protect you against dangers it knew about or should have known about. A lower duty applies to a licensee and a social guest, and the lowest duty applies to a trespasser. Which category applies, and what the landowner knew, are questions of fact we investigate before filing.
If you are found partly at fault for the incident that caused your burn, Colorado law reduces your recovery by your percentage of fault, rather than barring it outright, as long as your fault is not as great as the other party's. If your fault reaches 50 percent or more, Colorado law bars recovery entirely. Insurers frequently raise comparative fault as a defense, which is why documenting exactly what happened matters early.
Colorado caps non-economic damages, pain, suffering, emotional distress, and similar non-financial losses at $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025. Claims that accrued before that date fall under a lower, earlier cap. This cap does not limit compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement, a distinction that matters directly in burn cases where permanent scarring is common. Economic damages, medical bills, lost income, and future care costs are not capped by this provision.
The filing deadline for a Colorado burn injury claim depends on how it happened, not on the injury alone. A premises liability claim, such as an apartment or workplace fire not involving a vehicle, generally must be filed within two years of the injury under C.R.S. 13-80-102. A burn caused by a motor vehicle crash generally carries a longer, three-year deadline under C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n).
A product liability claim against a manufacturer carries its own two-year deadline, running from when the injury occurred or reasonably should have been discovered. A claim against a government entity requires a separate, much shorter written notice before a lawsuit can even be filed. Because a single burn injury can implicate more than one of these deadlines depending on who is responsible, we confirm the applicable timeline for your specific claim before recommending next steps.
Trauma care
Arvada does not have its own trauma-designated hospital; Lutheran Medical Center, 8300 W 38th Ave in neighboring Wheat Ridge, is the nearest Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment-designated trauma center, at a Level III designation. Medical and treatment records from care there, or from any hospital where you were treated, become part of the foundation of your claim.
Courthouse
A civil lawsuit arising from a burn injury in Arvada would typically be filed at the Jefferson Combined Court, 100 Jefferson County Parkway, Golden, CO 80401, in Colorado's 1st Judicial District, since roughly 97.7 percent of Arvada sits within Jefferson County. Most civil claims resolve before trial, but we are prepared to litigate there if an insurer or a responsible party will not deal fairly.
Roads we know
Vehicle-crash burn injuries in Arvada often connect to the city's busiest corridors, including Wadsworth Boulevard (State Highway 121), Sheridan Boulevard, and the I-70/I-76 interchange at the city's eastern edge, all of which carry heavy daily commuter and freight traffic. We handle these cases with the same local familiarity we bring to every Arvada claim.
The Framework
We build your claim from the medical reality of your burn, not a formula, so the case reflects grafting, scarring, and the treatment still ahead of you.
Future Costs
For serious burns, we work with certified planners to document every future medical and non-medical need in a life care plan project, so long-term costs are not left out of the claim.
Local Venue
We handle Jefferson Combined Court filings directly and know the local venue where an Arvada case would be litigated.
Straight Answers
We tell you plainly what your claim is and is not, rather than promising an outcome before we know the facts.
In The Courtroom
CGH Injury Lawyers is built around trial lawyers, including an ABOTA trial advocate on the team, who prepare every case to be tried, not just settled.
In Your Language
Our team serves Arvada survivors and their families in English and Spanish.
Burn injuries can worsen quickly and are not always fully apparent right away. Prompt medical treatment protects your health and creates the medical record your claim will rely on.
Where it is safe to do so, photograph the property, product, or vehicle involved before conditions change or evidence is repaired away. If you cannot do this yourself, tell us what you remember as soon as possible.
Reporting to the property owner, employer, police, or product manufacturer, as applicable, creates an official record. We can help identify the right report to make.
An insurance adjuster's job includes minimizing what the company pays. A recorded statement taken before you have counsel can be used against your claim later. We handle that communication for you.
We gather medical records, incident reports, and, where relevant, product or maintenance history, and, for serious burns, work with certified planners on a Life Care Plan documenting your future needs.
Most claims resolve through negotiation. Where an insurer or responsible party will not offer a fair resolution, we are prepared to file and litigate at the Jefferson Combined Court.
Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement, which covers permanent scarring common in serious burn cases, is not limited by the non-economic damages cap described above. In cases involving an institutional cover-up or a deliberate disregard of a known danger, Colorado law can also permit punitive damages, intended to punish the responsible party rather than compensate you directly.
Insurers frequently argue you contributed to your own injury to invoke Colorado's comparative-fault rule and reduce or eliminate what they owe. Documenting what actually happened, early, is the best defense against this.
An initial settlement offer often covers only the first hospital visit, not the grafting, therapy, and long-term care a serious burn actually requires. We build the full course of treatment into the claim before accepting anything.
Property owners sometimes argue a visitor's legal status limited the duty they owed. Because Colorado's Premises Liability Act ties the landowner's duty to that status, we investigate the facts rather than accept the insurer's characterization.
If your burn happened at work, an employer's insurer may point to the workers' compensation system as the end of the matter. That system is usually the exclusive remedy against your employer, but it does not necessarily bar a separate claim against a third party, such as an equipment manufacturer, whose product or conduct contributed to the injury. We evaluate whether a third-party claim exists alongside your workers' compensation benefits.
Which insurance applies depends on how the burn happened. An apartment or rental fire typically involves the landlord's liability policy. A workplace burn typically involves workers' compensation coverage and potentially a separate liability policy if a third party is responsible.
A vehicle-crash burn typically involves auto liability coverage and uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage where the at-fault driver lacks adequate insurance.
A defective product typically involves the manufacturer's, distributor's, or retailer's liability coverage. In every case, the insurer's financial interest is in paying less, which is a different incentive than yours, and it is one reason to have your own advocate in the process.
It depends on how the burn happened. A premises liability claim, such as an apartment or workplace fire not involving a vehicle, generally must be filed within two years under C.R.S. 13-80-102.
A burn caused by a motor vehicle crash generally carries a longer, three-year deadline under C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n). A product liability claim against a manufacturer carries its own two-year deadline.
A claim against a government entity requires a much shorter written notice before any lawsuit can be filed. Because a single case can involve more than one of these deadlines, we confirm your specific timeline before recommending next steps.
Colorado caps non-economic damages, compensation for pain, suffering, and similar losses, at $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025 under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5, with a lower cap for claims that accrued earlier. Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement, including permanent scarring, is not subject to that cap, and economic damages such as medical bills and lost income are not capped at all.
Often, yes. Under Colorado's modified comparative negligence rule, C.R.S. 13-21-111, your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault as long as that fault is less than the other party's. If your fault reaches 50 percent or more, recovery is barred. An honest, fact-based investigation of what happened is the best way to address a comparative-fault argument from an insurer.
Workers' compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against your employer for a workplace injury in Colorado. It does not necessarily prevent a separate claim against a third party who is not your employer, such as an equipment manufacturer, a contractor, or another company whose negligence or defective product contributed to the burn. We evaluate whether that kind of claim exists alongside your workers' compensation benefits.
Often, yes. Colorado law can hold a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer strictly liable for a defective product that causes injury, without requiring proof of carelessness, only that the product was unreasonably dangerous as designed, manufactured, or labeled. These claims carry their own two-year filing deadline, and older products can carry a separate evidentiary presumption favoring the manufacturer, so timing and the product's age both matter.
No. CGH Injury Lawyers has one office, at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. We represent Arvada and Jefferson County survivors from that office, handle Jefferson Combined Court filings directly, and meet you wherever is private and convenient, including by phone or video. Call (303) 209-9395 or submit the form on this page. Your first consultation is free and confidential.
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Free, confidential consultation. No fee unless we win. Serving Arvada and Jefferson County from our Denver office, in English and Spanish.
Prefer to read first? See how Colorado burn injury law works statewide.
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Attorney Advertising. CGH Injury Lawyers. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case turns on its own facts, injuries, and available insurance coverage.
