IT'S MORE THAN MONEY.
Aurora Catastrophic Injury Lawyer
A permanent, life-altering injury changes everything that comes after. In Colorado, economic damages such as lifetime medical care and loss of earning capacity are never capped, and compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement is not capped at all under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5). CGH Injury Lawyers builds the Life Care Plans and legal proof needed to recover the full cost of a lifetime of care. We serve Aurora from our Denver office. You pay nothing unless we win.
No fee unless we winA catastrophic injury is a permanent impairment that fundamentally changes your ability to work, live independently, or care for yourself. These cases require more than a demand letter. They require a Life Care Plan built by certified professionals, an economic projection of lifetime medical and care costs that survives Colorado's Shreck and Daubert admissibility standards at trial. CGH Injury Lawyers does not have an Aurora office, but we handle catastrophic injury cases for Aurora residents and serve them from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St, Suite 201.
- Economic damages such as lifetime medical care, attendant care, lost earning capacity, and Life Care Plan costs are never capped in Colorado.
- Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement is not capped at all under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5). Those two uncapped categories are usually the largest components of a catastrophic recovery.
- The statute of limitations for most Aurora catastrophic injury cases is three years from the crash date under C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n), but claims against a government entity require a 182-day written notice under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1).
Aurora context
Why catastrophic injury cases in Aurora have their own dynamics
Aurora is Colorado's third-largest city with 386,261 residents. It sits at the intersection of I-70 and I-225, two of the state's busiest freight corridors. High-speed commercial traffic on I-70, E-470, and Havana Street creates conditions where crashes are more likely to produce permanent, life-altering injuries. When the worst happens, Aurora has the medical infrastructure to stabilize survivors, but the legal process of turning that survival into full financial recovery is a separate fight.
UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital
The UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora is a Level I Trauma Center, the highest designation. It treats the most severe injuries in the region. The Anschutz Medical Campus is one of the largest academic medical complexes in the country. The medical records produced here are detailed and voluminous, and building a Life Care Plan from them requires a certified planner who can translate clinical findings into forward-looking cost projections.
Children's Hospital Colorado
Children's Hospital Colorado, also on the Anschutz campus, is the region's premier pediatric trauma center. Catastrophic injury claims involving minors have distinct legal requirements, including guardian ad litem proceedings, structured settlement approvals, and lifetime care projections calibrated to a child's developmental trajectory.
I-70 and I-225: High-speed crash corridors
The I-70 and I-225 interchange in Aurora is one of the state's most heavily traveled commercial freight crossings. Commercial trucks, buses, and high-speed passenger vehicles converge here. Crashes at highway speeds produce the blunt force trauma and crush injuries most likely to result in spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injury, and amputation.
Arapahoe County District Court, 18th JD
Aurora straddles multiple counties. Catastrophic injury cases arising in the Arapahoe County portion of Aurora are filed in the Arapahoe County District Court, 18th Judicial District, at 7325 S. Potomac St. in Centennial. Understanding which court and which county has jurisdiction over your claim affects how the case is managed, who is on the jury pool, and how the scheduling order is set. CGH knows this courthouse and the judges who rotate through its civil dockets.
Colorado law
Colorado law on catastrophic injury: what the statutes actually say
The legal framework for a catastrophic injury case in Colorado is built on four statutes. Understanding these is the difference between a settlement that covers next year and one that covers the rest of your life.
C.R.S. 13-21-102.5 -- The damage cap statute
Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering are subject to a cap of $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025. This is a hard ceiling on what juries can award for pain, suffering, and emotional distress. However, this cap does not apply to economic damages such as medical bills and lost income, and it does not apply at all to compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement.
C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5) -- Physical impairment is NOT capped
Section (5) provides: “Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the recovery of compensatory damages for physical impairment or disfigurement.” This is the provision that matters most in a catastrophic case. Physical impairment damages can be substantial and are not subject to any statutory ceiling.
C.R.S. 13-21-111 -- Modified comparative negligence
Colorado uses a 50-percent bar rule. If you are found 50 percent or more at fault, you cannot recover. If you are found less than 50 percent at fault, your award is reduced by your percentage of fault but you still collect. Insurance adjusters aggressively try to push plaintiffs above 49 percent fault to extinguish claims. We build the evidence to counter that strategy from the first day of a case.
C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n) -- The three-year motor vehicle SOL
Claims arising from a vehicle crash must be filed within three years of the crash. If a government entity (including the City of Aurora or a transit authority) caused the injury, C.R.S. 24-10-109(1) requires written notice within 182 days after you discover the injury, regardless of the three-year filing window. Missing the notice deadline bars the claim entirely.
What qualifies
Common catastrophic injuries seen in Aurora cases
Colorado courts do not use one universal definition. The classification depends on whether the injury is permanent and life-altering and whether it creates measurable physical impairment under the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. A diagnosis alone does not decide the question. What matters legally is permanence and functional impact.
Injuries that most often qualify
- Traumatic brain injury with cognitive deficits, memory loss, or behavioral change requiring lifetime supervision
- Spinal cord injury, including paraplegia, quadriplegia, and incomplete injuries requiring mobility assistance
- Amputations requiring prosthetics, home modifications, and vocational retraining
- Severe burns covering significant body surface area, requiring skin grafts and reconstructive surgery
- Permanent organ damage requiring transplant, dialysis, or lifetime management
Why the legal classification matters
- It determines how the Life Care Plan is structured and what future care costs are included
- It shapes how a jury is asked to calculate physical impairment damages separate from pain and suffering
- It dictates whether the non-economic cap is even a relevant ceiling in your case
- It sets the framework for the impairment rating an independent medical examiner will try to challenge
How CGH builds your case
A Life Care Plan is not a treatment letter
Health insurance pays for medically necessary treatment. A Life Care Plan documents everything insurance does not: home modifications, adaptive vehicles, attendant care beyond clinical necessity, vocational rehabilitation, and the lifetime cost of managing a permanent impairment. Colorado courts require these plans to be built by certified professionals and to survive Shreck and Daubert admissibility challenges. We build them that way from the start.
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Certified planner, not just a physician note
Qualified Life Care Planners hold credentials such as CLCP or CNLCP. They review medical records from UCHealth, Children's Hospital Colorado, and other Aurora-area providers, interview treating physicians, and run functional capacity evaluations. A treating physician's letter stating that you will need future care does not satisfy Colorado's admissibility standard on its own.
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Medical inflation, not general CPI
General inflation runs roughly 2 to 3 percent per year. Medical inflation consistently outpaces it. A plan built on general CPI can underestimate lifetime costs by millions of dollars for a young client with decades ahead. We use medical-specific inflation rates, and our economic experts defend those rates under cross-examination.
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Colorado and Aurora-specific cost factors
National Life Care Plan software defaults to U.S. average costs and routinely underestimates Colorado expenses. Aurora has specific cost dynamics: Anschutz Medical Campus specialist rates, altitude considerations for respiratory conditions, and mountain access for patients who need to reach mountain care facilities. A generic plan that ignores these factors can be challenged as speculative and reduced by defense experts.
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Built to survive Shreck and Daubert
Colorado applies strict standards for expert testimony. The Shreck test, Colorado's adoption of the Daubert framework, and CRE 702 all apply. We retain certified planners and forensic economists who can defend their methodology under cross-examination. The plan must show that each cost item is medically necessary, Colorado-specific, and properly projected.
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We advance the cost
A comprehensive Life Care Plan typically takes 60 to 90 days depending on the complexity of the injury and the availability of medical records. CGH advances the cost of building your plan. You pay nothing unless we win.
Compensation
What compensation is available in an Aurora catastrophic injury case?
Colorado law allows injured people to recover two broad categories of damages. In a catastrophic case, the categories that matter most are the ones Colorado law does not cap: economic damages and compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement. Non-economic damages for pain and suffering remain subject to Colorado's general cap.
Uncapped: economic damages
- Past and future medical expenses, including all Aurora and Anschutz-area treatment
- Lifetime attendant and nursing care
- Home modifications such as ramps, widened doorways, and accessible bathrooms
- Adaptive vehicles and specialized equipment
- Lost wages and loss of earning capacity through retirement
- Vocational rehabilitation and retraining costs
Uncapped: physical impairment or disfigurement
- Compensation for the permanent loss of function itself, separate from pain and suffering
- Compensation for permanent visible disfigurement, including scarring and loss of limb
- Not subject to the $1.5 million non-economic cap under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5)
Capped: non-economic damages
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Emotional distress
- Subject to $1.5M cap for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025
The collateral source rule protects your full award
Under Colorado's collateral source rule, the at-fault party cannot reduce what it owes just because you have health insurance. If your future medical needs total a given amount, the defendant cannot argue that your insurer will cover part of it and ask a jury to discount the Life Care Plan. Health insurance also leaves real gaps. Policies carry lifetime limits and exclude home modifications, adaptive vehicles, vocational rehabilitation, and most attendant care beyond narrow medical necessity definitions.
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Why CGH
Why Aurora families choose CGH Injury Lawyers for catastrophic cases
Catastrophic cases are won where medical necessity meets legal proof that holds up at trial. We build the record, retain the right experts, and prepare every case as if it will go to a jury, because that is what full recovery often demands of an insurer.
CGH Injury Lawyers is a Colorado firm founded in 2016, formerly Cheney Galluzzi & Howard. Managing Partner Kevin Cheney is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and has tried over 25 cases to verdict. Timothy G. Tarr has been recognized by Best Lawyers every year since 2023. Our team handles serious personal injury and catastrophic cases across Colorado, including Aurora and the Arapahoe County courts, from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St, Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205.
Related pages
Aurora injury cases we handle
Other Aurora pages
More Aurora pages
Statewide catastrophic injury
Frequently asked questions
Aurora catastrophic injury: frequently asked questions
What makes an injury legally catastrophic in Colorado?
A catastrophic injury is one that is permanent and life-altering: a spinal cord injury, a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury, an amputation, or a severe burn covering significant body surface area. Colorado courts require medical experts to translate the clinical diagnosis into a whole-person impairment rating using the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. Two of the largest damage categories in these cases are uncapped: economic damages such as medical bills and Life Care Plan costs, and compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5). Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering are subject to Colorado's general non-economic cap, but the uncapped categories are typically the bulk of what a catastrophic case is worth.
Does CGH have an office in Aurora?
CGH Injury Lawyers does not have an Aurora office. We are located at 2701 Lawrence St, Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. We serve Aurora residents and handle Arapahoe County District Court cases from that office. Distance is not a barrier: we meet clients at locations convenient to them, handle most case communication remotely, and travel to Aurora and Centennial courts as the case requires. Call us at (303) 209-9395 to get started.
How long do I have to file a catastrophic injury claim in Aurora?
For vehicle-related catastrophic injuries, the statute of limitations is three years from the crash date under C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n). If a government entity caused or contributed to the injury, such as the City of Aurora or the Regional Transportation District, C.R.S. 24-10-109(1) requires written notice to that entity within 182 days after you discover the injury. Missing the 182-day notice window bars the claim against the government defendant even if the three-year lawsuit deadline has not passed. Contact CGH as soon as possible to preserve all deadlines.
Do I really need a Life Care Plan?
In a serious catastrophic case, yes. A certified Life Care Plan transforms your claim from an estimate into an objective economic document. Without one, insurance adjusters dismiss future cost demands as speculative. A plan built by a CLCP or CNLCP withstands cross-examination and shows that your demand is grounded in medical necessity, current Colorado cost data, and properly applied medical inflation rates. It converts the case from a gut-feel number into an evidence-based demand that a jury can value.
Which court handles catastrophic injury cases from Aurora?
Aurora spans multiple counties. Catastrophic injury cases arising in the Arapahoe County portion of Aurora are filed in the Arapahoe County District Court, 18th Judicial District, at 7325 S. Potomac St. in Centennial. Cases arising in portions of Aurora that fall in Adams or Douglas County are filed in those counties' district courts. CGH handles cases across all of these venues and knows the procedural requirements and civil dockets in each.
What is the difference between pain and suffering and physical impairment in a Colorado catastrophic case?
Pain and suffering is a non-economic damage: it compensates for the subjective human experience of living with an injury. It is subject to Colorado's general non-economic cap of $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025. Physical impairment is a separate category that compensates for the measurable functional loss itself. Under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5), compensatory damages for physical impairment or disfigurement are not subject to any cap. In a catastrophic case, the physical impairment category is often larger than pain and suffering, and it is where insurers focus their challenge strategy.
Does my health insurance affect what I can recover?
No. Under Colorado's collateral source rule, the at-fault party cannot reduce what it owes because you carry health insurance. If the Life Care Plan projects lifetime care costs at a certain amount, the defendant cannot argue that your insurer will absorb part of it and ask a jury to cut the award. Health insurance also does not cover home modifications, adaptive vehicles, vocational rehabilitation, or attendant care beyond narrow clinical definitions of medical necessity. The Life Care Plan captures all of those gaps.
What does it cost to hire CGH for a catastrophic injury case?
CGH handles catastrophic injury cases on a contingency fee. You pay no attorney fees unless we recover for you. We also advance the cost of building your Life Care Plan. There are no upfront costs and no hourly billing. The first consultation is completely free. Call (303) 209-9395 or use the form on this page to start.
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IT'S MORE THAN MONEY.
A permanent injury changes everything. We fight for what the rest of your life actually costs.
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Read next: Colorado catastrophic injury law and Life Care Plans