If you or a family member suffered a spinal cord injury on I-225, I-70, Colfax Avenue, or anywhere in Arapahoe County, the first insurance offer almost never covers what decades of real care actually cost. We serve Aurora from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St. No fee unless we win.
No fee unless we winIt's More Than Money.
CGH Injury Lawyers represents people living with paraplegia and tetraplegia and their families in Aurora and across Arapahoe County. We serve Aurora from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201. We work with life care planners, neurologists, and economists to build a damages model that reflects 40 to 60 years of real cost. You pay nothing unless we win.
Most spinal cord injuries happen in a moment of violence or impact that no one saw coming. We represent people whose lives changed on Aurora's roads, at the Anschutz Medical Campus, and in every situation where another party's negligence caused a catastrophic outcome.
Two rules shape every spinal cord injury case filed in Arapahoe County. Understanding them before you accept any settlement offer is not optional.
Colorado follows a modified comparative fault rule. You can recover compensation as long as your share of fault is less than 50 percent. If you are found 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. Below that threshold, your award is reduced by your percentage of fault. On Aurora's crash corridors, particularly I-225, insurers routinely argue that the injured driver contributed to the crash. An exaggerated fault assignment on a multi-million-dollar spinal cord claim can eliminate the entire recovery. We challenge those assignments with accident reconstructionists and independent evidence.
For claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, Colorado caps non-economic damages such as pain and suffering at $1.5 million, with inflation adjustments beginning in 2028. Two categories are not capped at all: economic damages such as medical bills and lost wages, and compensatory damages for physical impairment or disfigurement. In a spinal cord injury case, those two uncapped categories, a life care plan and a physical impairment award, represent the bulk of the recovery. The cap matters less than most victims assume in catastrophic cases.
For injuries arising from the use or operation of a motor vehicle, the filing deadline is three years from the date of the crash. For non-vehicle tort claims, the general deadline is two years under C.R.S. 13-80-102(1)(a). If the at-fault party was a government vehicle or public entity, a written notice of claim must be filed within 182 days of discovering the injury under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act, C.R.S. 24-10-109(1). Missing that 182-day notice bars the claim entirely. Because Aurora's RTD buses, city vehicles, and Buckley Space Force Base traffic all create public-entity exposure, confirming the right deadline early is essential.
Where the responsible party acted willfully and wantonly, Colorado permits exemplary damages up to the amount of actual damages awarded. In cases of continued willful and wanton conduct during litigation, a court may increase that award up to three times actual damages. Drunk driving crashes and cases involving a commercial carrier that ignored documented safety violations can support a punitive claim alongside the compensatory case.
A spinal cord injury case filed in Aurora lives in Arapahoe County: the courthouse where your lawsuit is filed, the Level I trauma centers that stabilize the most critical patients, and the roads where Aurora's most serious crashes keep happening. Here is the ground we work on.
Courthouse
Most civil injury cases arising in the Arapahoe County portion of Aurora are heard in Arapahoe County District Court, part of the 18th Judicial District, at 7325 S. Potomac Street, Centennial, CO 80112 ((303) 645-6600, Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.). Cases arising in the Adams County portion of Aurora are filed in Adams County District Court, 17th Judicial District, Brighton. We practice in both courts directly.
Level I Trauma Center
UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, located on the Anschutz Medical Campus at E. 16th Avenue and Fitzsimons Parkway, is verified by the American College of Surgeons and designated by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment as a Level I Trauma Center. It is the facility most likely to receive the most critically injured Aurora crash victims, including those with spinal cord injuries. Those acute-care records document the full scope of the injury at its most severe and form the medical foundation of a damages claim.
Pediatric Level I Trauma
Children's Hospital Colorado on the Anschutz Medical Campus is the only Level I Regional Pediatric Trauma Center in the region. When a child suffers a spinal cord injury in Aurora, the life care plan must project 60 or more years of care costs. That projection requires specialists in pediatric rehabilitation and vocational development, experts we retain as part of building these cases from the start.
Aurora has over 394,000 residents and sits at the intersection of three interstate highways. The corridors below appear consistently in serious-injury and fatal crash reports.
Interstate 225 is a 12-mile corridor connecting I-25 in Denver to I-70 in Aurora, spanning Adams, Arapahoe, and Denver counties. I-225 is one of Colorado's most dangerous urban corridors, and multiple multi-car crashes were reported in 2025 and 2026. When crashes on I-225 produce a spinal cord injury, identifying every liable party, including commercial carriers, vehicle manufacturers, and CDOT where road conditions contribute, requires a team with the resources to investigate quickly.
I-70 crosses Aurora east-west with the Tower Road interchange (Exit 286) as a key Aurora access point. The eastern corridor between Tower Road and Pena Boulevard carries high-speed commercial truck traffic, and semi-truck crashes are a documented recurring hazard. Truck carrier cases involve federal safety regulations, black box data, and employer liability theories that differ materially from standard passenger vehicle claims.
Colfax Avenue runs east-west through Aurora as US Highway 40 and US Highway 287. CDOT's intersection improvement project specifically identified the Colfax/Chambers Road and Colfax/I-225 intersections as high-priority safety locations because of their collision frequency. Crashes at those intersections continue to produce serious injuries, and the engineering history of those intersections can be relevant to a government-entity claim.
The E-470 Public Highway Authority facility is a 46.4-mile eastern beltway serving Aurora that connects to Denver International Airport and the E-470/I-25 interchange. Because E-470 is a public highway authority facility rather than a standard CDOT road, negligence claims involving roadway conditions may involve a separate government entity with its own immunity and notice requirements under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act.
There is one thing we will tell you up front that most firms will not: we do not publish settlement figures for spinal cord injury cases, because a number on a page tells you nothing about your case. What we offer is the work, not a headline.
The Law
Colorado's modified comparative fault rule lets Aurora victims recover even with some fault, as long as their share is below 50 percent. Insurers know this and push inflated fault numbers. We push back.
Lifetime-Cost Cases
We retain life care planners, neurologists, spinal specialists, and economists to document the full medical and financial impact across a lifetime. Defense attorneys challenge every line item. We build the plan to survive that fight, and we fund it with no money down from you.
18th Judicial District
Aurora civil cases are heard in Centennial. We handle Arapahoe County District Court cases directly, not by referral.
Honest Refusals
If a free review reveals that your claim is legally barred or the facts do not support recovery, we say so clearly rather than sign you up and let the case stall. That honesty costs us some business and saves you months of false hope.
Trial-Ready
Managing Partner Kevin Cheney is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. When an insurer knows the law firm across the table genuinely tries catastrophic injury cases in Arapahoe County, the negotiation dynamic is different. We prepare every case for trial from the first day, not only after negotiations fail.
Bilingual
Spanish-speaking staff and attorneys serve Aurora's substantial Spanish-speaking community throughout every stage of the case.
No Win, No Fee
You pay nothing upfront. We advance all case costs, including life care planners, neurologists, and accident reconstructionists, and collect only from a settlement or verdict.
The days and weeks after a catastrophic injury are the worst time to make irreversible legal decisions. Here is the path we walk with Aurora families from the first call.
UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital on the Anschutz Medical Campus is the designated Level I Trauma Center serving Aurora. For children, Children's Hospital Colorado on the same campus is the region's only Level I Regional Pediatric Trauma Center. The acute-care records from those facilities document the injury at its most severe and are the medical backbone of any damages claim. Keep every record and ask for copies early.
Insurers contact families quickly, often within days of a crash or injury. A recorded statement given without counsel is a document the insurer will use to minimize the value of the claim. You are not obligated to give one. Call (303) 209-9395 before you speak with any adjuster.
Photographs, witness names and contact information, crash reports filed by the Aurora Police Department or the Colorado State Patrol, and any dashcam or surveillance footage are time-sensitive. Video from commercial corridors near Anschutz or Stanley Marketplace is often overwritten within 30 days. We move fast to preserve it.
If the crash involved a government vehicle or public entity, the 182-day written notice requirement under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1) can run out before a family realizes it exists. Aurora's RTD buses, city vehicles, and Buckley Space Force Base traffic all create public-entity exposure. If there is any possibility that a government vehicle or entity was involved, confirm the applicable deadline immediately.
We bring in life care planners, neurologists, spinal specialists, and economists to project the full 40- to 60-year cost of care while the liability investigation runs concurrently. Most insurers will not take a demand seriously until both elements are on paper. We do both at once so the case moves forward rather than waiting on one component.
Most spinal cord injury cases settle, but the settlement amount is determined by how prepared the law firm is to take the case to an Arapahoe County jury. We send a demand built on the life care plan and negotiate from a position of documented trial readiness. When an insurer refuses fair compensation for a catastrophic injury, we file in Arapahoe County District Court and try the case.
A spinal cord injury changes a family's finances for decades. Colorado law recognizes two broad categories of damages, and the most important fact Aurora victims should understand is that economic damages and physical impairment damages are not capped.
Life care plans use the Medical Consumer Price Index, which historically runs at 3 to 4 percent annually, higher than general inflation, to project costs forward. Defense attorneys challenge every line item, arguing that cheaper equipment is sufficient or that family members can provide care without compensation. We build the plan to survive those challenges.
Insurers defending catastrophic injury claims deploy a predictable playbook. Knowing the moves in advance is how we keep a valid Aurora claim at full value.
Under C.R.S. 13-21-111, a plaintiff found 50 percent or more at fault recovers nothing. A plaintiff found 40 percent at fault loses 40 percent of the award. On Aurora's I-225 crash corridor, where speed and lane changes are common, insurers frequently attribute a large share of fault to the injured driver without engineering support for the number. We retain accident reconstructionists and use CDOT data, black box records, and independent witness accounts to build the fault picture from the ground up.
Early settlement offers arrive when a family is overwhelmed and when the prognosis for an incomplete injury is still uncertain. Incomplete injuries may not reach their maximum neurological improvement for 12 to 18 months. A settlement accepted at week six, before that plateau is known, can fall millions short of actual lifetime cost. Once signed, it is final. We advise clients not to settle before the medical picture is stable enough to support a defensible life care plan.
Defense experts argue that standard equipment is sufficient when custom seating is medically necessary to prevent pressure injuries, that family members will provide care that professional attendants would otherwise be paid to deliver, and that a future inflation rate lower than the Medical CPI should be used to discount the award. We build the life care plan with certified specialists who can defend every line item under cross-examination by an Arapahoe County jury.
Insurers challenge environmental control systems, smart-home adaptations, and powered mobility upgrades as luxuries rather than medically necessary equipment. For an Aurora resident with a high cervical injury, the ability to control a thermostat or door lock independently is a functional necessity, not an upgrade. We document medical necessity through the treating team before the insurer's adjuster has a chance to reframe the issue.
In the weeks after a catastrophic injury, when a family is in crisis, insurers present offers that can sound substantial. A $1 million settlement can feel like a life-changing number, but for someone with C5 tetraplegia facing lifetime care costs the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center estimates at more than $4.5 million (2025 data, in 2024 dollars), it falls short by more than $3.5 million. Once accepted, a settlement is final. There is no going back when the money runs out in year fifteen and twenty-five more years of care remain.
I wish I could leave more than 5 stars!
Most civil injury cases filed by Aurora residents go to the Arapahoe County District Court, part of the 18th Judicial District of Colorado. The courthouse is at 7325 S. Potomac Street, Centennial, CO 80112. Because Aurora also extends into Adams and Douglas counties, the correct venue depends on where the injury occurred. We confirm the proper venue before filing to avoid procedural problems that could delay or harm the case.
For injuries arising from a motor vehicle crash, the deadline is three years from the date of the crash under C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n). For other tort claims, the general deadline is two years under C.R.S. 13-80-102(1)(a). If a government vehicle or entity was involved, a written notice of claim must be filed within 182 days of discovering the injury, and missing that notice bars the claim entirely (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)). Aurora's RTD buses and city vehicles create public-entity exposure that many families do not recognize until after the 182-day window has closed.
Yes, as long as your share of fault is less than 50 percent. Colorado follows modified comparative negligence under C.R.S. 13-21-111. If you are found 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. Below that threshold, your award is reduced by your percentage of fault. On I-225, where speed and multi-lane merging are common, insurers routinely push fault assignments that are higher than the engineering evidence supports. An accident reconstructionist can test those numbers against the physical evidence.
There is a cap on non-economic damages such as pain and suffering: $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025 under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5, with inflation adjustments beginning in 2028. However, two categories are not capped at all: economic damages such as medical bills, lost wages, and life care plan costs, and compensatory damages for physical impairment or disfigurement (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5)). In a paralysis case, the uncapped categories generally represent the bulk of the claim.
UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital on the Anschutz Medical Campus is verified by the American College of Surgeons and designated by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment as a Level I Trauma Center. It is the facility most likely to receive critically injured Aurora crash victims. For children, Children's Hospital Colorado on the same campus is the region's only Level I Regional Pediatric Trauma Center. Those acute-care records document the injury at its most severe and are the medical foundation of a damages claim.
Be cautious. Early offers often arrive before the full extent of the injury is known and represent a fraction of actual lifetime costs. For an incomplete injury, the extent of recovery may not be clear for 12 to 18 months. Once a settlement is accepted, it is final. Before accepting anything, have the claim valued against a life care plan that documents 40 to 60 years of actual cost at Colorado's cost levels.
We serve Aurora from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205, reachable at (303) 209-9395. We handle Arapahoe County District Court cases directly. We can meet with Aurora families at our Denver office, via phone, or via video conference. Distance from the courthouse has never prevented us from preparing these cases for trial.
Nothing upfront. We work on a contingency fee. We advance all case costs, including life care planners, neurologists, accident reconstructionists, and economists. Those costs are deducted from the recovery only after we win. You owe no attorney fees unless we recover compensation. We take the financial risk alongside you.
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It's More Than Money.
Free consultation. No fee unless we win. Serving Aurora from our Denver office. Available in English and Spanish.
Read next: How we build Colorado spinal cord injury cases from day one.
CGH Injury Lawyers · 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205 · Serving Aurora from our Denver office
