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US-36 entering Boulder, Colorado near the Flatirons. CGH Injury Lawyers represents car accident victims throughout Boulder County from our Denver office.
Boulder, Boulder County

Boulder Car Accident Lawyers Who Make the Insurer Pay What Your Case Is Worth

A crash on US-36, the CO-119 Diagonal, or any Boulder arterial can leave you with injuries, lost income, and an insurer whose job is to minimize your payout. CGH Injury Lawyers serves Boulder and Boulder County from our Denver office, builds every claim to its full documented value, and tries the case in Boulder County District Court when settlement is not fair. No fee unless we win.

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Tell us what happened in Boulder

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Serving Boulder From Our Denver Office CGH Injury Lawyers 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201 Denver, CO 80205 (303) 209-9395 Se habla español
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Boulder sits at the base of the Rocky Mountain foothills, where US-36 enters the city as 28th Street and the CO-119 Diagonal links Boulder to Longmont through a corridor CDOT documents as producing more severe crashes per mile than any other road in unincorporated Boulder County. When a crash on one of these roads puts you in the emergency department at Boulder Community Health's Foothills Hospital, the at-fault driver's insurer is already working the claim against you.

  • Colorado gives you three years from the date of the crash to file a car accident lawsuit (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)). If a government vehicle or road-maintenance failure was a factor, a written notice of claim must be filed within 182 days of discovering the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)). The government-notice clock often runs out before injured people realize it has started.
  • Colorado uses a modified comparative fault rule. You can still recover damages as long as you were less than 50 percent responsible for the crash. If you are found 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing (C.R.S. 13-21-111). Insurers handling Boulder County crashes routinely inflate your fault percentage to limit the payout.
  • The at-fault driver's insurer is not on your side. Do not give a recorded statement, do not estimate your injuries at the scene, and do not accept any offer before an attorney has reviewed the full scope of your damages.

CGH Injury Lawyers represents injured drivers, passengers, cyclists, and families throughout Boulder and Boulder County from our Denver office. We handle every conversation with the insurer, gather the crash evidence before it disappears from US-36 and Canyon Boulevard, and file Boulder County District Court cases when settlement is not fair. You pay nothing unless we win.

Where Boulder crashes happen

The Boulder roads and corridors behind the most serious car accident claims

Boulder's geography, heavy bicycle and pedestrian traffic, and the university population create a specific set of crash risks. Understanding where harm tends to happen shapes how we investigate each claim and identify every available source of recovery.

  1. US-36 and 28th Street

    US-36, the Denver-Boulder Turnpike, enters the city as 28th Street, Boulder's primary commercial north-south spine. High commuter volume, signalized intersections with heavy pedestrian and cyclist crossings, and through traffic mixing with local access create consistent rear-end and intersection-collision exposure. Crashes at the Table Mesa Drive and Arapahoe Avenue interchanges on the US-36 approach corridor are a recurring source of serious injury claims in Boulder County District Court.

  2. CO-119 Diagonal Highway

    CDOT documents the Boulder-to-Longmont segment of CO-119 as producing the highest rate of severe crashes per mile in unincorporated Boulder County, which prompted the agency's CO-119 Safety, Mobility and Bikeway Project. The Diagonal runs at highway speed with limited median separation and a mix of commercial trucks, commuters, and cyclists. These are the crashes that produce catastrophic injuries, spinal cord damage, and wrongful death claims requiring full damages documentation.

  3. Canyon Boulevard (CO-119 through Boulder) and Boulder Canyon

    CO-119 also runs as Canyon Boulevard through the heart of Boulder before entering the narrow two-lane corridor of Boulder Canyon, where curves, seasonal rockfall, ice, and limited sight lines produce run-off-road and head-on collisions. Cyclists on the canyon corridor and at the Boulder Creek Path crossing are exposed to vehicle traffic with minimal buffer. Evidence in canyon crashes must be preserved quickly, as road conditions and debris clear within hours.

  4. Arapahoe Avenue (CO-7) and the Pearl Street corridor

    Arapahoe Avenue runs east-west as the CO-7 arterial connecting Boulder to Longmont and carries heavy commuter volume through central Boulder. The intersections at 28th Street, Foothills Parkway (SH 157), and 55th Street are documented collision points. The Pearl Street pedestrian mall area, drawing dense foot traffic from the University of Colorado Boulder campus and downtown, adds cyclist and pedestrian exposure to cross-traffic at adjacent blocks.

  5. Foothills Highway (SH 93) and Foothills Parkway (SH 157)

    SH 93 (Broadway south of Baseline Road) transitions into the Foothills Highway corridor heading south toward Golden, where grade changes and limited lighting at night create run-off-road and speed-related crash risk. Foothills Parkway (SH 157) links the eastern edge of Boulder to US-36 and Arapahoe Avenue and generates intersection crash claims at its southern terminus near the Table Mesa area.

  6. CU Boulder campus area and the Hill

    The University of Colorado Boulder campus and the Hill neighborhood south of campus create dense student pedestrian and cyclist traffic that intersects with vehicle corridors at Broadway, College Avenue, and University Avenue. Late-night crashes involving student pedestrians and impaired drivers are a recurring pattern in Boulder County District Court filings. When the at-fault driver was under the influence, the damages analysis may include punitive damages under C.R.S. 13-21-102.

After the crash

What to do after a car accident in Boulder

The hours after a Boulder crash shape your claim. These steps protect your health and preserve the evidence an insurer will later try to dispute.

  1. Get to safety and call 911

    A police report creates an official record of the Boulder crash scene. Boulder Police Department responds to crashes within city limits; Colorado State Patrol handles crashes on US-36 outside city limits and on the CO-119 corridor. Keep the report number and the responding officer's name.

  2. Seek medical care at Boulder Community Health's Foothills Hospital

    Seriously injured Boulder crash victims are frequently treated at Boulder Community Health's Foothills Hospital, 4747 Arapahoe Avenue, an American College of Surgeons verified Level II Trauma Center and the first designated Level II Trauma Center in Boulder County. Even injuries that feel minor at the scene can include whiplash and traumatic brain injury that appear hours or days later. A gap in medical treatment weakens your claim significantly.

  3. Document the scene

    Photograph the vehicles, road conditions, signage, and your visible injuries before the scene changes. On Canyon Boulevard, note whether ice, a narrow shoulder, or a sight-line obstruction played a role. On 28th Street and Arapahoe Avenue intersections, note signal timing and any crosswalk markings. Collect witness names and contact details. Note any business surveillance cameras on adjacent properties.

  4. Do not give a recorded statement

    The at-fault driver's insurer will call quickly, sometimes the same day as the Boulder crash. Do not agree to a recorded statement, do not estimate your fault share, and do not accept any offer before speaking with an attorney. What you say becomes part of the claim record and is used to reduce what you recover.

  5. Watch the deadlines

    Colorado gives you three years from the date of the Boulder crash to file a lawsuit for motor-vehicle injuries (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)). If a government entity was involved, a written notice of claim must be filed within 182 days of discovering the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)). Missing the government-notice deadline bars the claim entirely, regardless of how serious the injuries are.

  6. Contact a car accident attorney before the evidence disappears

    Surveillance footage from businesses along 28th Street and Arapahoe Avenue is typically overwritten within 30 days. Canyon road condition logs and CDOT signal data have short retention windows. Black-box data from the at-fault vehicle can be lost once the car is repaired or sold. Call CGH Injury Lawyers at (303) 209-9395. The free consultation costs you nothing and the early call preserves your options.

Compensation

What you can recover after a Boulder car accident

Colorado law lets injured drivers and passengers recover two broad categories of damages after a crash: economic losses you can document with bills and records, and non-economic losses for the human cost of the injury. In the most serious Boulder crash cases on US-36 and the CO-119 Diagonal, the uncapped economic and physical-impairment categories carry most of the case value.

Economic damages (no cap)

  • Medical expenses, past and future
  • Lost wages and lost income
  • Loss of future earning capacity
  • Vehicle damage and property loss
  • Rehabilitation and therapy costs
  • Out-of-pocket expenses arising from the crash

Non-economic damages (capped at $1.5M for 2025+ claims)

  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Loss of consortium for a spouse or family member

For claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, Colorado caps non-economic damages such as pain and suffering at $1,500,000 under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5, with inflation adjustments beginning in 2028. Economic damages such as medical bills and lost wages are never capped. Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement is its own uncapped category entirely separate from pain and suffering, which matters greatly in high-speed Boulder corridor crashes that produce permanent injury. Punitive damages are available when a defendant acted with fraud, malice, or willful and wanton disregard for others, and may not exceed the actual damages award (C.R.S. 13-21-102(1)(a)).

Fault and coverage

What if you were partly at fault for the Boulder crash?

Insurers handling US-36 and Boulder arterial crashes routinely try to pin some percentage of fault on the injured driver to reduce the payout. Colorado's modified comparative fault rule under C.R.S. 13-21-111 is exactly the tool they use. You can still recover damages as long as you were less than 50 percent at fault, and your award is reduced by your share of the fault. If you are found 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. Having an attorney who can challenge an inflated fault assignment with the crash report, physical evidence, and witness testimony is often the difference between a full recovery and no recovery at all.

How Colorado car insurance works for Boulder accident claims

  • Colorado is not a no-fault state. You pursue your claim against the at-fault driver's liability insurer, not your own carrier, for the bulk of your losses.
  • Uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage is critical protection when the at-fault driver on US-36 or the CO-119 Diagonal has no insurance or inadequate limits. Colorado UM/UIM claims are subject to C.R.S. 13-80-107.5 under Pham v. State Farm, 2013 CO 17.
  • When the at-fault vehicle is owned or operated by a government entity, such as a Boulder city vehicle, a Boulder Valley School District vehicle, or an RTD bus serving the Boulder area, the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act caps recovery at $505,000 per person and $1,421,000 per occurrence for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2026 (C.R.S. 24-10-114(1)). The mandatory written notice to the entity must be filed within 182 days of discovering the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)).

Real Colorado results

Verdicts and settlements we have recovered in car accident cases

  • $3,000,000 Car crash settlement, Montrose County
  • $2,527,546 Car crash verdict, Jefferson County
  • $1,654,629 Car crash verdict, Boulder County
  • $1,500,000 Car crash settlement, Summit County

Verdicts and settlements published on our case results page. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case depends on its own facts.

How it works

How a Boulder car accident claim works from the first call to resolution

A Boulder car accident claim moves through six stages, from a free case evaluation to trial in Boulder County District Court when an insurer refuses to be fair. Most cases resolve before a courtroom, but we prepare every case as if it will be tried in front of a Boulder County jury.

  1. Free case evaluation

    We review the facts of your Boulder crash, explain your rights under Colorado law, and answer your questions at no cost and no obligation.

  2. Investigation

    We gather the Boulder Police or Colorado State Patrol crash report, request surveillance footage from businesses along 28th Street and Arapahoe Avenue before it is overwritten, obtain witness statements, pull Canyon road condition logs, and bring in accident reconstruction when the cause is disputed.

  3. Demand letter

    We calculate your full damages across every category the law allows, including medical costs, lost income, future care from Boulder Community Health's Foothills Hospital, and the uncapped physical-impairment category for serious Boulder injuries, and send a documented demand to the at-fault insurer.

  4. Negotiation

    Most Boulder car accident cases settle during negotiation. We negotiate from a position of trial readiness, which changes the dynamic with insurers who know we are genuinely prepared to try the case in Boulder County District Court.

  5. Filing suit in Boulder County District Court

    If the insurer refuses a fair offer, we file in Boulder County District Court, housed in the Boulder County Justice Center at 1777 6th Street, Boulder, CO 80302, in the 20th Judicial District. We handle Boulder County District Court cases directly and know the local procedure, the defense firms, and the Boulder County jury pool.

  6. Trial before a Boulder County jury

    Managing Partner Kevin Cheney is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and has tried over 25 cases to verdict. When an insurer will not settle fairly, a Boulder County jury decides the outcome. Our trial lawyers are prepared to present your case and fight for the full recovery the evidence supports.

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Local knowledge

Boulder courts. Boulder trauma care. Boulder roads. We know the ground your claim lives on.

A Boulder car accident claim is fought on Boulder terms: the road where it happened, the hospital that treated you, and the courthouse where your case is filed. Here is the local context we work with on every Boulder County car accident claim.

Courthouse

Boulder County District Court, 20th Judicial District

A Boulder car accident lawsuit that exceeds the county-court jurisdictional limit is filed in Boulder County District Court, housed in the Boulder County Justice Center at 1777 6th Street, Boulder, CO 80302, in the 20th Judicial District. The 20th Judicial District is Boulder County's dedicated district court. Local procedure, the Boulder County jury pool, and the defense firms you will face all differ from courts in Jefferson County or Denver. CGH Injury Lawyers handles Boulder County District Court cases directly. We do not refer them out.

Trauma Care

Boulder Community Health, Foothills Hospital

Seriously injured Boulder car crash victims are frequently treated at Boulder Community Health's Foothills Hospital, located at 4747 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder, CO. Foothills Hospital describes itself as an American College of Surgeons verified Level II Trauma Center and the first designated Level II Trauma Center in Boulder County. The trauma records from Foothills Hospital document the full scope of your injuries, the treatment required, and the projected future care costs. Those records are the backbone of the economic damages claim we build for every Boulder County car accident client.

High-Crash Roads

US-36, CO-119, Canyon Boulevard, and Boulder's arterials

US-36 (the Denver-Boulder Turnpike) enters the city as 28th Street, Boulder's main commercial corridor. CO-119 runs as Canyon Boulevard through Boulder Canyon and as the Diagonal Highway toward Longmont, a corridor CDOT documents as producing more severe crashes per mile than any other road in unincorporated Boulder County. Broadway (SH 93), Foothills Highway, Foothills Parkway (SH 157), and Arapahoe Avenue (CO-7) carry the rest of the city's primary traffic volume. These are the roads where most Boulder car accident claims are born.

Serving Boulder

No Boulder Office. Full Boulder Representation.

CGH Injury Lawyers has one office, at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. We do not maintain a branch office in Boulder. We serve Boulder County car accident clients from our Denver office, file suits in Boulder County District Court (20th Judicial District), and meet clients wherever it is convenient for them. What you get is the work and the trial readiness, not a storefront near Pearl Street. Call (303) 209-9395.

Your team

The attorneys who handle Boulder car accident cases

CGH Injury Lawyers is a eight-attorney 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. Every Boulder car accident case is handled by a licensed Colorado attorney, not a paralegal, and is prepared for trial from the first day we open the file.

ABOTA member on the team Tim Tarr: Best Lawyers in America since 2023 Over 25 cases to verdict Boulder County trial experience Bilingual EN / ES Free consultation No fee unless we win
Frequently asked questions

Boulder car accident questions, answered

How long do I have to file a car accident lawsuit in Boulder?

Colorado gives you three years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit for motor-vehicle injuries (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)). If a government entity such as the City of Boulder, Boulder County, or an RTD vehicle was involved, a written notice of claim must be filed within 182 days of discovering the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)). That government-notice clock runs well before the three-year filing deadline and often before the injured person realizes it has started. Do not wait to consult an attorney.

Where would my Boulder car accident lawsuit be filed?

A car accident lawsuit arising from a Boulder crash that exceeds the county-court jurisdictional limit is filed in Boulder County District Court, housed in the Boulder County Justice Center at 1777 6th Street, Boulder, CO 80302, in the 20th Judicial District. CGH Injury Lawyers handles Boulder County District Court cases directly. We know the local procedure, the Boulder County jury pool, and the defense firms that represent the major insurers in this district.

What if I was partly at fault for the crash on US-36 or the CO-119 Diagonal?

Colorado follows a modified comparative fault rule under C.R.S. 13-21-111. You can recover damages as long as your share of fault is less than 50 percent, and your award is reduced by your percentage of fault. If you are found 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. Insurers handling Boulder corridor crashes routinely try to inflate the injured driver's fault percentage. An attorney can challenge that assignment with the crash report, physical evidence, and witness testimony.

Does Colorado cap what I can recover for a Boulder car accident?

Economic damages such as medical bills, lost wages, and future care costs are never capped. Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering are capped at $1,500,000 for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, with inflation adjustments beginning in 2028 (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5). Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement is not capped at all and is entirely separate from the non-economic cap. In serious Boulder crash cases involving permanent injury from CO-119 Diagonal or US-36 collisions, the uncapped economic and physical-impairment categories carry most of the case value.

What if the at-fault driver in Boulder had no insurance?

If you carry uninsured or underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage, you may file a claim with your own insurer. Colorado UM/UIM claims are subject to C.R.S. 13-80-107.5 under Pham v. State Farm, 2013 CO 17. An attorney can also evaluate whether the at-fault driver has other assets or whether another party, such as an employer whose employee caused the crash, shares liability.

Does CGH Injury Lawyers have an office in Boulder?

No. CGH Injury Lawyers has one office, at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. We serve Boulder and Boulder County car accident clients from that office, file cases in Boulder County District Court (20th Judicial District), and meet you wherever is convenient. Call (303) 209-9395 or use the form on this page to start a free case review.

What happens if a government vehicle caused my Boulder car accident?

Government entities including the City of Boulder, Boulder County, the University of Colorado, and RTD are subject to the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act. Claims against these entities require a written notice of claim filed within 182 days of discovering the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)); missing that deadline bars the claim entirely regardless of how serious the injuries are. For claims accruing on or after January 1, 2026, the CGIA caps recovery at $505,000 per person and $1,421,000 per occurrence (C.R.S. 24-10-114(1)). Call us immediately if a government vehicle was involved.

How long does a Boulder car accident claim take to resolve?

Straightforward claims with clear liability and documented injuries may settle in a few months. Complex cases involving disputed fault on the CO-119 Diagonal or Canyon Boulevard, serious injuries requiring ongoing treatment at Foothills Hospital, or insurance disputes over UM/UIM coverage can take one to three years or longer. Settling before you reach maximum medical improvement often leaves money on the table for future care costs you cannot yet calculate. We advise clients honestly about where their specific Boulder case stands at every stage.

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It's More Than Money.

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Tell us what happened in Boulder

100% confidential. No fee unless we win.

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CGH Injury Lawyers · Serving Boulder County from 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205