For people in Boulder living with a permanent, life-altering injury, Colorado never caps your economic damages such as lifetime medical care, attendant care, and lost earning capacity, and it does not cap compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement at all under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5). We build the proof to recover the full cost of a lifetime of care. Serving Boulder from our Denver office. No fee unless we win.
No fee unless we winIt's More Than Money.
If a serious injury changed your life in Boulder, the right legal team builds the proof to recover the full cost of that life. CGH Injury Lawyers handles catastrophic injury cases for Boulder County residents from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St., a short drive down U.S. 36, the Denver-Boulder Turnpike. We build defensible Life Care Plans with certified planners and economists, advance their cost, and try the case in Boulder County District Court when an insurer refuses to be fair. You pay nothing unless we win.
A catastrophic injury under Colorado law is a permanent impairment that fundamentally changes your ability to perform life-sustaining activities. A diagnosis alone does not make an injury catastrophic. The legal question is whether the injury is permanent and life-altering, not simply whether it was severe. These are the people we represent.
Colorado draws a critical line between two types of damages, and in a catastrophic case the categories that matter most are the ones the law does not cap. Understanding that line is the difference between a full recovery and leaving most of a lifetime's costs unpaid.
Economic damages such as past and future medical expenses, lifetime attendant care, lost earning capacity, and Life Care Plan costs have no cap at all in Colorado. Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement is also not capped under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5), which provides: "Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the recovery of compensatory damages for physical impairment or disfigurement." Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering are subject to Colorado's general non-economic cap. Because the uncapped categories are usually the largest, the value of a catastrophic case is overwhelmingly driven by economic damages and impairment or disfigurement, not by pain and suffering alone.
AMA Guides whole-person impairment ratings are used to measure the degree of permanent impairment medically. They describe the severity of an injury, which in turn shapes how a Life Care Plan is built and what future care is medically necessary. A defensible impairment rating supports a defensible damages claim.
Most catastrophic injury claims in Colorado must be filed within two years of the injury under C.R.S. 13-80-102(1)(a). Claims arising out of the use or operation of a motor vehicle carry a longer three-year deadline under C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n). If a government entity is involved, such as a public hospital or a public vehicle, Colorado's Governmental Immunity Act requires a written notice of claim within 182 days after you discover the injury under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1), and that notice is a jurisdictional prerequisite. Missing it can bar the claim entirely, which is why the timeline matters from day one.
A Life Care Plan is not a wish list. It is a forensic economic document that connects your clinical diagnosis to legal damages. Health insurance covers treatment. A Life Care Plan covers a life. Colorado courts require these plans to be defensible, region-specific, and built by certified professionals.
Qualified Colorado Life Care Planners hold credentials such as CLCP or CNLCP. They review your medical records, interview your treating physicians, and run functional capacity evaluations to determine your future needs. A treating physician's letter stating you "will need future care" is not enough.
General inflation runs about 2 to 3 percent a year. Medical inflation consistently outpaces it, closer to 5 to 7 percent. A plan that uses the wrong rate can underestimate lifetime costs by millions of dollars, especially for a young Boulder client with a long life expectancy.
National software defaults to U.S. average costs and underestimates Colorado expenses. We account for the premium pricing at Colorado's top rehabilitation facilities, mountain and rural access needs along the Front Range, and altitude and winter-weather care factors that generic plans ignore.
Colorado applies strict standards for expert testimony under the Shreck test, Colorado's adoption of Daubert, and CRE 702. We make sure the plan and the economist behind it can withstand cross-examination, so the projection holds up at trial.
A comprehensive Life Care Plan typically takes 60 to 90 days, depending on the complexity of the injury and the availability of medical records. We advance the cost of building yours. You pay nothing unless we win.
A Boulder catastrophic injury case lives in Boulder: the trauma center that stabilized you, the courthouse where your case may be filed, and the corridors where the most serious crashes happen. Here is the ground we work on.
Trauma Care
Foothills Hospital at 4747 Arapahoe Avenue is a Level II Trauma Center verified by the American College of Surgeons, and the first designated Level II Trauma Center in Boulder County. Those trauma records document the full scope of a catastrophic injury, from the initial impairment rating to the projected course of care, and become the backbone of a Life Care Plan and a damages claim.
Courthouse
Personal injury cases that arise in Boulder County are filed in the Boulder County Combined Court, the District Court for the 20th Judicial District, at 1777 6th St. in Boulder, near the Pearl Street Mall. The court also keeps an alternate location in Longmont at 1035 Kimbark St. Local civil procedure and the local jury pool differ from Denver, and we handle Boulder County District Court cases directly.
High-Risk Roads
Boulder County's Vision Zero data flags the U.S. 36 corridor (the Denver-Boulder Turnpike) and the U.S. 287 corridor for head-on, single-vehicle, and speed-related crashes, and Colorado 119, the Diagonal Highway between Boulder and Longmont, for curve-related crashes and motorcyclist fatalities. The county recorded 22 traffic deaths in 2023, 19 in 2024, and 17 in 2025. High-energy crashes on these corridors are where catastrophic injuries begin.
Many Boulder catastrophic cases trace back to a handful of corridors and intersections. Per Boulder County Vision Zero, common contributing factors include excessive speed, impaired driving, failure to negotiate curves, centerline crossings, and pedestrian or cyclist strikes at intersections. Within the city, the 28th Street and Arapahoe Avenue intersection saw roughly 30 crashes at or near it in 2022 through early December per city reporting, and the 28th Street and Canyon Boulevard intersection ranks among the city's most dangerous in reporting on city data. When a crash on the 28th Street commercial corridor, near the University of Colorado Boulder campus, or out toward the Flatirons leaves someone with a permanent injury, the cause of the crash shapes both liability and the Life Care Plan that follows.
Trial-ready attorneys, certified Life Care Planning, bilingual help, and no fee unless we win. We do not publish catastrophic injury settlement figures, because every permanent injury is different and a number on a page tells you nothing about your case. What we offer is the work, not a headline.
The Uncapped Categories
In Colorado, economic damages are never capped, and physical impairment or disfigurement is not capped under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5). We build the proof to recover the categories that hold the bulk of a catastrophic case.
Serving Boulder From Denver
Our attorneys work from 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201 in Denver, minutes from the Denver-Boulder Turnpike. We represent Boulder County residents and handle cases in the Boulder County Combined Court directly.
The Craig Standard
We anchor Life Care Plans to the level of catastrophic rehabilitation care Colorado is known for, so defense experts cannot dismiss the projection as inflated.
Collateral Source
Under Colorado's collateral source rule, the at-fault party cannot shrink what it owes just because you carry health insurance.
Trial-Ready
Managing Partner Kevin Cheney is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and has tried over 25 cases to verdict. Timothy G. Tarr has been recognized by Best Lawyers every year since 2023. When attorneys are genuinely ready to try a catastrophic case, insurers respond differently to a demand.
Bilingual
Spanish-speaking staff and attorneys serve Boulder County's Spanish-speaking community.
No Win, No Fee
You pay nothing out of pocket for legal fees. We advance the cost of the Life Care Plan and collect only from a settlement or verdict.
One honest thing we will tell you up front: we do not sign up catastrophic cases we cannot honestly stand behind. If the medical evidence does not support a permanent impairment, or if the Life Care Plan would not survive a Shreck or Daubert challenge, we will say so in the free review rather than take the case and let it stall. When the proof is there, we build it and fight. When it is not, you deserve to hear that early, for free.
Stabilize the medical care first, protect the record, watch the deadlines, then call before you talk to the insurer. Here is the path we walk with you.
The most critically injured patients in Boulder are stabilized at Foothills Hospital, the county's Level II Trauma Center. Follow the full course of treatment and rehabilitation, and keep every record. Those records anchor both your recovery and your damages.
Photograph the scene, the vehicles or hazard, and your injuries. Identify and get contact information for any witnesses. In a crash on U.S. 36, U.S. 287, or the Diagonal Highway, the police report and roadway evidence matter to liability.
Most catastrophic claims must be filed within two years (C.R.S. 13-80-102), motor vehicle claims within three years (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)), and any claim against a public entity requires a written notice within 182 days (C.R.S. 24-10-109). Confirm your specific deadline early.
The at-fault insurer may call quickly and push for a recorded statement or an early lowball offer. Do not give a statement or accept any offer before speaking with us. Call (303) 209-9395.
We retain certified planners and economists, project your lifetime costs with the right inflation rate and Colorado-specific factors, and build a plan made to survive Shreck and Daubert. We advance the cost.
Many cases resolve once the proof is undeniable. When an insurer refuses a fair offer, we file in the Boulder County Combined Court and try your case.
Colorado law lets injured people recover two broad categories of damages: economic losses you can document, and non-economic losses for the human cost of an injury. In a catastrophic case, the categories that matter most are the ones Colorado law does not cap.
Here is the distinction that decides the value of a Boulder catastrophic case. Economic damages, which the Life Care Plan documents, have no cap in Colorado, and compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement is not capped at all under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5). Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering are capped under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5 at $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, with inflation adjustments starting in 2028. Because the uncapped categories are usually the largest, a detailed Life Care Plan documenting every future cost is the heart of a serious case. Under Colorado's collateral source rule, the at-fault party cannot reduce what it owes just because you carry health insurance, and health insurance leaves real gaps: policies carry lifetime limits and narrow definitions of medically necessary care, and they exclude home modifications, adaptive vehicles, vocational rehabilitation, and most attendant care.
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When the uncapped categories are large, the defense fights hardest on the projection itself and on who is at fault. Knowing what each defense actually requires is how we protect the value of a permanent-injury claim.
The defense will move to exclude the plan under the Shreck test, Colorado's adoption of Daubert, and CRE 702. We answer by building the plan with a certified CLCP or CNLCP planner, grounding every line item in medical necessity and vendor-specific Colorado pricing, and using medical inflation rather than general CPI, so the projection survives the challenge.
Colorado follows modified comparative negligence under C.R.S. 13-21-111. If you are less than 50 percent at fault, you still recover, with your award reduced by your share. If you are 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. On corridors like U.S. 36 and the Diagonal, insurers push fault onto the injured person to shrink or erase the claim, and we build the liability record to keep that from happening.
Under Colorado's collateral source rule, the at-fault party cannot reduce what it owes just because you carry health insurance. The Life Care Plan establishes the full economic value of your future needs regardless of who ultimately pays, and we hold the defense to that full number.
Lifetime costs rarely fit inside a single policy. Finding every source of coverage is often the difference between a partial recovery and a full one.
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. 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 not capped: economic damages such as medical bills, lost earning capacity, and a Life Care Plan, and compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5). Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering remain subject to Colorado's general cap.
Two categories are not capped at all: economic damages such as medical bills, lost wages, 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 capped under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5 at $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, with inflation adjustments starting in 2028. Because the uncapped categories are usually the largest, the value of a catastrophic case is driven mainly by economic and impairment damages, not by pain and suffering alone.
No. Health insurance covers medically necessary treatment, but it carries lifetime limits and exclusions and does not pay for home modifications, adaptive vehicles, vocational rehabilitation, or attendant care beyond strict medical necessity. A Life Care Plan documents the full scope of lifetime needs, and Colorado's collateral source rule prevents the at-fault party from reducing your award because you carry insurance.
In a serious case, yes. A certified Life Care Plan makes your demand objective and defensible. Without one, insurance adjusters dismiss damage requests as speculative. A plan built by a CLCP or CNLCP withstands cross-examination under Colorado's Shreck and Daubert standards and shows that your demand is grounded in medical necessity, not emotion. It turns the case from "we think this is fair" into a documented projection of what your future care will actually cost.
Most personal injury claims must be filed within two years of the injury under C.R.S. 13-80-102(1)(a). Claims arising out of the use or operation of a motor vehicle carry a three-year deadline under C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n). If a government entity is involved, you must file a written notice of claim within 182 days of discovering the injury under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1), and that notice is a jurisdictional prerequisite. Because catastrophic cases take time to build, contact an attorney early so your specific deadline can be confirmed.
Personal injury cases that arise in Boulder County are filed in the Boulder County Combined Court, the District Court for the 20th Judicial District, at 1777 6th St. in Boulder, with an alternate location in Longmont at 1035 Kimbark St. Many catastrophic cases resolve before trial once the proof is undeniable, but where a case would be filed affects local procedure, the jury pool, and the adjusters and defense firms you face. We handle Boulder County District Court cases directly.
Colorado follows modified comparative negligence under C.R.S. 13-21-111. If you are less than 50 percent at fault, you still recover, with your award reduced by your share of the fault. If you are 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. Insurers often push fault onto the injured person to shrink a large catastrophic claim, especially after high-energy crashes on corridors like U.S. 36, U.S. 287, and the Diagonal Highway. We build the liability record to protect your recovery.
Treating physicians are essential for diagnosis and treatment, but they are not trained in economic forecasting, cost projection, or legal admissibility. Colorado's Shreck and Daubert rules and CRE 702 require expert witnesses to show specialized knowledge in Life Care Planning, which is a field distinct from clinical medicine. A doctor's letter with no cost breakdown, inflation adjustment, or vendor-specific pricing will be challenged as vague and may be ruled inadmissible.
It's More Than Money.
Free consultation. No fee unless we win. Serving Boulder from our Denver office, in English and Spanish.
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CGH Injury Lawyers · Serving Boulder from 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205
