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Boulder, Colorado against the Flatirons. CGH Injury Lawyers represents spinal cord injury victims in Boulder from our Denver office.
Boulder, Colorado

Boulder Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers Who Build the Case to Your Lifetime Cost

For people paralyzed in a Boulder crash, fall, or collision on the Diagonal Highway, the first insurance offer almost never covers a lifetime of care. We build your case to the real cost. Serving Boulder from our Denver office. No fee unless we win.

No fee unless we win
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It's More Than Money.

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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 espanol
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  • The neurological level of a spinal cord injury, from cervical (C1-C8) to sacral, decides the degree of paralysis and the lifetime care cost. National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center estimates (2025 data sheet, in 2024 dollars) for an injury at age 25 range from approximately $3 million for paraplegia to more than $6.2 million for a high cervical injury.
  • Colorado follows modified comparative fault (C.R.S. 13-21-111). You can still recover as long as you were less than 50 percent at fault, and your award is reduced by your share.
  • Non-economic damages are capped at $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025 (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5), but economic damages and compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement are never capped, which is why a life care plan is the heart of these cases.

If a spinal cord injury changed your life in Boulder, the dollar figure on the first settlement offer almost never reflects 40 to 60 years of real care. CGH Injury Lawyers represents people living with paraplegia and tetraplegia and their families across Boulder County, serving the area from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St. We work with life care planners, neurologists, and economists to build a damages model that reflects what your life now actually costs. You pay nothing unless we recover for you.

The law that governs your case

Colorado spinal cord injury law, decoded for Boulder

Three rules decide how much a Boulder spinal cord injury claim is worth and how long you have to act: how fault is shared, what damages can be capped, and the filing deadline. Each one is set by Colorado statute, and insurers use all three against you.

Modified comparative fault

  • Colorado uses modified comparative negligence (C.R.S. 13-21-111).
  • You recover only if your share of fault is less than 50 percent.
  • A person found 50 percent or more at fault recovers nothing.
  • Your award is reduced in proportion to your percentage of fault.
  • Insurers inflate your share of fault to cut or eliminate the payout.

What can and cannot be capped

  • Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering are capped at $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, with inflation adjustments starting in 2028 (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5).
  • Economic damages such as medical bills, lost wages, and life care costs are never capped.
  • Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement is not capped at all.
  • In a paralysis case, the uncapped categories usually make up the bulk of the recovery.

The filing deadline in Boulder

If your spinal cord injury came from a vehicle crash, Colorado gives you three years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit for injuries arising out of the use or operation of a motor vehicle (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)). Most non-vehicle injury claims, such as a fall, must be filed within two years (C.R.S. 13-80-102). If a government entity or a government vehicle is involved, a written notice of claim is required within 182 days of discovering the injury under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (C.R.S. 24-10-109), and that notice is a jurisdictional prerequisite. Because the deadline depends on how the injury happened, confirm your specific date with an attorney early.

The medical framework

How the injury level drives the value of your Boulder case

The spinal cord is divided into four regions, and where the injury occurs decides what abilities are preserved and what functions are lost. Each level corresponds to a different lifetime care cost, and that cost is the foundation of your claim.

  1. Cervical (C1-C8): high tetraplegia

    Injuries to the neck region affect all four limbs. C1-C4 injuries are the most severe and often require ventilator support and 24-hour attendant care. C5-C8 injuries allow progressively more arm and hand function, and by C7-C8 many people operate a manual wheelchair independently.

  2. Thoracic (T1-T12): paraplegia

    Thoracic injuries paralyze the legs while arm and hand function remain intact. T1-T6 injuries affect trunk stability and sitting balance. Lower thoracic injuries preserve more trunk control, and most people live independently with home modifications and adaptive equipment.

  3. Lumbar and sacral (L1-S5): lower function loss

    Many people with these injuries retain some leg movement and may walk with braces. They often face bowel and bladder dysfunction and ongoing management. Lifetime costs are lower than cervical or thoracic injuries but still significant for supplies, medication, and periodic surgery.

  4. Complete vs. incomplete: the ASIA scale

    The ASIA Impairment Scale grades injuries from A to E. ASIA A is a complete injury with no motor or sensory function below the neurological level. ASIA B through D are incomplete injuries with patchy preserved sensation or movement. Incomplete injuries are harder to value because the extent of recovery often is not clear for 12 to 18 months, and insurers exploit that uncertainty with optimistic projections that rarely hold.

Local Knowledge

Boulder roads. Boulder trauma care. Boulder courts.

A Boulder spinal cord injury case lives in Boulder: the corridor where the crash happened, the hospital that stabilized you, and the courthouse where your case may be filed. Here is the ground we work on for the roughly 105,898 people who live in this city.

High-Crash Corridors

The CO-119 Diagonal Highway

The Colorado Department of Transportation documents the CO-119 Diagonal Highway between Boulder and Longmont as a high crash corridor that produces more severe crashes per mile than any other road in unincorporated Boulder County, which is why CDOT launched the CO 119 Safety, Mobility and Bikeway Project. The US-36 Denver-Boulder Turnpike, which enters the city as 28th Street, and the narrow curves of Boulder Canyon on CO-119 west of town carry their own catastrophic-injury risk. Severe collisions on these routes are exactly the kind that cause spinal cord trauma.

Trauma Care

Boulder Community Health, Foothills Hospital

Boulder Community Health, Foothills Hospital at 4747 Arapahoe Avenue describes itself on its own website as an American College of Surgeons verified Level II Trauma Center and the first designated Level II Trauma Center in Boulder County. The records from your emergency and trauma treatment document the neurological level of the injury, the ASIA grade, and the full scope of your needs, and those records become the backbone of the damages claim. The most catastrophic spinal cases are often transferred on to specialized rehabilitation such as Craig Hospital in Englewood.

Courthouse

Boulder County District Court

A Boulder civil personal injury lawsuit that exceeds the county-court limit is filed in Boulder County District Court at the Boulder County Justice Center, 1777 6th Street, Boulder, the state trial court for the 20th Judicial District. Local civil procedure, the judges, and the jury pool differ from Denver and the suburbs, and we handle Boulder County District Court cases directly so your file does not get handed off to a stranger.

Boulder's geography shapes both the risk and the cost. The CU Boulder campus and the Pearl Street Mall pedestrian zone concentrate student and foot traffic, the Boulder Creek Path and the CO-119 bikeway corridor draw heavy cycling, and the foothills bring winter ice on shaded west-side streets and seasonal rockfall in Boulder Canyon. Living with paralysis against the Rocky Mountain foothills also raises the cost of care, from heated storage for power-wheelchair batteries to all-wheel-drive vehicle conversions and accessible home modifications that run high in Boulder's housing market.

Why CGH

Why Boulder spinal cord injury victims choose CGH Injury Lawyers

Trial-ready attorneys, a damages model built to your lifetime cost, bilingual help, and no fee unless we win. We do not publish spinal cord injury settlement figures, because every injury level is different and a number on a page tells you nothing about your case. What we offer is the work, not a headline.

The Life Care Plan

Sized to 40-60 years.

We bring in life care planners, neurologists, and economists to document every future cost, from a power wheelchair replaced every five years to attendant care and home modifications. That plan is what turns an insurer's low offer into the real number.

Serving Boulder

Denver office, Boulder cases.

We serve Boulder from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, and we handle cases in Boulder County District Court directly. We come to you when a hospital stay or a new wheelchair makes travel hard, so distance is never a reason to settle for less.

Uncapped Damages

The big numbers are not capped.

Economic damages and compensation for physical impairment are never capped in Colorado (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5), so we build the case where the real value lives.

Fault Defense

We fight the blame game.

Under C.R.S. 13-21-111, your award shrinks with your share of fault and disappears at 50 percent. We push back hard when an insurer inflates your blame.

Trial-Ready

ABOTA-backed, prepared for trial.

Managing Partner Kevin Cheney is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. When an insurer refuses fair compensation for a catastrophic injury, we are prepared to take your case to a Boulder County jury, and insurers negotiate differently when they know that.

Bilingual

Hablamos espanol.

Spanish-speaking staff and attorneys serve Boulder's Spanish-speaking families.

No Win, No Fee

Contingency only.

You pay nothing upfront. We front all case costs, including medical experts and life care planners, and collect only from a settlement or verdict.

One honest thing we will tell you up front: we do not sign up spinal cord injury cases we cannot honestly stand behind. If the facts or the available insurance mean we cannot build the recovery your injury deserves, we will say so in the free review rather than take your case and let it stall. When the law and the facts are on your side, we fight for the full lifetime cost. When they are not, you deserve to hear that early, for free.

After the Injury

What to do after a spinal cord injury in Boulder

Stabilize the medical care first, protect the evidence, then call before you talk to any insurer. Here is the path we walk with you.

  1. Get and continue trauma care

    Boulder Community Health, Foothills Hospital stabilizes serious trauma in Boulder, and catastrophic spinal cases are often transferred to specialized rehabilitation such as Craig Hospital in Englewood. Follow through on every appointment and keep all records.

  2. Preserve the evidence

    If the injury came from a crash on US-36, the Diagonal Highway, or Boulder Canyon, the crash report, vehicle data, and the scene matter. Photograph what you can, and identify witnesses before memories fade.

  3. Watch the deadline

    Vehicle-crash claims generally have three years (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)) and most other injury claims two years (C.R.S. 13-80-102). If a government entity is involved, a 182-day notice applies (C.R.S. 24-10-109). Confirm your date early.

  4. Call before insurance does

    The at-fault insurer may call quickly with a fast offer. Do not give a recorded statement or accept anything before speaking with us. Call (303) 209-9395.

  5. We build the life care plan

    We bring in life care planners, neurologists, spinal specialists, and economists to document the full medical and financial impact across 40 to 60 years, then build a demand on that record.

  6. Negotiate or litigate

    Most cases settle. When an insurer refuses fair compensation for a catastrophic injury, we file in Boulder County District Court and prepare your case for a jury.

Compensation

What compensation can you recover after a Boulder spinal cord injury?

A spinal cord injury is rarely a single medical bill. A life care plan, built by certified planners, projects every future medical and non-medical need and becomes the foundation for economic damages. It is the difference between what insurance wants to pay and what life with paralysis actually costs.

Economic damages (never capped)

  • Power wheelchair replaced about every five years
  • Attendant care, often 12 hours daily in the Denver-Boulder metro, part of ongoing yearly expenses the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center puts at $55,900 to $244,879 depending on injury level (2024 dollars)
  • Vehicle modification with hand controls and a lift, and accessible home modification
  • Medical supplies, medication, equipment maintenance, and ongoing therapy
  • Lost wages, lost benefits, and reduced earning capacity

Non-economic and impairment damages

  • Pain and suffering and emotional distress
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Loss of consortium for a spouse or family
  • Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement, which is not capped

Here is the distinction that decides the value of your case. Colorado caps non-economic damages such as pain and suffering at $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, with inflation adjustments starting in 2028 (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5). Two categories are not capped at all: economic damages, including the full life care plan, and compensatory damages for physical impairment or disfigurement. In a spinal cord injury case those uncapped categories usually make up the bulk of the recovery, which is why building the life care plan well matters more than anything else. Sound plans also account for inflation using the Medical Consumer Price Index, which historically runs higher than general inflation, and we build the plan to survive a defense challenge to every line item.

Insurer tactics

Defenses insurers use in Boulder, and how we answer them

In the weeks after an injury, when a family is overwhelmed, insurers present offers that sound substantial. A $1 million settlement can feel life-changing, but for someone facing more than $4.5 million in lifetime costs, it falls short by millions. Once accepted, a settlement is final. Here is how insurers try to shrink your claim, and how we push back.

  1. "You were partly to blame"

    Insurers inflate your share of fault because of Colorado's modified comparative negligence rule (C.R.S. 13-21-111). A person found 50 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, and any fault below that reduces the award. We rebuild the crash with the police report, witness accounts, and reconstruction experts to keep the blame where it belongs.

  2. "You will recover more than you think"

    For an incomplete injury, the extent of recovery often is not known for 12 to 18 months. Insurers settle on optimistic projections that rarely hold. We build the life care plan around both the chance of improvement and the reality that many people plateau far short of independence.

  3. "Cheaper equipment is enough"

    Defense attorneys challenge every line item, arguing that a generic wheelchair is enough when custom seating is medically necessary to prevent pressure sores, or that family members can provide attendant care for free. We document why each item is medically required so the plan holds up.

Most Boulder spinal cord injury claims are paid by an insurance policy, not out of the at-fault party's pocket, and identifying every source of coverage is part of the work. We look beyond the obvious parties for every responsible entity and insurance source, whether the injury came from a crash, a fall, a medical error, or a defective product. The point of insurance is to pay for the harm, and having counsel is how you make the insurer meet that obligation.

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Questions

Boulder spinal cord injury, frequently asked questions

Do you have a Boulder office, or do you serve Boulder from Denver?

We serve Boulder from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205, and we handle cases in Boulder County District Court directly. Distance is not a barrier in a catastrophic injury case. When a hospital stay or a new wheelchair makes travel hard, we come to you. You can reach us at (303) 209-9395.

How much does a spinal cord injury cost over a lifetime?

National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center estimates (2025 data sheet, in 2024 dollars) for an injury at age 25 range from approximately $3 million for paraplegia to more than $6.2 million for a high cervical injury. Boulder families should expect the higher end, because living with paralysis against the foothills adds costs like heated storage for power-wheelchair batteries, all-wheel-drive vehicle conversions, and accessible home modifications that run high in Boulder's housing market. These are care-cost estimates, not settlement figures.

Does Colorado cap the damages in a spinal cord injury case?

Colorado caps non-economic damages such as pain and suffering at $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, with inflation adjustments starting in 2028 (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5). Two categories are not capped at all: economic damages, including medical bills, lost wages, and the full life care plan, and compensatory damages for physical impairment or disfigurement. In a paralysis case those uncapped categories usually make up the bulk of the recovery.

Can I still recover if I was partly at fault for the Boulder crash?

Yes, in most cases. Colorado follows modified comparative fault (C.R.S. 13-21-111). You can recover as long as your share of fault is less than 50 percent, and your award is reduced by your percentage of fault. A person found 50 percent or more at fault recovers nothing, which is why insurers often inflate the injured person's share. An attorney can challenge an unfair fault assignment with the crash report, witnesses, and reconstruction experts.

How long do I have to file a spinal cord injury claim in Boulder?

It depends on how the injury happened. If your injury came from a vehicle crash, you generally have three years from the date of the crash (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)). Most non-vehicle claims, such as a fall, must be filed within two years (C.R.S. 13-80-102). If a government entity or government vehicle is involved, a written notice of claim is required within 182 days of discovering the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109), and missing it can bar the claim entirely. Confirm your specific deadline with an attorney early.

Where would a Boulder spinal cord injury lawsuit be filed?

A Boulder civil personal injury lawsuit that exceeds the county-court jurisdictional limit is filed in Boulder County District Court at the Boulder County Justice Center, 1777 6th Street, Boulder, the state trial court for the 20th Judicial District. Most cases settle before trial, but where a case would be filed affects the local rules, the jury pool, and which adjusters and defense firms you face. We handle Boulder County District Court cases directly.

What is a life care plan and why does it matter to my Boulder claim?

A life care plan is a document built by certified planners, usually nurses or rehabilitation specialists, that projects every future medical and non-medical need, from a power wheelchair replaced every five years to attendant care and home modifications. In a legal case it becomes the foundation for economic damages, which are not capped. Without one, an insurer's low offer looks reasonable. With one, the real lifetime cost is on the record.

Should I accept the insurance company's first offer after a Boulder injury?

Be cautious. Early offers often arrive before the full extent of the injury is known and represent a fraction of actual lifetime costs. A $1 million offer can fall millions short for a tetraplegia case. Once accepted, a settlement is final, and there is no going back when the money runs out and years of care remain. It is worth having an attorney value the claim against a life care plan first, at no cost.

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It's More Than Money.

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