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I-76 and US-85 corridor through Brighton, Colorado. CGH Injury Lawyers represents brain injury victims in Brighton and Adams County from our Denver office.
Brighton, Colorado

Brighton Brain Injury Lawyers Who Prove the Injury an Insurer Says Is Not There

A traumatic brain injury from a crash on I-76, US-85, or SH-7 in Brighton can be invisible on a standard scan yet devastating to your daily life and your ability to work. CGH Injury Lawyers serves Brighton brain injury victims from our Denver office, coordinates the neurological testing that documents invisible injuries, and files in Adams County court when an insurer refuses to pay what the harm is actually worth. You pay nothing unless we win for you.

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Serving Brighton 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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  • Brighton brain injury cases are filed at the Adams County District Court, 1100 Judicial Center Dr., Brighton, CO 80601, in Colorado's 17th Judicial District. Brighton is the Adams County seat, which means the courthouse is within the city itself. CGH Injury Lawyers files and tries 17th Judicial District brain injury cases directly from our Denver office.
  • Colorado gives you a limited window to file a brain injury lawsuit. Motor vehicle crash claims on I-76, US-85, or SH-7 carry a three-year filing deadline (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)). If a City of Brighton road defect, an Adams County vehicle, or another government entity contributed to your injury, you must also serve a written notice of claim within 182 days of discovering the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)) or the government-entity portion of your claim is permanently barred.
  • Colorado caps non-economic damages such as pain and suffering at $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025 (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5). Economic damages including medical bills, lost wages, and a lifetime care plan are never capped. Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement is also uncapped, and in serious TBI cases those uncapped categories carry the bulk of the claim's value.

Brighton sits at the convergence of Interstate 76, US Highway 85, and State Highway 7 in Adams County. Those corridors carry interstate freight, commercial trucking, and commuter traffic at speeds and vehicle weights that generate the sudden linear and rotational forces most likely to cause a traumatic brain injury. A TBI from a Brighton crash can look normal on the CT scan Platte Valley Medical Center takes in the emergency department while causing months of cognitive disruption, lost work capacity, and changed family relationships. CGH Injury Lawyers serves Brighton TBI victims from our Denver office, coordinates the neurological testing that proves invisible injuries, and files in Adams County court when an insurer refuses to pay what the harm is actually worth. You pay nothing unless we recover for you.

Why these cases are harder

Why a Brighton brain injury claim is unlike any other personal injury case

A broken bone shows up on an X-ray. A brain injury often does not. That gap between what the scan shows and what the injured person experiences is exactly where insurance companies attack Brighton TBI claims. Closing that gap with objective neurological proof is what separates a claim that pays full value from one that settles for far less than the injury is worth.

The crash forces on I-76, US-85, and SH-7 that produce a TBI

Interstate 76 moves commercial freight and commuter traffic at highway speed through Brighton. High-speed rear-end and lane-change crashes on I-76 generate the sudden deceleration and rotational forces that stretch and shear the brain's white-matter axons. US Highway 85, Brighton's main north-south commercial freight corridor, carries fully loaded semi-trucks whose mass creates extreme stopping-distance demands at intersections. Left-turn collisions at unsignalized crossings on US-85 produce some of the highest-force impacts in Adams County. State Highway 7, the regional connector through Brighton, generates head-on exposure where speed-limit transitions are abrupt. All three corridors create the crash mechanics most associated with traumatic brain injury, yet the injury itself often produces no visible structural damage on a standard CT or MRI scan.

  • Standard CT and MRI scans reliably detect bleeding and fractures but routinely miss the diffuse axonal injury that causes lasting post-concussion symptoms after a mild TBI.
  • Brain injury symptoms, including headaches, cognitive slowing, memory problems, irritability, and disrupted sleep, can emerge or worsen days to weeks after a Brighton crash, which is why a prompt evaluation matters even when you feel relatively okay at the scene.
  • The legal pathway for a Brighton TBI claim depends on how the injury happened. The statutes, deadlines, and responsible parties differ between a motor vehicle crash on I-76, a fall on a commercial property along one of Brighton's business corridors, and an incident involving a City of Brighton or Adams County vehicle or road.
TBI classifications

How doctors grade a traumatic brain injury and why the grade does not define your Brighton claim

Medical teams classify a TBI using the Glasgow Coma Scale, a 15-point assessment scored within hours of the injury. That score is a starting point, not a ceiling. Insurance adjusters use a mild score to argue for a small settlement. The real measure of a Brighton TBI claim is what the injury took from you and what restoring your life will cost.

  1. Mild TBI (GCS 13 to 15): the concussion that is not minor

    A mild TBI involves brief loss of consciousness under 30 minutes, or confusion and disorientation right after impact. On Brighton's high-speed corridors, a mild label can follow a crash that totaled a vehicle. Adjusters use the word mild to justify a few thousand dollars for an injury that affects a person's career and family life for years. Post-concussion syndrome, which affects an estimated 15 to 30 percent of people who sustain a mild TBI, can produce chronic headaches, mental fog, emotional volatility, and sleep disruption that stretch well beyond what that first GCS score suggests.

  2. Moderate TBI (GCS 9 to 12): visible damage and months of recovery

    A moderate TBI involves loss of consciousness lasting 30 minutes to 24 hours, often with CT or MRI findings showing structural damage. Survivors commonly face cognitive deficits, personality changes, and physical impairments that require months of hospitalization, rehabilitation, and therapy. The economic damages in a moderate TBI case, including rehabilitation costs, lost wages, and future care needs, often exceed the non-economic cap many times over, which makes thorough economic documentation the foundation of a fair recovery.

  3. Severe TBI (GCS 3 to 8): permanent disability and lifetime care

    A severe TBI involves extended unconsciousness or coma, often with skull fracture or brain bleeding. High-force impacts involving commercial trucks on I-76 or US-85 are among the most likely causes of severe TBI in Brighton. Survivors can face permanent deficits in movement, speech, memory, and executive function that require lifetime care. A certified life-care planner translates those needs into the specific medical costs that must be recovered before any release is signed, because once a settlement is reached, the future is locked in.

Your medical grade is the starting point of the legal analysis, not the answer. A mild TBI that ends a nurse's ability to manage a demanding patient load can warrant more compensation than a moderate TBI in someone who makes a full recovery. What the injury took from your specific life is what the claim must measure.

After an injury in Brighton

What to do after a traumatic brain injury in Brighton

The steps you take in the days after a Brighton TBI directly affect what you can recover. Here is what matters most and why each step protects your claim.

  1. Get emergency and follow-up care at Platte Valley Medical Center

    Platte Valley Medical Center is the primary hospital serving Brighton and the surrounding Adams and Weld County communities. Emergency room reports, CT imaging, and discharge summaries from Platte Valley form the evidentiary core of your TBI damages claim. Even if your initial scan looks normal, follow every treatment recommendation, attend every follow-up appointment, and keep every billing statement. A gap in treatment gives an adjuster the argument that you were not really injured. If your injury is severe and requires Level I neurosurgical intervention, transfer to a Denver-area Level I trauma center may be arranged. We coordinate records from every treating facility.

  2. Document the crash scene before it changes

    Camera footage from I-76 on-ramps and commercial intersections on US-85 can be overwritten within days. Skid marks, vehicle positions, debris fields, and signal timing data on SH-7 change quickly after a crash. Photograph your injuries, the vehicles, the road conditions, and any signage that was missing or obscured. Get the names and contact information of all witnesses at the scene before they leave. Electronic data recorders in commercial trucks involved in your Brighton crash contain braking, speed, and load data that a litigation hold letter can preserve if sent immediately.

  3. Understand your Brighton filing deadlines before anything else expires

    If a City of Brighton road defect, an Adams County vehicle, or another government entity was involved in your crash, a written notice of claim must reach the entity within 182 days of discovering the injury under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1). That clock runs from the date you discovered the injury, not necessarily the crash date, and missing it is not correctable. The motor vehicle deadline on a typical Brighton highway crash is three years under C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n), but the government-notice deadline can arrive while you are still in active treatment. Do not let that one expire.

  4. Do not give a recorded statement before calling us

    The at-fault driver's insurer or the trucking company's claims team may contact you within days of a Brighton crash. A recorded statement given without legal counsel, while your TBI symptoms are affecting your memory and cognition, can be used to minimize or deny your claim. Call CGH Injury Lawyers first at (303) 209-9395. A free consultation costs you nothing and starts the evidence-preservation process immediately.

  5. Seek neuropsychological evaluation as soon as your condition allows

    A standard emergency room visit does not measure cognitive function. Neuropsychological testing, conducted by a licensed neuropsychologist, documents memory, processing speed, attention, and executive function against age-matched norms. That objective data answers the insurer's argument that your normal scan means no injury exists. We connect Brighton TBI clients with the appropriate specialists and coordinate their findings into the legal case.

Compensation

What you can recover after a Brighton brain injury

Colorado law divides TBI damages into categories with very different treatment under the caps. Understanding which categories apply to your Brighton claim, and which ones carry no ceiling at all, is the foundation of a fair recovery.

Economic damages (no cap under Colorado law)

  • Emergency care and hospitalization at Platte Valley Medical Center and any receiving Level I or II trauma center in Denver or Aurora
  • Neurology, physiatry, and psychiatry appointments through recovery
  • Neuropsychological testing and advanced brain imaging such as Diffusion Tensor Imaging
  • Physical, occupational, speech, and cognitive rehabilitation therapy
  • Lost wages from work missed during treatment and recovery
  • Loss of future earning capacity when the TBI limits your ability to perform your job or advance in your career
  • Life-care plan costs projecting decades of medical needs for moderate and severe TBI survivors
  • Home modifications and durable medical equipment required by permanent neurological deficits

Non-economic and other damages

  • Pain and suffering from the injury itself, the treatment process, and the lasting neurological effects
  • Emotional distress and anxiety, which are especially common after TBI because the brain itself regulates mood and emotional response
  • Loss of enjoyment of life when cognitive and physical limits prevent activities that mattered before the crash
  • Loss of consortium when a spouse or partner is affected by the personality or capacity changes a TBI produces
  • Compensation for permanent physical impairment or disfigurement, which carries no cap at all under Colorado law and often accounts for the largest portion of a serious Brighton TBI recovery

For claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, Colorado caps non-economic damages such as pain and suffering at $1.5 million under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5. Economic damages, including medical bills, lost wages, and life-care plans, are never capped. Compensation for permanent physical impairment or disfigurement is also not capped, which is why moderate and severe Brighton TBI cases typically build the majority of their recoverable value in those uncapped categories. Punitive damages may be available when the at-fault party, such as a drunk driver on I-76 or a trucking company that ignored federal safety rules, acted with willful and wanton disregard for others (C.R.S. 13-21-102). Punitive damages require clear and convincing evidence and are capped at the amount of actual damages awarded.

Fault and Colorado law

Colorado brain injury law: fault, deadlines, and the rules that govern your Brighton claim

A handful of Colorado statutes quietly determine whether you can recover at all and how much. Here is what controls every Brighton brain injury case.

Comparative fault (C.R.S. 13-21-111)

Colorado follows modified comparative negligence. 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. If you are found 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. At disputed intersections on US-85, where left-turn right-of-way conflicts are common between passenger cars and commercial trucks, insurers push fault onto the brain-injured victim to cut the payout. If you are found 49 percent at fault, you still recover 51 percent of your full damages. Early evidence preservation, including commercial vehicle data recorders, witness accounts, and accident reconstruction, is how you counter the insurer's fault argument before the evidence is lost.

Filing deadlines for Brighton TBI claims

  • Motor vehicle crashes on I-76, US-85, or SH-7: three years from the date of the collision to file a personal injury lawsuit (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)).
  • General personal injury claims not arising from a motor vehicle crash: two years from the date of the injury (C.R.S. 13-80-102(1)(a)).
  • Government-entity claims, including any City of Brighton vehicle, an Adams County road defect, or a CDOT maintenance failure: written notice of claim within 182 days of discovering the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)). This clock runs from the date of discovery of the injury, not necessarily the crash date, and missing it bars the government-entity claim entirely.

CGIA caps on government-entity recovery

If a public entity such as the City of Brighton, Adams County, or CDOT is a defendant, the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act limits recovery from that entity to $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). Those caps apply separately from what you can recover from a private at-fault party such as a trucking company or another driver. Identifying every defendant in a Brighton TBI claim as early as possible is critical because the rules and deadlines differ by defendant type.

Building your case

Proving an invisible brain injury: how CGH builds a Brighton TBI case

An insurer defending a Brighton TBI claim will argue the scan is normal, the symptoms are exaggerated, or the injury predates the crash. Answering those arguments requires a layer of evidence that standard personal injury cases do not need.

  1. Neuropsychological testing

    A multi-hour evaluation by a licensed neuropsychologist measures memory, attention, processing speed, executive function, and emotional regulation against age-matched norms. The result is an objective data set that shows exactly what the TBI has cost cognitively. It is far harder for an adjuster to dismiss than a symptom checklist or a patient's self-report, and it provides the foundation for a vocational expert's assessment of how the injury affects your earning capacity.

  2. Advanced imaging: DTI and functional MRI

    Diffusion Tensor Imaging maps the brain's white-matter tracts and detects the microscopic axonal tears that a standard MRI cannot see. These are precisely the injuries that high-force commercial truck crashes on I-76 and US-85 tend to produce. Functional MRI can show the brain working harder than normal to perform tasks that once were automatic, direct visual evidence of the burden the injury imposes. Both are available at Denver-area imaging centers for Brighton TBI patients whose initial scans came back normal at Platte Valley.

  3. Life-care plan for moderate and severe TBI

    A certified life-care planner projects every medical expense from settlement through life expectancy: physician visits across neurology, physiatry, and psychiatry; physical, occupational, speech, and cognitive therapy; prescription medications; durable equipment; home modifications; and attendant care. For Brighton TBI survivors whose injuries are permanent, the life-care plan converts the long future of medical need into a specific dollar figure that must be in the settlement before any release is signed.

  4. Vocational expert assessment of lost earning capacity

    A vocational rehabilitation expert reviews your work history, the cognitive and physical demands of your job, and what you are now capable of doing. The result is a calculation of the earning capacity you have lost from the date of the Brighton crash through your expected working years. For knowledge workers, including accountants, programmers, nurses, and teachers, even a mild TBI that impairs concentration can produce a lifetime earnings gap that exceeds the medical bills many times over.

  5. Before-and-after witness testimony

    Coworkers, supervisors, family members, and friends who knew you before the Brighton crash can testify to the specific changes they have observed: the missed details, the difficulty holding a conversation, the shortened temper, the canceled plans. That human testimony gives an Adams County jury the context that a neuropsychology report cannot provide on its own.

Local knowledge

Brighton courts. Brighton trauma care. Brighton crash corridors.

A Brighton brain injury case is rooted in Brighton: the road where the crash happened, the hospital that treated you, and the courthouse where the lawsuit may be filed. Here is the specific ground we work on for every Adams County TBI client.

Courthouse

Adams County District Court, Brighton (17th Judicial District)

A Brighton brain injury lawsuit that exceeds the county-court jurisdictional limit is filed at the Adams County District Court, 1100 Judicial Center Dr., Brighton, CO 80601, in the 17th Judicial District of Colorado. Brighton is the Adams County seat, which means the courthouse is located within the city itself. Unlike brain injury cases from other Adams County cities such as Thornton, Westminster, or Commerce City, a Brighton TBI case is filed at a courthouse that draws its jury pool directly from Brighton and the surrounding Adams County community. The local jury pool, the defense attorneys who regularly appear in the 17th Judicial District, and the procedural culture of that court all shape how Brighton TBI claims are valued and litigated. CGH Injury Lawyers files and tries 17th Judicial District brain injury cases directly from our Denver office at no additional charge to Brighton clients.

Trauma and Neurological Care

Platte Valley Medical Center

After a traumatic brain injury in Brighton, patients are typically transported to Platte Valley Medical Center, the primary hospital serving Brighton and the surrounding Adams and Weld County communities. Emergency room reports, CT and MRI imaging studies, and discharge summaries from Platte Valley are the evidentiary core of the damages claim in any Brighton TBI case. We work directly with medical records and billing documentation from every treating facility from the start of each Brighton case. When injuries are severe and require Level I neurosurgical intervention or intensive brain trauma care beyond Platte Valley's capabilities, patients may be transferred to Level I trauma facilities in Denver. CGH Injury Lawyers coordinates records from every facility and uses the full clinical picture, including the transfer records, to support the damages claim and the life-care plan.

High-TBI-Risk Roads

Interstate 76, US Highway 85, and State Highway 7

Brighton sits at the convergence of three corridors that each carry a distinct type of TBI risk. Interstate 76 runs east-west through Adams County carrying commuter traffic, commercial delivery vehicles, and long-haul freight at highway speed. The speed differential between passenger vehicles and heavily loaded trucks on I-76 creates conditions where rear-end and sideswipe collisions happen fast enough to produce the rotational forces most associated with axonal brain injury. Brighton on-ramps and off-ramps concentrate merge conflicts where relative speeds change rapidly. US Highway 85 runs north-south through Brighton as a primary commercial freight route in Adams and Weld Counties. Semi-trucks, oversized loads, and agricultural vehicles share lanes with passenger cars at controlled and uncontrolled intersections where stopping-distance demands far exceed what most drivers anticipate. Left-turn collisions at unsignalized crossings on US-85 are a consistent source of high-force impacts in this part of Adams County. When a commercial vehicle is at fault, federal trucking regulations, driver logs, and company maintenance records all become part of the investigation. State Highway 7 is a regional connector that brings commuter, agricultural, and commercial traffic through Brighton. Speed-limit transitions along SH-7, particularly where open highway gives way to the city's commercial zones, create conditions where following distances become dangerously short. All three corridors generate the crash mechanics most likely to cause a TBI, and knowing each one shapes how we investigate every Brighton brain injury claim.

Your team

The Brighton brain injury team behind your case

CGH Injury Lawyers is a eight-attorney Colorado firm founded in 2016, formerly Cheney Galluzzi and 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 Brighton brain injury case is handled by a licensed Colorado attorney who files and tries cases in the 17th Judicial District, not by a paralegal.

ABOTA member on the team Tim Tarr: Best Lawyers in America since 2023 Over 25 cases to verdict 17th Judicial District experience Bilingual EN / ES Free consultation No fee unless we win

One thing we will tell you upfront: CGH Injury Lawyers does not have a Brighton office. We have one office, located at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. We serve Brighton and Adams County brain injury clients from that office, file Brighton TBI cases at the Adams County District Court on Judicial Center Drive, and come to you for meetings when your injury makes travel difficult. What you receive is the work and the result, not a storefront on a Brighton street.

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Frequently asked questions

Brighton brain injury frequently asked questions

How long do I have to file a brain injury lawsuit after a Brighton crash?

If your TBI resulted from a motor vehicle crash on I-76, US-85, SH-7, or any other Brighton road, Colorado gives you three years from the date of the collision to file a personal injury lawsuit under C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n). If a City of Brighton road defect, an Adams County vehicle, or another government entity contributed to the crash, you must also serve a written notice of claim within 182 days of discovering the injury under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1). Missing that government-notice deadline bars the government-entity claim permanently, even if the full three-year period has not expired. Because TBI symptoms can emerge or worsen weeks after a Brighton crash, consult an attorney as early as possible rather than waiting until the deadline approaches.

Can I have a brain injury if my scan at Platte Valley Medical Center came back normal?

Yes. Standard CT and MRI scans detect bleeding and structural damage but routinely miss the microscopic axonal tears that cause persistent post-concussion symptoms in mild TBI cases. A normal initial scan from Platte Valley Medical Center does not mean the absence of a compensable brain injury. Advanced imaging such as Diffusion Tensor Imaging can detect white-matter damage that routine scans cannot see, and neuropsychological testing provides objective data on cognitive deficits that no imaging study can capture. Colorado courts recognize that a normal scan does not bar a brain injury claim, and insurance companies know this, which is why they use a normal scan as a negotiating argument rather than a legal defense.

What if I was partly at fault for the crash that caused my TBI on I-76 or US-85?

Colorado follows modified comparative negligence under 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. If you are found 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. At high-traffic Brighton intersections on US-85, where right-of-way disputes between passenger cars and commercial trucks are common, insurers push fault onto the brain-injured victim to cut what they owe. If you are found 49 percent at fault, you recover 51 percent of your full damages. Early legal representation and evidence preservation protect your fault percentage before witness memories fade and camera footage is overwritten.

Does Colorado cap what I can recover for a brain injury in Brighton?

Colorado caps non-economic damages such as pain and suffering at $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5. Economic damages, including medical bills, lost wages, and life-care plan costs, are never capped. Compensation for permanent physical impairment or disfigurement is also uncapped, which is why serious Brighton TBI cases from high-speed crashes on I-76 or US-85 often build the majority of their recoverable value in those uncapped categories rather than in the pain-and-suffering ceiling. If a government entity is a defendant, the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act separately caps recovery from that entity at $505,000 per person for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2026, under C.R.S. 24-10-114.

Where would my Brighton brain injury lawsuit be filed?

A Brighton brain injury case above the county-court jurisdictional limit is filed in the 17th Judicial District of Colorado at the Adams County District Court, 1100 Judicial Center Dr., Brighton, CO 80601. Brighton is the Adams County seat, so the District Court is located within the city itself, and the jury pool is drawn from Brighton and the surrounding Adams County community. Knowledge of the local defense firms and procedural culture of the 17th Judicial District matters to how a Brighton TBI case is valued and presented. CGH Injury Lawyers files and tries Adams County cases directly from our Denver office with no additional charge for Brighton clients.

Does CGH Injury Lawyers have an office in Brighton?

No. CGH Injury Lawyers does not have a Brighton office. We have one office, at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205, reachable at (303) 209-9395. We serve Brighton and Adams County brain injury clients from that office, file cases at the Adams County District Court on Judicial Center Drive, and come to you when your injury makes travel to Denver difficult. There is no additional charge for Brighton clients. We are available in English and Spanish.

Keep reading

Related Brighton pages and Colorado practice areas

Brighton

Brain Injury

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Read next: Colorado brain injury law: what you need to know statewide

CGH Injury Lawyers · 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205 · Serving Brighton and Adams County