A serious burn doesn't end when you leave the hospital. Grafts, scar treatment, therapy, and time away from work can stretch on for years, and a first insurance offer may not account for any of it. We help burn survivors in Brighton and across Adams County and put the whole cost of recovery on paper, from our Denver office.
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If you or someone you love was burned in Brighton, you may be dealing with pain, dressing changes, and a lot of questions: who pays for all of this, how long you have to act, and whether it's too early to call a Brighton burn injury lawyer. This page walks through what Colorado law says, in plain words, so you can make that decision with real information.
When you want to talk it through with a person, CGH Injury Lawyers answers at (303) 209-9395. You can also tell us what happened through our contact page.
Burns come from kitchens, job sites, car fires, and products that fail. How it happened decides who may be responsible, and each path runs through a different part of Colorado law.
A burn at home can trace back to something on the property, like a water heater set too hot, wiring that was never repaired, or a smoke detector that was missing. When a property's condition causes a burn, the Colorado Premises Liability Act (C.R.S. 13-21-115) sets out what the person responsible for that property owed you. A landlord can be responsible under that law because it covers any "person legally responsible for the condition of real property."
Workers' compensation is usually the only claim you can bring against your own employer (C.R.S. 8-41-102). But if a contractor, an equipment maker, or a property owner who isn't your employer caused the burn, Colorado lets you take workers' compensation and also pursue that other party for damages beyond what workers' compensation provides (C.R.S. 8-41-203).
A collision can start a fuel fire or cause electrical and chemical burns. When another driver caused the crash, the burn becomes part of the injury claim against that driver, and the deadline is generally three years rather than two (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)).
Space heaters, batteries, gas appliances, and industrial equipment can all cause serious burns when something is wrong with them. In Colorado, a product liability claim can be brought on more than one legal theory, including negligence and strict liability (C.R.S. 13-21-401(2)). A strict liability claim looks at the product itself: whether it was defective and whether that defect caused the burn.
Four areas of Colorado law shape a burn claim: property conditions, shared fault, damages limits, and deadlines.
Under the Premises Liability Act, what a property owner owed you depends on why you were there. The law sorts people into three groups: trespassers, licensees, and invitees. An invitee, someone there on shared business or because the public was invited in, gets the most protection. An invitee "may recover for damages caused by the landowner's unreasonable failure to exercise reasonable care to protect against dangers the landowner actually knew about or should have known about."
So if a landlord or business should have known about a dangerous heater, frayed wiring, or a missing detector, that can meet that part of the test, even if they never actually noticed it. That "should have known" standard applies to invitees. A licensee, such as a social guest, generally has to show the owner actually knew about the danger, and on land classified for property tax purposes as agricultural or vacant, an invitee has to show actual knowledge too (C.R.S. 13-21-115(4)(b), (4)(c)(II)). Under the Act, the court decides which group you fall into, based on the facts.
Colorado uses modified comparative negligence. If your share of fault is less than the share of the person you're claiming against, you can still recover, and your damages are reduced by your percentage. If your share is equal to or greater than theirs, the court enters judgment for the defendant and you recover nothing.
So if a jury decided you were 20 percent at fault for a kitchen fire and the landlord was 80 percent at fault for a broken smoke detector, your award would be reduced by 20 percent. That's why the questions an adjuster asks about what you were doing when the fire started deserve careful answers.
For claims that arise on or after January 1, 2025, Colorado limits noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, to $1.5 million in injury cases. Medical malpractice and wrongful death claims follow different rules. The figure is set to be adjusted for inflation starting January 1, 2028.
Two things sit outside that limit. The statute limits noneconomic damages, so it doesn't cap economic losses like medical bills and lost wages. And the law states plainly that nothing in the section limits "the recovery of compensatory damages for physical impairment or disfigurement" (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5)). For someone living with scarring or lost use of a hand, that exception can be a large part of the case.
For the two-year and three-year periods, the clock generally starts when you knew, or reasonably should have known, about both the injury and its cause (C.R.S. 13-80-108(1)). If the person burned is a child, Colorado has separate rules that can change how the deadline runs. Because the right deadline depends on who is responsible and how the burn happened, have your date confirmed by a lawyer rather than counting on a general rule.
A burn case in Brighton runs through local places: the court where a lawsuit may be filed, the hospital that treated you, and the fire district that responded.
The courthouse
Brighton is home to the Adams County Justice Center, at 1100 Judicial Center Dr., Brighton, CO 80601. Adams County is part of the 17th Judicial District. Part of Brighton also lies in Weld County, which is in the 19th Judicial District, with its courthouse in Greeley. Where a lawsuit is filed depends on the facts of the case.
Emergency care
Platte Valley Hospital is at 1600 Prairie Center Parkway in Brighton. Colorado's health department lists it as a Level III trauma facility. The same state list includes Level I trauma centers such as University of Colorado Hospital Authority (Anschutz), at 12605 East 16th Avenue in Aurora. Wherever you were treated, those records are an important part of a claim, so keep copies of everything from the first visit on.
The fire district
The Brighton Fire Rescue District protects the City of Brighton, the Town of Wattenberg, part of Commerce City, and parts of Henderson and Lochbuie, along with unincorporated areas of Adams and Weld counties. If firefighters responded to your fire, their records may help show where it started and why. The district's website has an open records request page.
Our office
CGH Injury Lawyers is at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. We serve Brighton and Adams County from there.
Every burn case is valued on its own facts: the depth and size of the burn, where it is on the body, and what it has done to your work and your life. That's why we don't publish burn settlement figures. Here's how we approach the work.
According to MedlinePlus, from the U.S. National Library of Medicine, burns on the face, hands, feet and genitals "can be particularly serious." A burn's size can be measured by the share of the body it covers. We start there, because the treatment you need shapes what a claim has to cover.
An insurance offer can focus on the bills you already have and leave out the graft revision years from now, scar care, counseling, or the job you can't go back to. We work with medical economists, burn surgeons, and vocational experts to build a life care plan that puts those future costs in writing.
If the facts don't support a claim, or the law stands in the way, we'll say so.
Our managing partner, Kevin Cheney, is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). CGH Injury Lawyers was founded in 2016 in Denver and was formerly Cheney Galluzzi & Howard. We prepare each case as if it will be tried, whether it ends up in a courtroom or not.
If Spanish is your first language, you can reach us at (303) 835-9177.
Your health comes first. After that, a few steps can protect a claim while the evidence is still there.
MedlinePlus notes that "the most serious burns can be painless," so how much a burn hurts isn't a reliable sign of how bad it is. Major burns need urgent medical care. Call 911 if you're unsure.
Don't throw out a space heater, battery, appliance, or burned clothing. If a vehicle was involved, ask that it not be repaired or scrapped until it can be inspected.
Photograph your injuries as they heal, the place where it happened, and anything that looked wrong, like a missing smoke detector or damaged wiring.
Tell your landlord or property manager, your employer, or the police, depending on how it happened. A written report made at the time creates a record of what happened.
An insurance adjuster may call quickly. Before you give a recorded statement to an insurance company, you can ask to talk with a lawyer first. Call (303) 209-9395 first.
Medical bills, pay stubs, receipts for bandages and prescriptions, and a simple journal of how the burn affects your days.
Colorado law recognizes different kinds of damages, and knowing which ones are limited helps you see what a fair claim needs to include. What's available in a particular case depends on its facts.
Compensation for disfigurement or physical impairment isn't limited by C.R.S. 13-21-102.5 (see subsection (5)).
One more limit to know about: claims against a government body have their own maximum amounts, which the Colorado Secretary of State adjusts for inflation every four years (C.R.S. 24-10-114).
These are arguments you may hear from an insurer.
An adjuster may argue that you caused the fire or made the burn worse. Shared fault reduces a claim rather than ending it, unless your share is equal to or greater than the other side's. We answer fault arguments with evidence, such as fire origin analysis, maintenance records and expert testimony.
An offer built on the bills you have today leaves out the care you'll need later. A Life Care Plan puts those future costs in writing.
Under the Premises Liability Act, what the property owner owed you depends on whether you were an invitee, a licensee or a trespasser. The court decides that question from the facts (C.R.S. 13-21-115).
A separate claim against an outside party is still possible, as covered above. One thing to ask about early: if workers' compensation has paid benefits, its insurer may have a right to be repaid from what you recover from that outside party (C.R.S. 8-41-203).
Who pays depends on how the burn happened. More than one source may be in play.
Documenting the full loss from the start helps keep the conversation about what the burn has actually cost you.
Colorado generally gives two years to file an injury lawsuit (C.R.S. 13-80-102). A burn from a motor vehicle crash generally has three years (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)). If a government body or one of its employees on the job may be responsible, written notice is required within 182 days after discovering the injury, even before you know everything about the claim, and missing it forever bars that claim (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)). The right deadline depends on the facts, so have it confirmed by a lawyer.
It can be. A claim arising out of the use or operation of a motor vehicle generally has three years (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)). A strict liability claim against the maker of a defective vehicle part generally stays under the two-year rule (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)(II), 13-80-102(1)(b)).
The Adams County Justice Center, at 1100 Judicial Center Dr. in Brighton, serves Adams County in the 17th Judicial District. Part of Brighton lies in Weld County, which is in the 19th Judicial District. Where a lawsuit is filed depends on the facts of the case.
Colorado limits noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering to $1.5 million for claims that arise on or after January 1, 2025, other than medical malpractice and wrongful death claims (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5). The same law says it does not limit compensatory damages for physical impairment or disfigurement (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5)). Medical bills and lost wages aren't noneconomic damages, so that limit doesn't apply to them.
Possibly. Under C.R.S. 13-21-111, you can recover if your share of fault is less than the share of the party you're claiming against, and your damages are reduced by your percentage. If your share is equal to or greater than theirs, you can't recover.
Workers' compensation is generally the only claim against your own employer (C.R.S. 8-41-102). If someone outside your employer caused the burn, such as a contractor or equipment maker, Colorado allows a separate claim against that party for damages beyond what workers' compensation provides (C.R.S. 8-41-203).
It depends on the facts. The Colorado Premises Liability Act covers a "person legally responsible for the condition of real property," which can include a landlord (C.R.S. 13-21-115). What the landlord owed you depends on your status on the property, and an invitee can generally recover for dangers the landowner knew about or should have known about. The maker of the appliance may also be responsible.
No. We serve Brighton and Adams County from our office at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. Call (303) 209-9395 to talk with us.
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It's More Than Money.
If you're not sure whether what happened to you is a claim, that's a fair question to ask out loud. Call (303) 209-9395 or use our contact page to tell us what happened. We'll listen, explain how Colorado law may apply, and tell you what we honestly think.
CGH Injury Lawyers is at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205, and we serve Brighton personal injury clients across Adams County.
You can also read more from a Colorado burn injury attorney about how these claims work statewide, see our Denver burn injury lawyer page, or learn about a Brighton premises liability lawyer and a Brighton car accident lawyer.
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