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

Brighton Catastrophic Injury Lawyers Who Build Your Claim to Full Value

A spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, amputation, or severe burn on I-76, US-85, or SH-7 in Brighton can impose lifetime costs that dwarf an insurer's first offer. CGH Injury Lawyers serves Brighton and Adams County catastrophic injury victims from our Denver office, builds Life Care Plans that survive courtroom challenges, and files at the Adams County District Court when insurers refuse to pay what the law requires. You pay nothing unless we win.

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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 catastrophic 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 sits within the city and the local jury pool draws directly from Brighton and the surrounding Adams County community. CGH Injury Lawyers files and tries 17th Judicial District catastrophic injury cases directly from our Denver office, with no additional cost to Brighton clients.
  • Most catastrophic injury claims arising from a motor vehicle crash on I-76, US-85, or SH-7 carry a three-year filing deadline under C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n). Most other catastrophic injury claims carry a two-year deadline under C.R.S. 13-80-102(1)(a). If a City of Brighton road defect, an Adams County vehicle, or another government entity contributed to the injury, a written notice of claim must be served within 182 days of discovering the injury under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1), or the government-entity claim is permanently barred regardless of how strong the facts are.
  • In a catastrophic case, economic damages such as lifetime medical costs and future care projections are never capped under Colorado law. Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement is not capped at all under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5. Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering are capped at $1,500,000 for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025. Those two uncapped categories, economic losses and physical impairment or disfigurement, carry the bulk of a catastrophic recovery's value in Brighton crash cases.

Brighton sits at the junction of Interstate 76, US Highway 85, and State Highway 7, three corridors carrying commercial freight, interstate commuters, and agricultural and industrial vehicles through Adams County every day. High-speed collisions on I-76, left-turn and intersection crashes on US-85, and commuter-speed impacts on SH-7 regularly produce the kind of permanent, life-altering injuries that standard insurance demands cannot address. When the harm is permanent, a certified Life Care Plan built on documented projections is the difference between a settlement that covers the first year and one that covers a lifetime. CGH Injury Lawyers builds those plans, advances the cost of preparing them, and tries Brighton catastrophic injury cases at the Adams County District Court when insurers refuse to recognize what the law requires. You pay nothing unless we win.

What qualifies

What counts as a catastrophic injury under Colorado law?

Colorado courts do not apply a single statutory definition of a catastrophic injury. The legal classification depends on whether the harm is permanent and life-altering, whether it produces a measurable whole-person impairment rating under the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, and how the damage categories map to Colorado's cap structure. A diagnosis alone does not determine the classification. The legal question is permanence and life impact, not severity at the moment of the incident.

Injuries that commonly qualify

  • Traumatic brain injury with lasting cognitive deficits, memory impairment, or behavioral change requiring lifetime supervision or care
  • Spinal cord injury, including paraplegia, quadriplegia, and incomplete injuries requiring ongoing mobility assistance and attendant care
  • Limb amputation requiring prosthetics, home modifications, vocational retraining, and replacement cycles across a working lifetime
  • Severe burns covering significant body surface area and requiring skin grafts, reconstructive surgery, and long-term wound management
  • Permanent organ damage requiring transplant evaluation, dialysis, or lifetime medication management

Why the classification matters for your Brighton case

  • It determines which Colorado damage categories are uncapped and therefore where the bulk of the recovery must come from in a Brighton claim
  • It shapes the scope and cost of the Life Care Plan, the forensic document that turns a diagnosis into a dollar figure an Adams County jury can award
  • It controls whether a government-entity notice under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act must be filed within 182 days of discovery, which matters when a Brighton road defect or Adams County vehicle contributed to the crash
  • It determines whether a treating physician's letter is sufficient or whether a certified Life Care Planner with CLCP or CNLCP credentials must build and sign the plan for it to hold up in the 17th Judicial District
Where catastrophic injuries happen in Brighton

The Brighton roads and settings that produce the most serious permanent injuries

Catastrophic injuries in Brighton tend to concentrate on the corridors where commercial vehicles, interstate freight, and commuter traffic share lanes at high speed. Understanding the crash location matters because it identifies not just the at-fault driver but every party with legal exposure, including trucking companies, cargo loaders, maintenance contractors, and government entities that may have failed to address known road defects.

  1. I-76: Interstate Speed and Commercial Freight Collisions

    Interstate 76 runs east-west through Brighton carrying a mix of commuter traffic, commercial delivery vehicles, and long-haul freight moving between the Denver metro and northeastern Colorado. The speed differential between passenger vehicles and heavily loaded trucks creates conditions where rear-end and sideswipe collisions happen at interstate speeds. Brighton on-ramps and off-ramps concentrate merge conflicts where vehicles shift from surface-road speeds to highway speeds within a short distance. When a catastrophic injury occurs on I-76 and a commercial truck is involved, liability can extend beyond the driver to the trucking company, the cargo loader, and the maintenance contractor, meaning every record needs to be preserved from the first day. A CDOT road defect on I-76 that contributed to the crash also triggers the 182-day CGIA notice deadline running from the date the injured person discovers the injury under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1).

  2. US-85: Commercial Freight Corridor and Left-Turn Hazards

    US Highway 85 runs north-south through Brighton as the primary commercial freight route in Adams and Weld Counties. Semi-trucks, construction equipment, and agricultural vehicles share lanes with passenger cars at controlled and uncontrolled intersections throughout the corridor. Left-turn collisions at intersections where US-85 crosses local Brighton roads are a consistent source of serious injury in Adams County because stopping distances for heavily loaded trucks far exceed what most drivers anticipate. When a commercial vehicle is at fault on US-85, federal motor carrier regulations, driver log requirements, and company maintenance records all become part of the investigation and must be secured quickly before they are overwritten or lost.

  3. SH-7: Speed Transitions and Pedestrian Exposure

    State Highway 7 connects Brighton with other Front Range communities and generates commuter traffic at peak hours alongside slower-moving agricultural and commercial vehicles. Speed limit transitions along SH-7, including the shift from open highway to the city's commercial zones, create following-distance problems that produce rear-end and broadside crashes at speeds high enough to cause permanent spinal cord and brain injury. Pedestrian crossings where SH-7 intersects Brighton's local road network can be underlit or poorly marked, raising crash severity for the most vulnerable road users. Bicycle and pedestrian crashes caused by a motor vehicle on SH-7 carry the three-year motor vehicle SOL under C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n), not the two-year general tort deadline.

  4. Agricultural and Construction Equipment on Brighton Roads

    Brighton and the surrounding Adams County agricultural areas mean that slow-moving farm equipment regularly shares roads with standard traffic, particularly on US-85 and SH-7. Construction equipment serving Brighton's ongoing residential and commercial development also moves through city corridors, creating wide-load hazards, blind spots, and debris conditions. Catastrophic injuries from collisions with oversized or slow-moving equipment produce distinct liability chains that reach the equipment operator, the business directing the equipment, and in some cases the manufacturer. Tracing those chains early, before equipment is repaired or returned, is essential to building the full claim.

  5. Commercial Property and Industrial Site Injuries

    Brighton's commercial corridors and industrial areas generate elevation falls, machinery contact injuries, and crush incidents that cause catastrophic harm outside of motor vehicles. These cases may involve general contractor liability, equipment manufacturer defects, OSHA violations, and a workers' compensation claim alongside a third-party personal injury claim. In those situations, every source of insurance coverage must be identified before any demand is sent because failing to reach a liable party's policy can permanently close a recovery path.

After a catastrophic injury in Brighton

What to do after a catastrophic injury in Brighton

The decisions made in the first days and weeks after a catastrophic injury shape whether a full recovery is possible. These steps protect the injured person's legal rights and preserve the evidence a certified Life Care Planner and forensic economist will need to build a defensible claim in Adams County.

  1. Get to the right level of trauma care

    Platte Valley Medical Center is the primary hospital serving Brighton and the surrounding Adams and Weld County communities. After a serious crash or catastrophic injury on I-76, US-85, or SH-7, injured people are typically taken there first. For the most severe injuries, including complete spinal cord injuries and high-severity traumatic brain injuries, Platte Valley may stabilize and transfer patients to a Level I or Level II trauma center in the Denver area. Every treatment record from every facility, from Platte Valley's emergency department through any Denver receiving facility, forms the medical foundation the Life Care Plan depends on. Preserving and organizing those records from the first weeks is one of the most important actions a family can take.

  2. Request a whole-person impairment evaluation

    AMA Guides whole-person impairment ratings are the measurement tool Colorado courts use to quantify permanent injury. A documented impairment rating from a qualified physician supports a defensible Life Care Plan and challenges any defense argument that the injury is not permanent. Do not wait for treating physicians to request this evaluation on their own. In a catastrophic Brighton case, that rating becomes a central document in every demand and in any Adams County trial.

  3. Preserve scene evidence before it disappears

    Commercial truck data recorders, camera footage from the I-76 and US-85 corridors, dashcams from other vehicles, and cell phone data are often overwritten or lost within days after a crash. The Brighton Police Department or Adams County Sheriff's Office report establishes the official record but does not capture everything. Photographs of road conditions, lane markings, vehicle positions, signage, and skid marks at the time of the incident are critical for establishing fault before the physical evidence changes. Acting quickly through a legal hold letter prevents a commercial carrier from allowing records to expire.

  4. Watch the government-entity notice deadline

    If a City of Brighton road defect, an Adams County vehicle, or CDOT's maintenance of I-76 or US-85 contributed to the injury, a written notice of claim must be served within 182 days of discovering the injury under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1). That clock runs from the date of discovery, not from the crash date. It moves quickly and cannot be extended after it expires. Missing it permanently bars the government-entity claim no matter how strong the facts are. Call CGH before that window closes.

  5. Do not settle before reaching maximum medical improvement

    Insurers sometimes make early offers before the full scope of a catastrophic injury is understood. A settlement reached before maximum medical improvement almost always undervalues the claim because future care costs cannot be accurately projected until the treating team has a clear picture of long-term needs. A certified Life Care Plan cannot be built responsibly until the medical picture stabilizes. Signing a release too early closes the claim permanently, even when future surgeries, home modifications, and attendant care were not included in the initial offer.

  6. Contact CGH Injury Lawyers before talking to the insurer

    The at-fault party's insurer and, in commercial truck cases, the carrier's claims team, begin building their defense from the moment the incident is reported. Do not give a recorded statement, sign any authorization, or accept any offer before speaking with an attorney. CGH Injury Lawyers offers a free consultation to injured people across Brighton and all of Adams County, at no cost and no obligation.

Compensation

What you can recover after a catastrophic injury in Brighton

Colorado law creates two broad damage categories in a catastrophic injury case. The categories that drive the most value are the uncapped ones: economic losses and compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement. Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering are subject to a cap, but they are rarely where a catastrophic case reaches its highest value.

Economic damages (never capped)

  • Past and future medical expenses, including all treatment at Platte Valley Medical Center and any Denver-area transfer facilities
  • Lifetime attendant and nursing care projected through a certified Life Care Plan
  • Home modifications such as ramps, widened doorways, accessible bathrooms, and structural reinforcement
  • Adaptive vehicles and specialized equipment with replacement cycles built into the plan
  • Lost wages and loss of future earning capacity, projected by a forensic economist
  • Vocational rehabilitation and retraining costs when a permanent injury prevents returning to prior work

Non-economic and other damages

  • Pain and suffering, capped at $1,500,000 for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5
  • Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement, which is not capped at all under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5
  • Emotional distress and loss of enjoyment of life
  • Loss of consortium when a spouse or family member is affected by the permanent injury

Government-entity recovery in Brighton: additional caps apply

When a City of Brighton road defect, Adams County vehicle, or CDOT maintenance failure contributed to a catastrophic injury, recovery from the government entity is separately capped under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act. For claims accruing on or after January 1, 2026, those caps are $505,000 per person and $1,421,000 per occurrence under C.R.S. 24-10-114. The caps apply only to the government-entity portion of the claim. If other responsible parties, such as a trucking company or a private property owner, also contributed, their liability is governed by the standard Colorado damage rules, not the CGIA limits. Identifying every responsible party is essential precisely because the CGIA caps can limit recovery from the government while the uncapped categories remain fully available from private defendants.

Comparative fault in a Brighton catastrophic case

Colorado follows modified comparative fault under C.R.S. 13-21-111. You can recover as long as you were less than 50 percent at fault, and your award is reduced by your share of fault. If you are found 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. On congested Brighton corridors like I-76 and US-85, where lane changes, following distance, and signal compliance are all contested, insurers often argue inflated fault percentages against the injured party to push claims toward or past the 50 percent bar. Defending that tactic with physical evidence, data recorder analysis, and expert reconstruction is a central part of how we build catastrophic injury cases in Adams County.

Local knowledge

Brighton courts. Brighton trauma care. Brighton roads.

A Brighton catastrophic injury case lives in Brighton: the road where the harm happened, the hospital that stabilized you, and the courthouse where a life-changing award may be decided. Here is the ground we work on for every Adams County catastrophic injury client.

Courthouse

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

Brighton catastrophic injury lawsuits above the county-court jurisdictional limit 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 District Court sits within the city itself. That is a meaningful distinction: unlike catastrophic injury cases from other Adams County cities such as Thornton, Westminster, or Commerce City, a Brighton case is filed at a courthouse that is physically in Brighton, drawing from a local Adams County jury pool and facing the defense firms and procedural culture of the 17th Judicial District. Catastrophic injury trials in the 17th Judicial District can result in significant awards when economic and impairment categories are fully documented and defended. CGH Injury Lawyers files and tries 17th Judicial District cases directly from our Denver office, at no additional cost to Brighton clients.

Trauma Care

Platte Valley Medical Center

Platte Valley Medical Center is the primary hospital serving Brighton and the surrounding Adams and Weld County communities. After a catastrophic injury on I-76, US-85, or SH-7, injured people in Brighton are typically treated at Platte Valley first. For the most severe presentations, including complete spinal cord injuries and high-severity traumatic brain injuries, transfer to a Level I trauma center in Denver may be arranged. Every record from Platte Valley, including emergency department notes, imaging studies, operative reports, discharge summaries, and billing documentation, forms the medical foundation that a certified Life Care Planner uses to project future care costs. Colorado is home to Craig Hospital in Englewood, nationally recognized for spinal cord and traumatic brain injury rehabilitation, and a Brighton client whose injury requires that level of specialized care will have those rehabilitation records woven into the Life Care Plan alongside Platte Valley's initial care records. We work with those records from the first day of every Brighton catastrophic injury case.

High-Crash Roads

Interstate 76, US Highway 85, and State Highway 7

Brighton sits at the convergence of three major corridors, each carrying a distinct type of risk for catastrophic injury. Interstate 76 runs east-west through Adams County, connecting Brighton to the Denver metro and extending toward Nebraska, with a mix of commuter traffic, commercial freight, and long-haul trucking that creates conditions where rear-end and high-speed sideswipe crashes produce the most severe orthopedic and neurological injuries. US Highway 85 runs north-south through Brighton as a heavily traveled commercial freight route, with regular semi-truck and oversized-vehicle traffic that creates stopping-distance problems and blind-spot hazards at intersections throughout the corridor. State Highway 7 is a regional connector carrying both commuter and agricultural traffic through Brighton, with speed transition zones and pedestrian crossings at local road intersections where collision severity can be high and fault genuinely disputed. Commercial intersections where I-76, US-85, and SH-7 cross each other or intersect with Brighton's local road network are the locations where catastrophic injury cases are most likely to originate in Adams County.

Your team

The Brighton catastrophic 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 catastrophic injury case is handled by a licensed Colorado attorney who files and tries cases in the 17th Judicial District, not by a paralegal. We advance the cost of Life Care Plans and forensic economic reports. We are built for these cases, not for quick settlements.

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 We advance Life Care Plan costs No fee unless we win

One thing we say upfront: CGH Injury Lawyers does not have a Brighton office. We serve Brighton and Adams County catastrophic injury clients from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. We come to you for meetings when needed, file at the Adams County District Court at 1100 Judicial Center Dr. in Brighton, and try cases in the 17th Judicial District. What you get is the work and the result, not a storefront on a Brighton street.

I wish I could leave more than 5 stars!
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Frequently asked questions

Brighton catastrophic injury frequently asked questions

How long do I have to file a catastrophic injury lawsuit in Brighton?

The deadline depends on how the injury occurred. If a motor vehicle crash on I-76, US-85, or SH-7 caused the injury, Colorado gives you three years from the crash date under C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n). For most other catastrophic injury claims, such as a fall at a commercial property or a defective product injury, the general tort statute gives you two years under C.R.S. 13-80-102(1)(a). If a City of Brighton road defect, Adams County vehicle, or CDOT crew contributed to the injury, a separate written notice of claim must be served within 182 days of discovering the injury under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1), or the government-entity claim is permanently barred. Because multiple deadlines can run at the same time against different defendants, confirm your specific deadlines with an attorney as early as possible after any catastrophic injury.

Does Colorado cap what I can recover in a Brighton catastrophic injury case?

Economic damages such as lifetime medical expenses, attendant care, adaptive equipment, and lost earning capacity are never capped under Colorado law. Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement is not capped at all under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5. Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering are capped at $1,500,000 for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5. In a catastrophic case, the uncapped economic and impairment categories are almost always where the largest portions of the recovery come from. If a government entity contributed to the injury, recovery from that entity is separately capped at $505,000 per person and $1,421,000 per occurrence for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2026, under C.R.S. 24-10-114.

What if I was partly at fault for the crash that caused my catastrophic injury in Brighton?

You can still recover under Colorado's modified comparative fault rule, C.R.S. 13-21-111, as long as you were less than 50 percent at fault. Your award is reduced by your percentage of fault. If you are found 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. On a busy corridor like I-76 or US-85, where lane position, speed, and signal compliance are all disputed, insurers work aggressively to push the injured party's assigned fault percentage as high as possible. Defending against that tactic with commercial vehicle data, accident reconstruction, and physical evidence is a core part of how we build every Brighton catastrophic injury case.

Which hospital treats catastrophic injury patients in Brighton?

Platte Valley Medical Center is the primary hospital serving Brighton and the surrounding Adams and Weld County communities. It handles initial emergency care for serious Brighton injury cases. When the severity requires a higher trauma level, injured patients may be transferred to a Level I or Level II trauma center in Denver or Aurora. For catastrophic spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries requiring specialized rehabilitation, Craig Hospital in Englewood is a nationally recognized facility that frequently serves Colorado patients from Brighton and Adams County. Medical records from every treating facility, including Platte Valley and any receiving trauma center or rehabilitation hospital, are essential to building a defensible Life Care Plan, and we work with those records from the first day of your case.

Do I really need a Life Care Plan for a Brighton catastrophic injury claim?

In any permanent injury case, yes. A certified Life Care Plan makes your future economic demand objective and defensible in front of an Adams County jury. Without one, insurance adjusters treat future care projections as speculative and reduce their offer accordingly. A plan built by a CLCP or CNLCP credentialed planner connects your clinical diagnosis to a specific cost for each category of future care, using Colorado-specific pricing rather than national averages. It turns a demand that can be dismissed as a guess into a document that a 17th Judicial District court can rely on. CGH Injury Lawyers advances the cost of building your plan. You pay nothing unless we win.

Does CGH Injury Lawyers have an office in Brighton?

No. CGH Injury Lawyers has one office, at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205, (303) 209-9395. We serve Brighton and Adams County catastrophic injury clients from that office, file cases at the Adams County District Court on Judicial Center Drive in Brighton, and meet you wherever is most convenient. There is no additional charge for Brighton clients. We handle consultations in English and Spanish.

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