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Denver, Colorado

Denver Catastrophic Injury Lawyers Who Build the Case Around a Lifetime of Care

For people living with a permanent, life-altering injury in Denver and their families, the first insurance offer almost never reflects what decades of care actually cost. We work from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St. in RiNo, bring in life care planners and economists, and try the case in Denver District Court when an insurer refuses to be fair. No fee unless we win.

No fee unless we win
Call (303) 209-9395 Get my free catastrophic injury case review

It's More Than Money.

Get my free catastrophic injury case review

100% confidential. No fee unless we win.

Our Denver Office CGH Injury Lawyers 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201 Denver, CO 80205 (303) 209-9395 Se habla espanol
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  • A catastrophic injury is one that is permanent and life-altering, such as a spinal cord injury, a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury, an amputation, or a severe burn. In Denver these injuries most often follow high-speed crashes on I-25 and I-70, construction falls in RiNo and LoDo, and pedestrian or cyclist strikes on Colfax Ave and Speer Blvd.
  • Under Colorado law, economic damages such as lifetime medical care, attendant care, and lost earning capacity are never capped, and compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement is not capped at all under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5). Those two uncapped categories usually make up the bulk of a catastrophic recovery.
  • The value of these cases turns on a Life Care Plan, a certified projection of lifetime cost that must survive Shreck and Daubert admissibility challenges in Colorado courts. Health insurance does not cover the full cost, and Colorado's collateral source rule stops the at-fault party from shrinking what it owes because you carry insurance.

CGH Injury Lawyers keeps a physical office in Denver's RiNo neighborhood, minutes from Denver Health Medical Center and Denver District Court. We represent people living with traumatic brain injury, spinal cord damage, severe burns, and amputations, working with certified life care planners and economists to document decades of real cost. The consultation is free, we advance the cost of experts, and you pay nothing unless we win.

What qualifies

What counts as a catastrophic injury under Colorado law?

Colorado courts do not use one universal definition. The classification depends on the permanent impairment rating and on how much the injury affects your ability to sustain an independent life. 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.

How Colorado law treats damages in catastrophic cases

Colorado draws a critical line between two types of damages. 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. Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement is also not capped under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5), which provides that nothing in that section limits 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 under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5. Because the uncapped categories are usually the largest, the value of a Denver catastrophic case is driven overwhelmingly by economic damages and impairment or disfigurement, not by pain and suffering alone.

  • Economic damages (medical, attendant care, lost income, Life Care Plan): never capped in Colorado.
  • Physical impairment or disfigurement damages: not capped under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5).
  • Non-economic damages (pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment): subject to Colorado's general cap under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5.

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.

How it happens in Denver

Where Denver catastrophic injuries occur and who is responsible

The cause of a catastrophic injury matters because it determines who is responsible and which insurance sources are available. Denver has specific corridors and contexts that produce these injuries repeatedly. Identifying every party with potential liability is one of the first things we do.

  1. High-speed crashes on I-25 and I-70

    The I-25 and I-70 interchange near downtown Denver and the stretch of I-70 through Five Points and Globeville see some of the highest crash concentrations in the metro. Side-impact, rollover, and high-speed collisions carry the force needed to cause a traumatic brain injury or a spinal cord injury. When a commercial truck or rideshare driver is involved, multiple insurers may be responsible.

  2. Construction and workplace falls in RiNo and LoDo

    Denver's construction boom in RiNo, Five Points, and LoDo has meant sustained exposure to fall hazards. A fall from a scaffold or an unguarded opening can cause a spinal cord injury, a severe head injury, or crush injuries leading to amputation. Workers' compensation is only one piece of the claim. General contractors, subcontractors, and property owners may carry separate liability.

  3. Pedestrian and cyclist strikes on Colfax and Speer

    Colfax Ave and Speer Blvd are among Denver's busiest surface roads and the streets where pedestrian and cyclist collisions are most concentrated. A pedestrian struck at speed and thrown to the pavement, or a cyclist struck and thrown over handlebars, can suffer a cervical spinal cord injury or a catastrophic brain injury. The at-fault driver's auto policy is usually the first source of recovery.

  4. Premises and burn incidents

    Falls down unlit stairwells at Cherry Creek and Capitol Hill properties, and fires or explosions tied to defective equipment, can cause permanent impairment and severe disfigurement. Property owners and managers in Denver owe a duty to keep their premises reasonably safe. When they fail, Colorado premises liability law provides a path to recovery.

Local Knowledge

Denver trauma care. Denver courts. Colorado's rehabilitation standard.

A Denver catastrophic injury case is anchored to real Denver places: the trauma center where you were treated, the rehabilitation center that sets the care standard, and the courthouse where the case may be tried. Here is the ground we work on every day.

Level I Trauma Center

Denver Health Medical Center

After a severe Denver crash or fall, emergency responders typically transport the most critically injured patients to Denver Health Medical Center, the region's Level I trauma center, at 777 Bannock St. Denver Health's trauma and neurosurgery teams provide the acute care that shapes the injury record your case depends on. UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, Saint Joseph Hospital, and Rose Medical Center also treat catastrophic injuries across the metro. Every medical record from acute care becomes evidence of the injury's scope and severity.

Rehabilitation Benchmark

Craig Hospital, Englewood

Craig Hospital in Englewood is consistently ranked among the top rehabilitation centers in the United States for spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury care. Courts and insurance adjusters recognize Craig's protocols as the Colorado standard for catastrophic injury rehabilitation. Even when a client is treated elsewhere, referencing that standard anchors the Life Care Plan to a credible, Colorado-based level of care that defense experts have difficulty dismissing.

Courthouse

Denver District Court, 2nd Judicial District

Personal injury cases that arise in Denver County are filed in Denver District Court, the 2nd Judicial District, with civil matters heard at the City and County Building, 1437 Bannock St. Where your case is filed affects the local rules, the jury pool, and which defense firms and insurance adjusters you face. We handle Denver District Court cases directly from our office at 2701 Lawrence St., minutes from the courthouse.

How we build your case

How a Denver Life Care Plan is built

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.

  1. Certified planner, not a treating letter

    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 to withstand a challenge.

  2. Medical inflation, not general CPI

    General inflation runs lower than medical inflation, which consistently outpaces it. A plan that uses the wrong rate can underestimate lifetime costs by a wide margin, especially for a young Denver client with a long life expectancy. We make sure the economist uses a defensible medical inflation assumption.

  3. Colorado-specific cost factors

    National software defaults to United States average costs and underestimates Colorado expenses. We account for the premium pricing at Colorado's top rehabilitation facilities, the I-70 mountain corridor that can close during winter storms and add transportation costs, and altitude and winter-weather care factors that generic plans ignore.

  4. Built to survive Shreck and Daubert

    Colorado applies strict standards for expert testimony under the Shreck test, Colorado's version of Daubert, and CRE 702. We make sure the plan and the economist behind it can withstand cross-examination, so the projection holds up in Denver District Court.

  5. We advance the cost

    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.

Compensation

What compensation can you recover after a Denver catastrophic injury?

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: economic damages and compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement.

Economic damages (never capped in Colorado)

  • Past and future medical expenses
  • Lifetime attendant and nursing care
  • Home modifications such as ramps and widened doorways for accessible Denver housing
  • Adaptive vehicles and specialized equipment
  • Lost wages and loss of earning capacity
  • Vocational rehabilitation and retraining

Impairment, disfigurement, and non-economic losses

  • Compensation for physical impairment, which is not capped at all under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5)
  • Compensation for permanent disfigurement, also not capped
  • Pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life (non-economic damages are subject to Colorado's general cap)
  • Emotional distress
  • Loss of consortium for a spouse or family

The collateral source rule protects your award

Under Colorado's collateral source rule, the at-fault party cannot reduce what it owes just because you have health insurance. If your future medical needs total a given amount, the defendant cannot argue that your insurer will cover part of it and shrink the bill. The Life Care Plan establishes the full economic value of your future needs, regardless of who ultimately pays. Health insurance also leaves real gaps, because policies carry lifetime limits and narrow definitions of medically necessary care, and they exclude home modifications, adaptive vehicles, vocational rehabilitation, and most attendant care.

Colorado law decoded

Colorado law and your Denver catastrophic injury claim

Three legal principles shape almost every Denver catastrophic injury case. Knowing them before you talk to an insurer is the difference between a full recovery and one built on an adjuster's optimistic numbers.

Modified comparative fault (C.R.S. 13-21-111)

  • Colorado follows modified comparative fault. You can recover as long as your share of fault is less than 50 percent.
  • If you are found 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing.
  • If you are less than 50 percent at fault, your award is reduced by your percentage. At 30 percent fault, you recover 70 percent of proven damages.
  • Insurers routinely push the injured person's fault percentage up to reduce or eliminate a payout. Having counsel to challenge those assignments matters from day one.

Damages caps and uncapped categories

  • Economic damages such as medical bills, lost wages, and a Life Care Plan are not capped in Colorado.
  • Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement is also not capped, expressly under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5).
  • Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering are subject to Colorado's general cap under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5.
  • In a serious case, the uncapped categories, economic losses and impairment, make up the largest part of the claim.

Statute of limitations and government entities

For most Denver catastrophic injury claims arising from a motor vehicle crash, the statute of limitations is three years from the date of the collision (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)). If a government vehicle or government-owned property was involved, the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act adds a separate requirement: a written notice of claim must be filed within 182 days after you discover the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)). That notice is a jurisdictional prerequisite. Miss it and the claim against the public entity is permanently barred. CGIA caps recovery against a government entity at $505,000 per person and $1,421,000 aggregate for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2026 (C.R.S. 24-10-114(1)(b), figures certified by the Colorado Secretary of State). If a City and County of Denver vehicle or an RTD bus caused your injury, contact us immediately.

Why CGH

Why Denver catastrophic injury families choose CGH Injury Lawyers

A real Denver office. Trial-ready attorneys. Life care planners who build cases sized to a lifetime. No fee unless we win. We do not publish catastrophic injury settlement figures, because every case is different and a number on a page tells you nothing about your case. What we offer is the work.

The Law

C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5)

Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement is not capped at all in Colorado, and economic damages are never capped. Those two categories carry most catastrophic recoveries.

Real Denver Office

Not a referral mill.

Our office at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201 in RiNo is where your attorney works. You can walk in, review your medical records and the insurance file, and meet the team. We are minutes from Denver Health and Denver District Court.

Life Care Plan

Built to survive cross-examination.

We bring in certified life care planners, physicians, and economists. We advance the cost. You pay nothing unless we win.

Collateral Source

Your insurance is not their discount.

Colorado's collateral source rule stops the at-fault party from shrinking your award because you carry health coverage.

Trial-Ready

8 attorneys, prepared for Denver District Court.

Managing Partner Kevin Cheney is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and has tried over 25 cases to verdict. When attorneys are genuinely ready to try a case, insurers respond differently. A demand backed by a settlement-only firm is one an insurer can wait out. Ours are not.

Bilingual

Hablamos espanol.

Spanish-speaking staff and attorneys serve Denver's Spanish-speaking community throughout every stage of the case.

No Win, No Fee

Contingency only.

You pay nothing out of pocket for legal fees. We advance all case costs and collect only from a settlement or verdict.

I wish I could leave more than 5 stars!
Grace M., 5-star CGH Injury Lawyers client review
How it works

How we handle a Denver catastrophic injury case

Catastrophic injury cases are complex and may take one to three years or more. We tell you honestly where your case stands at every stage, and you have direct access to a senior attorney throughout. Here is the path we walk with you.

  1. Free case evaluation

    We review how the injury happened in Denver, explain your rights under Colorado law, and answer your questions at no cost and no obligation. We tell you honestly which legal track fits your facts.

  2. Liability investigation

    We gather the crash report, surveillance footage from Denver corridors, construction site records, witness statements, and every piece of evidence that assigns responsibility. We look beyond the obvious parties for every responsible entity and insurance source.

  3. Build the Life Care Plan

    We bring in certified life care planners, physicians, and economists to document the full medical and financial impact across the rest of your life. For Denver clients this includes Craig Hospital rehabilitation protocols, Colorado-specific attendant care costs, and adaptive vehicle conversion premiums.

  4. Government notice, if applicable

    If a City and County of Denver vehicle, an RTD bus, or a government-maintained roadway was involved, a written notice of claim must reach the public entity within 182 days of discovering the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)). We protect this deadline before anything else.

  5. Demand and negotiation

    We send a documented demand built on the Life Care Plan and negotiate from a position of trial readiness, not from a willingness to take the first offer. Colorado's collateral source rule prevents the at-fault party from reducing your award because you carry health insurance.

  6. Litigation and trial in Denver District Court

    When an insurer refuses fair compensation for a catastrophic injury, we file in Denver District Court, the 2nd Judicial District, at 1437 Bannock St., and prepare to try your case to a Denver jury.

Questions

Denver catastrophic injury, frequently asked questions

What makes an injury catastrophic under Colorado law?

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, but economic and impairment damages usually make up the bulk of a Denver catastrophic recovery.

Does Colorado cap damages in a catastrophic injury case?

Two of the largest categories are not capped. Economic damages such as medical bills, lost earning capacity, and a Life Care Plan have no cap in Colorado. Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement is also not capped at all under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5). Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering are subject to Colorado's general cap under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5. Because economic losses and physical impairment together make up the majority of a serious catastrophic recovery, the uncapped categories are where the value of these cases is built.

Does health insurance cover the future cost of a Denver catastrophic injury?

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.

Can I recover if I was partly at fault for my Denver injury?

Yes, in most cases. Colorado follows modified comparative fault 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. Insurers routinely try to inflate the injured person's fault percentage to reduce or eliminate a payout, and an attorney can challenge those assignments using the accident investigation, witness statements, and reconstructed crash data.

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

For most Denver motor vehicle crashes, the statute of limitations is three years from the date of the collision (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)). If a City and County of Denver vehicle, RTD bus, or other government entity was involved, a written notice of claim must be submitted within 182 days after discovery of the injury under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)). That notice is a jurisdictional prerequisite, so a missed deadline bars the government-entity claim permanently. Call us as soon as possible so we can confirm which deadlines apply to your specific case.

Why can't my treating doctor just write the cost estimate?

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 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 can be challenged as vague and may be ruled inadmissible in Denver District Court.

Where would a Denver catastrophic injury lawsuit be filed?

Personal injury cases arising in Denver County are filed in Denver District Court, the 2nd Judicial District, with civil matters heard at the City and County Building, 1437 Bannock St. Where a case is filed affects local rules, the jury pool, and which defense firms and adjusters you face. CGH Injury Lawyers handles Denver District Court cases directly from our office at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, minutes from the courthouse. Most cases settle through negotiation, but we prepare each one for trial.

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It's More Than Money.

A life-altering injury changes everything. We handle the case from our Denver office.

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