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Federal Boulevard corridor in Federal Heights, Colorado. CGH Injury Lawyers represents DUI accident victims in Federal Heights and Adams County from our Denver office.
Federal Heights, Colorado

Federal Heights DUI Accident Lawyers Who Pursue the Driver, the Bar, and Every Dollar Your Crash Is Worth

A drunk or drugged driver on Federal Boulevard, I-25, or US-36 in Federal Heights can leave you with catastrophic injuries, a stack of medical bills, and an insurer whose first job is to minimize your payout. CGH Injury Lawyers serves Federal Heights from our Denver office, pursues every responsible party including any bar that overserved the driver, and tries the case in Adams County District Court when an insurer refuses to be fair. No fee unless we win.

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Serving Federal Heights 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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  • Federal Boulevard (CO-88) carries 30,000 to 40,000 vehicles daily through Federal Heights, with closely spaced commercial driveways, bars, and restaurants along the corridor that can feed impaired drivers directly onto one of the most dangerous roads in the Denver metro area. A drunk or drugged driver on Federal Boulevard, I-25, or US-36 who causes a crash is treated as negligent under the doctrine of negligence per se because impaired driving laws exist to prevent exactly this kind of harm. Your civil claim is separate from any criminal case the district attorney files.
  • Colorado gives you three years from the date of a DUI crash to file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)), but a claim against any bar or restaurant that overserved the driver must be commenced within one year after the alcohol was sold or served (C.R.S. 44-3-801). That one-year clock is often the most urgent deadline in a Federal Heights DUI case and is why these claims must be evaluated from the first day, not after the criminal case resolves.
  • When the drunk driver who hit you on Federal Boulevard or I-25 had no insurance or too little insurance, your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage frequently becomes the primary source of real recovery. Those claims carry their own separate deadline under C.R.S. 13-80-107.5, the statute the Colorado Supreme Court applied in Pham v. State Farm, 2013 CO 17, and must be tracked alongside the claim against the driver.

Federal Heights is a city of roughly 14,382 people in Adams County, threaded by some of the most heavily traveled corridors in the Denver metro. A DUI crash on any of these roads can produce injuries severe enough to require treatment at HCA HealthONE Mountain Ridge, Adams County's only Level II Trauma Center, or at Denver Health's Ernest E. Moore Shock Trauma Center in Denver. CGH Injury Lawyers handles DUI accident claims for Federal Heights clients from our Denver office, pursues the driver, the bar that put them on the road, and every available insurance policy, then files in Adams County District Court when an insurer refuses to be fair. You pay nothing unless we win.

The law that governs your case

Why a DUI crash in Federal Heights is legally different from an ordinary car accident

In a typical car crash case, you have to prove the other driver was careless. In a DUI crash, Colorado's negligence per se doctrine changes that burden in an important way, and the difference matters significantly for your case.

Colorado follows the doctrine of negligence per se. When a person violates a safety statute designed to prevent the kind of harm that occurred, to a class of people the statute was written to protect, that violation can establish negligence by itself. Impaired driving laws are specifically written to prevent drunk and drugged drivers from injuring other people on public roads. A driver who violates those laws and causes a crash on Federal Boulevard or I-25 fits the doctrine precisely.

In practical terms, this means that in most Federal Heights DUI cases the core question is not whether the impaired driver did something wrong. The fact of impairment, once documented by the police report, the arrest record, and toxicology results, does most of that work. The real dispute is almost always about the value of the harm you suffered and which insurance policies are required to pay it. Knowing that shift changes how a skilled attorney builds your claim from the first day.

The criminal case being pursued by the Adams County District Attorney is a separate proceeding with a separate goal. It punishes the driver. Our job is to recover your money, and we handle that civil claim on its own timeline without waiting for the criminal docket to finish.

Every source of recovery

Who can be held responsible besides the drunk driver: the dram shop angle on Federal Boulevard

The impaired driver is the obvious defendant, but Federal Boulevard and the surrounding corridors in Federal Heights are lined with bars, restaurants, and liquor-serving establishments. Colorado law gives us a way to pursue those businesses when they put an already-drunk patron back on the road.

Dram shop liability: the bar or restaurant

  • Colorado's Dram Shop Act (C.R.S. 44-3-801) lets an injured person sue a licensed alcohol vendor that willfully and knowingly served alcohol to a visibly intoxicated patron who then caused the crash.
  • The same statute extends to serving a person under age 21. Under C.R.S. 44-3-801(4), a vendor, and in that specific circumstance even a private social host, can be liable for giving a minor alcohol or a place to drink when harm results.
  • A dram shop recovery is separate from and in addition to the driver's own liability, so it creates a second source of compensation. The bar's commercial insurance policy often covers limits far exceeding what the driver carries personally.
  • The critical trap: a dram shop lawsuit must be commenced within one year after the alcohol was sold or served. Many families lose this claim entirely by waiting for the criminal case to conclude before thinking about who else to pursue.

Your own coverage: UM and UIM

  • Drunk drivers who cause crashes in Federal Heights and Adams County are disproportionately likely to carry no insurance at all, or to carry only Colorado's minimum limits, which rarely cover a serious injury.
  • If the at-fault driver had no insurance, your uninsured motorist (UM) coverage steps into the driver's shoes and pays what the driver's policy would have paid.
  • If the driver had insurance but not enough to cover the full value of your injuries, your underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage fills the gap between their limits and your actual losses.
  • UM and UIM claims run on their own separate deadline under C.R.S. 13-80-107.5, the statute the Colorado Supreme Court applied in Pham v. State Farm, 2013 CO 17. Do not assume it matches the three-year clock against the driver. We confirm every deadline at the start of every case.

Local knowledge

Federal Heights courts. Federal Heights trauma care. Federal Heights DUI corridors.

A Federal Heights DUI accident case lives in Adams County: the road where the impaired driver hit you, the hospital that treated your injuries, and the courthouse where we file if an insurer refuses to be fair. CGH Injury Lawyers knows all three.

Courthouse

Adams County District Court, 17th Judicial District

A Federal Heights DUI accident lawsuit that exceeds the county-court jurisdictional limit is filed in Adams County District Court, located at the Adams County Justice Center, 1100 Judicial Center Dr., Brighton, CO 80601, within the 17th Judicial District, which covers Adams County and Broomfield County. The local jury pool, the defense firms that routinely appear there, and the district's trial procedures all differ from other Colorado districts. We handle Adams County District Court filings directly and do not sub work out to local counsel.

Trauma Care

HCA HealthONE Mountain Ridge and Denver Health Shock Trauma

High-speed DUI crashes on Federal Boulevard and I-25 produce the kinds of injuries that require immediate trauma care. HCA HealthONE Mountain Ridge, formerly North Suburban Medical Center, is the only CDPHE-designated Level II Trauma Center in Adams County. For the most severe DUI crash injuries including traumatic brain injury, spinal cord damage, and internal bleeding, Denver Health's Ernest E. Moore Shock Trauma Center in Denver is a Level I Adult Trauma Center designated by both the American College of Surgeons and the State of Colorado. The trauma records from these facilities document the full scope and severity of the injuries that drive the most value in your claim.

DUI Crash Corridors

Federal Boulevard (CO-88), I-25, and US-36

Federal Boulevard is Colorado State Highway 88 and carries 30,000 to 40,000 vehicles daily through Federal Heights. CDOT's Federal Design Study documents it as one of the most dangerous corridors in the Denver metro area. The combination of high-speed multi-lane traffic, frequent commercial driveways, and liquor-serving businesses along the corridor creates recurring conditions where impaired driving turns into catastrophic crashes. I-25 through Federal Heights between US-36 and 104th Ave shows documented rising crash rates since 2012, with rear-end collisions as the dominant crash type. US-36 connects Federal Heights to Denver and Boulder and carries substantial commercial traffic. Impaired driving on any of these corridors after dark is a recognized pattern that shapes how we investigate and build your claim.

After the crash

What to do immediately after a suspected DUI crash in Federal Heights

The actions you take in the first hours after a Federal Heights DUI crash shape what evidence survives and how strong your claim will be. These steps apply whether you are injured on Federal Boulevard, I-25, or any other Adams County road.

  1. Call 911 and stay at the scene

    Getting law enforcement to the scene quickly is especially important in a suspected DUI crash. Adams County Sheriff deputies and Colorado State Patrol officers conduct field sobriety tests and, when appropriate, arrest the impaired driver and document BAC through breathalyzer or blood draw. That arrest record and toxicology result become foundational evidence in your civil claim. Without a police report documenting impairment, proving the DUI element later is significantly harder.

  2. Get medical care, even if you feel okay

    High-speed crashes on Federal Boulevard and I-25 can produce spinal injuries, traumatic brain injury, and internal bleeding that do not register as serious pain in the immediate aftermath. HCA HealthONE Mountain Ridge, the only Level II Trauma Center in Adams County, is the primary facility for serious Federal Heights crash injuries. For the most critical trauma, Denver Health's Ernest E. Moore Shock Trauma Center provides Level I care. Every medical record from every visit becomes part of your damages file.

  3. Gather evidence at the scene

    Photograph the vehicles, your visible injuries, road conditions, and skid marks before anything is moved. Note the name and address of every bar, restaurant, or establishment the impaired driver may have left before the crash. On Federal Boulevard, check whether any nearby business has exterior surveillance cameras that recorded the driver's condition or the collision. Collect witness names and phone numbers. Record the police report number.

  4. Do not give any statement to the other driver's insurer

    Even in a DUI crash with clear fault, the at-fault driver's insurer is not on your side. Do not agree to a recorded statement, accept any early payment, or sign any document before speaking with an attorney. Early recorded statements are used to minimize your claim and can permanently limit your recovery.

  5. Contact a Federal Heights DUI accident attorney immediately

    The dram shop claim against any bar that overserved the driver must be filed within one year after the alcohol was served (C.R.S. 44-3-801). Bar video and point-of-sale records are typically overwritten within days to weeks. The three-year filing deadline for the claim against the driver (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)) gives you more time, but evidence does not wait. A free consultation with CGH Injury Lawyers from our Denver office costs nothing and protects every deadline from the start.

Compensation

What compensation can a Federal Heights DUI accident victim recover?

Colorado law recognizes a broader range of damages in a DUI crash than most people expect. Drunk driving conduct can also open the door to punitive damages that ordinary car crashes almost never support.

Economic damages (never capped)

  • Emergency care, surgery, and follow-up treatment
  • Future medical and rehabilitation costs, including life-care planning
  • Lost wages and lost earning capacity
  • Property damage and out-of-pocket expenses
  • In a fatal DUI crash, funeral costs and the family's financial losses under a wrongful death claim

Non-economic and other damages

  • Pain and suffering (capped at $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5)
  • Emotional distress and PTSD, which are extremely common after violent DUI crashes
  • Permanent scarring, disfigurement, and physical impairment (not capped under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5)
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Punitive damages when the drunk driving conduct meets the willful and wanton standard (C.R.S. 13-21-102)

Punitive damages, the non-economic cap, and the uncapped categories that matter most

  • Drunk driving is the kind of willful and wanton conduct that can support punitive, or exemplary, damages on top of your compensatory recovery. Punitive damages in Colorado generally cannot exceed the amount of actual damages awarded (C.R.S. 13-21-102), and proving them requires evidence of willful and wanton conduct. A DUI arrest, prior incidents, or a driver who refused field testing can all contribute to that showing.
  • For compensatory non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, Colorado applies a cap of $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025 (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5). Lower, inflation-adjusted caps apply to older claims based on when the claim accrued.
  • Economic damages such as medical bills, lost wages, and future care are never capped. Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement is also not capped. In the most serious Federal Heights DUI crash cases, those uncapped categories are where the full value of a recovery is built.

We structure every DUI injury claim so that no category of recoverable harm is omitted. Criminal restitution ordered in the driver's criminal case is generally limited to documented out-of-pocket losses and is paid by the driver personally, often slowly and incompletely. It almost never reaches pain and suffering or future losses. Accepting restitution does not cancel your civil claim, but treating it as the finish line is one of the most expensive mistakes a DUI victim can make.

Fault and coverage

Colorado comparative fault in a Federal Heights DUI crash, and what insurers do with it

Colorado follows modified comparative fault under C.R.S. 13-21-111. You can recover damages from a DUI crash in Federal Heights as long as your share of fault is less than 50 percent. Your award is reduced by your percentage of fault. If a court or jury finds you 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. Even when an impaired driver caused a crash, insurers search for ways to assign you a share of responsibility and push your percentage toward or past the 50-percent bar.

Why comparative fault arguments have less traction in Federal Heights DUI cases

  • A driver with documented impairment is already positioned on the wrong side of the negligence per se doctrine. The insurer's task of shifting a meaningful share of fault onto you is an uphill argument when their driver was arrested at the scene.
  • We use the crash reconstruction, the DUI arrest record, the BAC results, and witness statements to keep the fault allocation where it belongs. When the insurer claims you were speeding or failed to avoid the crash, we answer with the documented evidence of impairment.
  • Because the damages from DUI crashes on Federal Boulevard and I-25 are often severe, even a small fault percentage assigned to you can reduce a large award by a meaningful amount. Contesting the insurer's fault allocation is part of every case we handle.
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How it works

How a Federal Heights DUI accident claim works from free review to Adams County trial

A Federal Heights DUI accident claim moves through clear stages, from a free case evaluation to trial in Adams County District Court when an insurer refuses to be fair. Most cases resolve before a courtroom, but we prepare every case as if it will be tried before an Adams County jury.

  1. Free case evaluation

    We review the crash, your injuries, and every party who may be responsible, including any bar or restaurant along Federal Boulevard or elsewhere in Federal Heights. We tell you honestly what your claim is worth and confirm every deadline running against your case, including the one-year dram shop window and the separate UM/UIM deadline.

  2. Investigate and preserve evidence

    We obtain the Adams County Sheriff or Colorado State Patrol crash report, the DUI arrest record, body-camera video, breathalyzer and blood-draw toxicology results, and any bar or restaurant surveillance footage and point-of-sale records before they are overwritten. Federal Boulevard and I-25 crash scenes leave paper trails through CDOT safety records that we pull early.

  3. Coordinate with the criminal case

    We track the Adams County criminal prosecution, support a well-documented restitution request, and use any conviction or guilty plea as evidence in your civil case. Your civil claim moves on its own timeline. We do not wait for the criminal docket to close before protecting your rights.

  4. Identify every insurance source

    We locate the driver's liability coverage, any dram shop or commercial liquor liability policy carried by the overserving venue, and your own UM and UIM coverage. We stack every available source so no dollar of available insurance is missed. The driver's policy is rarely the only source of recovery in a Federal Heights DUI case.

  5. Document the full injury

    We build the complete medical record from HCA HealthONE Mountain Ridge, Denver Health's Shock Trauma Center, and all treating providers. We add future care costs, lost earning capacity, and the psychological impact of a violent crash, because insurers routinely try to minimize harm they cannot see on an X-ray. We bring in life-care planners and vocational experts when a case demands it.

  6. Demand, negotiate, and file in Adams County if necessary

    We send a documented demand and negotiate from a position of trial readiness. If an insurer refuses a fair offer, we file in Adams County District Court at the Adams County Justice Center, 1100 Judicial Center Dr., Brighton, CO 80601, within the 17th Judicial District. Managing Partner Kevin Cheney has tried over 25 cases to verdict as an ABOTA member. We are prepared to present your case to an Adams County jury.

Your team

The attorneys handling your Federal Heights DUI accident 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 Federal Heights DUI accident case is handled by a licensed Colorado attorney, not a paralegal. CGH Injury Lawyers does not have a Federal Heights office. We serve Federal Heights from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, and we are straightforward about that: no Federal Heights storefront, just the quality of the legal work and the willingness to try the case.

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

Frequently asked questions

Federal Heights DUI accident: frequently asked questions

Does CGH Injury Lawyers have an office in Federal Heights?

No. CGH Injury Lawyers has one office, at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. We serve Federal Heights from our Denver office, file Federal Heights DUI accident cases in Adams County District Court in Brighton when necessary, and meet you where it is convenient. You can reach us at (303) 209-9395.

How long do I have to file a DUI accident claim in Federal Heights?

Three deadlines can run at the same time. The claim against the at-fault driver must be filed within three years of the crash (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)). A dram shop claim against any bar or restaurant that overserved the driver must be commenced within one year after the alcohol was sold or served (C.R.S. 44-3-801). A UM or UIM claim under your own policy runs on its own separate deadline under C.R.S. 13-80-107.5. Because these clocks start from different events, the only safe step is to have an attorney confirm every deadline early. The one-year dram shop clock is almost always the most urgent.

Can I sue the bar on Federal Boulevard that overserved the driver?

Often, yes. Colorado's Dram Shop Act (C.R.S. 44-3-801) lets you sue a licensed alcohol vendor that willfully and knowingly served alcohol to a visibly intoxicated patron who then caused the crash, or that served anyone under 21 who then caused harm. A dram shop recovery is in addition to the driver's own liability, so it can add a second source of compensation on top of the driver's policy. The one-year filing deadline from the date the alcohol was served makes these claims time-critical from the first day.

What if the drunk driver who hit me on I-25 had no insurance?

This is one of the most common situations in DUI cases. Your uninsured motorist (UM) coverage steps in when the at-fault driver has no insurance, and your underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage fills the gap when their limits are too low to cover your actual losses. These claims run on their own deadline under C.R.S. 13-80-107.5, the statute the Colorado Supreme Court applied in Pham v. State Farm, 2013 CO 17. We also evaluate whether a dram shop claim against an overserving bar provides an additional recovery path.

Can I recover punitive damages against a drunk driver in Colorado?

Sometimes. Drunk driving is the kind of willful and wanton conduct that can support punitive, or exemplary, damages on top of your compensatory recovery. Punitive damages in Colorado generally cannot exceed the amount of actual damages awarded (C.R.S. 13-21-102), and they require proof of willful and wanton conduct. A DUI arrest, an elevated BAC, or a driver who was already on probation for a prior DUI are the kinds of facts that support a punitive claim. We evaluate that evidence in every Federal Heights DUI case we take.

Does Colorado cap what I can recover for a Federal Heights DUI accident?

Economic damages such as medical bills, lost wages, and future care are never capped in Colorado. Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering are capped at $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, with inflation adjustments beginning in 2028 (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5). Compensation for permanent physical impairment or disfigurement is not capped at all. In the most serious Federal Heights DUI crash cases involving spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, or permanent disability, the uncapped economic and physical-impairment categories are where the full value of the claim is built.

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It's More Than Money.

A drunk driver hurt you in Federal Heights. We handle everything else.

The dram shop clock starts ticking the day the alcohol was served. Free consultation. No fee unless we win. Available in English and Spanish. Serving Federal Heights from our Denver office.

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Read next: How Colorado DUI accident law works statewide

CGH Injury Lawyers · Serving Federal Heights from 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205