After you leave the hospital, the expenses can keep arriving for years: compression garments, repeat grafts, therapy, and time you can't spend at work. From our Denver office, we represent burn survivors in Grand Junction, and we work with burn surgeons, medical economists, and vocational experts on a Life Care Plan for the costs ahead.
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A flash fire in a shop, an explosion at a plant, a steam line that let go on a job site: a workplace burn happens in seconds and can change how you earn a living for a long time after. If that happened to you or to someone in your family, you may already have a workers' compensation claim open, along with questions it doesn't answer. A Grand Junction burn injury lawyer can look at whether a company other than your employer played a part, and what that could mean for the bills still to come.
To talk through your situation, reach CGH Injury Lawyers by phone at (303) 209-9395. If writing it down is easier, send us the details through the contact page.
The Colorado rules that apply depend on where and how the burn happened.
Industrial equipment, fuel, chemicals, and electrical systems can all cause severe burns on the job. Workers' compensation is generally the only claim against your employer (C.R.S. 8-41-102), and it may pay benefits.
The company that built a machine, or a property owner who isn't your employer, is a different matter. An injured worker in Colorado can take workers' compensation benefits and still bring a claim against that outside party for the damages the benefits don't reach (C.R.S. 8-41-203(1)(a)).
Pressure cookers, e-bike batteries, heaters, and industrial tools can all burn someone when they're defective. A product liability case in Colorado can rest on more than one legal theory, and it can include negligence and strict liability (C.R.S. 13-21-401(2)). With strict liability, the focus is on the product: whether it had a defect and whether the defect is what burned you.
Burns from a collision, whether from fire, a hot engine part, or battery chemicals, can be part of a claim against a driver whose negligence caused the crash. When a vehicle defect played a part, the manufacturer may be involved too, and the filing period for that kind of claim can differ from the one against the driver.
Premises claims can arise from situations such as a grease fire in a restaurant kitchen that spills into the dining room, a sparking outlet in a store, or an exposed steam pipe in a hotel hallway. The claim runs against whoever is legally responsible for the property's condition under the Colorado Premises Liability Act (C.R.S. 13-21-115), and what that person owed you turns on why you were there.
For claims arising on or after January 1, 2025, total noneconomic damages in an injury case can't go past $1.5 million (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5). Noneconomic loss means nonpecuniary harm, such as pain and suffering, inconvenience, and emotional stress. Medical malpractice claims and wrongful death actions follow different rules. The dollar figure is adjusted for inflation starting January 1, 2028.
Because the non-economic limit applies to only some damages, it doesn't reduce what you can recover for hospital bills, future surgery, or lost pay (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(3)). Subsection (5) says nothing in the section limits "the recovery of compensatory damages for physical impairment or disfigurement." Scarring may be compensated as disfigurement.
A defense lawyer may argue that you skipped a safety step or ignored a warning. In a negligence claim, Colorado's comparative negligence statute doesn't bar your recovery. as long as your negligence was not as great as the negligence of the party you're pursuing (C.R.S. 13-21-111). Your damages are then reduced by your percentage, and a share that matches or tops theirs leads to judgment for the defendant.
Say a jury concluded a restaurant owner was 85 percent at fault for a fryer that had been leaking oil for weeks, and you were 15 percent at fault for standing too close. Your damages would be reduced by 15 percent.
Colorado's premises law ties the duty a landowner owes to your reason for being there. The three categories are trespasser, licensee, and invitee, and a social guest counts as a licensee. An invitee is there for business on both sides, or because the owner represented, openly or by implication, that the public was welcome. A customer in a store may fit that description.
Invitees receive the strongest protection. Under C.R.S. 13-21-115(4)(c)(I), an invitee can recover for the owner's unreasonable failure to guard against a hazard the owner knew of or should have known of. A licensee generally has to prove actual knowledge instead, under C.R.S. 13-21-115(4)(b). Where the land is classified for property tax purposes as agricultural or vacant, invitees are also held to the actual-knowledge standard under C.R.S. 13-21-115(4)(c)(II). The court, applying the statute's definitions, decides which category fits you.
The two- and three-year periods generally start to run on the date you knew, or through reasonable diligence should have known, both that you were injured and what caused it (C.R.S. 13-80-108(1)). A child's claim is subject to separate rules that can alter how the deadline runs. Because the right date depends on the facts, have it confirmed by a lawyer.
Where a case may be heard
Grand Junction is the county seat of Mesa County. The Mesa County Justice Center sits at 125 N Spruce St., Grand Junction, CO 81501, and Mesa County makes up the 21st Judicial District. A burn lawsuit might be filed there, though where a lawsuit is filed depends on the facts.
Trauma care
St. Mary's Regional Hospital, part of Intermountain Health, is at 2635 North 7th Street in Grand Junction, and the state's designated trauma facility list shows it as a Level II facility. Community Hospital, at 2351 G Road, appears on the same list as Level III. Your records from whichever hospital treated you may be central to showing how the burn was classified and cared for.
The fire department
The Grand Junction Fire Department is a career department whose crews handle structural and wildland fire suppression, hazardous materials response, technical rescue, and EMS from seven stations. Non-medical records, including fire records, can be requested through the department's records request page. A fire record may be useful in showing how the fire began.
Our office
We represent Grand Junction clients from CGH Injury Lawyers, 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205.
We don't publish burn settlement figures, because each case rests on the details of one person's injury and life.
A Life Care Plan sets out future treatment, from graft revisions and scar therapy to counseling and job retraining, and assigns a cost to each piece. We prepare those plans with vocational experts, medical economists, and burn surgeons.
On a shared job site, the machinery in use, the building, and the materials on hand may belong to different companies. Purchase records, equipment rental agreements, service tickets, and site safety logs can help show which of them, if any, had a hand in the fire or explosion that burned you.
When the other side argues the fire was your fault, we look at the evidence. Fire origin analysis, expert testimony, and the equipment's maintenance records may each help show what happened.
MedlinePlus classifies burns as superficial, partial-thickness, or full-thickness and states, "Full-thickness burns (formerly known as third-degree burns) affect the deep layers of skin." It also says, "Burns on the face, hands, feet, and genitals can be particularly serious."
Managing Partner Kevin Cheney is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). CGH Injury Lawyers, formerly Cheney Galluzzi & Howard, was founded in Denver in 2016 and prepares each case as if it will be tried.
When the law or the facts don't support a case, you'll hear that from us directly.
Our Spanish line is (303) 835-9177.
MedlinePlus cautions, "The most serious burns can be painless." MedlinePlus also says, "Major burns need urgent medical care." Call 911 in an emergency.
Tell your supervisor in writing and keep a copy. Write down the names of any equipment vendors or other companies working near you, and if you can, photograph the manufacturer's plate on any machine involved and the name stenciled on rented equipment.
Keep burned clothing, safety gear, and any product involved. Ask that someone leave damaged equipment or a burned vehicle as it is until they inspect it.
Take photographs of your injuries through each stage of healing and of the scene if you can do so safely.
Save receipts for prescriptions, dressings, and garments; keep track of missed shifts and overtime you couldn't take; and note appointments you have scheduled months out, including therapy sessions and follow-up visits with a surgeon.
Before you give a recorded statement to an insurance company, you can ask to speak with a lawyer first. That applies to your employer's carrier and to any outside company's insurer alike, and you can reach us at (303) 209-9395.
Colorado recognizes several categories of damages. Which ones apply, and in what amount, depends on your case.
Colorado's noneconomic damages statute, C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5), does not limit compensatory damages for physical impairment or disfigurement.
Recovery from a public entity is subject to maximum amounts that the Colorado Secretary of State updates every four years (C.R.S. 24-10-114).
An adjuster may argue that. In a negligence claim, your share of fault reduces your damages by your percentage, and if it's equal to or greater than the other side's, you can't recover.
Workers' compensation benefits may not cover everything a serious burn costs you. A separate claim against an outside company that caused the burn may still be available. If workers' compensation has paid benefits, its insurer may have a right to be repaid from what you recover from the outside party (C.R.S. 8-41-203).
An adjuster may value a claim on what has been billed so far. A Life Care Plan documents the costs still to come in writing.
For the claim against the driver, generally yes: tort claims arising out of the use or operation of a motor vehicle generally have three years (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)). Suing a parts maker in strict liability is different, because that claim generally keeps the two-year period (C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)(II), 13-80-102(1)(b)). A lawyer can confirm which clock applies to you.
The Mesa County Justice Center, at 125 N Spruce St. in Grand Junction, is the courthouse for Mesa County and the 21st Judicial District. Where a lawsuit is filed depends on the facts.
It may reduce your recovery. In a negligence claim, the percentage a jury assigns you comes off your damages, and you recover nothing only if your share is as large as or larger than the other side's (C.R.S. 13-21-111).
The landlord may be. Colorado's Premises Liability Act applies to a "person legally responsible for the condition of real property," and that can include a landlord (C.R.S. 13-21-115). Whether your landlord owed you the higher or the lower duty depends on the status the court assigns you. An invitee may point to hazards the landlord should have known of, while a licensee generally has to prove the landlord actually knew (C.R.S. 13-21-115(4)(b)). The appliance's manufacturer may also be responsible.
Possibly. Colorado generally limits product liability claims against a seller that isn't also the manufacturer (C.R.S. 13-21-402). Exceptions include a seller that knew about the defect, and a principal distributor or seller when a court can't get jurisdiction over the manufacturer (C.R.S. 13-21-401(1), 13-21-402).
No. Our office is at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. Phone (303) 209-9395 with questions about a Grand Junction burn.
The restaurant's owner, or whoever is legally responsible for the property's condition, may be. As a customer, you may be found to be an invitee, and an invitee can point to a fryer or wiring problem the owner knew of or should have known of (C.R.S. 13-21-115(4)(c)(I)). The court decides your category from the facts, and a faulty fryer or heater could also point to its manufacturer.
The answer turns on the setting. For a workplace burn, workers' compensation may pay benefits. After a crash, look to the at-fault driver's liability policy as a starting point, and to uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage you bought yourself if that driver was underinsured. For a burn caused by a property's condition, the owner's or landlord's liability insurance may respond.
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Reach us at (303) 209-9395, or explain what happened through our contact page. We'll talk through the law that may apply and give you our honest view.
CGH Injury Lawyers is at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205.
To learn more, read about working with a Colorado burn injury attorney, visit our Denver burn injury lawyer page, or see how a Grand Junction premises liability lawyer or a Grand Junction car accident lawyer can help.
Learn more on our Grand Junction personal injury lawyers page.
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