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Grand Junction, Colorado. CGH Injury Lawyers represents spinal cord injury victims across Mesa County.
Grand Junction, Colorado

Grand Junction Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers Who Build Cases Sized to Lifetime Costs

A spinal cord injury on I-70, North Avenue, or Horizon Drive can change a Mesa County family's finances for the next 40 to 60 years. CGH Injury Lawyers represents paralyzed Coloradans statewide, serving Grand Junction from our Denver office. You pay nothing unless we win.

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Serving Grand Junction 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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  • Grand Junction sits at the I-70 and US-50 corridor in Mesa County, one of Colorado's highest-volume crash zones on the Western Slope. Mesa County recorded approximately 2,400 crashes in 2024, with 2025 tracking about 15 percent higher. Fatal crashes almost doubled in 2024 compared to prior years, according to a Grand Junction Police Department traffic patrol officer.
  • A spinal cord injury on Horizon Drive, North Avenue, or I-70 can cost from about $3 million for paraplegia to more than $6.2 million for high tetraplegia in lifetime care for a person injured at age 25, according to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center's 2025 data sheet (in 2024 dollars). The first insurance offer almost never reflects that number.
  • 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.

CGH Injury Lawyers serves Grand Junction and all of Mesa County from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201. We represent paralyzed Coloradans and their families statewide, building cases with life care planners, neurologists, and economists who document 40 to 60 years of real cost. The consultation is free. You pay nothing unless we recover.

Who we represent

Grand Junction families facing a spinal cord injury need a different kind of legal team

Not every personal injury firm handles catastrophic injuries. A spinal cord injury case is not a soft-tissue case with a bigger number attached. It requires life care planners, neurologists, rehabilitation specialists, and economists working alongside the legal team to document what a paralyzed person actually needs for the next four to five decades. That is the case we build.

We represent people injured by

  • Motor vehicle crashes on I-70, I-70B, US-6, US-50, SH 340, and local Mesa County roads
  • Truck and commercial vehicle accidents on the I-70 corridor through Grand Junction
  • Motorcycle crashes, including the documented fatal and serious crashes on Horizon Drive
  • Falls from elevation on construction sites, industrial properties, and private premises
  • Pedestrian and bicycle accidents in the downtown Grand Junction corridor along Pitkin Ave and Ute Ave
  • Diving and recreation accidents near the Colorado River and Colorado National Monument

We also represent

  • Spouses and family members who have lost consortium because of a loved one's paralysis
  • Families pursuing wrongful death claims when a spinal cord injury results in death
  • People with incomplete injuries who face years of uncertain recovery and early settlement pressure
  • Anyone who received an initial insurance offer that does not account for decades of care costs
The law that governs your case

Colorado spinal cord injury law, decoded for Grand Junction victims

Colorado law gives a Grand Junction spinal cord injury victim multiple legal theories to pursue. Understanding which apply to your case, and what the defenses look like, shapes how the claim is built from the first day.

  1. Negligence and modified comparative fault

    Most Grand Junction spinal cord injury cases rest on negligence. A driver who runs a red light on North Avenue, a property owner who fails to maintain a safe floor, or a trucking company that overloads a vehicle each owed a duty of care and breached it. Colorado's modified comparative fault rule (C.R.S. 13-21-111) means you can recover even if you were partly at fault, as long as your share is less than 50 percent. Your damages are reduced in proportion to your fault. If you are found 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. Insurers routinely try to inflate the injured person's share of fault to limit or erase the payout, and fighting that argument is one of the most important things a spinal cord injury attorney does.

  2. Statute of limitations: how long you have to file

    For most spinal cord injuries caused by a motor vehicle crash in Colorado, the lawsuit must be filed within three years of the crash under C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n). For general tort claims not involving a motor vehicle, the deadline is two years under C.R.S. 13-80-102(1)(a). If the injury was caused by a government vehicle, a public transit bus, or a government employee, the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act requires a written notice of claim filed within 182 days of discovering the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)). That notice is a jurisdictional prerequisite, and missing it bars the claim entirely. Because multiple deadlines can apply to the same crash, confirm your specific date with an attorney as early as possible.

  3. Non-economic damages cap under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5

    Colorado caps non-economic damages such as pain and suffering at $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5, with inflation adjustments beginning in 2028. Lower inflation-adjusted caps apply to older claims based on when the claim accrued. Critically, two categories are not subject to that cap at all: economic damages (medical bills, lost wages, life care plans) and compensatory damages for physical impairment or disfigurement (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5)). For a Grand Junction spinal cord injury case, the uncapped economic damages and physical impairment damages are typically the largest part of the recovery, which is why building a thorough life care plan matters so much.

  4. Product liability for defective vehicles or equipment

    When a defective vehicle part, faulty safety equipment, or a manufacturing error contributes to a Grand Junction spinal cord injury, the injured person may have a product liability claim against the manufacturer or seller. The deadline for product liability personal injury claims in Colorado is two years under C.R.S. 13-80-106. That two-year rule applies even when the defective item is a motor vehicle, because C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n)(II) specifies that the motor-vehicle three-year period does not apply to strict liability or failure-to-warn claims. When both a negligence claim and a product liability claim are available, we pursue both.

Local knowledge

Grand Junction roads, hospitals, and courts that matter to your SCI case

A spinal cord injury claim is built on the ground where it happened. The corridor where the crash occurred, the trauma center that treated you, and the courthouse where your case would be filed all shape how the claim is handled. Here is the ground we work on in Mesa County.

Primary Trauma Center

St. Mary's Regional Hospital (Intermountain Health)

St. Mary's Regional Hospital at 2635 North 7th Street in Grand Junction is the only Level II Trauma Center in western Colorado, verified by the American College of Surgeons. When a spinal cord injury happens anywhere on the Western Slope, including on I-70 through Glenwood Canyon or on Mesa County's local roads, this is where the most seriously injured patients are transported. The trauma records and specialist notes from St. Mary's become the medical foundation for your claim. Those records document the injury level, the ASIA grade, the acute treatment, and the stabilization decisions that our life care planner uses to project 40 to 60 years of future cost.

Secondary Trauma Center

Community Hospital

Community Hospital at 2351 G Road in Grand Junction holds a Level III Trauma Center designation from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, verified by the American College of Surgeons in April 2017. Level III facilities stabilize patients and coordinate transfer to higher-level centers when needed. If your initial care happened at Community Hospital before transfer to St. Mary's, both sets of records are part of your damages documentation.

Courthouse

Mesa County District Court

Personal injury cases arising in Mesa County are filed at Mesa County District Court, part of the 21st Judicial District of Colorado, with civil matters heard at the Mesa County Justice Center, 125 N. Spruce St., Grand Junction, CO 81501. The 21st Judicial District covers Mesa County. We handle Mesa County District Court cases, and because we prepare every spinal cord injury case for trial from the first day, adjusters and defense counsel in this district know they are dealing with a firm that will not walk away from a verdict.

High-Crash Roads

I-70, US-50, North Avenue, and Horizon Drive

Mesa County recorded approximately 2,400 crashes in 2024, with 2025 tracking about 15 percent higher according to GJPD and CDOT data. Grand Junction Police Department reported fatal crash numbers almost doubled in 2024 compared to prior years. The North Avenue and 7th Street intersection recorded 18 injury crashes in 2024 to 2025. The North 12th Street and Patterson intersection logged 19 injury crashes in the same period. North 12th Street and North Avenue recorded 14 injury crashes. The Horizon Drive corridor documented multiple serious and fatal crashes including a fatal motorcycle crash in April 2026. Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon adds a compounding hazard: flash floods, rockfall, and closures on the canyon send detour traffic back through Mesa County, increasing volume and speed on local roads. Black ice and freeze-thaw conditions on bridges and ramps from October through April, common in Grand Junction's high-desert climate where overnight refreezing follows daytime thaw, create additional serious crash risk.

Why CGH

Why Grand Junction spinal cord injury victims choose CGH Injury Lawyers

We serve Grand Junction from our Denver office. We do not publish spinal cord injury settlement figures for Grand Junction cases because every injury is different and a number on a page tells you nothing about your case. What we offer is the work.

The ABOTA Standard

Trial-ready from day one

Managing Partner Kevin Cheney is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. When insurers know a firm can take a Mesa County spinal cord case to verdict, settlement conversations start from a different place.

Life care planning

We build to actual lifetime cost.

We bring in certified life care planners, neurologists, and economic experts who project 40 to 60 years of care needs for a Grand Junction family. A power wheelchair replaced every five years, attendant care costs, vehicle modification, home modification, and ongoing medical management are each line-itemized and inflation-adjusted using the Medical Consumer Price Index.

One honest refusal

We say no when the law does.

If the facts of a Grand Junction case fall inside a clear legal bar, we say so in the free review rather than sign you up and let the case stall. When the law is on your side, we fight hard.

Statewide reach

Western Slope families, fully served.

We practice across every county in Colorado. Grand Junction families do not get a junior team or a referral. They get the same attorneys who handle our most complex statewide cases.

Bilingual

Hablamos espanol.

Spanish-speaking staff and attorneys serve Colorado's Spanish-speaking communities, including Grand Junction's significant bilingual population. Mesa County families can discuss their case fully in the language they are most comfortable with.

No win, no fee

Contingency only.

You pay nothing out of pocket for legal fees. We advance all case costs, including expert witnesses, life care planners, and medical records, and collect only from a settlement or verdict.

After a Grand Junction SCI

What to do after a spinal cord injury in Grand Junction

The weeks after a serious spinal cord injury are medically overwhelming. The legal steps that protect your claim can get lost. Here is the order that matters.

  1. Accept the care you need at St. Mary's or Community Hospital

    The most critically injured patients in Grand Junction go to St. Mary's Regional Hospital at 2635 North 7th Street, the only Level II Trauma Center in western Colorado. Accept every specialist evaluation, imaging study, and treatment recommended. Keep every record, every discharge summary, and every follow-up note. Those documents are the medical foundation of your claim.

  2. Preserve crash scene evidence immediately

    If the injury came from a crash on I-70, Horizon Drive, or North Avenue, CDOT and GJPD crash reports, dashcam footage, surveillance video from nearby businesses, and physical evidence at the scene disappear quickly. Ask someone you trust to photograph the scene, preserve the vehicle, and request the police report from GJPD before it is closed.

  3. Do not talk to the other side's insurer without counsel

    The at-fault driver's insurer may call the hospital room or the family within days. Do not give a recorded statement and do not accept any offer. The full extent of a spinal cord injury is often not known for 12 to 18 months. An early settlement locks in an amount that reflects neither the actual care cost nor the final ASIA grade.

  4. Call CGH Injury Lawyers before the 182-day government deadline

    If a government vehicle, a city bus, or a public entity employee was involved in the Grand Junction crash, the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act requires a written notice of claim within 182 days of discovering the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)). Missing that deadline bars the claim entirely. Call (303) 209-9395 to confirm which deadlines apply to your specific situation.

  5. We build the life care plan and the demand

    After we open your case, we retain a certified life care planner to document the full 40-to-60-year cost of care for your specific injury level and ASIA grade. When the plan is complete, we send a documented demand built on real costs and negotiate from a position of trial readiness, not from pressure to settle quickly.

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Compensation

What compensation can a Grand Junction spinal cord injury victim recover?

Colorado law does not cap economic damages or damages for physical impairment and disfigurement. Those uncapped categories are typically where the largest recoveries live in a spinal cord injury case.

Economic damages (no cap)

  • Emergency care, surgery, and acute hospitalization at St. Mary's Regional Hospital or Community Hospital
  • Inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, including transfers to Craig Hospital in Englewood for specialized SCI rehab
  • Power wheelchair replacement approximately every five years and custom seating systems to prevent pressure sores
  • Attendant care costs projected over the injured person's lifetime
  • Home modification to make a Grand Junction residence accessible, which in older Western Slope housing stock often involves major structural changes
  • Vehicle modification with hand controls and adaptive equipment
  • Medical supplies, medications, bowel and bladder management equipment, and periodic surgical interventions
  • Lost wages and reduced earning capacity from the injury date through retirement age

Non-economic and impairment damages

  • Pain and suffering, capped at $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025 (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5)
  • Compensatory damages for physical impairment or disfigurement, which are NOT subject to the $1.5 million cap under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5)
  • Emotional distress and psychological injury
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Loss of consortium for a spouse or family member

Sound life care plans account for inflation using the Medical Consumer Price Index, which historically runs 3 to 4 percent a year, higher than general inflation. A plan built at today's costs that ignores medical inflation will run out of money long before a Grand Junction victim does. Defense attorneys challenge every line item, arguing that cheaper equipment is enough or that family members can provide care for free. We build the plan to survive that fight.

What insurers argue

Defenses Grand Junction insurers use in spinal cord injury cases

In a high-value case, insurers do not accept a life care plan without a fight. Knowing the common attack strategies before they are deployed is part of what makes a well-built case hold up.

  1. Inflating the injured person's share of fault

    Under Colorado's modified comparative fault rule (C.R.S. 13-21-111), an injured person who is found 50 percent or more at fault recovers nothing. Insurers argue that a Grand Junction victim was speeding on North Avenue, that they failed to see a traffic signal on I-70B, or that they were distracted on Horizon Drive. These arguments are designed to push the fault percentage above 49 percent. We build the liability case from the crash reconstruction forward to keep your share below that threshold and proportionate to the actual facts.

  2. Settling before the injury is fully known

    In the weeks after a Grand Junction SCI, when the family is overwhelmed at St. Mary's Regional Hospital, insurers sometimes present early settlement offers. An incomplete spinal cord injury often has an unclear prognosis for 12 to 18 months after the trauma. An early settlement based on optimistic recovery projections that do not materialize leaves a family covering decades of care from a pool that was never sized to the actual cost. Once a settlement is signed, it is final.

  3. Disputing the life care plan line by line

    Defense experts will argue that a standard manual wheelchair is sufficient when custom power seating is medically necessary. They will argue that a family member can provide attendant care for free instead of a paid aide. They will challenge environmental control systems, smart-home modifications, and adaptive recreation equipment as luxuries. Each of these challenges is a legal argument we prepare for, with medical support and manufacturer documentation behind every item in the life care plan.

  4. Arguing pre-existing conditions caused the injury

    If a Grand Junction victim had prior back or neck issues, insurers will argue the paralysis came from a pre-existing condition rather than the crash. The eggshell plaintiff doctrine protects injured people with pre-existing vulnerabilities: the at-fault party takes the victim as they find them and remains responsible for the full harm they caused. We document pre-crash health status through prior medical records and establish the causal connection from the trauma event to the spinal cord damage with neurological expert testimony.

Insurance realities

How insurance works in a Grand Junction spinal cord injury case

Most Grand Junction spinal cord injury cases involve more than one insurance source. Identifying every policy in play is the first financial task of the case.

  • The at-fault driver's liability insurance is the primary source, but policy limits for private passenger vehicles are often far below the real cost of a spinal cord injury. We identify every potential coverage layer before any settlement discussion begins.
  • If the at-fault driver had inadequate coverage, your own underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage may provide a separate layer of recovery from your own policy. Many Grand Junction families do not know they have this coverage until a serious injury forces the question.
  • Commercial vehicle crashes on I-70 and surrounding Mesa County highways may involve a trucking company's commercial liability policy, which typically carries much higher limits than a personal auto policy and comes with its own set of FMCSA regulatory claims.
  • If the crash happened on a road with a defective condition, or if a government vehicle was involved, a claim against a public entity requires the 182-day written notice under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1) and is subject to the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act caps of $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), certified by the Colorado Secretary of State).
  • The insurer's goal is to close the claim for as little as possible, as early as possible. Having attorneys who are ready to file in Mesa County District Court and try the case to verdict changes the calculus of every settlement negotiation.
Questions

Grand Junction spinal cord injury: frequently asked questions

How long do I have to file a spinal cord injury lawsuit after a Grand Junction crash?

For most motor vehicle crashes in Colorado, the lawsuit must be filed within three years from the date of the crash under C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n). For general tort claims not involving a motor vehicle, the deadline is two years under C.R.S. 13-80-102(1)(a). If a government vehicle or public entity is involved, the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act requires a written notice of claim within 182 days of discovering the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)), and missing that deadline bars the claim entirely. Because multiple deadlines can apply to the same Grand Junction crash, confirm your specific date with an attorney as early as possible.

Can I recover if I was partly at fault for the Grand Junction crash?

Yes, in most cases. Colorado follows a modified comparative fault rule 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. If you are found 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. Insurers routinely inflate the injured person's fault share to limit or eliminate recovery, which is exactly why having experienced counsel to challenge those arguments matters in a catastrophic case.

Where is Grand Junction spinal cord injury case filed?

Personal injury cases arising in Mesa County are filed at Mesa County District Court, part of the 21st Judicial District of Colorado, with civil matters heard at the Mesa County Justice Center, 125 N. Spruce St., Grand Junction, CO 81501. Most cases settle before a lawsuit is filed, but where a case would be tried affects local rules, jury pool, and the insurance dynamics. We handle Mesa County District Court cases directly.

Is there a cap on what I can recover for a Grand Junction spinal cord injury?

Only partially. Non-economic damages like pain and suffering are capped at $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025 under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5, with inflation adjustments starting in 2028. Two categories are not capped: economic damages such as medical bills, lost wages, and life care plan costs, and compensatory damages for physical impairment or disfigurement (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5)). In a spinal cord injury case, the uncapped categories are almost always the largest part of the recovery, which is why a thorough life care plan matters more than any single damages cap.

Should I accept the insurance company's first settlement offer after a Grand Junction SCI?

No. Early offers typically arrive before the full injury picture is known and before a life care plan exists to document lifetime costs. An incomplete spinal cord injury can take 12 to 18 months before the extent of recovery is clear. A settlement signed before that window closes locks in an amount sized to an optimistic prognosis that may never materialize. Once a settlement is accepted, it is final, and there is no coming back when the money runs out.

Which Grand Junction hospital treats spinal cord injury patients?

St. Mary's Regional Hospital (Intermountain Health) at 2635 North 7th Street in Grand Junction is the only Level II Trauma Center in western Colorado, verified by the American College of Surgeons. It is the primary destination for the most seriously injured patients in Mesa County and across the Western Slope. Community Hospital at 2351 G Road holds a Level III designation and stabilizes patients before transfer when needed. After acute stabilization, many Grand Junction SCI patients transfer to Craig Hospital in Englewood, one of the country's top spinal cord rehabilitation centers.

Does CGH Injury Lawyers have an office in Grand Junction?

We serve Grand Junction and all of Mesa County from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205, phone (303) 209-9395. We do not have a Grand Junction office. We handle Mesa County cases through the same licensed Colorado attorneys who represent our statewide clients, and we appear in Mesa County District Court as needed. Grand Junction families receive the same team that handles our most complex catastrophic injury cases.

What is a life care plan and why does it matter to a Grand Junction spinal cord injury claim?

A life care plan is a document built by certified planners, typically nurses or rehabilitation specialists working with neurologists and economists, that projects every future medical and non-medical need across the injured person's lifetime. In a legal case, it becomes the foundation for economic damages. Without one, an insurer's low offer sounds reasonable. With one, the real 40-to-60-year cost of a spinal cord injury for a Grand Junction family is on the record and can be defended line by line in Mesa County District Court.

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CGH Injury Lawyers · 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205 · Serving Grand Junction from our Denver office