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US 287 corridor through Longmont, Colorado. CGH Injury Lawyers represents spinal cord injury victims in Longmont and Boulder County from our Denver office.
Longmont, Colorado

Longmont Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers Who Build Your Claim to the Real Cost of a Lifetime

A spinal cord injury on US 287, SH 119, or any Longmont road can end your ability to work, move, and live the way you planned. The first insurance offer almost never reflects what 40 to 60 years of care actually costs in Colorado. CGH Injury Lawyers serves Longmont spinal cord injury victims from our Denver office, files in Boulder County when insurers refuse to be fair, and collects nothing unless we win for you.

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Serving Longmont 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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  • Longmont spinal cord injury lawsuits are filed at the Boulder County Combined Court, 1035 Kimbark St, Longmont, CO 80501, in Colorado's 20th Judicial District. CGH Injury Lawyers files and tries Boulder County spinal cord injury cases directly from our Denver office.
  • A spinal cord injury claim in Colorado carries a general two-year filing deadline under C.R.S. 13-80-102. If a city vehicle, CDOT truck, or other government entity caused the injury, a written notice of claim must be filed within 182 days of discovering the injury under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1), or the claim against that government entity is barred entirely.
  • 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 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. On high-speed Longmont corridors where crashes produce catastrophic injuries, insurers use this rule aggressively to hold down even the largest SCI settlements.

Longmont sits at the junction of US 287 and Colorado State Highway 119, two of Boulder County's most dangerous corridors. High-speed crashes on these roads are among the most common causes of spinal cord injury in this region. The neurological level of an injury, whether cervical, thoracic, or lumbar, determines what the next 40 to 60 years of care will actually cost, and the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center's 2025 data sheet estimates those costs range from about $3 million for paraplegia to more than $6.2 million for a high cervical injury in someone injured at age 25, in 2024 dollars. When a crash in Longmont or anywhere in Boulder County leaves you or a family member with a spinal cord injury, CGH Injury Lawyers manages the claim from our Denver office, brings in the life care planners and medical experts these cases require, and files in Boulder County court when an insurer refuses to be fair. You pay nothing unless we recover for you.

The medical and legal framework

How the level of a spinal cord injury shapes what your Boulder County claim is worth

Every spinal cord injury claim turns on two things the insurer's adjuster already knows: where the injury occurred on the spinal cord and whether it is complete or incomplete. Both facts determine the projected lifetime care cost, and the care cost is the foundation of every number in the case.

  1. Cervical injuries (C1 to C8): the highest-cost claims

    Injuries to the neck region of the spinal cord affect all four limbs. C1 through C4 injuries often require 24-hour attendant care and, in the most severe cases, ventilator support. The NSCISC's 2025 data sheet estimates lifetime care for a high cervical injury at more than $6.2 million for a 25-year-old, in 2024 dollars. At altitude and in Colorado's winter conditions, Longmont families face additional cost pressure: power wheelchairs require heated storage to survive subzero temperatures, and all-wheel-drive vehicle conversions cost more than standard adaptations. When a US 287 or SH 119 crash produces a cervical injury, the claim needs to be built on real projected costs, not national averages.

  2. Thoracic injuries (T1 to T12): paraplegia with full arm function

    Thoracic injuries paralyze the legs but leave arm and hand function intact. Most people with thoracic injuries use a manual or power wheelchair and live independently with accessible home modifications. Home modifications in the Longmont and Boulder County market climb when the existing structure is a split-level or has limited accessible entry options, and vehicle modifications add their own line item. The NSCISC's 2025 data sheet puts lifetime care for paraplegia at about $3 million for a person injured at age 25, in 2024 dollars, and these quantifiable costs belong in the life care plan from day one.

  3. Lumbar and sacral injuries (L1 to S5): lower function loss

    Many people with lumbar and sacral injuries retain some leg movement and may walk with braces. Bowel and bladder dysfunction is common and requires ongoing management, supplies, and periodic surgical interventions over a lifetime. Lifetime costs are lower than cervical or thoracic injuries but still significant over decades, and insurers often undervalue these cases by treating them as minor when the functional limitations are anything but.

  4. Complete vs. incomplete: the distinction that drives every settlement number

    The ASIA Impairment Scale grades injuries from A to E. ASIA A is a complete injury with no motor or sensory function below the neurological level. ASIA B through D are incomplete injuries with varying preserved sensation or movement. Incomplete injuries create a valuation problem: the true extent of recovery is often unknown for 12 to 18 months after the crash. Insurers exploit that uncertainty by presenting settlement offers based on optimistic recovery projections that frequently fail to hold. A claim accepted at six months based on an incomplete ASIA C injury can be millions short when the person plateaus far short of independence.

Where Longmont SCI crashes happen

Longmont courts. Longmont trauma care. Longmont crash corridors.

A spinal cord injury claim in Longmont lives in this city: the road where the crash happened, the hospital and rehabilitation system that treated you, and the courthouse where the lawsuit will be filed. Understanding the local terrain is part of building a sound claim.

Courthouse

Boulder County Combined Court, Longmont (20th Judicial District)

Longmont spinal cord injury lawsuits above the county-court jurisdictional limit are filed at the Boulder County Combined Court, 1035 Kimbark St, Longmont, CO 80501, (720) 564-2522, in Colorado's 20th Judicial District. Court hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Catastrophic personal injury cases are among the most significant civil matters in the 20th District. CGH Injury Lawyers handles 20th Judicial District spinal cord injury cases directly from our Denver office, with no added cost to Longmont clients.

Trauma Care

Longmont United Hospital and the Path to Craig Hospital Rehabilitation

After a serious crash in Longmont, initial trauma care is provided at Longmont United Hospital (CommonSpirit Health), 1950 Mountain View Ave, Longmont, CO 80501, a Level III Trauma Center designated by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and also certified as a DNV Comprehensive Stroke Center. For the most severe spinal cord injuries, patients are transferred from Longmont United to Level I trauma facilities in Denver or Aurora. Many Longmont families ultimately receive rehabilitation at Craig Hospital in Englewood, which is one of the country's leading spinal cord rehabilitation centers. The records and billing from every facility along that chain document the full scope of your injury and form the core of the damages claim. We coordinate across all treating facilities from day one.

High-Risk Roads

US 287, SH 119, and the corridors that produce catastrophic injuries

US Highway 287 runs through Longmont as Main Street without a median barrier separating northbound and southbound lanes. CDOT data shows the Erie-to-Boulder County line segment averages approximately 830 crashes per year and accounts for 29 percent of all fatal crashes in Boulder County. The absence of a median means head-on and left-turn collisions, the crash types most likely to produce spinal cord injuries, are an elevated risk on this corridor. Colorado State Highway 119, known locally as Ken Pratt Boulevard and the Diagonal Highway to Boulder, carries the highest rate of severe crashes per mile in unincorporated Boulder County. The intersection of US 287 and SH 119, identified by Longmont traffic engineers as the city's highest-crash intersection, recorded more than 290 crashes in a recent five-year period with more than 70,000 vehicles passing through daily. SH 66 and SH 52 add arterial load through Longmont. The areas around Boulder County Fairgrounds and Vance Brand Municipal Airport, 229 Airport Road, generate additional exposure on the north side of the city. When any of these roads contributes to a spinal cord injury, the claim must account for every responsible party, including CDOT, the City of Longmont, or a traffic control contractor, and any government entity triggers the 182-day CGIA notice requirement under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1).

After the injury

What to do after a spinal cord injury in Longmont

The decisions made in the days and weeks following a spinal cord injury have outsized consequences for what the family can ultimately recover. These steps protect the injured person's health and preserve the evidence and legal rights that the claim depends on.

  1. Follow the full course of treatment and rehabilitation

    Initial trauma care at Longmont United Hospital at 1950 Mountain View Ave may be followed by transfer to a Denver or Aurora Level I facility and then to a spinal cord rehabilitation program. The most severe Longmont injuries often lead to inpatient rehabilitation at Craig Hospital in Englewood. Every treatment step, every physician note, every therapy discharge summary is part of the medical record that supports both the ASIA grade and the life care plan. Do not stop treatment, and keep every record the treating facility provides.

  2. Do not accept any early settlement offer

    Insurers often present early settlement offers before the full extent of a spinal cord injury is known, when the injured person and the family are overwhelmed and focused on immediate care. An offer made in the first weeks or months cannot account for 40 to 60 years of projected costs. A $1 million offer can seem significant but falls millions short for a mid-cervical tetraplegia case. Once you accept a settlement, it is final. There is no path back when the funds run out in 15 years and 25 more years of care remain.

  3. Watch for government-entity involvement and the 182-day CGIA deadline

    If a City of Longmont vehicle, a CDOT maintenance truck, or a Boulder County fleet vehicle was involved in the crash, or if a road defect on US 287 or SH 119 contributed to the injury, a written notice of claim must be served within 182 days of discovering the injury under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act, C.R.S. 24-10-109(1). That clock runs from the date of discovery of the injury, not necessarily the crash date. Missing that deadline bars the government-entity claim entirely. Call us before that window closes.

  4. Preserve evidence before it disappears

    Camera footage from the US 287 corridor, from business cameras near SH 119, and dashcam recordings from other drivers can be overwritten within days. Skid marks fade. Witnesses move. The Longmont Police Department and Colorado State Patrol crash reports are time-stamped records of what happened. We move quickly to preserve this evidence as part of our investigation, starting at the free case evaluation.

  5. Do not give a recorded statement to the at-fault insurer

    The other driver's insurance company is not looking out for you or your family. Adjusters are trained to ask questions that can be used later to inflate your share of fault under Colorado's modified comparative negligence rule (C.R.S. 13-21-111). Do not agree to a recorded statement or sign any release before speaking with an attorney.

  6. Call before the two-year filing deadline passes

    Most Colorado spinal cord injury claims against private defendants carry a two-year filing deadline under C.R.S. 13-80-102. Building a full life care plan, retaining experts, and completing a medical review before filing takes time. Contact CGH Injury Lawyers as early as possible so no deadline creates a preventable barrier to recovery.

Compensation

What a Longmont spinal cord injury claim can recover

Colorado law lets injured people recover the full documented financial loss from a spinal cord injury and the human cost of living with permanent disability. Because economic damages in Colorado are never capped, the life care plan is the most important document in the case. A carefully built plan is the difference between what an insurer wants to pay and what a lifetime of paralysis actually costs.

Economic damages (never capped in Colorado)

  • Attendant care and other recurring expenses, which the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center puts at $55,900 to $244,879 per year depending on injury level, in 2024 dollars
  • Power wheelchair purchase, maintenance, and replacement roughly every five years
  • Vehicle modification and accessible home modification, which in Boulder County depend on the structure and entry layout
  • Medical supplies, medication, equipment maintenance, bowel and bladder management, and scheduled surgical procedures over decades
  • Lost wages, lost benefits, and reduced lifetime earning capacity
  • Future medical care projected forward using the Medical Consumer Price Index, which historically rises 3 to 4 percent per year

Non-economic and other damages

  • Pain and suffering, capped for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, at $1.5 million under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5
  • Emotional distress and the psychological impact of permanent paralysis
  • Loss of enjoyment of life when paralysis ends activities and relationships that defined who you were before the crash
  • Compensation for physical impairment, which carries no cap at all under Colorado law regardless of the non-economic cap
  • Loss of consortium for a spouse or family members affected by the injury

Physical impairment damages are uncapped under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5 and carry no threshold mechanism that must be met to reach that status. They are simply uncapped. In a serious Longmont spinal cord injury case, economic damages often exceed the non-economic cap many times over. That means the life care plan, not the pain and suffering calculation, is where the largest recovery is built. We work with certified life care planners, spinal cord neurologists, and forensic economists to produce a damages model that survives adversarial challenge.

Fault, government entities, and recovery limits

What if you were partly at fault, or a government vehicle caused your Longmont SCI?

Two Colorado rules shape the outcome of more Longmont spinal cord injury claims than almost any other legal question: the modified comparative fault bar and the CGIA notice requirement. Both must be addressed at the start of every case, not after a filing deadline has passed.

Modified comparative fault: what insurers use against you

  • 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. If you are found 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing.
  • Your award is reduced by your percentage of fault. If a jury finds you 30 percent at fault in a $3 million spinal cord case, your recovery is $2.1 million, not $3 million.
  • On a high-speed road like US 287 or the Diagonal Highway, where establishing right-of-way after a catastrophic crash depends on physical evidence and witness accounts, insurers push hard on fault percentages because even a small shift can reduce or eliminate a multi-million-dollar payout.
  • An attorney who can challenge fault assignments with crash reconstruction, camera footage, and traffic engineering data is critical on these corridors.

CGIA: when a government entity is involved

  • The Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)) requires a written notice of claim within 182 days of discovering the injury when a government entity is responsible. Missing that deadline bars the claim against the government entity regardless of the merits.
  • If a City of Longmont public works vehicle, a CDOT truck, or a Boulder County fleet vehicle caused the spinal cord injury, that notice requirement applies. So does it if a documented road defect on a government-maintained surface contributed to the crash.
  • Under C.R.S. 24-10-114, CGIA caps recovery from a public entity at $505,000 per person and $1,421,000 aggregate for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2026. These caps apply only to the government defendant, not to private parties in the same case.
How it works

How a Longmont spinal cord injury case moves from crash to recovery

Spinal cord injury cases in Boulder County follow a defined path, from a free case evaluation through expert retention, life care planning, negotiation, and if necessary trial at the Boulder County Combined Court in Longmont. Most cases settle before trial. We prepare every case for the 20th Judicial District from day one regardless.

  1. Free case evaluation

    We review how the injury happened, explain what the law allows you to recover in Colorado, and answer your questions at no cost and no obligation. We will tell you whether the facts support a claim before we take the case.

  2. Liability investigation and evidence preservation

    We gather the Longmont Police or Boulder County Sheriff crash report, preserve camera footage from the US 287 and SH 119 corridors, interview witnesses, and identify every responsible party and insurance source. When a government entity is involved, we serve the CGIA notice before the 182-day deadline under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1) closes.

  3. Build the life care plan with certified experts

    We bring in certified life care planners, spinal cord neurologists, and forensic economists to document 40 to 60 years of projected medical and non-medical costs. The life care plan accounts for inflation using the Medical Consumer Price Index, addresses Colorado-specific cost factors like altitude-related complications and accessible housing costs in the Boulder County market, and is built to survive a detailed defense challenge.

  4. Demand and negotiation

    We send a documented demand grounded in the life care plan and negotiate from a position of trial readiness. We do not present lowball numbers to move a case quickly. We present the full documented value and defend it.

  5. Litigation and trial in the 20th Judicial District

    If an insurer refuses fair compensation, we file at the Boulder County Combined Court, 1035 Kimbark St, Longmont, CO 80501, and try the case before a 20th Judicial District jury. Managing Partner Kevin Cheney is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and has tried over 25 cases to verdict. When a Longmont jury is what full recovery requires, our trial team is ready for it.

Spinal cord injury cases are complex and commonly take one to three years or longer. The timeline depends on when the injured person reaches maximum medical improvement, how clear liability is, and whether the defense disputes the life care plan projections. We give you an honest assessment of where your case stands at every stage, and you have direct access to a senior attorney throughout the process.

Your team

The Longmont spinal cord 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 Longmont spinal cord injury case is handled by a licensed Colorado attorney working alongside the life care planners, spinal cord specialists, and economists these cases require.

ABOTA member on the team Tim Tarr: Best Lawyers in America since 2023 Over 25 cases to verdict Works with life care planners 20th Judicial District experience Bilingual EN / ES Free consultation No fee unless we win

One thing we will tell you upfront: CGH Injury Lawyers does not have a Longmont office. We serve Longmont spinal cord injury clients from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. We come to you or to the hospital for meetings when the family needs that. We file at the Boulder County Combined Court in Longmont, and we try cases in the 20th Judicial District. What you get is the work, the experts, and the result, not a storefront on Main Street.

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Frequently asked questions

Longmont spinal cord injury frequently asked questions

How long do I have to file a spinal cord injury lawsuit in Colorado?

Most Colorado spinal cord injury claims against private defendants carry a two-year filing deadline under C.R.S. 13-80-102. That is shorter than the three-year limit that applies to motor vehicle crash claims. If a government entity such as the City of Longmont, CDOT, or Boulder County was involved through a vehicle or a road defect on US 287 or SH 119, you must also serve a written notice of claim within 182 days of discovering the injury under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1), or the government-entity claim is barred entirely. Do not wait. Evidence from the crash scene and camera systems can disappear in days.

Where would my Longmont spinal cord injury lawsuit be filed?

A Longmont spinal cord injury case above the county-court jurisdictional limit is filed in the 20th Judicial District of Colorado at the Boulder County Combined Court, 1035 Kimbark St, Longmont, CO 80501, (720) 564-2522. The court handles civil claims over $15,000, including all serious personal injury matters. CGH Injury Lawyers files and tries 20th Judicial District cases directly from our Denver office, with no added cost to Longmont clients.

Does Colorado cap what I can recover in a Longmont spinal cord injury case?

Economic damages such as medical bills, lost wages, attendant care, and home modification costs 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 (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5). Compensation for physical impairment is not capped at all under Colorado law, which means the largest spinal cord injury recoveries are built on economic damages and the physical impairment category, not on the non-economic cap. If a government entity is involved, that entity's share of recovery is separately capped at $505,000 per person and $1,421,000 per occurrence for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2026 (C.R.S. 24-10-114).

Can I still recover if I was partly at fault for the crash that caused my spinal cord injury?

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 of fault. If you are found 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. At a high-speed intersection like US 287 and SH 119 in Longmont, insurers frequently dispute right-of-way and inflate the injured person's fault to reduce or eliminate a multi-million-dollar payout. An attorney with crash reconstruction resources can challenge that with physical evidence.

What hospital would treat a spinal cord injury from a Longmont crash?

Initial trauma care after a Longmont crash is provided at Longmont United Hospital, 1950 Mountain View Ave, Longmont, CO 80501, designated a Level III Trauma Center by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and also certified as a DNV Comprehensive Stroke Center. For the most severe spinal cord injuries, patients are transferred to Level I trauma facilities in Denver or Aurora for specialized care. Many Longmont SCI patients then enter inpatient rehabilitation at Craig Hospital in Englewood, one of the country's top spinal cord rehabilitation programs. The records from every treating facility document your injury and form the backbone of the damages claim.

Does CGH Injury Lawyers have an office in Longmont?

No. CGH Injury Lawyers has one office, at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205, (303) 209-9395. We serve Longmont and Boulder County spinal cord injury clients from that office, file cases at the Boulder County Combined Court in Longmont, and meet you at the hospital or wherever works for your family. There is no additional charge for Longmont clients. We are available in English and Spanish.

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Read next: Colorado spinal cord injury law: the statewide guide

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