Top Individual Colorado Personal Injury Verdicts and Settlements

Denver Jury Awards $145.26 Million to Brain-Injured Painter Over Workers' Comp Carrier's Denial of Rehab Care

A 20-year-old painter suffered a traumatic brain injury in a 2021 ladder fall in Utah. A Denver jury found his workers' compensation carrier, NorGUARD Insurance, knowingly and unreasonably delayed and denied his care, including inpatient rehabilitation. It awarded $145.26 million, made up of $85.26 million in compensatory and $60 million in punitive damages.

After trial: NorGUARD has appealed to the Colorado Court of Appeals (2025CA1304), where the award is under review. We found no ruling or reduction and could not confirm whether any of the judgment has been paid. See more

$205 Million Verdict After Girl, 6, Fell From Glenwood Caverns Ride

A Garfield County jury returned a $205 million verdict against Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park and ride manufacturer Soaring Eagle after finding that operators launched the Haunted Mine Drop with a six-year-old girl sitting on top of an unsecured seatbelt, overriding a warning alarm that should have stopped the ride.

After trial: On March 11, 2026 the federal bankruptcy court lifted the automatic stay solely so Glenwood Caverns Holdings could appeal the state judgment; enforcement of the judgment stays on hold during the bankruptcy. We found no appellate ruling.

$67.35 Million Colorado Record for Infant Brain-Damaged When Surgeon Tied Off Aorta in Heart Surgery

A Denver jury awarded $67,349,380 in July 2024 after a seven-month-old suffered permanent brain damage when a cardiothoracic surgeon accidentally tied off the infant's aorta during open-heart surgery and the perfusionists failed to detect the resulting loss of blood flow for more than seven hours.

Larimer County Jury Awards $65 Million After Excavator Load Strikes I-25 Overpass and Kills Mother

A Larimer County jury returned a $65 million wrongful death verdict in September 2026 for the family of Megan Arneson, a 32-year-old single mother killed on I-25 near Mead in August 2022. A semi hauling an improperly loaded excavator struck an overpass, and falling concrete came through her windshield. The jury found the driver and his employer liable after a five-day trial. Plaintiffs' counsel described it as the largest jury verdict in Larimer County history and the largest in a Colorado trucking crash case.

After trial: The verdict was returned in late September 2026, shortly before this entry was written. No post-trial motions, appeal, judgment entry or payment had been reported, so the award is shown as returned and its collection is unconfirmed.

$33 Million Verdict for Mother of Engineer Killed by Driver Going 99 mph in a 35 mph Zone

Chad Hemmat and co-counsel secured a $33 million wrongful death verdict for the mother of a 30-year-old Aurora engineer killed when a driver traveling nearly three times the posted speed limit ran a red light and T-boned his car at an I-225 interchange.

$27.6 Million Verdict for Newborn Whose E. Coli Sepsis Went Untreated at North Colorado Medical Center

A Weld County jury awarded $27.6 million to a family whose newborn daughter developed E. coli sepsis and meningitis after nursing staff failed to notify a physician despite documented signs of infection, leaving her with permanent brain injury and cerebral palsy.

After trial: About $40 million as a judgment with interest.

Denver Jury Awards $26.6 Million After Drowsy Driver Kills Both Parents of Two Adult Siblings

A Denver jury awarded $26.6 million to two adult siblings whose parents were both killed when a drowsy CWRV Transport driver rear-ended their stopped vehicle at 75 mph on a Colorado highway.

Six Bystanders Win $19.75 Million After Denver Officer Fires Into LoDo Crowd

A Denver jury awarded $19.75 million to six bystanders shot by a Denver Police officer who fired into a crowd while pursuing an armed suspect in the LoDo neighborhood in July 2022.

A Denver Jury's $18.8 Million Verdict for a Disabled Passenger Paralyzed in a Rear-End Crash

A developmentally disabled man left with a brain injury and quadriplegia after a commercial pickup rear-ended his car won $18,809,431 from a Denver jury in May 2024, ranked the sixth-largest Colorado verdict of the year.

$17.8 Million Verdict for Newborn Brain-Damaged by Medication Error at Children's Hospital Colorado

A Colorado jury delivered what was then the state's largest medical malpractice verdict after a four-day-old girl suffered cardiac arrest and permanent brain damage when hospital staff administered an incorrect prostaglandin dose before congenital heart surgery.

$16 Million Verdict for Electrocuted Flooring Worker, Colorado's Largest Premises Liability Award

A temporary electrical box exploded and electrocuted flooring installer Brian Warembourg, and a Boulder County jury returned a $16 million verdict against the electrical contractor, the largest premises liability award in Colorado history.

Federal Jury Awards Oilfield Worker $30 Million for a Frac Tank Explosion

A defective frac tank exploded under an Air Force veteran at a Weld County well pad in 2019, and a federal jury in Denver returned $30 million, though Colorado's cap on pain-and-suffering damages later cut roughly $14 million.

After trial: Reduced by fault and statute: the tank maker was held 80 percent at fault, and Colorado's noneconomic cap cut the $15 million pain award to $936,030, for a judgment of $12,936,030 plus interest and costs. A new-trial motion was pending; no appeal or payment has been reported.

Jury Awards $12.4 Million After Teenager Falls 30 Feet From Chairlift at Crested Butte

A Broomfield County jury found Crested Butte Mountain Resort negligent per se for violating federal chairlift safety standards, awarding a family $12.4 million after their teenage daughter fell 30 feet from a moving ski lift and was permanently paralyzed.

$11.5 Million Verdict Against Helmet Maker Riddell for Failing to Warn About Concussion Risk

A Las Animas County jury awarded Rhett Ridolfi $11.5 million after finding helmet maker Riddell negligent for failing to warn players about concussion danger, assigning 27 percent of the fault, roughly $3.1 million, to the company.

After trial: The jury put 27 percent of the fault on Riddell, about $3.1 million, and the rest on two coaches who were defendants at trial and on parties who had settled. The coaches' shares and the judgment entered are not public.

Colorado Jury Awards $55.5 Million After Crock-Pot Lid Explodes and Burns Woman Across 13% of Her Body

A federal jury awarded Georgina Perez $55.5 million after a Sunbeam Express Crock Multi-Cooker lid blew off and caused severe burns; the court later reduced the award to roughly $9.1 million under Colorado's statutory damages cap.

After trial: Reduced; $55.5 million gross verdict.

Hidden Live Wires in a Power Pedestal Bring Electrician Jon Valaer an $8.4 Million Denver Verdict

A Denver jury awarded electrician Jon Valaer $8.4 million after contractor Q3 left three energized wires hidden inside a power pedestal that shocked him and left him with complex regional pain syndrome.

$7.1 Million Verdict for Pedestrian Struck in Denver Crosswalk

A Denver jury awarded $7,110,624 to Deysi Cari after she was struck by a vehicle while crossing a marked crosswalk with the right-of-way, with the defendant having admitted liability before trial.

$6.3 Million Verdict for Olympic Snowboard Coach Disabled by Undiagnosed Compartment Syndrome

A federal jury awarded Jody Blatchley, former coach of New Zealand's Olympic snowboard team, $6.3 million after nurses at St. Anthony Summit Medical Center failed to recognize and report compartment syndrome for three days following his tibial surgery, leaving him with permanent foot drop and confined to a wheelchair.

$4.51 Million Verdict After Homeowner Abandons Ladder, Fracturing Worker's Spine

A Boulder jury awarded $5.3 million to a man who fractured his spine after falling from an unsteady ladder when the homeowner walked away without warning.

After trial: The jury awarded $5.3 million and put 15 percent of the fault on Marin, so Colorado's comparative fault rule reduced his recovery to $4,505,000.

Federal Jury Awards $4 Million After Saguache County Jail Staff Ignored Inmate's Suicidal Warnings

A federal jury returned a $4 million verdict against Saguache County Jail officials after finding that staff ignored repeated suicidal statements made by 27-year-old Jackson Maes before his death in November 2019.