In an industry where trucking companies hide behind shell corporations, prioritize profits over safety, and deploy rapid response teams to protect their interests, Burg Simpson fights back, securing justice and the resources semi-truck accident victims need to heal — while holding powerful trucking companies accountable.
Colorado semi-truck accidents aren’t uncommon — in 2024, a federal agency reported 1,808 Colorado crashes involving large trucks.
Stephen Burg, shareholder at Burg Simpson, is a Denver truck accident lawyer with a history of helping victims successfully navigate all of the legal resources trucking companies can throw at an accident case. Burg’s team focuses on supporting victims and ensuring that trucking companies aren’t able to get away with patterns of negligence.
What Makes Colorado a Dangerous Place for Trucking?
While semi-truck drivers are required to have current CDL certification, thorough experience, and constant alertness to navigate any stretch of road safely, their skills are truly put to the test in Colorado’s mountainous terrain and frequent adverse weather.
“When a driver lacks proper qualifications or ignores safety regulations, it becomes especially evident in the mountains, where steep grades and challenging terrain demand skill, focus, and experience behind the wheel of a semi-truck,” Burg said.
Colorado’s I-70 corridor is a perilous trucking route. In one recent year, the state recorded more than 200 large truck crashes in that corridor alone. Colorado drivers may recall regular fatal I-70 truck accidents, including a 2019 incident in which a semi-truck driver lost his brakes and killed four people.
Truck accidents are also prevalent on U.S. Highway 285, where factors ranging from heavy traffic to steep grades can present accident hazards. In 2024, a federal agency shut down a trucking company whose driver drove off 285, rolled his truck, and killed another driver.
While Colorado does enforce chain laws for large trucks — and even recently expanded its chain requirements — drivers and trucking companies don’t always take those regulations seriously.
How Do Trucking Companies Push Drivers and Protect Assets?
Due to his experience as a Colorado semi-truck accident attorney, Burg has seen many of the methods trucking companies employ to bend the rules and dodge accountability.
A “chameleon carrier” company will receive a violation and, instead of complying with regulations, ownership will shut it down and open a new company.
Some trucking companies, Burg said, will also implement secret incentives that entice drivers to ignore regulations and work overtime, or will offer drivers ways to bypass their electronic logbook so they can drive over their allowable hours.
“What we see is that bonus incentives often encourage drivers to stay on the road through the night, pushing limits and cutting corners because they have families to feed,” Burg said. “And more times than not, the driver is a victim to the setup and the unrealistic goals that are put out there.”
Shipping and delivery companies also cut corners to achieve speedy deliveries, said Burg, who noted that these companies will use cars other than commercial motor vehicles to skirt some regulations.
I Was Hit — How Much Is My Truck Accident Case Worth?
Your legal damages will completely depend on the specific, detailed facts of your semi-truck accident, Burg said.
“When someone comes to us and says there’s a lawyer out there that says they can tell them the value of the case at the beginning without knowing all the facts, the lawyer’s analysis probably isn’t very in-depth or very good,” Burg said.
Burg relies on two main factors to evaluate a case and its potential settlement value:
- Injury. Factors like the severity of an injury/injuries, the healing and rehabilitation time required, and the long-term pain, impairment, or disability it may cause you down the road are all important. Burg also wants to know how an injury impacted a victim’s livelihood, quality of life, and family.
- Conduct. As Burg considers the strength of the case, he’ll factor in the “why” and “how” behind the accident. Was the semi-truck crash an unfortunate accident, or is the incident part of a larger pattern of negligence? If the crash is part of a bigger picture, Burg can push for more damages to hold the company accountable.
Colorado’s new caps for non-economic damage awards now place the lower cap at $1.5 million and the clear and convincing cap at $3 million, sums Burg said are still low compared to other states’ caps.
Do I Need a Denver Truck Accident Lawyer if I’m Involved in a Semi-Truck Crash?
From an 18-wheeler accident in Colorado Springs to a Denver construction zone truck crash, large truck accident victims need an experienced lawyer immediately.
In fact, Burg said, most trucking companies have rapid response teams that quickly arrive at the scene and start working to influence the investigation, making every minute count for a crash victim.
Your attorney’s level of experience with semi-truck accidents matters, especially since:
- An experienced Colorado semi-truck accident attorney like Stephen Burg will quickly present a preservation of evidence letter, requiring that agents of the trucking company properly preserve on-scene evidence.
Many times, trucking accidents involve wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases, requiring a knowledgeable truck crash attorney. - The right attorney will know what facts to look — and fight — for. The Burg Simpson team of experienced attorneys will be helpful in assigning an investigator to evaluate the scene for evidence and a team to inspect the semi-truck. Burg recalled a recent case in which his team was retained well after the accident, but thanks to photos, was able to discover that the involved semi-truck had an onboard electronic device that stored driver data. While the trucking company denied the device existed, the Burg Simpson team was eventually able to use photographs to force them to disclose the data.
- Experienced truck accident lawyers get results. Insurance companies maintain a database of lawyers who try cases, and they often lowball less experienced attorneys to encourage settlements rather than trials. When Burg Simpson takes a case, insurance companies already know the firm is willing to go to trial and fight for clients, so there is a greater likelihood of better settlement offers earlier in the process.
“The earlier that somebody can call and get a lawyer involved and the earlier that we can get our team out, the more likely you’re going to have a better result,” Burg said. “It’s going to add value in the case for someone who’s gone through a truck crash.”
If you or a loved one was involved in a semi-truck crash and needs legal assistance, the experienced Denver truck accident lawyers at Burg Simpson are on your side and ready for a free consultation.
The news and editorial staffs of The Denver Post had no role in this post’s preparation.