Peter W. Burg

Peter W. Burg J.D. is one of America’s leading trial lawyers and one of the country’s foremost legal experts handling claims for persons with traumatic brain and/or spinal cord injuries. Mr. Burg is a senior shareholder at Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine, a national trial firm known for fighting for victims of negligence, malfeasance, malpractice, and abuse that has secured over $1 billion in verdicts, settlements, and judgments on behalf of its clients.

Over the course of his career spanning nearly four decades, Mr. Burg has successfully represented high-profile cases including significant and catastrophic injuries arising from product liability, dangerous pharmaceuticals, and medical devices, construction defects, motor vehicle and trucking crashes, ski accidents, and mass tort litigation.

As an expert in traumatic brain and spinal cord injury litigation, Mr. Burg has negotiated numerous multi-million dollar settlements on behalf of his clients. Mr. Burg is committed to educating the public about the consequences posed by these injuries and to help individuals understand their legal rights. In a case filed against Hertz Corporation, Burg obtained $3.25 million in a jury award on behalf of a client who sustained serious injuries after a motor vehicle collision with a Hertz employee. Mr. Burg also recently obtained several multi-million dollar settlements in matters involving traumatic brain injuries, and settled two wrongful-death matters and obtained multi-million dollar settlements in both cases. Peter Burg has been recognized by the U.S. Legal 500 as a “particularly strong and intelligent leader” and shows “the ability to try cases when necessary and to settle cases for top value when settlement is clearly in the client’s best interest.”

Burg has taken on “Big Pharma” and medical device manufacturers in multiple dangerous drug and device mass tort cases including Zyprexa, Vioxx, Gadolinium-based contrast agents (in which he served as co-lead national lawyer appointed by the federal judge overseeing the consolidated litigation) and Wright Medical Technology hip fractures and metal-on-metal claims (where he also serves as part of the State and Federal Leadership Group). His work on these cases has led to recoveries on behalf of thousands of clients who have suffered injuries, obtaining settlements that significantly improve their lives.

Peter Burg has been selected to The Best Lawyers in America peer-review listing from 2008-2022 and Colorado Super Lawyers list from 2006-2022. In 2013, Mr. Burg received the University of Denver Sturm College of Law’s Law Star Award for Outstanding Alumni.

AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell, Mr. Burg has consistently been listed in Best Lawyers in America and Colorado’s “Super Lawyers.” He has also been recognized as a “Top 100 Trial Lawyer” by the National Trial Lawyers Association, and received the “Lawyer of Year” award in 2014 by Best Lawyers in America. He has received the Lifetime Achievement Award by America’s Top 100 Attorneys, and was selected as a Top Lawyer by 5280 Magazine from 2019-2022.

Burg is a member of the Colorado and Arizona state bars, and he’s an Adjunct Professor of Law at his alma mater, the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law. He is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and belongs to the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), the Faculty of Federal Advocates (FFA), and the Melvin M. Belli Society.

Burg was admitted to the practice of law in 1980 after receiving a J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and a B.A. from the University of Michigan. He lives in Denver where he is involved with numerous philanthropic and community initiatives. Peter is actively engaged in the brain and spinal injury community. He is a former member of both the Craig Hospital Operating Board and Foundation Board having served the maximum 6-year terms on both boards. Peter is also a former Board Chair of Craig’s Operating Board, a past Craig Hospital PUSH Dinner Chair, and a long-time member of Craig’s PUSH event planning committee. Craig Hospital is a Denver-based hospital that is world-renowned as a premier center for specialty rehabilitation and research for people with spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury. He also is a frequent lecturer around the country on numerous litigation topics involving catastrophic injury matters often focused on medical and legal issues in traumatic brain injury cases. He also is involved with the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado, the Ali Meyer Foundation, and the Anti-Defamation League.

In addition, the firm is in the tenth year of its annual scholarship essay competition, offering graduating Colorado seniors the opportunity to win monetary prizes for the best essays about the importance of the jury system as the guardian of American rights and liberties. To date, Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine has awarded over $100,000 in college scholarships to deserving Colorado youth while educating them about the legal system.

Honors & Accolades

5280 Magazine Top Lawyer, 2019-2022

Selected to The Round Table, America's 100 Most Influential Trial Lawyers, The Trial Lawyer Magazine

Lifetime Achievement Award, America’s Top 100 Attorneys®

Best Lawyers® “Lawyer of the Year," 2014, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs, Denver

Senior Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America

Local Litigation Star, Benchmark Litigation, Colorado – Plaintiffs, 2013

University of Denver Sturm College of Law Outstanding Alumni Award (“DU Law Stars”), 2013

Multi Million Dollar Advocates Forum

Top 100 Most Influential Attorneys, The National Trial Lawyers

Top 100 Attorney, The National Trial Lawyers

Recommended Attorney, Mass Tort - The U.S. Legal 500, 2012, 2013, and 2014

Selected to Best Lawyers® in America, 2008–2022

Selected to Colorado Super Lawyers®, 2006 – 2022 and Top 100 Super Lawyers® 2021

AV Preeminent® Rating, Martindale-Hubbell

Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America

Edward M. Sait Prize Winner

AVVO®, Highest Distinction of Superb 10.0 Attorney Rating

American Bar Foundation Fellow

Judicial & Other Appointments

Plaintiffs' Steering Committee for Bextra and Celebrex Marketing Sales Practices and Product Liability Multi-District Litigation - The Honorable Charles L. Breyer, United States District Judge, Northern District of California

Co-Chair, Plaintiffs Steering Committee and Plaintiffs Executive Committee in the Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents Product Liability Multi-District Litigation - The Honorable Dan A. Polster, United States District Judge, Northern District of Ohio

Member, Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for Wright Hip System Cases – The Honorable Ann I. Jones, Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles

Community Involvement

Peter Burg is interviewed by Anti-Defamation League, October 5, 2021

Member of the Board of the Mountain States ADL

Craig Hospital – Past Chairman of Board of Directors and 6-Year Member of the Board of Directors

Craig Hospital Foundation and PUSH Committee

Craig Hospital Foundation – Past Member of the Board of Directors

Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado (BIAC) – Past Member of Board of Directors

Fellow Emeritus of the Arapahoe County Bar Foundation

Colorado Bar Association – Past Member of the Judicial Liaison Executive Council

Arapahoe County Bar Association – Past Member of the Board of Directors

Ali Meyer Foundation

Kaps for Kendall

Toys for Tots

Habitat for Humanity

Rocky Mountain Human Services – Past Member of Board of Directors

Anti-Defamation League Rocky Mountain States Region – Board Member

University of Denver Sturm College of Law – Member of Alumni Association Board of Directors

Publications & Media

Court ruling increases risks for skiers in Colorado, Peter Burg Interviewed by Channel 7 TV News, February 2021

Craig Hospital Blog Post, Burg Simpson Supports Craig Hospital, June 29, 2020

Colorado and Company Interview with Peter Burg and Stephen Burg, August 20, 2019

Colorado and Company Interview with Peter Burg and Stephen Burg, July 23, 2019

2018: Short Informational and Promotional Videos

"Good Lawyers. Changing Lives. — Honored to Serve Our Community"

"Hope After a Traumatic Brain Injury — Helping Accident Survivors"

"Spinal Cord Injury: The First 90 Days"

The Trial Lawyer. "Top 100 Trial Lawyers" - featured interview. p.13, Summer 2017

Anatomy of a Personal Injury Lawsuit. Co-Author – Chapter 13, Damages: Punitive Damages. February 2015.

Lessons on Giving as a Firm – Law Week Colorado, April 22, 2013

Lectures & Seminars

Dealing with Difficult Clients and Imperfect Witnesses and How to Keep Them from Killing Your Case - Traumatic Brain Injury MedLegal Conference, San Diego, February 24, 2018.

"A Medical and Legal Perspective on the Standard of Care," co-presented with Jim Kelly, MD and Steve Shapiro, Esq., Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado Convention, Denver Convention Center, November 2015.

"Brain Injury Litigation," presentation, the National Trial Lawyers Summit, January 2015.

Legal Issues, Timely Decision Making, and Available Options for Survivors of Traumatic Brain Injury – Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado 31st Annual Conference, Denver, October 16, 2014

Legal Issues, Timely Decision Making and Available Options for Survivors of Traumatic Brain Injury – Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado Regional Conference, Breckenridge, May 16, 2014

Children and the Elderly Are Unique: Understanding How the Issues Vary When They Are Your Clients – Traumatic Brain Injury: The Science, The Medicine, The Law, August 25-27, Encore Las Vegas

Legal Issues for Brain Injury Survivors – Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado Regional Conference, Grand Junction, May 4, 2013

Brain Injury Conference Presentation, Gunnison Valley Health’s Brainstrong Support Group, 2012

Update on Product Liability Law at the Annual Tort Law Update 2012 presented by CLE in Colorado, Inc., 2012

Presenting Evidence in Traumatic Brain Injury Cases at Mass Torts Made Perfect, Las Vegas, 2012

Strategic Use of Demonstrative Aids and Technology in Videotape Depositions to Seize Upon Issues with Powerful Persuasion, Florida Justice Association Workhorse Seminar

Teaching Positions

University of Denver Sturm College of Law – Past Adjunct Professor of Law

Professional Affiliations

National Commissioner, Anti-Defamation League

Member, Melvin M. Belli Society, since 2014

Member, American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)

Executive Committee, The National Trial Lawyers (NTL)

Colorado Trial Lawyers Association (CTLA)

American Bar Association

Colorado Bar Association

Denver Bar Association

American Association for Justice (AAJ), Chair, Gadolinium Litigation Group

Arapahoe County Bar Association (ACBA)

Faculty of Federal Advocates (FFA)

Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America (LCA)