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. Burg is senior shareholder at Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh & Jardine, a national 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, 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 accidents, and mass tort litigation.
As an expert in traumatic brain and spinal cord injury litigation, Burg has negotiated numerous multi-million dollar settlements on behalf of his clients. Burg is committed to educating the public about the consequences posed by these injuries and to helping individuals understand their legal rights. In a recent case filed last year against Hertz Corporation, Burg obtained $3.25 million in damages on behalf of a client who sustained serious injuries after a motor vehicle collision by a Hertz employee.
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.
Burg is the recipient of America’s Top 100 Attorneys “Lifetime Achievement Award,” a prestigious honor bestowed on an elite group of attorneys based on their professional experience, lifetime achievements, significant case results, peer reputation, and community impact. Burg has also been selected to The Best Lawyers in America peer review listing from 2008 – 2018 and Colorado Super Lawyers listing from 2006 – 2016. In 2013, Burg received the University of Denver Sturm College of Law’s Law Star Award for Outstanding Alumni.
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 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 involved with the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado, the Ali Meyer Foundation and the Anti-Defamation League.
In addition, the firm is in the sixth 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 almost $50,000 in college scholarships to deserving Colorado youth while educating them about the legal system.
Lifetime Achievement Award, America’s Top 100 Attorneys®
Selected to The Round Table, America's 100 Most Influential Trial Lawyers, The Trial Lawyer Magazine
Best Lawyers® “Lawyer of the Year," Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs, Denver, 2014
Local Litigation Star, Benchmark Litigation, Colorado – Plaintiffs, 2013
Outstanding Alumni Award ("DU Law Stars ") - University of Denver Sturm College of Law, 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 – 2018
Selected to Colorado Super Lawyers,® 2006 – 2016
AV Preeminent® Rating, Martindale-Hubbell
Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America (LCA)
Recipient, Edward M. Sait Prize in Government
American Bar Foundation Fellow
Colorado, 1980
Arizona, 2014
U.S. District Court, District of Colorado, 1980
U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit
U.S. Supreme Court
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
J.D., The University of Denver Sturm College of Law, 1980
B.A., University of Michigan, 1975-1976
Pomona College, 1973-1974
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)
Past Chair, Craig Hospital Board of Directors
Craig Hospital Foundation and PUSH Committee
Former Member, Craig Hospital Board of Directors
Current Member, Craig Hospital Foundation Board of Directors
Former Member, Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado Board of Directors
Fellow Emeritus of the Arapahoe County Bar Foundation
Member, Judicial Liaison Executive Council, Colorado Bar Association
Past Member, Board of Directors, Arapahoe County Bar Association
Ali Meyer Foundation
Kaps for Kendall
Toys for Tots
Habitat for Humanity
Past Member, Board of Directors, Rocky Mountain Human Services
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
"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
Dealing with Difficult Clients & Imperfect Witnesses and How to Keep Them from Killing Your Case - Traumatic Brain Injury MedLegal Conference, San Diego, February 24th, 2018.
Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law
