1900 Grant St Suite 1050
Denver Colorado 80203
1.800.221.5526
Christopher P. Koupal
About Chris Koupal
Chris Koupal, a partner of Chalat Hatten & Koupal, has extensive trial experience - second chairing a med mal case resulting in a $10.1 Million verdict and acting as lead counsel in a 2009 trial resulting in $100,000 in punitive damages.
Christopher P. Koupal is a partner at Chalat Hatten & Koupal PC. A Colorado native, Mr. Koupal graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the University of Denver College of Law. While in law school, Mr. Koupal served as a member and a general editor for the Denver University Law Review. Mr. Koupal also served as an extern law clerk to the Honorable Wiley M. Daniel, Chief United States District Judge for the District of Colorado.
Mr. Koupal's practice concentrates on civil trial work, with an emphasis on ski and snowboard accidents, professional negligence, premises liability, and automobile accidents. Mr. Koupal has tried cases to verdict in Colorado state and federal courts, including acting as lead counsel in a 2009 premises liability case where a Denver jury returned a verdict in his client’s favor including a six-figure award of punitive damages. In 2007, Mr. Koupal was trial counsel in a medical negligence case where the jury returned a $10.1 million dollar verdict; one of the largest verdicts of its kind in Colorado history. Mr. Koupal has been a featured lecturer on the topic of ski and snowboard litigation, and has been invited to lecture for the Colorado Bar Association on issues relating to lawyers’ professional liability.
Mr. Koupal has been recognized as a “Rising Star” by Colorado Super Lawyers / 5280 Magazine for 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. He has also been selected for the National Trial Lawyers Association: Top 40 under 40, a new professional organization comprised of America’s top young trial attorneys. Membership into The National Trial Lawyers Association: Top 40 under 40 is by invitation only and is extended exclusively to those individuals who exemplify superior qualifications, trial results, and leadership as a young lawyer under the age of 40.
Bar Admissions
Colorado, 2004
U.S. District Court District of Colorado, 2004
Education
University of Denver College of Law, Denver, Colorado
Doctor of Jurisprudence - 2003
Honors: Harold M. Wendy Memorial Scholar
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
B.A. - 1999
Major: Sociology
Published Works
CRS § 10-1-135 and the Changing Face of Subrogation Claims in Colorado, The Colorado Lawyer, Vol. 40, No. 2, 2011
Ski Law in Colorado: The Timorous No Longer Stay At Home, The Colorado Lawyer, Vol. 31, No. 2, 2002
Classes/Seminars
Speaker, "10-1-135 In Action", Subrogation Seminar, Colorado Trail Lawyers Association CLE, March 2012
Speaker, “Review and Analysis of CRS § 10-1-135 - Recent Changes in Colorado Law Regarding Subrogation Claims in Personal Injury Cases”, Colorado Bar Association CLE, December, 2011.
Presenter, “The Anatomy of a Medical Malpractice Case” – Denver School of Nursing, November, 2011
Speaker, "Professional Liability Issues for Litigators: Disqualification of Counsel", CBA CLE, 2010
Speaker, "The Basics of Ski Law", The Colorado Association of Professional Paralegals and Legal Assistants, 2006
Professional Associations and Memberships
Colorado Bar Association, Member
Denver Bar Association, Member
American Association for Justice, Member
Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, Member
American Bar Association, Member
Judge William E. Doyle Inn of Court, American Inns of Court
Honors and Awards
Harold M. Wendy Memorial Scholar, University of Denver College of Law
Eagle Scout, BSA
Past Employment Positions
The Hon. Wiley Y. Daniel, US Dist Ct., for the District of Colorado, Denver, CO, Extern, 2003
Notable Cases
Guest slipped in bathtub in her guest room at the Renaissance Boulder Flatiron Hotel. The fall caused severe injuries to her left knee requiring surgical repair. Her orthopedist testified that she would eventually require a total knee replacement because of the injury. Chris Koupal pursued claims for negligence under the Colorado Premises Liability Act, and the hotel ultimately settled for a confidential amount.
A resident lost her balance on stairs at her condominium complex, suffering injuries which eventually required a cervical fusion. Chris Koupal uncovered that the stairs had been negligently constructed and violated several Denver Building Codes. Both the condominium homeowners association and the building management company settled with our client.
Victim of medical malpractice hired two lawyers to sue for failure to diagnose a congenital heart defect. Over the course of three years, the lawyers negligently handled the young woman's representation, resulting in the case being dismissed just days before trial. Ultimately, Chris Koupal was able to secure a settlement from each lawyer for the client.
Read More >>
Assistant principal at an Aurora middle school slipped in a puddle of glycol which had been leaking from the ceiling of a classroom. The glycol was leaking from a pipe in the ceiling, which had recently been installed as a part of a retrofit of the school’s entire HVAC system. Our client fell, striking her head first on the edge of a large, wooden teacher’s desk, and then on the tile floor. She suffered a traumatic brain injury. Claims were filed against the mechanical engineering firm who designed the HVAC system and the mechanical company who installed the system. The matter settled for a confidential amount weeks before trial.
A Denver jury awarded $240,400 to Ms. Carol Wilson, who slipped and fell in her hotel bathtub at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Denver, formerly the Adams Mark, resulting in a thoracic vertebrae fracture. Ms. Wilson’s bathroom shower was not equipped with a slip-resistant bathmat, a slip-resistant surface or a safety bar.
$10.1 Million jury verdict for minor suffering traumatic brain injury following delay by his pediatrician in treating symptoms of brain tumor.