On June 3, 2024, Colorado’s Governor signed into law HB24-1472 entitled “Raise Damage Limit Tort Actions” that was described as “Concerning matters related to certain tort actions, and, in connection therewith, increasing the cap on noneconomic damages, allowing siblings to bring a wrongful death action in certain circumstances, increasing a wrongful death damages cap, increasing the medical malpractice wrongful death damages cap, and increasing the medical malpractice noneconomic damages cap.”
The new Colorado medical malpractice law effects civil actions filed on or after January 1, 2025, increasing the cap on damages for noneconomic loss or injury from $250,000 to $1.5 million, and starting January 1, 2028, and every 2 years thereafter, adjusts the damages cap based on inflation. The new law also adds a sibling of the deceased as a party who may bring a wrongful death action in certain circumstances.
The new law imposes a wrongful death damages cap of $2.125 million, and starting January 1, 2028, and every 2 years thereafter, adjusts the damages cap based on inflation.
Beginning January 1, 2025, the new law incrementally increases the medical malpractice wrongful death damages limitation to $1.575 million over the course of 5 years. Thereafter, the cap is adjusted biennially for inflation.
The prior law limits the amount recoverable for noneconomic damages in medical malpractice actions to $300,000. Beginning January 1, 2025, the bill incrementally increases the noneconomic damages limitation to $875,000 over the course of 5 years. Thereafter, the cap is adjusted biennially for inflation.
In signing into law the new Colorado medical malpractice law, Colorado’s Governor stated, “Thanks to this bipartisan legislation we are preventing costly and divisive ballot measures that would be bad for the future of Colorado. This law will protect patient rights while saving Coloradans money on healthcare, creating a more affordable future for all of us.”
Colorado Representative Kyle Brown, a Democrat, stated at the signing ceremony on June 3, 2024, “I’m really proud that we’ve been able to come up with a solution that is workable for the business community, for the health care community — and we’ll make sure that victims can be appropriately compensated, or more appropriately than they are today. The way this bill is structured, we made sure that caps are going to go up, and then they’re going to go up using inflation over the next many, many years. So I’m hopeful that we never have to do this again.” Representative Brown sponsored the bill with Democratic Senator Kyle Mullica and Republican Senator Bob Gardner and House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese.
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If you or a loved one were injured (or worse) as a result of medical negligence in Colorado or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find a Colorado medical malpractice lawyer, or a local medical malpractice lawyer in your state, who may investigate your medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
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