How New Colorado Damage Cap Laws Impact Your Case
If you have been hurt or lost a loved one because of the negligence of another person, Colorado’s new law could make a huge difference in the amount of money you receive for noneconomic damages. In the past, Colorado had very restrictive caps on noneconomic damages. In other words, it limited the amount you could receive for this type of damage to as little as $300,000. The new law increases damage caps significantly, sometimes up to $2.125 million. In addition, the new law allows siblings of the deceased to file wrongful death lawsuits in some circumstances.
Another important detail is that the new law applies to all lawsuits filed on or after January 1, 2025, no matter when the wrongful death occurred.
Economic vs. Noneconomic Damages
In order to understand the changes in the law, you must understand the difference between economic damages and noneconomic damages.
Economic damages are related to direct costs you incur because of someone’s negligence. Noneconomic damages, on the other hand, are costs that can’t easily be quantified in monetary terms. The specific examples that Colorado statutes mention include:
- Pain and suffering
- Inconvenience
- Emotional stress
- Impairment of quality of life
However, this is not an exhaustive list, and it’s important to consider all the ways that an accident or injury changed your life in order to get compensation that truly reflects your experience.
Most lawsuits will include both economic and noneconomic damages. For example, following a motorcycle accident, economic damages will include the medical expenses you have to pay to treat your wounds, including physical therapy to restore lost function and cosmetic surgery to deal with disfigurement. Economic damages will also include lost wages. This means both the wages that you lost while recovering, and any reduction in wages you experience because you can no longer do the job you used to do.
Noneconomic damages, on the other hand, would include the pain and suffering you experienced (and maybe continue to experience) as a result of your motorcycle accident. It will include the trauma of the accident, as well as the stress of recovering from such a major incident. It will also reflect any nightmares or other PTSD symptoms you experience after the accident (though trauma counseling costs are economic damages). It also includes all the things that you can’t do now because of your accident, such as riding your motorcycle or playing golf.
One of the benefits of working with a personal injury lawyer is that they have learned from the experience of helping many accident sufferers what types of noneconomic damages to seek. After the cap increases, this talent will become even more valuable.
New Damage Caps for Different Types of Lawsuits
So where does the law set noneconomic damage caps now? It depends on the type of lawsuit.
For most personal injury lawsuits, the new noneconomic damage cap is $1.5 million. This includes motorcycle accidents, dog bite lawsuits, slip and fall accidents, car accidents, and more.
For wrongful death lawsuits, the new noneconomic damage cap is $2.125 million. Another important factor to remember in wrongful death lawsuits is that your lawsuit can include damages on behalf of the person who died. So if a hit-and-run driver left the scene of a motorcycle accident, and your husband took eight hours to die on the side of a deserted mountain road, your lawsuit can include their suffering as well as yours.
For medical malpractice lawsuits, the new noneconomic damage cap will be $875,000 after gradually increasing over the next five years. For medical malpractice wrongful death lawsuits, the new noneconomic damage cap will be $1.575 million after increasing over the next five years. The previous cap for this type of lawsuit was very low: $300,000.
Siblings Can Now Bring Lawsuits
The new law also allows siblings of a deceased individual to bring wrongful death lawsuits on their behalf if the deceased:
- Had no spouse, heir(s), or designated beneficiaries
- Was an unmarried minor or unmarried adult without descendants
- Had no living mother or father at the time of the action
This allows siblings to get compensation when no-one else survives to speak on behalf of the deceased.
Law Applies to All Lawsuits Filed after January 1, 2025
In the past, caps on noneconomic damages were restricted by the time that the death took place. However, the new law states that the new damage caps apply to all lawsuits filed on or after January 1, 2025, no matter when the injury took place.
If your lawsuit includes noneconomic damages that might be impacted by the change, it might make sense to wait until after January 1, 2025 to file your claim. Most likely, the only reason not to wait is if you are facing the statute of limitations for your lawsuit and must file before that date or else lose your right to file.
How a Personal Injury Attorney Can Help You Get Noneconomic Damages
A personal injury attorney can help you get fair compensation for your economic and noneconomic damages. Although anyone can sit down and total economic damages, it is in the realm of noneconomic damages that a personal injury lawyer can really help. They can listen to your story about how the accident has changed your life. Then, based on their experience with other lawsuits and the courts, they can translate that story into an expression of noneconomic damages that truly captures your experience.
Listening is a key part of the Informed Decisions™ Approach at Pushchak Law. It’s how we start: taking the time to listen to your experience, your needs, and your priorities. Then we will recommend an approach that will get you the results that matter most to you, whether that’s a quick settlement, maximizing compensation, or other priorities. We care about you, and we make ourselves personally available to you – you will get our personal contact information and can contact us any time of day or night about questions, concerns, or decisions about your case. Remember that although we are helping you, the case remains yours: you have the final say in how we proceed at every step of the way.
To learn more about how we can help you pursue both economic and noneconomic damages in your personal injury case, please contact us today for a free initial consultation. Pushchak Law serves clients in Denver and the surrounding areas.
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