Colorado’s medical malpractice damages framework operates through statutory authority under the Healthcare Availability Act, with recent legislative reforms establishing updated limits on noneconomic damages. House Bill 24-1472 created the first phased increase in decades, beginning with a $415,000 cap effective January 1, 2025.
The statute applies uniformly across all malpractice theories and functions alongside Colorado’s general noneconomic damages limitations, wrongful-death provisions, and economic-damages rules. These caps govern liability exposure for providers, institutions, and affiliated entities.
This article outlines the updated cap schedule, the governing statutory framework, controlling court precedents, and the procedural rules that structure medical malpractice litigation in Colorado.
Legal Framework in Colorado
Colorado's medical malpractice damages cap framework operates through statutory authority rather than constitutional mandate. The primary governing statute is C.R.S. § 13-64-302, which establishes caps within the Healthcare Availability Act. Supporting statutes include § 13-21-102.5 for general noneconomic damages limitations and § 13-21-203 for wrongful death caps.
The Colorado Constitution contains no explicit provisions addressing medical malpractice damages caps. This statutory framework operates under the Colorado General Assembly's police power, allowing for legislative updates through standard statutory amendment processes.
Constitutional challenges must proceed on general grounds, including due process, equal protection, or jury trial rights. Courts apply rational basis scrutiny to constitutional questions, making legislative modifications easier to implement and sustain.
2025 Colorado Medical Malpractice Caps
Colorado implemented a phased-in increase schedule under HBl 24-1472, with noneconomic damages caps rising from the previous $300,000 to $875,000 by 2029. The caps apply per incident (per claim) rather than per defendant in multi-party cases.
Current Noneconomic Damages Caps:
- January 1, 2025: $415,000
- January 1, 2026: $530,000
- January 1, 2027: $645,000
- January 1, 2028: $760,000
- January 1, 2029: $875,000 (final amount)
Current Wrongful Death Damages:
- 2025: $555,000
- 2026: $810,000
- 2027: $1,065,000
- 2028: $1,320,000
- 2029: $1,575,000
The wrongful death caps represent a 183% increase from previous levels, reflecting legislative recognition that prior caps had been substantially eroded by inflation since their original enactment.
- Economic Damages: Not subject to statutory caps under C.R.S. § 13-64-302(1)(b). Courts may award noneconomic damages exceeding the statutory cap (currently $415,000 for cases filed on/after January 1, 2025) if "good cause is shown" and applying the cap would be "unfair to the plaintiff."
- Automatic Adjustments: Senate Bill 19-109 established biennial Consumer Price Index adjustments beginning January 1, 2028. Adjustments are calculated using the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood index (all items, all urban consumers) and certified by the Secretary of State within 14 days after CPI data becomes available, rounded to the nearest $10. The first adjustment will apply to the $875,000 cap and corresponding wrongful death amounts on January 1, 2030.
Recent Developments & Pending Legislation in Colorado
House Bill 24-1472 enacted substantial medical malpractice reform in recent Colorado history. The bill established a phased increase from $300,000 to $875,000 by 2029, beginning with $415,000 effective January 1, 2025, and established corresponding increases for medical malpractice wrongful death damages, reaching $1.575 million by 2029.
- Senate Bill 24-325 complemented these reforms by setting the general wrongful death cap at $2.125 million.
Senate Bill 24-130 proposed lower cap increases of $500,000 over five years but was superseded by House Bill 24-1472's higher amounts. Recent Colorado Supreme Court decisions, including Banner Health v. Gresser (2025), have clarified the "good cause" exception mechanism that allows courts to exceed statutory caps when appropriate.
Key Colorado Medical Malpractice Court Precedents
Judicial interpretation plays a central role in how Colorado’s statutory malpractice caps function in litigation. The decisions below address the constitutional validity of the cap structure, clarify when courts may exceed statutory limits, and set out the operative rules governing damages, expert testimony, and procedural compliance.
Scholz v. Metropolitan Pathologists: Constitutional Foundation
Scholz v. Metropolitan Pathologists, 851 P.2d 901 (Colo. 1993) established the constitutional framework governing medical malpractice caps for three decades. The Colorado Supreme Court upheld statutory caps against jury trial, equal protection, and due process challenges.
The court held that jury trial rights do not prohibit legislative modification of common law remedies through damages limitations. Applying rational basis scrutiny, the court found caps bear a reasonable relationship to legitimate state interests in healthcare availability.
Garhart v. Columbia/HealthONE: Reaffirmation and Extension
Garhart v. Columbia/HealthONE, 95 P.3d 571 (Colo. 2004) reaffirmed Scholz and rejected arguments that injury severity or plaintiff age creates constitutionally distinct situations requiring different treatment.
The court upheld the entire Healthcare Availability Act statutory scheme, including periodic payment provisions for future damages exceeding $100,000. Most recently, in Banner Health v. Gresser (2025), the Court clarified that once good cause is established to exceed statutory caps, juries determine the full amount of damages without judicial reduction authority.
Procedural Rules for Filing Malpractice Claims in Colorado
Colorado medical malpractice actions operate within a defined procedural framework that governs filing requirements, expert involvement, and jurisdictional prerequisites. The rules below outline the mandatory steps practitioners must satisfy to preserve claims and avoid dismissal under Colorado law.
Certificate of Review Requirements
C.R.S. § 13-20-602 mandates filing a certificate within 60 days after complaint service on each defendant. The certificate must declare attorney consultation with qualified experts, expert conclusion that claims have merit, and attorney affirmation of reasonable justification. Failure results in dismissal without prejudice, though extensions may be granted for good cause shown before deadline expiration.
Statute of Limitations and Repose
The limitations statute establishes a two-year limitations period from claim accrual (discovery or reasonable discovery date) and a three-year absolute repose from the alleged act. Courts lack subject matter jurisdiction over time-barred claims, resulting in automatic dismissal with prejudice.
Expert Witness Qualifications
C.R.S. § 13-64-401 requires expert witnesses to be licensed physicians or healthcare providers in the same profession as defendants and possess qualifications through training or experience to address applicable standards of care. Rule 26(a)(2) mandates written expert reports containing complete opinion statements, supporting data, qualifications, publications, testimony history (4 years), and compensation information.
Public Entity Notice
Claims against state hospitals, county facilities, or public health departments require written notice under C.R.S. § 24-10-109 within 182 days of injury discovery. Notice must describe the circumstances, timing, location, and claimant information to enable investigation. Late notice completely bars subsequent litigation as a jurisdictional requirement.
FTCA Status as a Final Exception to Colorado’s Malpractice Cap Framework
Colorado’s statutory caps form the core remedial limits for most malpractice actions, but FTCA-deemed claims represent an important exception. When a federally qualified health center receives deemed status, the United States becomes the only proper defendant, and federal law—not Colorado’s cap scheme—governs damages.
Liability standards continue to derive from Colorado tort law, while the FTCA establishes the procedural, jurisdictional, and remedial framework. As a result, the applicable damages structure differs substantially from actions against private or state-licensed providers.
This exception underscores the need to confirm federal jurisdiction before applying Colorado’s malpractice cap schedule or modeling potential exposure.
Navigating Colorado’s Malpractice Caps
Colorado’s phased noneconomic-damages schedule establishes a predictable statutory framework for case valuation through 2029. The Colorado Supreme Court’s decision in Gresser clarified that once good cause is shown, juries assess full compensable damages without further judicial reduction, making good-cause determinations central to early litigation strategy.
As caps increase over the next several years, practitioners face timing and valuation questions that depend on complete documentation and clear medical chronologies. Reliable record retrieval and structured timelines help ensure defensible analysis under the Healthcare Availability Act. AI-powered legal tools can support this work by accelerating medical record preparation and organization.
To learn more about automated preparation for Colorado medical malpractice and personal injury cases, request a demo.
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