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★ Colorado · back & spine

Back & spine settlements
in Colorado.

By Reviewed by Abd Shanti, Founder9 min read

A Colorado jury awarded $9,292,887 in economic damages after an elective back fusion went wrong, and the judge let the award exceed the $1 million malpractice cap. On the workers’ comp side, a mechanic with lumbar stenosis won a new look at whether he had finished healing.

Facts that decide a back & spine claim in Colorado

Malpractice cap on total damagesDamages against health care providers are capped at $1 million for a course of care, but a court may award more in economic damages when it finds good cause and that the cap would be unfair.C.R.S. § 13-64-302(1)(b), as described in Gresser v. Banner Health (Colo. App. 2023)
Fault ruleModified comparative fault: your damages are cut by your share, and you recover only if your negligence was “not as great as the negligence of the person against whom recovery is sought.”C.R.S. § 13-21-111, as quoted in In re P.W. v. Children’s Hospital Colorado (Colo. 2016)
Noneconomic damages cap$1,500,000 in civil actions filed on or after 1 January 2025 (other than malpractice and wrongful death), adjusted for inflation every two years from 2028.HB24-1472 (2024), amending C.R.S. § 13-21-102.5
Deadline for car crash claimsThree years for “all tort actions for bodily injury or property damage arising out of the use or operation of a motor vehicle”; most other negligence claims have two years.C.R.S. §§ 13-80-101(1)(n)(I), 13-80-102(1)(a), as quoted in Nesjan v. J & A Distributing (Colo. App. 2025)
united states · sister site
Your back & spine claim in Colorado. See the number for your own case.

FairSettlement gives you a free estimate for your own back & spine case in about two minutes, no cost and no obligation.

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★ CO · reported back & spine outcomes

What Colorado courts have awarded.

Real Colorado decisions and verdicts, each linked to the court record or official report.

  • Scholle v. Ehrichs
    Colorado Court of Appeals · 2022
    $9,292,887 economic damages; cap exceeded

    In August 2015 Daniel Scholle had an elective discectomy and anterior lumbar fusion at Sky Ridge Medical Center. While a guide device was being removed, his iliac vein was injured, he lost a large amount of blood and went into cardiac arrest before being revived. The jury split fault 45 percent, 40 percent and 15 percent among the spine surgeon, the access surgeon and the hospital, and awarded $9,292,887 in economic damages; the judge found good cause to exceed the cap. The Court of Appeals affirmed in part and sent part back.

  • Peitz v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office
    Colorado Court of Appeals · 2024
    Maximum medical improvement order set aside

    Jason Peitz, a mechanic for the Pueblo water board, hurt his lower back in February 2020; an MRI showed stenosis at L4-5, and a lumbar fusion was discussed. He was later found at maximum medical improvement. The court held that a division independent medical examiner may consider all relevant body parts, not only those listed on the application form, and sent the case back.

★ CO · back & spine · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a back & spine settlement in Colorado.

  1. 1

    The $1 million malpractice cap is not absolute for economic loss. Scholle’s medical bills and lost earnings were awarded in full.

  2. 2

    Surgery on the spine carries vascular risk, and fault can be split among several providers.

  3. 3

    In comp cases, report every affected body part. Peitz also complained of hip and groin pain, and the examiner may consider every relevant body part.

★ CO · statute of limitations
2 years for personal injury; 3 years for motor vehicle

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-102

★ CO · fault rule
Modified comparative, 50% bar

Modified comparative, recovery barred at 50% claimant fault.

★ CO · caps

What caps recovery.

Statutory caps that may bear on a back & spine settlement in Colorado.

★ back & spine · same region & fault regime

Compare to like jurisdictions.

How Colorado's fault rule and limitation period compare to jurisdictions in the same US region and to those running the same fault rule for back & spine claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationBack & spine page
Colorado · you are hereModified comparative, 50% bar2 years for personal injury; 3 years for motor vehicle—
HawaiiModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryHI · back & spine →
IdahoModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryID · back & spine →
MontanaModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryMT · back & spine →
NevadaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years for personal injury; 3 years for medical malpracticeNV · back & spine →
OregonModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryOR · back & spine →
UtahModified comparative, 50% bar4 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeUT · back & spine →
GeorgiaModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryGA · back & spine →
KansasModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryKS · back & spine →
MaineModified comparative, 50% bar6 years for personal injury, longest in the USME · back & spine →
NebraskaModified comparative, 50% bar4 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeNE · back & spine →
ConnecticutModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryCT · back & spine →
DelawareModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryDE · back & spine →
★ CO · back & spine · frequently asked

Common questions.

Each answer is independently coherent and references the relevant statute or authority document.

united states · sister site
Hurt in a car crash in Colorado? See what your own claim could be worth.

FairSettlement, our US sister site, gives you a free estimate in about two minutes. No cost and no obligation.

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Sources

Checked 2026-09-29.

★ all of CO
Colorado overview

Fault rule, statute, caps, and key facts for Colorado as a whole.

★ national frame
Back & spine in United States

Back & spine band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Back & spine · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of back & spine bands.

★ editorial note

Figures on this page are not quotes for any specific case. For representation, consult an attorney admitted in Colorado. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.