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★ Colorado · medical negligence

Medical negligence settlements
in Colorado.

By Reviewed by Abd Shanti, Founder9 min read

Colorado’s malpractice cap on pain and suffering, frozen at $300,000 for two decades, is rising in steps: $530,000 for care in 2026 and $875,000 by 2029. Economic damages can exceed the overall $1 million cap, as a $27.6 million verdict for a newborn’s sepsis injuries shows.

Facts that decide a medical negligence claim in Colorado

Noneconomic cap by year of care$415,000 for claims accruing in 2024 or 2025 and filed from 2025; $530,000 for acts in 2026; $645,000 in 2027; $760,000 in 2028; $875,000 in 2029; then inflation adjusted every two years.HB24-1472 (2024), amending C.R.S. § 13-64-302
Exceeding the $1 million total capAfter finding good cause and unfairness, a court may, but need not, award economic damages above $1 million in the amount the jury found.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)
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★ CO · reported medical negligence outcomes

What Colorado courts have awarded.

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

  • Gresser v. Banner Health
    Colorado Court of Appeals · 2023
    $27,647,274.23 verdict; $39.8 million judgment affirmed

    C.G. was born at North Colorado Medical Center and moved to intensive care late on her second day; by the next morning she had E. coli sepsis and suffered irreversible neurological injuries, including cerebral palsy. Her parents alleged nurses failed to tell her doctors about signs of sepsis in time. The jury awarded $27,647,274.23, including care costs to 2075, and with interest the judgment was $39,845,196.83. The court held the judge could exceed the cap and affirmed.

  • In re P.W. v. Children’s Hospital Colorado
    Colorado Supreme Court · 2016
    Hospital’s fault defenses dismissed

    K.W., 16, was admitted to the psychiatric unit at Children’s Hospital in June 2013 after a suicide attempt and placed on high suicide precautions, which required staff to keep him in sight. He attempted suicide by hanging in the hospital and suffered an anoxic brain injury that left him minimally conscious. The Supreme Court held the hospital could not blame him through comparative negligence or assumption of risk.

★ CO · medical negligence · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a medical negligence settlement in Colorado.

  1. 1

    Check the year of the care. The noneconomic cap depends on when the malpractice happened.

  2. 2

    Economic losses can go far beyond $1 million. Gresser’s award covered care and lost wages for decades.

  3. 3

    A hospital that takes custody of a suicidal patient cannot shift fault to that patient, under P.W.

★ 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 medical negligence settlement in Colorado.

★ medical negligence · 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 medical negligence claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationMedical negligence 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 · medical negligence →
IdahoModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryID · medical negligence →
MontanaModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryMT · medical negligence →
NevadaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years for personal injury; 3 years for medical malpracticeNV · medical negligence →
OregonModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryOR · medical negligence →
UtahModified comparative, 50% bar4 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeUT · medical negligence →
GeorgiaModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryGA · medical negligence →
KansasModified comparative, 50% bar2 years from date of injuryKS · medical negligence →
MaineModified comparative, 50% bar6 years for personal injury, longest in the USME · medical negligence →
NebraskaModified comparative, 50% bar4 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeNE · medical negligence →
ConnecticutModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryCT · medical negligence →
DelawareModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryDE · medical negligence →
★ CO · medical negligence · frequently asked

Common questions.

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

united states · sister site
Your medical negligence claim in Colorado. See the number for your own case.

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

Check my case

Sources

Checked 2026-09-29.

★ all of CO
Colorado overview

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

★ national frame
Medical negligence in United States

Medical negligence band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Medical negligence · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of medical negligence 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.