An Agreement Has Been Reached
Previously I published a blog concerning damage caps in Colorado and the efforts that the Colorado Trial Lawyers’ Association (CTLA) were making to get rid of these unrealistic limitations upon the compensation that a jury can award, no matter how badly a person is injured. Previously I discussed the fact that we were working to get these issues put on the ballot for the voters to decide this fall. The hard part about all of that is the fact that these types of campaigns are incredibly expensive to run, and the insurance industry is much better funded to fight these types of campaigns using their typical scare tactics. We have always known it was an uphill battle because of this fact, but I am happy to report that it looks like there has been a significant agreement which has been reached whereby the legislative route has presented an opportunity for our clients to be more fully compensated and greater power can be exercised by juries in compensating negligence victims for their harms and losses. This new law is going to become available to our clients on January 1, 2025.
Where do These Caps Apply?
I don’t practice in certain areas of the law (product liability, medical malpractice) so I won’t address any changes they experienced, but for clients I represent in normal cases like car accidents or wrongful death cases, the new caps will be applicable.
Current Vs. New Caps
As I’ve explained previously, these caps are meant to limit the amount of compensation a person can get for non-economic damages of pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment and quality of life, and inconvenience. The current cap for these harms and losses is right around $730,000 (again, this depends upon the case). Under the new cap, plaintiffs will be able to be compensated for up to $1,500,000 in non-economic damages and up to $2,125,000 in wrongful death non-economic damages. Furthermore, this amount will be periodically adjusted for inflation about every two years, with the first adjustment happening on January 1, 2028.
Ultimately a Great Outcome
So while this did not end up going to the voters, I do think that we have had a successful outcome for the vast majority of our citizens. While I still believe there shouldn’t be any such thing as caps at all, at least we are now able to more fully get fair compensation for our clients who experience more serious injuries involving extended recovery and permanent harms and losses.