Medical malpractice in Colorado happens when a physician who has a legal duty to care for you violates the accepted standard of care and causes an injury. Examples include surgery on the wrong site, other surgical mistakes, and giving the wrong medication or dosage.
Being ill or injured is one of the most stressful things that can happen to a person, and when the doctor that you turn to for help causes you even more pain and suffering, you may need to consult a medical malpractice attorney. Medical Malpractice happens when a physician has the legal duty to care for a person, violates the accepted standard of care, or otherwise breaches the duty of care, and causes injury by the violation or breach. A physician is expected to adhere to the accepted standard of care in every case, and that means taking actions that are recognized by the medical profession as proper actions that a responsible physician under similar circumstances would perform as acceptable medical treatment.
Surgical and Treatment Errors Discussed in This Guide
Medical malpractice can take many different forms, but here are some common examples:
- Performing surgery on an incorrect site
- Making surgical mistakes
- Performing unnecessary surgery
- Prescribing or administering inappropriate medication or dosage
- Discharging a patient too soon
- Providing insufficient or no follow-up or aftercare
- Misdiagnosing or failing to diagnose
- Misinterpreting or disregarding lab results
- Failing to order necessary testing
- Failing to investigate or correctly interpret symptoms
- Ignoring or not collecting relevant patient history
Colorado Medical Malpractice Filing Deadlines
In Colorado, you generally have two years from when you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the harm to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. Different rules apply in some cases, such as when the malpractice was concealed, a foreign object was left in your body or the claim involves a young child. For the details, see Colorado Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations.
Is There a Cap on Malpractice Damages in Colorado?
Like many states, Colorado limits the amount of damages a physician can be held liable for in cases of medical malpractice, but Colorado is unusual in the fact that it has two caps. The first is a $1 million cap on the total amount a plaintiff can receive, including both economic and non-economic damages, although a court can allow more if the plaintiff shows good cause and that the cap would be unfair. The second is a cap on non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering or mental distress. For claims that arise in 2026, that cap is $530,000, and it rises each year until it reaches $875,000 in 2029.
Related Reading
- Colorado Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations
- Colorado Doctor Apology Law and Medical Malpractice
Talk to Greer Law About Medical Malpractice
If you have been the victim of medical malpractice, call our office today at 303-331-6460 to speak to one of our knowledgeable medical malpractice attorneys.
