If you have ever been injured in an accident, you know how it can affect you life and your finances in many ways. Injured people have enormous bills for medical and rehabilitative care. They may lose income while they are unable to return to work. In cases of serious injury, they may not be able to return to work for months or years, or they may even be permanently disabled. In a personal injury lawsuit, these costs are known as economic damages.
However, the impact of an injury doesn’t end at these economic damages. Injured people also endure pain and suffering, and they miss out on special moments with their families. They may be rendered unable to take part in the activities they love. In a personal injury lawsuit, these costs are known as noneconomic damages.
Colorado’s damages cap
When an injured person is seeking compensation for their economic damages, they typically have a lot of hard evidence. They can present medical bills to show how much their treatment cost, and pay stubs to show how much they lost by not being able to work. They can even make a good estimate of how much the injury will continue to cost them well into the future.
It’s harder to establish noneconomic damages such as pain and psychological distress. That’s one reason this type of damages is somewhat controversial. Colorado law sets caps on certain types of damages, including many types of noneconomic damages.
Fortunately for injured Coloradans, the state is slowly raising these caps. Currently, the caps are scheduled to rise every two years. They rose last year and will rise again next year. Currently, the cap on noneconomic damages in personal injury cases stands at $613,760. A court can raise the cap as high as $1,227,50 if it finds clear and convincing evidence that merits a higher amount.
Don’t let these caps scare you off. If you have been injured in an accident caused by the negligence of another party, you deserve compensation. An experienced personal injury attorney can help you understand your options for maximizing your recovery.