§ 1Four kinds of damages in a Colorado tort case
| Category | Examples | Statutory limit |
|---|---|---|
| Economic | Medical bills, future care, lost earnings, lost earning capacity, property damage | Not limited by 13-21-102.5 |
| Noneconomic | Pain and suffering, inconvenience, emotional stress, impairment of quality of life | Capped under 13-21-102.5 |
| Physical impairment and disfigurement | Loss of function, permanent scarring | Treated separately from the noneconomic cap under 13-21-102.5(5) |
| Exemplary | Punishment for willful and wanton conduct | Generally no more than actual damages (13-21-102) |
Economic damages are proved with documents: bills, pay records, tax returns, and expert projections of future care and earnings. Noneconomic damages are proved with testimony about how the injury changed daily life. Physical impairment and disfigurement have long been recognized in Colorado as a separate category, which matters because it has been treated as outside the general noneconomic cap.
Collateral sourcesC.R.S. 13-21-111.6 Colorado's collateral source statute governs when payments from insurance and similar sources reduce an award.
§ 2Colorado damage caps after House Bill 24-1472
In 2024 the legislature passed House Bill 24-1472, the first major rewrite of Colorado's noneconomic damage caps in decades. Which version applies depends on when the claim accrued and, during a transition year, when the case was filed.
| Claim type | Earlier law | After HB24-1472 |
|---|---|---|
| Most injury claims (13-21-102.5) | $250,000 base, up to $500,000 with clear and convincing justification, each adjusted for inflation over time | $1,500,000 for actions filed in 2025 or claims accruing on or after Jan. 1, 2025; inflation adjustments from Jan. 1, 2028 |
| Wrongful death (13-21-203) | Lower inflation-adjusted limit | $2,125,000 on the same dates; no cap for a felonious killing |
| Medical malpractice (13-64-302) | $300,000 noneconomic | Phased increases to $875,000 by 2029, wrongful death to $1,575,000 |
| Public entities (24-10-114) | Separate per-person and per-occurrence limits on total recovery, adjusted every four years. For claims accruing 2022 through 2025 they were $424,000 per person and $1,195,000 per occurrence; a new adjustment took effect January 1, 2026. | |
These figures come from the statute text and the 2024 bill. Caps are adjusted for inflation on fixed schedules, and the legislature amends them. Check the current Colorado Revised Statutes and the Colorado Secretary of State's published adjusted amounts, or ask a licensed Colorado attorney, before relying on any number here.
Two practical points. First, the old law let a court exceed the base cap only on clear and convincing evidence; the new general cap is a single figure. Second, a cap limits what the court enters as judgment, not what a jury may find. Juries are generally not told about the cap, and the court reduces an excessive noneconomic award afterward, along with any comparative fault reduction.
§ 3Exemplary (punitive) damages
Colorado allows exemplary damages when the injury is attended by circumstances of fraud, malice, or willful and wanton conduct. C.R.S. 13-21-102 sets the guardrails:
- They may not be included in the initial complaint. They can be added by amendment after initial disclosures are exchanged and the plaintiff establishes prima facie proof of a triable issue.
- They are generally limited to an amount equal to the actual damages awarded. A court may increase them, up to three times actual damages, if the defendant continued the behavior during the case in specified ways.
- They must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, a criminal-level standard, under C.R.S. 13-25-127(2).
Timing the request
Because exemplary damages cannot be pleaded at the start, the evidence for them usually comes out in discovery: internal emails, prior complaints, a safety warning ignored. The motion to amend is a separate fight, and some cases settle around it. A claimant should not expect punitive damages to be part of early negotiations.
§ 4Colorado statutes of limitation for tort claims
| Claim | General period | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Most tort actions, including negligence and premises | 2 years | C.R.S. 13-80-102(1)(a) |
| Wrongful death | 2 years | C.R.S. 13-80-102(1)(d) |
| Product liability | 2 years | C.R.S. 13-80-106 |
| Medical negligence | 2 years, generally no more than 3 years after the act | C.R.S. 13-80-102.5 |
| Assault, battery, false imprisonment | 1 year | C.R.S. 13-80-103(1)(a) |
| Motor vehicle negligence | 3 years | C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n) |
| Claims against a public entity | Written notice within 182 days of discovery | C.R.S. 24-10-109 |
The 182-day notice is the one that catches people. It applies to cities, counties, school districts, state agencies and their employees, and it is a jurisdictional prerequisite: a claim filed without timely notice is typically dismissed. The notice has required contents and must go to the right office.
§ 5Deadline reference
Choose a claim type and, if you like, a date. The tool shows the general statutory period and the date it points to. It does not know your facts.
General limitation period
Reference only§ 6What can move a deadline
Accrual and the discovery rule
Under C.R.S. 13-80-108(1), a personal injury claim accrues on the date both the injury and its cause are known or should have been known by the exercise of reasonable diligence. For a fall or a bite, that is usually the same day. For an injury that develops slowly, or a cause that only later becomes clear, the start date can shift, and the defense will argue it should not.
Minors and people under a legal disability
Colorado has special rules in C.R.S. 13-81-101 and following for minors and people who are legally disabled. They can extend some deadlines, but not always in the way families assume; whether a legal representative has been appointed matters. Do not rely on a child's age alone to buy time.
Statutes of repose and presumptions
Some claims also face outer limits that run regardless of discovery, such as the three-year outer limit for most medical negligence claims and the ten-year presumption in Colorado product liability law.
The bottom line
Write down the date of the injury and the type of defendant. If it is a public entity, the 182-day notice comes first. Otherwise, assume two years unless a lawyer tells you a different period applies, and treat damage caps as tied to the accrual date.
Next: how a Colorado injury claim moves from notice to trial.
Colorado damages and deadline questions
What is the cap on pain and suffering in Colorado?
For civil actions filed during 2025 and for claims that accrue on or after January 1, 2025, C.R.S. 13-21-102.5 limits noneconomic damages to $1,500,000, with inflation adjustments scheduled from January 1, 2028. Claims governed by the earlier law use the older, inflation-adjusted limits, which were far lower. Medical malpractice and wrongful death claims have their own limits.
Are medical bills and lost wages capped?
Not by the general noneconomic cap. Economic damages such as medical expenses and lost earnings are not limited by C.R.S. 13-21-102.5. Claims against public entities are a different story: the Governmental Immunity Act caps total recovery per person and per occurrence.
What is the statute of limitations for personal injury in Colorado?
For most tort actions it is two years under C.R.S. 13-80-102(1)(a). Motor vehicle negligence claims generally have three years under C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n), and many intentional torts only one year under C.R.S. 13-80-103. Claims against a public entity require written notice within 182 days of discovering the injury.
When does the two years start?
Under C.R.S. 13-80-108(1), a personal injury claim generally accrues when the injury and its cause are known, or should have been known through reasonable diligence. In most accidents that is the day of the injury. For injuries that surface later, the date can be the subject of real dispute.
Can I ask for punitive damages in my complaint?
Not at first. Colorado calls them exemplary damages, and C.R.S. 13-21-102 bars including them in the initial complaint. They can be added later, after the exchange of initial disclosures, if the claimant shows prima facie proof of a triable issue. They must ultimately be proved beyond a reasonable doubt and are generally limited to the amount of actual damages awarded.
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Last reviewed November 2026. Colorado statutes are amended often. Check the current Colorado Revised Statutes, or ask a licensed Colorado attorney, before relying on any figure or deadline here.