Harmed by a Medical Error in Denver?

If you suspect a medical error caused you harm, your first step is to get a second opinion from a different doctor or specialist — ideally one outside the same hospital system. A second opinion serves two purposes: it may confirm (or rule out) that something went wrong, and it establishes a new medical record documenting your current condition.

Do not stop or change your prescribed treatment without medical guidance. If the original treatment was wrong, a second physician can safely adjust your care plan. If you’re in a medical emergency, go to the nearest emergency room — Denver Health Medical Center at 777 Bannock Street operates the Moore Shock Trauma Center, the city’s primary Level I trauma center. UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora is also a Level I trauma center affiliated with the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Request your complete medical records from the provider you believe made the error. Under federal law (HIPAA), you have the right to copies of your records. Colorado law (C.R.S. § 25-1-802) requires providers to furnish copies within 30 days of a written request. Providers can charge a reasonable fee for copying. Get your records before filing any complaint — some providers become less cooperative once they know litigation may follow.

Not every bad outcome is malpractice. Medicine carries inherent risks, and even competent doctors can’t guarantee results. In Colorado, medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider fails to meet the standard of care that a reasonably competent provider in the same specialty would have provided under similar circumstances, and that failure directly causes harm to the patient.

Common types of medical malpractice include misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, surgical errors (wrong-site surgery, retained instruments, nerve damage), medication errors (wrong drug, wrong dosage, dangerous drug interactions), birth injuries (failure to monitor fetal distress, improper use of forceps or vacuum extraction, delayed C-section), anesthesia errors, failure to obtain informed consent, and hospital-acquired infections caused by inadequate sanitation or protocol violations.

The “standard of care” is defined by what other qualified professionals in the same field would have done under similar circumstances. This is determined by expert testimony — which is why Colorado requires a certificate of review supported by a qualified expert as part of the filing process.

This is the procedural requirement that stops many medical malpractice cases before they get to trial. Under C.R.S. § 13-20-602, within 60 days after the defendant files an answer or other responsive pleading, the plaintiff must file a certificate of review. This certificate is a statement by the plaintiff’s attorney that the case has been reviewed by a qualified medical expert who has concluded that the claim does not lack substantial justification.

The expert must be a licensed professional qualified to provide an opinion on the standard of care at issue. If the certificate of review is not filed within the required timeframe, the court must dismiss the case. Colorado courts enforce this strictly.

This requirement means you need a medical malpractice attorney involved early, because finding and retaining a qualified expert takes time and specialized knowledge. The expert review process alone can take weeks or months, and the attorney must have the certificate ready before the 60-day clock runs out.

Colorado’s medical malpractice statute of limitations is two years from the date the injury occurred or should reasonably have been discovered (C.R.S. § 13-80-102.5). But there is also a three-year statute of repose: regardless of when you discover the harm, no claim can be filed more than three years after the date of the negligent act or omission.

There are limited exceptions. For minors, the statute of limitations is tolled until the child turns six, but the claim must still be filed within the 3-year statute of repose. For cases involving a foreign object left inside the body, the statute runs from the date of discovery. If the provider concealed the malpractice, the statute may be tolled.

If your claim involves a government-run hospital or government-employed medical provider, the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (C.R.S. § 24-10-109) adds another layer — written notice within 182 days. Denver Health Medical Center is operated by the Denver Health and Hospital Authority, a political subdivision of the State of Colorado. Claims against Denver Health may require notice under the Governmental Immunity Act, and the hospital may assert sovereign immunity defenses. If you believe you were harmed at a public hospital, consult an attorney immediately.

Colorado has long maintained a statutory cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. Under C.R.S. § 13-64-302, non-economic damages (pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, inconvenience, emotional stress, and impairment of quality of life) were historically limited to $300,000, with a possible increase to $500,000 if clear and convincing evidence justified it.

However, HB 24-1472, signed into law and effective January 1, 2025, significantly increases these caps. The non-economic damages cap rises by $115,000 per year from 2025 through 2029, reaching $875,000. Starting January 1, 2028, the cap adjusts for inflation every two years. The bill also increases the wrongful death damages limitation to $1.575 million by 2029. The cap applies per claim, not per defendant. It does not apply to economic damages — medical bills, corrective treatment costs, lost wages, future medical expenses, and reduced earning capacity remain uncapped.

Even with the increasing caps, documenting your economic damages remains critical. Every medical expense, every day of lost work, every future treatment need, and every impact on your earning capacity directly affects your total recovery.

Medical malpractice cases live and die on documentation. Request and preserve your complete medical records from every provider involved in the treatment at issue. This includes office visit notes, surgical reports, anesthesia records, nursing notes, lab results, imaging studies, medication logs, and discharge summaries.

Keep a journal documenting your symptoms, pain levels, and how the injury affects your daily life — including activities you can no longer do, emotional impact, and the effect on your work and relationships. This contemporaneous record can be powerful evidence of your non-economic damages, especially given Colorado’s cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases.

If your injury required corrective treatment, keep all records and bills from that treatment as well. The total cost of corrective care is part of your economic damages. Save pay stubs and tax returns to document lost wages and earning capacity.

Colorado’s modified comparative negligence rule (C.R.S. § 13-21-111) applies to medical malpractice cases. If a jury finds that the plaintiff was partially at fault — for example, by failing to follow post-operative instructions, missing follow-up appointments, or not disclosing relevant medical history — the damages are reduced by the plaintiff’s percentage of fault.

If the plaintiff is found 50% or more at fault, the plaintiff recovers nothing. Defense attorneys in medical malpractice cases routinely argue that the patient’s non-compliance contributed to the harm. Strong documentation of your compliance with all medical instructions helps counter this argument.

In cases involving multiple defendants — for example, a surgeon, an anesthesiologist, and a hospital — fault is apportioned among all parties. Colorado also allows apportionment of fault to non-parties under the pro rata liability statute (C.R.S. § 13-21-111.5), which defendants use to spread blame to others who may not be in the lawsuit.

Medical malpractice is one of the most complex and expensive areas of personal injury law. The certificate of review requirement, the need for expert witnesses at trial, the damage cap, and the procedural hurdles in Colorado make it nearly impossible to pursue a medical malpractice claim without an experienced attorney. Finding a qualified expert willing to testify is often the biggest challenge.

Most medical malpractice attorneys in Denver offer free consultations and work on contingency — you pay nothing upfront and no fees unless they recover compensation for you. The attorney typically advances the costs of expert review and expert witnesses, which can run into tens of thousands of dollars for complex cases.

When choosing an attorney, ask about their experience with Colorado medical malpractice cases specifically, how they handle the certificate of review process, their success rate, how many cases they’ve taken to trial, and what percentage they handle on contingency. An attorney who primarily handles car accident cases may not have the specialized knowledge needed for a medical malpractice claim.