Colorado Justices Set Rule on Awards Above State Malpractice Cap

Colorado courts that determine an exception applies to the state’s $1 million damages cap in medical malpractice cases should defer to the jury’s damages determination, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled Monday.

Although the state’s Health Care Availability Act doesn’t lay out a standard for judges to follow in exceeding the cap, nothing suggests that legislators intended to strip the jury of its common law authority to decide damages, Justice William W. Hood III wrote in the majority opinion.

The ruling affirmed a nearly $40 million judgment against Banner Health, which operates North Colorado Medical Center, in a medical malpractice ...