Colorado, just like every other country, has a set of laws dealing with personal injury claims and the notion of negligence. A person who has been the victim of a personal injury in Colorado is permitted under the state’s legislation to file a claim for financial compensation for the harm that they have suffered.
As a result of the evaluation that Colorado courts have conducted to reach conclusions about situations involving negligence, Colorado has a range of statutes and case laws specific to the state.
Certain laws govern the elements of a negligence lawsuit, such as the burden of proof, the sorts of damages that may be claimed, the statute of limitations within which a lawsuit must be brought, and so on.
Negligence Elements
The injured party is the one who is responsible for proving that the defendant was negligent and committed the corresponding tort. In order to do this, it is necessary to demonstrate that the defendant met each of the four legal requirements of negligence.
In a criminal proceeding, the burden of evidence is “proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” but the threshold is far lower in a civil proceeding. In these types of cases, the plaintiff has the burden of proof, and “by a preponderance of the evidence” is the standard of proof that must be met. This phrase effectively indicates that the jury may believe the plaintiff more than they believe the defendant about each of the four factors.
As was said before, in order for the victim to demonstrate that they are legally entitled to obtain compensation, they must first prove all four of the elements of negligence that constitute negligent behaviour. It includes:
It includes:
- Duty– The first need is that the defendant owes the plaintiff a duty. This may be an obligation to do something, such as act safely or not to do something, such as not violating traffic laws.
- The duty was violated – The second component of this claim is that the defendant breached this duty in some manner.
- The violation caused damage – This offence must have resulted in the victim sustaining injuries. There must be concrete evidence that the defendant’s behaviour was substantially responsible for the damages suffered by the plaintiff.
- Proven suffering – Lastly, the plaintiff must have been harmed in a significant way.
It is possible for the plaintiff to prove the right to recover if they can prove that there was a duty, that the responsibility was violated, that there was a causative link, and that damages were incurred.
In order to prove negligence in a case involving personal injury, it is necessary to demonstrate all four of the following criteria.
-Negligence per se
An important part of determining whether or not a person was negligent is determining whether or not the defendant’s actions were fair and whether or not a reasonably cautious person would have done differently.
When a defendant is charged with negligence per se, the focus is on the law they broke. If it can be shown that the defendant disobeyed the law, then it is considered that the defendant behaved carelessly, and the victim has the right to seek compensation for their damages.
In order to be successful in a claim based on the negligence per se concept under Colorado law, the plaintiff has to prove the following:
- The prosecutor must prove that the defendant committed a violation of statute, law or regulation.
- The legislation at issue was designed to avoid the same type of injury that the victim experienced.
- The victim is a member of the group of individuals that the legislation was written with the intention of protecting.
- Injuries sustained by the victim were directly attributable to the defendant’s illegal conduct.
Claims of “negligence per se” cannot be brought in every case in which a law has been infringed. They are often based on safety rules such as construction standards, road laws, and speed restrictions.
-Modified comparative fault
The state of Colorado applies a modified comparative fault approach for determining liability and adjusting penalties. This idea is used to reduce the amount of compensation a victim may obtain if he or she is partly responsible for the accident.
For instance, if a person was preoccupied at the moment he or she was struck by an alcoholic driver, the court may conclude that the plaintiff was 20% at blame and lower his or her damages by 20%.
No compensation would be granted to the victim if his or her degree of culpability was comparable to or greater than that of the defendant.
-Damage caps
Personal injury sufferers in the state of Colorado are subject to a variety of damage caps, which put a ceiling on the total amount of money that may be awarded to them as compensation for their injuries.
For example, a person who has suffered a personal injury as a result of medical negligence cannot be awarded more than $300,000 in non-economic damages. These types of damages include things like pain, distress, emotional pain, anxiety, and discomfort. The victim will not be able to recoup more than one million dollars in total.
Other types of cases, such as those involving governmental bodies or punitive damages, may be subjected to damage caps that limit the total amount of damages that may be awarded.
-Dog bite incidents
In contrast to many other states, Colorado does not follow the “one-bite” rule when treating injuries caused by dog bites.
One-bite states often allow dog owners to avoid legal repercussions when their pet bites a person once.
Dog bite statutes generally provide that the victim is entitled to compensation regardless of whether or not the offender was negligent.
However, this Colorado law has extremely precise limits, such that it only applies to claims involving significant physical harm and a victim who did not intrude or incite the dog, or neglect a warning sign. If the state law somehow doesn’t relate, the victim can still seek a negligence theory.
-Premises liability cases
Different obligations are placed on landowners in the state of Colorado.
In most cases, whether a victim is regarded as an invitee, licensee, or trespasser will determine whether or not they have a chance of winning a lawsuit that includes being damaged on another person’s property.
Give us a call if you need assistance…
Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any inquiries about Negligence and Colorado State Laws in Personal Injury Cases or if you would want to discuss your case in private with one of our experienced personal injury lawyers in Colorado.
We serve customers in and around the cities of Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora, Fort Collins, and Lakewood, as well as a number of other adjacent communities.