Not every serious injury in Colorado is limited by the state's pain and suffering cap. Colorado law specifically excludes compensatory damages for physical impairment or disfigurement from the standard non-economic damages limit, which matters greatly in cases involving permanent scarring, loss of mobility, or reduced use of a limb. Insurance companies sometimes talk about pain and suffering caps as though they end the conversation, but for a Denver client dealing with a permanent physical change, that is not the full picture. The Law Offices of Miguel Martinez, P.C. has more than 35 years of experience distinguishing standard non-economic damages from physical impairment and disfigurement claims, so a permanent injury is valued the way Colorado law actually allows.

Colorado does not allow unlimited pain and suffering awards in most personal injury cases. State law currently caps non-economic damages, the category that includes pain and suffering, at 1.5 million dollars in most tort cases, with a separate 250,000 dollar limit for damages claimed by family members affected by someone else's injury. These caps are adjusted periodically for inflation, so the exact number can shift depending on when your claim accrued. Many injured people do not realize this limit exists until an insurance company brings it up during negotiations, sometimes using it to justify a lowball offer before the true value of the case has even been calculated. The Law Offices of Miguel Martinez, P.C. has guided Denver clients through exactly these conversations for more than 35 years, making sure a claim is valued correctly within the law rather than settled short.

The Law Offices of Miguel Martinez, P.C. explain what counts as non-economic damages and why insurers often lowball this part of a claim.