Laws vary from state to state, but the elements of a health care liability claim for medical malpractice or medical negligence are generally:

• a physician or health care provider is a defendant;

• the claim or claims at issue concern treatment, lack of treatment, or a departure from accepted standards of medical care or health care, or safety, professional, or administrative services directly related to health care;

• the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care;

• the defendant breached its duty of care by not meeting the required standard of care; and

• the defendant’s act or omission proximately caused the plaintiff’s injury (was the primary cause of the injury).

In Colorado, medical malpractice claims are governed by both state statutes and case law. The elements of a health care liability claim in Colorado are consistent with the general outline provided. Specifically, the plaintiff must establish that the health care provider (which can include physicians, nurses, or other medical professionals) owed a duty of care to the patient, breached that duty by failing to adhere to the accepted standards of medical practice, and that this breach was the proximate cause of the patient's injury. Colorado law requires that the standard of care be established by expert testimony, which is typically provided by medical professionals in the same field as the defendant. Additionally, Colorado has a statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims, which generally requires that a lawsuit be filed within two years of the date that the injury was or should have been discovered. There are also caps on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases in Colorado, which limit the amount of compensation for pain and suffering, inconvenience, emotional stress, and impairment of the quality of life.