How Colorado's collateral source rule protects your Life Care Plan
Under Colorado's collateral source rule, the at-fault party cannot reduce what it owes just because you carry health insurance. If the Life Care Plan projects lifetime care costs at a certain amount, the defendant cannot argue that an insurer will cover part of it and shrink the bill. Health insurance carries lifetime limits, excludes home modifications and adaptive vehicles, and defines medically necessary care far more narrowly than a Life Care Plan does. The plan establishes the true economic need, and the collateral source rule keeps the defendant responsible for all of it.
Comparative fault in a Parker catastrophic case
Colorado follows modified comparative fault under C.R.S. 13-21-111. You can recover as long as you were less than 50 percent at fault, and your award is reduced by your share of fault. If you are found 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. On E-470, where lane changes and merge-point decisions are disputed, and on SH-83, where left-turn fault assignments are contested, insurers work aggressively to push the injured party's assigned fault percentage as high as possible. Defending against that tactic with physical evidence, toll-road camera footage, and expert reconstruction is a central part of how we build catastrophic injury cases for Parker clients in the 18th Judicial District.
Government entity claims carry separate caps
If E-470 Public Highway Authority, CDOT, or another government entity shares fault for a Parker catastrophic injury, recovery from that entity is separately limited under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act. For claims accruing on or after January 1, 2026, the CGIA caps recovery at $505,000 per person and $1,421,000 per occurrence under C.R.S. 24-10-114. The 182-day written notice requirement under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1) runs from the date of discovery of the injury, not the crash date. Missing that window forfeits the claim against the government entity entirely.