Information for Patients
On July 1, 2019, the Colorado Candor Act (C.R.S. § 25-51-101) took effect. This Act changes the way that medical malpractice claims will be handled in Colorado.
In this article, our Denver medical malpractice lawyers provide an overview of the most important things that Colorado patients need to know about the state’s Candor process.
One of our firm’s founding partners, David S. Woodruff, was instrumental in getting this groundbreaking law passed. As one of Colorado’s leading medical malpractice lawyers, Mr. Woodruff was asked to help write the Candor Bill. Working with the opposition, he drafted the legislation and testified before the Colorado Senate and House of Representatives. The Candor Act ultimately passed unanimously in both houses and was signed into law by Governor Polis.
Building on that foundation, partner Jordan L. Grosgebauer has been at the forefront of the Colorado Candor Act since its inception in 2019. As an experienced medical malpractice attorney, Mrs. Grosgebauer has played an integral role in developing and navigating the Candor process, guiding her clients through its complexities and advocating for those harmed by medical negligence. She has successfully represented numerous patients in Candor, helping them secure meaningful compensation and contributing to how the process is applied in practice today, giving her clients a distinct advantage when pursuing claims within the Candor Process.
Denver Trial Lawyers® is proud to have been at the forefront of this landmark legislation from its creation to its continued real-world application on behalf of injured patients.
Recognized for Shaping the Law
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the record we stand on
Over a Billion Dollars Recovered for Our Clients
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Record-Setting $90 Million Record Settlement
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$22.3 Million Largest Medical Malpractice Settlement in Colorado
$22.3 million medical malpractice settlement. In 2016 David Woodruff obtained the largest known medical malpractice settlement in Colorado.
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$15 Million Medical Malpractice Verdict for Victim of Paralysis
A jury handed down a $15 million verdict to a man who was paralyzed from the chest down just hours after a doctor at Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs discharged him. It’s the largest sum ever awarded in a medical malpractice suit in Colorado.
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$3.9 Million Largest Verdict in Fort Collins, for a Woman Paralyzed Due to Misdiagnosis
David Woodruff helped his client receive a $3.9 million verdict, the largest ever in Fort Collins, in a case where a woman was paralyzed on her right side due to a misdiagnosis in the Emergency Room in 2006.
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$3 Million Case Against Hospital That Failed to Recognize Spinal Injury
A Colorado man was awarded $3 million after hospital staff failed to recognize a spinal injury, causing him to become permanently paralyzed.
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$2 Million Unnecessary Sinus Surgeries
Dan Sloane helped a young woman whose doctor performed several unnecessary sinus surgeries resulting in damage to her vestibular system
Your Guide to the Colorado Candor Act
What Is the Colorado Candor Act?
Fundamentally, the Colorado Candor process is designed to help facilitate settlement in medical malpractice claims. Barriers to settlement of these cases have long been an issue in our state. Under Colorado law (C.R.S. § 10-1-120), medical malpractice settlements must be reported to the Colorado Medical Board for further investigation.
While this type of regulation makes sense, it also carries an unintended consequence: Medical professionals in Colorado have long been reluctant to settle medical malpractice lawsuits for fear of being reported and investigated. In other words, many patients had to take their cases to court instead of settling them without filing suit.
The Colorado Candor Act creates a new process whereby medical negligence cases can potentially be resolved out of court, in a confidential manner.
When a doctor and a patient enter an ‘open discussion’ under the candor process, their correspondence is privileged. Should a medical malpractice settlement be reached, it can be kept confidential: it does not have to be reported to the Colorado Medical Board for further investigation.
Where Verdicts
Meet Voices
Real Stories Behind Every Win
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"Jordan and her team were kind, attractive, and comprehensive with us, always answering our questions and concerns promptly."- Joselin G.
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"David Woodruff and his team worked long and hard for my settlement."- Heather N.
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"Stephen Wahlberg never lost sight of the human element of his very important work."- Kara N.
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"Thank you, David Woodruff, for all your hard work."- Star S.
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"I put my TRUST in Dan Sloane."- Julie D.
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"I trusted Daniel Sloane so much."- Christina
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"Mr. Woodruff never gave up."- Jon F.
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"Steve Wahlberg handled our very difficult case with brilliance."- D. F.
