On January 21, 2011, Rep. Bob Gardner, R-Colorado Springs, introduced HB 1106 – Concerning the recovery of actual damages in personal injury cases. This summary is published here courtesy of the Colorado Bar Association’s e-Legislative Report.

The purpose of this bill is to restate and reaffirm the general assembly’s intent that the common-law collateral source rule is abrogated and to indicate that a recent decision of the Colorado supreme court (Volunteers of America v. Gardenswartz) interpreting the statute on reduction of damages for payments from collateral sources is contrary to the general assembly’s intent to prevent compensatory damage awards for medical expenses from exceeding the amount accepted by the health care service provider for treating the injured party. In an action by a person or a legal representative to recover economic damages, the recoverable damages for reasonable and necessary medical or health care, treatment, or services shall include only those amounts actually paid by or on behalf of the injured person to the providers. The bills states that if payment for medical or health care services has not been made at the time of trial or arbitration, the recoverable amounts shall be limited to the amounts customarily accepted by the providers in satisfaction of their bills. Assigned to the Judiciary Committee.

Summaries of other featured bills can be found here.