Colorado Code
Part 1 - General Provisions
§ 13-21-117.5. Civil Liability - Intellectual and Developmental Disability Service Providers - Definitions - Repeal

(a) [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (2)(a) is effective July 1, 2024. ] "Case management agency" has the same meaning as set forth in section 25.5-6-1702 (2).




(b) [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (2)(b) is effective July 1, 2024. ] "Department" means the department of health care policy and financing.



(e) [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (2)(e) is effective July 1, 2024. ] "Host home" means a private home that houses up to three persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities and whose owner or renter provides residential services, as described in section 25.5-10-206 (1)(e), to those persons as an independent contractor of a service agency.

(f) [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (2)(f) is effective July 1, 2024. ] "Provider" means any case management agency, service agency, host home, family caregiver, and the directors, officers, and employees of these entities, who provide long-term services or supports to persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities pursuant to article 10 of title 25.5 or article 10.5 of title 27.

(g) [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (2)(g) is effective July 1, 2024. ] "Service agency" means a privately operated program-approved service agency designated pursuant to the rules of the department.



(4) Duty of care. [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (4) is effective July 1, 2024. ] The performance of a service or an act of assistance for the benefit of a person with an intellectual and developmental disability or adoption or enforcement of a policy, procedure, guideline, or practice for the protection of the person's health or safety by a provider does not create any duty of care with respect to a third person, nor does it create a duty for any provider to perform or sustain a service or an act of assistance nor to adopt or enforce a policy, procedure, guideline, or practice; however, nothing in this section relieves a provider of a duty of care expressly imposed by federal or state law or department rule, nor shall anything in this section be deemed to create any duty of care.

(5) [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (5) is effective July 1, 2024. ] No action in tort under this section may be maintained on behalf of, for, or by a person with an intellectual and developmental disability or by a family member of a person with an intellectual and developmental disability against a provider unless the person claiming to have suffered an injury or grievance or the person's guardian or representative has filed for dispute resolution or other applicable intervention, if any, by the department or a case management agency or pursuant to rules promulgated under article 6 or 10 of title 25.5 or article 10.5 of title 27 within one year after the date of the discovery of the injury or grievance, regardless of whether the person then knew all of the elements of a claim or of a cause of action for such injury or grievance. Compliance with this subsection (5), documented by a letter from the department certifying that any and all interventions and dispute resolution procedures, with either the department or a case management agency applicable to the matter at hand have been exhausted, or by submission of evidence that such an intervention or dispute resolution request has been filed and no action has been taken by the department within ninety days, is a jurisdictional prerequisite to any action brought under the provisions of this section, and failure of compliance forever bars any such action and must result in a dismissal of any claim with prejudice. Certification by the department that all applicable interventions and dispute resolution procedures have been exhausted does not result in the department becoming a party to the tort claim action.



(8) [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (8) is effective July 1, 2024. ] If a person with an intellectual and developmental disability residing in a residential program operated by the department is referred by the department for community placement, the provider is not subject to civil liability for accepting that person for community placement.


(10) [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (10) is effective July 1, 2024. ] Case management agencies and service agencies shall have the authority to move a person with an intellectual and developmental disability from any residential setting that they operate under medicaid authority if the case management agency or service agency believes that the person with an intellectual and developmental disability may be at risk of abuse, neglect, mistreatment, exploitation, or other harm in such setting. If a person is moved for one of the aforementioned reasons, the person-centered planning required by this subsection (10) must occur as soon as possible following the move. In the absence of willful and wanton acts or omissions, case management agencies and service agencies have no civil liability for exercising such authority or for termination of any related contracts if the risk is substantiated by investigation pursuant to the rules of the department.



Source: L. 92: Entire section added, p. 1396, § 53, effective July 1. L. 2003: Entire section R&RE, p. 1963, § 1, effective May 22. L. 2013: (2)(a), (2)(c), and (2)(e) amended, (HB 13-1314), ch. 323, p. 1802, § 23, effective March 1, 2014. L. 2018: (2)(a), (2)(d), (2)(f), (2)(g), (4), (5), (7), (8), (9), and (10) amended and (2)(a.5) added, (SB 18-174), ch. 148, p. 937, § 1, effective April 23. L. 2021: (2)(a), (2)(b), (2)(e), (2)(f), (2)(g), (4), (5), (8), and (10) amended, (HB 21-1187), ch. 83, p. 324, § 5, effective July 1, 2024; (2)(a.5)(II) added by revision, (HB 21-1187), ch. 83, pp. 324, 354, §§ 5, 70.

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