Welch v. George, 99SC964 (November 28, 2000): George and his wife were involved an automobile accident with Welch. George and his wife sued Welch for personal injuries and loss of consortium. Later, George's wife settled with Welch. Welch then asserted that George's loss of consortium claim was not actionable because it was derivative of George's wife's personal injury claims, and that George could not establish that his wife's injuries met one of the threshold requirements under § 10-4-714 C.R.S., of the No-Fault Act.
The jury awarded George $120,000, but did not distinguish between George's personal injury claims and his loss of consortium claim. The trial court also awarded mileage costs for George's wife voluntarily returning from Louisiana to testify. The court of appeals affirmed the trial court's judgment on both issues.
The supreme court reversed the trial court's award of costs for George's wife's mileage in voluntarily testifying. The supreme court held that § 13-33-103 C.R.S., provides reimbursement of travel mileage for subpoenaed witnesses only.
The supreme court also disagreed with the court of appeals' interpretation of the No-Fault Act. Section 10-4-714(1) precludes recovery for bodily injuries caused by a motor vehicle unless one of the threshold requirements is met: (a) death, (b) dismemberment, (c) permanent disability, (d) permanent disfigurement, (e) medical and rehabilitative expenses in excess of $2,500.00, or (f) loss of earnings that continue in excess of a specified amount of time.
The supreme court reasoned that permitting a loss of consortium claim to be brought as an independent action would circumvent the intent of the statute. Plaintiffs could bring the claim without their spouse meeting the threshold requirements. The supreme court held that a loss of consortium claim is derivative, and actionable only if the spouse's injuries from which it derives meet the threshold requirements of § 10-4-714. The supreme court remanded the loss of consortium claim to the trial court to determine whether George's wife met one of the threshold requirements.

Richard Bovarnick earned two wins. In Vines v. Wal-Mart, Judge Stuber denied and dismissed a claim because claimant failed to meet the burden of proof. In Mancuso v. Wal-Mart, Judge Corchado denied temporary total disability benefits for six months based on claimant's failure to report the injury.