Jury awards $145 million to Colorado man for repeated denial of workers’ comp claim

An insurance company must pay $145 million to a Colorado man for repeatedly illegally delaying and denying his workers’ compensation claim for years after a fall at work caused him to lose his ability to walk, communicate and live independently.

A Denver District Court jury on Wednesday found that the insurer, NorGUARD Insurance Company, illegally delayed and denied Fermin Salguero-Quijada’s workers’ compensation claim, blocking him from receiving necessary medical care and eliminating the chance to avoid making his disabilities permanent, according to the 2023 lawsuit that prompted the week-long trial.

“As a further direct and proximate result of defendants’ wrongful conduct, as stated above, including the delays and/or denials of plaintiff’s reasonable and necessary medical treatment, plaintiff, at age 22 years old, is now permanently and totally disabled from any employment that he was able to perform prior to his work-related injury,” the lawsuit states.

Salguero-Quijada fell at least 15 feet from a ladder while working as a painter for a Colorado company in Salt Lake City on Sept. 24, 2021. He was taken to the University of Utah Hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with serious brain hemorrhages. The 20-year-old had no motor response and no verbal response and was placed on life support.

Salguero-Quijada remained at the Utah hospital for two months. His doctors planned to discharge him to Craig Rehabilitation Hospital, but could not because NorGUARD Insurance Company — owned by Warren Buffett’s conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway — had not admitted liability for the workers’ compensation claim and therefore would not pay for his care there, the lawsuit states.

A doctor ordered ongoing neurology and neurosurgery consultations, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, MRIs, acupuncture, eye care, and an orthopedic consultation for wrist fractures.

Instead of inpatient care, family members in Aurora took on the responsibility of caring for Salguero-Quijada, which included helping him with daily necessities like communicating, dressing, eating, walking and bathing. He required 24/7 direct supervision, according to the suit.

More than a month after the fall, the painting company’s workers’ compensation insurer, NorGUARD Insurance Company, denied Salguero-Quijada’s workers’ compensation claim. First, the company said it needed more time to investigate the issue. Then, the company said that the insurance company for the contractor that hired the painting company Salguero-Quijada worked for should be responsible for the claim instead of them.

The 20-year-old’s family contested the denial, which didn’t go to a hearing until July 2022 — ten months after the fall.

Even after a judge ruled that the insurer should pay the claim, NorGUARD Insurance Company appealed the decision and, when the company lost again, continued to delay and deny payment for Salguero-Quijada’s medical needs. Salguero-Quijada’s family sued in November 2023.

The jury on Wednesday found that the insurance company knowingly acted unreasonably when it denied and delayed the workers’ compensation claim and caused him physical and emotional harm. Of the $145 million the jury awarded, $60 million were punitive damages — meant to punish the defendant.

The lawsuit also alleges that the nurse assigned to Salguero-Quijada’s case repeatedly delayed or failed to set up needed care for the injured man.

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