The Duty of Colorado Professionals to Report Suspected Child Abuse

112-36-135 Injuries to be Reported Penalty for Failure to Report

1. It shall be the duty of every physician who attends or treats a bullet wound, a gunshot wound, a powder burn, or any other injury arising from the discharge of a firearm, or an injury caused by a knife, an ice pick, or any other sharp or pointed instrument which the physician believes to have been intentionally inflicted upon a person, or any other injury which the physician has reason to believe involves a criminal act, including injuries resulting from domestic violence, to report such injury at once to the police of the city, town, or city and county or the sheriff of the county in which the physician is located. Any physician who fails to make a report as required by this section commits a class 2 petty offense, as defined by section 18-1-107, C.R.S., and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than ninety days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
   1.5 As used in subsection (1) of this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
   1. “Domestic violence” means an act of violence upon a person with whom the actor is or has been involved in an intimate relationship. Domestic violence also includes any other crime against a person or any municipal ordinance violation against a person when used as a method of coercion, control, punishment, intimidation, or revenge directed against a person with whom the actor is or has been involved in an intimate relationship.
   2. “Intimate relationship” means a relationship between spouses, former spouses, past or present unmarried couples, or persons who are both the parents of the same child regardless of whether the persons have been married or have lived together at any time.
2. Any physician who, in good faith, makes a report pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall have immunity from any liability, civil or criminal, that might otherwise be incurred or imposed with respect to the making of such report, and shall have the same immunity with respect to participation in any judicial proceeding resulting from such report.
3. Any physician who makes a report pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall not be subject to the physician-patient relationship described in section 13-90-107 (1) (d), C.R.S., as to the medical examination and diagnosis. Such physician may be examined as a witness, but not as to any statements made by the patient that are the subject matter of section 13-90-107 (1) (d), C.R.S.

Source: L. 79: Entire section added, p. 526, § 1, effective July 1. L. 95: (1) amended and (1.5) added, p. 1219, § 1, and (3) added, p. 1249, § 1,effective July 1.

Am. Jur.2d. See 61 Am. Jur.2d, Physicians, Surgeons, and Other Healers, § 136.

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