Attorneys for the woman accusing NBA star Kobe Bryant of rape might switch her civil lawsuit from Colorado to California state court because of Colorado's strict limits on financial damages.

Lin Wood, one of the attorneys representing the 20-year-old woman, said Monday he and attorney John Clune are still doing research but they believe California does not limit civil-case damages.

"I am assured by lawyers I have spoken with in California that California law would provide our client with a significantly greater opportunity to be fully compensated for the injuries she suffered," Wood said.

He and Clune expect to make a decision by the end of November. Bryant's attorney Pamela Mackey, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

The civil case accuses the Los Angeles Lakers star of raping the woman in his room at the Vail-area resort hotel where she worked in June 2003. A felony sexual assault charge against Bryant was dropped September 1st after the woman decided she could not participate in a trial.

Wood said if the attorneys file a lawsuit in Orange County, Calif., where Bryant lives, they still could pursue the lawsuit filed in August in Denver federal court. However, Wood said it was more likely they would drop the Colorado case because state law makes it difficult for a plaintiff to win more than $733,000 in damages.

Wood described that limit as unfair, though he and Clune have not determined how much they believe would fairly compensate their client.

"I firmly believe it is in excess of the Colorado cap," he said. "Well in excess of the Colorado cap."

Colorado law limits non-economic damages, including pain and suffering, at $366,500. That amount can be doubled if the judge and jury believe the evidence justifies it. There is no limit on losses for economic damages including lost wages.

If a plaintiff can prove that punitive damages are justified, those damages cannot exceed the total award for economic and non-economic losses. State law requires a plaintiff to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant's conduct was willful, wanton and malicious. That is a more difficult standard of proof than necessary to win a civil case, which calls for a plaintiff to prove it was more likely than not that the defendant caused the harm.

A civil lawsuit can be filed either in the jurisdiction where the alleged harm occurred or where the defendant lives. If the case is filed where the defendant lives, the defendant does not have the right to move the case to federal court.

Wood, who described the possibility of switching venues first to The Denver Post and the Los Angeles Times, said he and Clune believed they needed to file a civil lawsuit before the criminal trial and they chose Denver because it had to be done quickly.

At the time, he said, they were considering withdrawing from the criminal case.

"We felt that it needed to be clear that this young lady was going to pursue a civil case regardless of whether there was a guilty verdict, a not-guilty verdict or a withdrawal, and that needed to be clear before any one of those events occurred," Wood said.