ClickCease

IT'S MORE THAN MONEY.

Englewood Wrongful Death Lawyers Who Carry the Legal Weight for Your Family

When negligence takes a life on Englewood roads or property, the Colorado Wrongful Death Act gives your family the right to hold the at-fault party accountable. We file and try wrongful death cases in the 18th Judicial District from our Denver office with no upfront cost to your family.

No fee unless we win
Get My Free Case Review Who Can File
Or speak with our team now (303) 209-9395

Tell us what happened

100% confidential. No fee unless we win.

5-star rated on Google ABOTA trial advocate on the team Bilingual EN / ES No fee unless we win

When a death in Englewood is caused by another party's negligence on US 285, Santa Fe Drive, I-25, or any other local road or property, the Colorado Wrongful Death Act gives eligible surviving family members the right to pursue civil compensation. That civil claim is separate from any criminal case and can proceed even if the at-fault party is never charged.

  • The Colorado Wrongful Death Act is codified at C.R.S. 13-21-201 through 13-21-204. It defines who can sue, what damages are recoverable, and the deadlines families must meet. Englewood cases are litigated in Arapahoe County District Court as part of the 18th Judicial District.
  • Who may file follows a strict standing hierarchy. In the first year after the death, only the surviving spouse has the right to file. If no action is filed in year one, or there is no surviving spouse, the right expands to the deceased's children in year two. Parents and, under HB 24-1472, siblings have standing only when no spouse, children, or parents survive.
  • The general deadline to file a Colorado wrongful death claim is two years from the date of death (C.R.S. 13-80-102). If the at-fault party is a government entity, such as a city vehicle or a public transit operator, a written notice of claim must be filed within 182 days of discovering the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109).

CGH Injury Lawyers serves Englewood families from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St, Suite 201. We file in Arapahoe County District Court, manage insurer negotiations, and take cases to trial when an at-fault party refuses to be fair. There is no fee unless we win.

Why these cases are different

What the Colorado Wrongful Death Act does for Englewood families

The Wrongful Death Act exists for a focused purpose: to hold a negligent party financially accountable and to secure the economic stability a family needs to move forward. It cannot reverse the loss. It covers funeral costs, replaces lost future income, and recognizes the loss of companionship. In Englewood, the at-fault parties our clients face most often include commercial drivers on Hampden Avenue and Santa Fe Drive, property owners along South Broadway, and the insurers those defendants retain.

A civil claim, separate from any criminal charge

  • A wrongful death claim is a civil action. It can move forward even if the person who caused the death in Englewood is never charged with a crime, or is acquitted in criminal court.
  • Civil cases focus on compensation for the family and require a lower burden of proof: a preponderance of the evidence. The family controls the process, including whether to settle or take the case to an Arapahoe County jury.
  • Criminal cases focus on punishment and require proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Prosecutors, not the family, control the pace and direction of a criminal case.

Who has the right to file

The First Year Rule: who can file a wrongful death claim after an Englewood loss

Colorado law sets a strict order of who may bring a wrongful death lawsuit and when. Filing out of turn, or waiting too long for standing to shift, can put the family's entire recovery at risk.

  1. Year one: the surviving spouse only

    During the first year after the death, only the surviving spouse has the exclusive right to file. This is true even when there are adult children or grieving parents. The spouse may choose to include other heirs, such as children, in the claim.

  2. Year two: children and heirs gain standing

    If the surviving spouse does not file within the first year, or there is no surviving spouse, the right passes to the deceased's children. In year two, both the surviving spouse and the children may file. Because year two is also when the overall two-year deadline runs, waiting until late in year two creates serious risk.

  3. Parents, when there is no spouse or child

    If the deceased left no surviving spouse and no surviving children, the right to file passes to the deceased's parents. Parents who lost an adult child to a crash on Hampden Avenue or a workplace accident in Englewood should confirm their standing as early as possible.

  4. Siblings, under the 2024 update

    Under HB 24-1472, siblings now have standing, but only when the deceased left no surviving spouse, no surviving children, and no surviving parents. This change closed a gap that previously left some single adults without any family member who could pursue a claim.

Because standing is time-sensitive and unforgiving, Englewood families should confirm who holds the right to file before the first year runs out. We help identify the correct claimant at the outset, so a procedural error never costs the family its claim against an Arapahoe County defendant.

Cases we handle

How fatal negligence reaches Englewood families

Wrongful death claims arise whenever negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct causes a fatal outcome. In Englewood and the surrounding Arapahoe County area, these are the contexts we see most often.

Crashes on Hampden Avenue and Santa Fe Drive

US 285 / Hampden Avenue is one of the most crash-prone corridors in the Denver metro and was the subject of a documented multi-agency Mobility and Safety Study. US 85 / Santa Fe Drive carries heavy through-traffic and commercial vehicles. Fatal crashes on these corridors often involve distracted driving, failure to yield, and speeding. Commercial trucking cases on these routes frequently add corporate liability and federal safety violations to the claim.

I-25 and the Hampden interchange

The I-25 / Hampden Avenue interchange is identified by CDOT as a high-attention exit that requires full driver focus due to a combination of highway speeds and local merging traffic. Fatal crashes at this interchange have implicated both private and commercial drivers. When a fatality occurs here, identifying every liable party, including an employer or motor carrier, is the first step.

Premises liability deaths

South Broadway runs through the heart of Englewood as a busy commercial strip with high vehicle, cyclist, and pedestrian volumes. Unsafe property conditions, inadequate security leading to fatal assault, pool drownings, and construction-site fatalities on Englewood properties can each give rise to a wrongful death claim against the property owner or manager.

Medical negligence

HCA HealthONE Swedish at 501 E. Hampden Ave is a CDPHE-designated Level I Trauma Center. When a patient dies there or at another Englewood medical facility because of a surgical error, misdiagnosis, or failure to monitor, a wrongful death claim may run concurrently with a medical malpractice action. These cases require expert testimony to establish the standard of care and how it was breached, and a separate cap schedule applies.

Workplace fatalities

Fatal injuries at construction sites and industrial facilities in Englewood may involve both workers' compensation death benefits and a separate third-party claim against a contractor, equipment manufacturer, or property owner. The two tracks are not mutually exclusive, and the third-party claim often recovers damages that workers' compensation does not cover.

Government vehicle and transit deaths

When a government vehicle or public transit operator causes a fatal crash in Englewood, the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act applies. The recovery caps are different and a written notice of claim must be filed within 182 days of discovering the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109). Missing that notice deadline bars the claim entirely, regardless of how clear the negligence is.

Compensation

What an Englewood wrongful death claim can recover

Colorado divides wrongful death damages into two categories. The distinction matters because a statutory cap applies to one category and not the other, and the family's biggest losses often fall in the uncapped category.

Economic damages (not capped)

  • Net pecuniary loss: the future income and benefits the deceased would have provided over a working lifetime
  • Medical expenses incurred between the injury and the death, often documented through HCA HealthONE Swedish or Craig Hospital records
  • Funeral and burial costs
  • Loss of household services, including childcare and home maintenance the deceased provided

Non-economic damages (capped)

  • Grief and emotional suffering of the surviving family members
  • Loss of companionship and consortium
  • Loss of guidance and parental involvement for surviving children
  • Emotional pain and suffering of the survivors

Economic damages are not subject to a statutory cap. For Englewood families who lost a primary earner, these damages often represent the largest part of the claim. Non-economic damages in a Colorado wrongful death case are capped at $2.125 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025 (C.R.S. 13-21-203), with inflation adjustments starting in 2028. The cap disappears entirely if the death resulted from a felonious killing. Lower caps apply to older claims and to deaths caused by medical malpractice, so the date and type of claim matter. When a death results from gross negligence or willful and wanton conduct, punitive damages may also be available. We calculate the full value of every category before we ever discuss settlement with an Arapahoe County insurer.

A strategic choice for surviving spouses

Solatium: a guaranteed payment that bypasses invasive discovery

Colorado offers a mechanism called solatium under C.R.S. 13-21-203.5. It lets a surviving spouse, and in some cases parents, elect a fixed statutory sum for grief and loss of companionship instead of proving those losses in front of an Arapahoe County jury.

  • Solatium is a guaranteed flat-rate payment. For claims accruing on or after January 1, 2024, the certified amount is $135,990 (C.R.S. 13-21-203.5, as certified by the Colorado Secretary of State), and it is paid in addition to economic damages once liability is established. There are no further inflation adjustments to this figure.
  • Electing solatium can act as a privacy shield. In a traditional non-economic damages claim, the defense may investigate the quality of the marriage or relationship through invasive depositions and subpoenas of private communications. Solatium lets a family bypass that process entirely.
  • Electing solatium does not limit economic damages. Lost income, medical bills, and funeral costs remain recoverable and are not capped, regardless of whether solatium is elected.

When the deceased shared some fault

Colorado comparative fault and Englewood wrongful death

Insurance adjusters in Arapahoe County frequently argue that a deceased victim contributed to the crash or incident that killed them. Understanding how Colorado law actually works on this point is essential before accepting any insurer's valuation.

  • Colorado follows a modified comparative fault rule (C.R.S. 13-21-111). The family can still recover as long as the deceased was less than 50 percent at fault. If the deceased is found to be 50 percent or more at fault, the family recovers nothing.
  • When the deceased is less than 50 percent at fault, the total damages award is reduced in proportion to that fault percentage. A family that lost a breadwinner in a Hampden Avenue crash where the deceased was found 20 percent at fault would recover 80 percent of the total damages.
  • Insurers routinely inflate the deceased's share of fault to reduce or eliminate their exposure. We challenge those assessments with accident reconstruction, witness testimony, and CDOT corridor data specific to Englewood's crash-prone roads.

Two different claims

Wrongful death claim vs. survival action in Arapahoe County

A single fatal incident in Englewood often gives rise to two separate legal claims. They serve different purposes and distribute proceeds differently, and they are frequently filed together in Arapahoe County District Court.

For the survivors

The wrongful death claim

Brought by surviving family members to recover losses they personally experienced: lost financial support, loss of companionship, and grief. Beneficiaries are the spouse, children, or parents as defined by the First Year Rule. The claim belongs to the family, not the estate.

For the estate

The survival action

Brought on behalf of the deceased's estate to recover losses the deceased suffered before passing: pre-death medical bills at HCA HealthONE Swedish or Craig Hospital, lost wages between injury and death, and the pain endured. Proceeds are distributed under the will or under Colorado intestacy law.

Consider a victim who survived a crash at the I-25 / Hampden interchange for several days in a Level I Trauma Center before passing. The medical bills and pain from those days belong to the survival action. The loss of the next two decades of income belongs to the wrongful death claim. Filed together in Arapahoe County District Court, the two claims pursue full recovery for both the family and the estate.

I wish I could leave more than 5 stars!
Grace M., 5-star CGH Injury Lawyers client review

We know the ground we work on

Englewood wrongful death cases: the local context

CGH Injury Lawyers handles wrongful death claims for Englewood families from our Denver office. Knowing Arapahoe County's courts, crash corridors, and trauma care network is how we build cases that hold up at the 18th Judicial District.

Courthouse

Arapahoe County District Court, 18th Judicial District

A wrongful death lawsuit arising from an Englewood fatality is filed in Arapahoe County District Court, part of the 18th Judicial District of Colorado. Arapahoe County holds court at two locations: the Arapahoe County Justice Center at 7325 S. Potomac Street in Centennial, and the Arapahoe County Courthouse at 1790 West Littleton Blvd in Littleton. The jury pool, local procedure, and the defense firms your family will face all differ from Denver County courts. We file and try wrongful death cases at both Arapahoe County venues directly from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St, Suite 201.

Trauma Care

HCA HealthONE Swedish and Craig Hospital

Englewood sits at the center of two of Colorado's most significant medical facilities. HCA HealthONE Swedish at 501 E. Hampden Ave is a CDPHE-designated Level I Trauma Center and Burn Center and one of only three Level I Trauma Centers in Colorado. Craig Hospital at 3425 S. Clarkson Street is a federally designated Traumatic Brain Injury Model System and Spinal Cord Injury Model System recognized by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. In wrongful death cases, the medical records from both facilities become the foundation of economic damages calculations, and the treatment history between the injury and the death is central to both the wrongful death claim and any parallel survival action.

High-Crash Corridors

US 285, US 85, I-25, and South Broadway

Englewood sits at the intersection of four major corridors where wrongful death cases are born. US 285 / Hampden Avenue was the subject of a documented multi-agency Mobility and Safety Study due to safety and congestion concerns, with fatal crashes on record including a 2023 motorcycle fatality west of South Broadway. The I-25 / Hampden Avenue interchange is identified by CDOT as requiring full driver attention due to highway speeds and local merging traffic. Santa Fe Drive (US 85) is a six-lane arterial with active CDOT safety improvement projects. South Broadway (CO 177) runs through the heart of Englewood as a busy commercial strip with documented vehicle, cyclist, and pedestrian volumes. We use CDOT corridor data and crash records from these specific roads to establish negligence and defeat inflated comparative fault arguments.

When the government is at fault

The 182-day CGIA notice deadline for Englewood families

When a wrongful death in Englewood involves a city vehicle, a county employee, a public transit bus, or another government actor, the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (CGIA) applies. The deadlines and recovery caps are fundamentally different from a private-party claim.

  • The CGIA requires a written notice of claim within 182 days after the date of discovery of the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109). That notice is a jurisdictional prerequisite: missing it bars the claim entirely, regardless of how clear the government's negligence is.
  • The CGIA caps recovery from a public entity at $505,000 per person and $1,421,000 per occurrence for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2026 (C.R.S. 24-10-114(1)(b), as certified by the Colorado Secretary of State). These caps are separate from and lower than the wrongful death non-economic cap.
  • The 182-day notice clock runs from the date you discovered the injury, not necessarily the date of death. In wrongful death cases, the discovery date is often the date of the fatal incident itself. An attorney should confirm your specific notice deadline as soon as possible after a government-involved death.

Built for trial

How CGH handles an Englewood wrongful death case

CGH Injury Lawyers is a Colorado trial firm founded in 2016, formerly Cheney Galluzzi and Howard. We prepare every wrongful death case as if it will be tried in Arapahoe County District Court, then negotiate from that strength. Most cases resolve through settlement or mediation, but an insurer that knows we are ready for an 18th Judicial District jury treats a grieving family very differently than one facing a settlement-only firm.

  1. Free case review and standing analysis

    We start by confirming who holds the right to file, whether any deadlines are approaching, and whether the death involved a government entity triggering the 182-day CGIA notice requirement. This first conversation is free and completely confidential.

  2. Evidence preservation in Englewood

    We move quickly to preserve crash evidence from Hampden Avenue, Santa Fe Drive, and I-25. That includes sending preservation letters to dashcam and surveillance footage owners, ordering CDOT crash data and corridor studies, and securing medical records from HCA HealthONE Swedish and Craig Hospital before records become unavailable.

  3. Full damages calculation

    We calculate every category of damages before any negotiation begins: lost lifetime income, the value of household services, funeral costs, and non-economic losses including grief and loss of companionship. For families where the deceased was a primary earner, the economic damages analysis is the core of the case.

  4. Insurer negotiation or Arapahoe County trial

    We handle all communication with the at-fault party's insurer. When negotiation produces a fair outcome, we document and finalize it. When it does not, we file in Arapahoe County District Court and take the case to an 18th Judicial District jury. Either way, the family pays nothing unless we win.

ABOTA trial advocate on the team Tim Tarr: Best Lawyers in America since 2023 18th Judicial District experience Bilingual EN / ES Free, confidential consultation No fee unless we win

Frequently asked questions

Questions Englewood families ask about wrongful death claims

Where is a wrongful death lawsuit filed when the death happened in Englewood?

Englewood is in Arapahoe County, so a wrongful death lawsuit arising from a death in Englewood is filed in Arapahoe County District Court, part of the 18th Judicial District of Colorado. Arapahoe County holds court at two locations: the Justice Center at 7325 S. Potomac Street in Centennial and the Courthouse at 1790 West Littleton Blvd in Littleton. CGH Injury Lawyers files and tries cases at both locations directly from our Denver office. We do not have a physical office in Englewood; we serve Englewood families as a service-area client of our Denver firm.

How long does an Englewood family have to file a wrongful death claim?

The general deadline is two years from the date of death (C.R.S. 13-80-102). However, the First Year Rule also creates an internal deadline: the surviving spouse has exclusive standing in year one, and if no claim is filed, standing shifts to the children in year two. Waiting too long within year two risks both the standing hierarchy and the overall filing deadline. When a government entity is involved, a written notice of claim under the CGIA must be filed within 182 days of discovering the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109), which is far shorter. Contact an attorney as soon as possible after the death.

Can we still file a wrongful death claim if the crash happened on Hampden Avenue and the deceased was partly at fault?

Yes, as long as the deceased was less than 50 percent at fault. Under Colorado's modified comparative fault rule (C.R.S. 13-21-111), the family can still recover, but the total damages award is reduced in proportion to the deceased's share of fault. If the deceased is found to be 50 percent or more at fault, the family recovers nothing. Insurers routinely argue inflated fault percentages to reduce exposure. We challenge those assessments using CDOT corridor data, accident reconstruction, and witness accounts specific to Hampden Avenue, Santa Fe Drive, and other Englewood crash sites.

What is solatium and should my family elect it?

Solatium, under C.R.S. 13-21-203.5, is a fixed statutory payment a surviving spouse (and in some cases parents) can elect for grief and loss of companionship instead of proving those losses in front of an Arapahoe County jury. For claims accruing on or after January 1, 2024, the certified amount is $135,990, with no further inflation adjustments. Families often elect solatium as a privacy shield because it avoids the invasive discovery a traditional non-economic damages claim can invite. Electing solatium does not limit economic damages, which remain recoverable and uncapped. Whether to elect solatium is a strategic decision we walk through with each family during the case evaluation.

The at-fault driver was never criminally charged. Can our family still sue?

Yes. A wrongful death claim is a civil action. It can move forward regardless of whether the person who caused the death is charged with a crime, acquitted in criminal court, or never prosecuted at all. Civil cases require a lower burden of proof, a preponderance of the evidence, rather than proof beyond a reasonable doubt. The outcome of any criminal case does not prevent a family from pursuing a separate civil wrongful death claim in Arapahoe County District Court.

Is there a cap on wrongful death damages in Colorado?

Colorado caps non-economic damages in wrongful death cases at $2.125 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025 (C.R.S. 13-21-203), with inflation adjustments starting in 2028. The cap disappears entirely if the death resulted from a felonious killing. Lower caps apply to deaths caused before January 1, 2025, and a separate, lower schedule applies to medical malpractice wrongful death claims. Economic damages, including lost income, medical expenses, and funeral costs, are not capped at all.

What is the difference between a wrongful death claim and a survival action?

A wrongful death claim is brought by surviving family members for the losses they personally experienced, such as lost financial support and loss of companionship. A survival action is brought on behalf of the deceased's estate for losses the deceased suffered before passing, such as pre-death medical bills at HCA HealthONE Swedish or Craig Hospital and pain endured before death. Both claims may be filed together in Arapahoe County District Court to pursue the full recovery for both the family and the estate.

Does CGH have an office in Englewood?

CGH Injury Lawyers does not have a physical office in Englewood. Our office is located at 2701 Lawrence St, Suite 201, in Denver. We serve Englewood and all of Arapahoe County as part of our statewide Colorado practice. We file and try cases in Arapahoe County District Court and handle all court appearances, evidence preservation, and insurer negotiations from Denver on behalf of Englewood clients. Consultations are available by phone, video, or in person at our Denver office, and home or hospital visits can be arranged when travel is not possible.

Related injury cases we handle for Englewood families

Wrongful death often grows out of another area of personal injury law. Understanding the underlying cause shapes every aspect of the claim.

It's More Than Money.

You lost someone in Englewood. We carry the legal weight.

Free consultation. No fee unless we win. Serving Englewood and all of Arapahoe County in English and Spanish from our Denver office.

Tell us what happened

100% confidential. No fee unless we win.

Read next: Colorado Wrongful Death Law explained statewide