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When a crash on I-225, an act of negligence on the Anschutz Medical Campus, or an unsafe property in Arapahoe County takes a family member, CGH Injury Lawyers handles the Colorado wrongful death claim from our Denver office. We represent surviving spouses, children, and parents across Arapahoe and Adams counties. You pay nothing unless we win.
No fee unless we winWhen a death in Aurora is caused by someone else's negligence, the Colorado Wrongful Death Act lets surviving family members pursue civil compensation from the at-fault party. That claim is entirely separate from any criminal case, and it can proceed even if no charges are filed.
CGH Injury Lawyers represents grieving Aurora families across every county. We confirm who holds the right to file, calculate every category of damages the Colorado Wrongful Death Act allows, manage negotiations with the insurer, and try the case in the 18th Judicial District when an at-fault party refuses to be fair. Free, confidential consultation with no upfront fees.
Why these cases are different
Losing a family member to someone else's negligence in Aurora is devastating. The Wrongful Death Act cannot reverse the loss. What it does is hold the at-fault party financially accountable and secure the economic stability your family needs to move forward. It covers funeral costs, replaces future income your family depended on, and recognizes the loss of companionship that cannot be measured in any chart.
Who has the right to file
Colorado law sets a strict order of who may bring a wrongful death lawsuit and when. Getting this hierarchy right is essential for Aurora families, because filing out of order can threaten a family's recovery before the case even starts.
During the first year after the death, only the surviving spouse has the right to file. This exclusive standing exists even when there are adult children or parents who are also grieving. The spouse may choose to include other heirs, such as children, in the claim.
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 the second year, both the surviving spouse and the children may file.
If there is no surviving spouse and no surviving children, the right to file passes to the deceased's parents. This situation arises most often in Aurora when a single adult child, such as a University of Colorado Anschutz student or a young professional, is killed by negligence.
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 the claim.
Because standing is time-sensitive and the First Year Rule is unforgiving, Aurora families should confirm who holds the right to file before the first year runs. We identify the correct claimant early, so a procedural misstep never ends the claim before it begins.
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A strategic choice
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.
Compensation
Colorado divides wrongful death damages into two categories. The distinction matters, because a statutory cap applies to one category and not the other.
Economic damages are not subject to a statutory cap. For Aurora families who lost a primary earner, these damages often form 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, and the cap disappears entirely if the death resulted from a felonious killing. Lower caps apply to older claims and to medical malpractice deaths, 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 talk settlement with the insurer.
Two different claims
A single fatal incident in Aurora often gives rise to two separate legal claims. They serve different purposes and distribute funds to different parties, and they are frequently filed together.
For the survivors
Brought by surviving family members to recover the losses they personally experienced, such as lost financial support and loss of companionship. The beneficiaries are the spouse, children, or parents, as defined by the First Year Rule. This is the claim most Aurora families think of when they call us.
For the estate
Brought on behalf of the deceased's estate to recover losses the deceased suffered before passing, such as pre-death medical bills from UCHealth, lost wages between the injury and death, and the pain they endured. Proceeds are distributed under the will, or under Colorado intestacy law if there is no will.
Consider a person struck on I-225 who survives several days in the Level I Trauma Center at UCHealth before passing away. The pain endured during those days belongs to the survival action. The next twenty-five years of income the family depended on belongs to the wrongful death claim. Filed together, the two claims pursue full recovery for both the family and the estate.
Cases we handle in Aurora
Aurora's road network, medical infrastructure, and commercial density create a specific set of wrongful death contexts. These are the circumstances we see most often in Arapahoe County claims.
I-225 is a 12-mile corridor connecting I-25 in Denver to I-70 in Aurora, spanning Adams, Arapahoe, and Denver counties. CDOT has documented multiple fatal crashes on this stretch, and the I-70 eastern corridor carries high-speed commercial truck traffic past Tower Road and into east Aurora. These interstate crashes often produce wrongful death claims against both individual drivers and commercial carriers.
East Colfax Avenue (US Highway 40 / US Highway 287) is a major Aurora arterial. CDOT launched targeted safety improvements at the intersections of Colfax at Chambers Road and Colfax at I-225 because collision frequency at both locations was high enough to draw agency attention. Pedestrian and cyclist fatalities on this corridor generate wrongful death exposure for at-fault drivers.
UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and the broader Anschutz Medical Campus at E. 16th Avenue and Fitzsimons Parkway serve the region's most serious trauma cases. When a patient dies because a provider at an Anschutz-area facility deviated from the standard of care, a medical malpractice wrongful death claim may be available. These cases require expert medical testimony and carry their own cap schedule under C.R.S. 13-21-203(1)(b).
Unsafe conditions at Aurora apartment complexes, retail centers, and commercial properties can produce fatal injuries. Inadequate security leading to an assault, dangerous walkways left icy through the night, and faulty stairways in Arapahoe County multi-family buildings have all generated wrongful death claims. Property owners have a duty to maintain safe conditions for visitors.
Construction sites along Aurora's growth corridors, industrial facilities near I-70, and logistics operations near Denver International Airport have all produced fatal workplace injuries. These cases may involve both workers' compensation death benefits and a separate third-party wrongful death claim against a non-employer at-fault party.
If a loved one died in Aurora because someone else was careless or reckless, we will tell you honestly whether a wrongful death claim is available and who holds the right to file it. We serve all of Arapahoe County, including Aurora's Fletcher, Heather Ridge, Meadowood, and Tollgate neighborhoods.
Local Knowledge
A wrongful death claim filed on behalf of an Aurora family lives in Aurora's specific legal and physical landscape. Here is the ground we work on.
Courthouse
Aurora spans three counties: most wrongful death cases fall in Arapahoe County, where lawsuits are filed in Arapahoe County District Court, 18th Judicial District, at the Arapahoe County Justice Center, 7325 S. Potomac Street, Centennial, CO 80112 (open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., (303) 645-6600). Incidents in the Adams County portion of Aurora are filed in Adams County District Court, 17th Judicial District, Brighton. We handle cases in both courts.
Trauma Care
Aurora is home to two Level I trauma centers on the Anschutz Medical Campus at E. 16th Avenue and Fitzsimons Parkway. UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital is a Level I Trauma Center verified by the American College of Surgeons and designated by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Children's Hospital Colorado is the only Level I Regional Pediatric Trauma Center in the region. In a wrongful death case, trauma records from these facilities document the full scope of the deceased's injuries and the care provided between the incident and death, which is the foundation of both the wrongful death damages calculation and any concurrent survival action.
High-Crash Roads
Aurora's fatal-crash landscape is defined by four major corridors. I-225 is a 12-mile interstate connecting I-25 in Denver to I-70 in Aurora, spanning Adams, Arapahoe, and Denver counties, and has been the site of repeated serious and fatal crashes. I-70 crosses Aurora east-west, with the Tower Road interchange (Exit 286) as a key access point carrying heavy commercial truck traffic. East Colfax Avenue (US Highway 40 / US Highway 287) runs through Aurora as a primary arterial with CDOT-targeted intersections at Chambers Road and I-225 for collision frequency. E-470 is a 46.4-mile eastern toll beltway serving Aurora and connecting to Denver International Airport. Each of these corridors creates a distinct pattern of at-fault defendants: individual drivers on Colfax, commercial carriers on I-70, high-speed impact defendants on I-225.
Key legal rules
Two Colorado statutes quietly determine whether an Aurora wrongful death family recovers and how much. Understanding them early prevents costly surprises later.
The 182-day CGIA clock can run faster than most Aurora families realize, particularly when a death follows an injury from a public bus, an Aurora city vehicle, or a state government facility. We identify government defendants early in every wrongful death investigation so the notice deadline is never missed.
After a recovery
When a settlement or verdict is reached in an Arapahoe County wrongful death case, Colorado law requires a fair division among eligible survivors. The statute does not set fixed percentages, which makes thoughtful handling of distribution important.
Disputes among Aurora family members over distribution percentages add stress to an already painful process. We often help families reach a consensus proposal before any court hearing, which honors everyone's loss and avoids a contested public proceeding in Arapahoe County District Court.
Built for trial
CGH Injury Lawyers is a Colorado trial firm founded in 2016, formerly Cheney Galluzzi and Howard. We prepare every Aurora wrongful death case as if it will be tried in the 18th Judicial District, then negotiate from that strength. Most cases resolve through settlement or mediation, but an insurer that knows we are ready for an Arapahoe County jury responds to a demand very differently.
Frequently asked questions
No. CGH Injury Lawyers has one office, at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. We serve Aurora and Arapahoe County clients from that Denver office, file Aurora wrongful death cases in Arapahoe County District Court in the 18th Judicial District, and meet you wherever is convenient. We do not keep a storefront in Aurora. What we offer is the legal work, not a local address. You can reach us at (303) 209-9395.
The general deadline is two years from the date of death (C.R.S. 13-80-102). Two important exceptions apply in Aurora. First, if the death involved a government entity such as the City of Aurora, an Aurora public school, or a public vehicle, a formal written notice of claim must be filed within 182 days of the date of discovery of the injury under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1). Missing that notice permanently bars the claim against the government defendant. Second, the First Year Rule means that standing itself is time-sensitive: the surviving spouse has exclusive rights in year one, and waiting past that window can shift who holds the right to file. Confirm every deadline with an attorney as soon as possible.
An Aurora wrongful death lawsuit that exceeds the county-court jurisdictional limit is filed in Arapahoe County District Court, part of the 18th Judicial District, located at the Arapahoe County Justice Center, 7325 S. Potomac Street, Centennial, CO 80112. Local procedure in the 18th Judicial District, the Arapahoe County jury pool, and the defense firms you face all differ from other Colorado courts. CGH handles 18th Judicial District wrongful death cases directly.
Colorado follows a strict hierarchy. In the first year after the death, only the surviving spouse may file. In the second year, both the surviving spouse and the children may file. Parents may file only if there is no surviving spouse or children. Under HB 24-1472, siblings now have standing, but only if the deceased left no surviving spouse, no children, and no parents. When a young Aurora professional with no spouse or children is killed, the standing question can be complex and time-sensitive. We help Aurora families identify the correct claimant before any deadline runs.
Under Colorado's modified comparative fault rule (C.R.S. 13-21-111), surviving family members 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. If the deceased is less than 50 percent at fault, the total award is reduced by that percentage. Insurers defending Aurora wrongful death cases, particularly after I-225 or East Colfax crashes, frequently work to inflate the deceased's share of fault as a settlement strategy. An attorney who can challenge that assignment with accident-reconstruction evidence and witness testimony makes a material difference to the outcome.
Colorado wrongful death claims can recover economic damages, including lost future income, medical expenses incurred between the injury and death, and funeral costs, and these are not capped. Non-economic damages such as grief and loss of companionship are capped at $2.125 million for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025 (C.R.S. 13-21-203), and the cap is removed entirely if the death resulted from a felonious killing. A surviving spouse may also elect solatium, a guaranteed flat-rate payment of $135,990 (C.R.S. 13-21-203.5), as an alternative to proving non-economic loss at trial.
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 a jury. For claims accruing on or after January 1, 2024, the certified amount is $135,990, with no further adjustments. Aurora families sometimes choose solatium as a privacy shield, because it avoids the invasive discovery that a traditional non-economic damages claim can invite from defense counsel, including depositions about the quality of the marriage and subpoenas of private communications. Electing solatium does not reduce economic damages, which remain recoverable and uncapped.
Yes, in two ways. First, the date of death controls which statutory caps and deadlines apply to your wrongful death claim. Second, the medical records from UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital or any Anschutz Medical Campus facility document the care provided between the original injury and the death. That record is the factual backbone of both the wrongful death damages calculation and any concurrent survival action brought on behalf of the deceased's estate. We obtain, review, and analyze all Aurora-area medical records as part of every wrongful death case we accept.
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Tell us what happened in Aurora. We will review your family's case at no cost, with compassion and complete confidentiality.
IT'S MORE THAN MONEY.
Free consultation. No fee unless we win. Serving Aurora and Arapahoe County from our Denver office, in English and Spanish.
Read next: All Aurora injury cases CGH handles
CGH Injury Lawyers · Serving Aurora from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205
