When a Denver crash on I-25, a medical failure at Denver Health, or another act of negligence takes someone you love, the Colorado Wrongful Death Act gives your family the right to pursue justice. We work from our office in Denver's RiNo neighborhood and handle the legal fight so you can focus on your family. No fee unless we win.
No fee unless we winIt's More Than Money.
If someone you love died in a Denver crash on I-25 or Colfax Ave, in a medical error at a Denver hospital, or because of any other act of negligence, CGH Injury Lawyers can help your family understand who has the right to file, what your claim is worth, and how to meet every deadline. Our office is at 2701 Lawrence St. in the RiNo neighborhood, minutes from downtown Denver, and we handle wrongful death cases from investigation through trial at Denver District Court. You pay nothing unless we recover for your family.
Losing a family member is devastating, and the law cannot reverse the loss. The Wrongful Death Act exists for a narrower purpose: to hold a negligent party accountable and to secure the financial stability a family needs to move forward. It covers funeral costs, replaces lost future income, and recognizes the loss of companionship your family will never get back.
Many Denver wrongful death cases grow out of car crashes on I-70 or Speer Blvd, trucking collisions at the I-25/I-70 interchange, medical errors at Presbyterian/St. Luke's or Rose Medical Center, or construction-site fatalities in the city's RiNo or LoDo development corridors. Whatever the cause, the legal framework is the same: Colorado law gives your family a path to accountability that runs entirely parallel to any criminal investigation.
Colorado law sets a strict order of who may bring a wrongful death lawsuit and when. Getting this hierarchy right is essential, because filing out of turn can put your family's recovery at risk.
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 surviving 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 can arise in cases where a younger Denver resident is killed, such as a pedestrian fatality near Capitol Hill or a construction accident in Five Points.
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 Denver families without legal recourse after losing a sibling.
Because standing is time-sensitive and the hierarchy is strict, Denver families should confirm who holds the right to file before the first year passes. We help you identify the correct claimant at the start of your case, so a procedural misstep never costs your family the recovery.
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 Denver 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. 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 cause of the death 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.
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 a Denver District Court jury.
Whether solatium makes sense for your Denver family depends on the nature of the loss and the strength of your damages evidence. We walk through both paths in the free consultation so you understand exactly what each option means before making any election.
A single fatal incident in Denver often gives rise to two separate legal claims. They serve different purposes and distribute funds differently, and they are frequently filed together at Denver District Court.
For the survivors
Brought by surviving family members to recover the losses they personally experienced, including lost financial support and loss of companionship. The beneficiaries are the spouse, children, or parents, as defined by the First Year Rule in the Colorado Wrongful Death Act.
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 at Denver Health, lost wages between the injury and the death, and the pain they endured. Proceeds are distributed under the will, or under Colorado intestacy law if there is no will.
Consider a Denver victim who survives a collision on I-25 for four days in the ICU at Saint Joseph Hospital before passing away. The pain and medical bills from those four days belong to the survival action. The loss of the next twenty or thirty years of income and companionship belongs to the wrongful death claim. Filed together, the two claims pursue full recovery for both the family and the estate.
A Denver wrongful death case lives in Denver: the courthouse where your family's claim is filed, the hospitals that documented the injuries, and the roads where the fatal crash or incident occurred. Here is the ground we work on every day.
Courthouse
Wrongful death cases that arise in Denver County are filed in Denver District Court, the 2nd Judicial District, with civil matters heard at the City and County Building, 1437 Bannock St. Denver's civil docket, its judges, and the defense firms that represent Denver's major insurers and corporations are all familiar territory for our attorneys. We handle Denver District Court cases directly and prepare every case as if it will go to a Denver jury.
Trauma Care
The most critically injured patients in Denver are transported to Denver Health Medical Center, the city's Level I trauma center. Its medical records document the full clinical picture from the moments after injury through death, and those records become the factual backbone of both the wrongful death claim and any related survival action. Saint Joseph Hospital, Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center, and Rose Medical Center also treat patients across the metro, and we obtain and analyze records from all of them.
Fatal Corridors
Denver's major corridors are where many fatal crashes occur. The I-25 and I-70 interchange through downtown carries enormous freight and commuter traffic. US-6 (6th Ave) and Federal Blvd are high-volume surface corridors with significant pedestrian and cyclist fatality histories. Colfax Ave runs the full width of the city. Pena Blvd is the sole access road to Denver International Airport and the site of serious truck and motor vehicle crashes. When a death happens on one of these corridors, crash reconstruction and evidence preservation must move quickly.
Wrongful death claims arise whenever negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct causes a fatal outcome. These are the contexts Denver families encounter most often.
Fatal car, truck, and motorcycle crashes on I-25, I-70, I-76, I-225, and surface corridors such as Colfax Ave and Speer Blvd. Commercial trucking cases often involve corporate liability, federal safety violations, and multiple insurance policies that require immediate investigation to preserve evidence.
Surgical errors, misdiagnosis, medication mistakes, anesthesia errors, and failure to monitor at Denver Health, Saint Joseph, Presbyterian/St. Luke's, or any other facility. Medical malpractice wrongful death claims are governed by a separate cap schedule under HB 24-1472 and require expert testimony to establish the standard of care and how it was breached.
Deaths caused by unsafe property conditions across Denver neighborhoods, including dangerous walkways in Cherry Creek and LoDo, inadequate security in Capitol Hill apartment complexes, pool drownings, and construction-site fatalities in the city's rapidly developing RiNo and Five Points corridors.
Denver's density and its mix of vehicle, pedestrian, and cyclist traffic on corridors like Federal Blvd and Colfax Ave create serious risk. When a driver fails to yield, runs a red light, or operates while impaired, and a pedestrian or cyclist is killed, a wrongful death claim against the driver and potentially the vehicle owner is the path to accountability.
Fatal injuries on Denver construction sites, in industrial facilities, and during transportation work. These cases may involve both workers' compensation death benefits and a separate third-party civil claim against a contractor, equipment manufacturer, or property owner.
If a loved one died in Denver because someone else was careless or reckless, we will tell you honestly in the free consultation whether a wrongful death claim is available and who in your family holds the right to file it.
Colorado uses a modified comparative fault rule. The percentage of fault attributed to your loved one matters, and Denver defense lawyers and insurance adjusters work hard to inflate it.
A real Denver office, trial-ready attorneys, bilingual service, and no fee unless we win. We do not publish wrongful death settlement figures, because every case is different and a number on a website tells you nothing about your family's recovery. What we offer is the work, not a headline.
The Act
Colorado's Wrongful Death Act defines every rule that matters: who can file, what damages are available, and when. We know which path is right for your family before the first deadline arrives.
Real Denver Office
Our office at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, in Denver's RiNo neighborhood is where your attorney works. You can walk in, review the evidence file, and meet the team handling your family's case. Denver District Court is minutes away.
Deadlines
The general SOL is two years from the date of death (C.R.S. 13-80-102). Government entity claims require notice within 182 days of discovery. We track every deadline from day one.
The Cap
For claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, the WD non-economic cap is $2.125 million (C.R.S. 13-21-203). Economic damages are never capped. Felonious killings carry no cap at all.
Trial-Ready
Managing Partner Kevin Cheney is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and has tried over 25 cases to verdict. When attorneys are genuinely ready to try a wrongful death case in Denver District Court, insurers respond to settlement demands very differently.
Bilingual
Spanish-speaking staff and attorneys serve Denver's large Spanish-speaking community, including families in neighborhoods like Westwood, Globeville, and Elyria-Swansea.
No Win, No Fee
You pay nothing out of pocket for legal fees. We advance costs and collect only from a settlement or verdict. A grieving family should never have to pay to seek justice.
I wish I could leave more than 5 stars!
Grace Macaluso, 5-star Google review
We take the legal weight off your family so you can focus on each other. Here is the path we walk together from the first call through resolution.
We review what happened, confirm who in your family holds the right to file under the Colorado Wrongful Death Act's standing hierarchy, and identify every applicable deadline. There is no charge and no obligation. Call (303) 209-9395 or submit the form on this page.
We issue litigation holds and preservation demands immediately. In a Denver crash case, that means black-box data, surveillance footage from nearby businesses or RTD cameras, and CDOT traffic data. In a medical death at Denver Health or Saint Joseph, it means obtaining the complete medical chart before records are amended or lost.
We retain economic experts to calculate the full scope of lost future income and household services, forensic specialists for crash reconstruction when needed, and medical experts to link the cause of death to the defendant's conduct. We calculate every category of loss, including the solatium election analysis, before we consider any settlement figure.
Most Denver wrongful death claims resolve through negotiation or mediation. We demand full value and handle all communication with the at-fault party's insurer. You will never be asked to give a recorded statement or sign anything without our review.
When a carrier refuses to make your family whole, we file in Denver District Court, the 2nd Judicial District, at 1437 Bannock St, and try the case. Because we genuinely prepare for trial from the first day we take a case, this threat carries weight in every negotiation.
After a settlement or verdict, Colorado law requires a fair division among eligible survivors. We help your family reach a consensus on distribution before the hearing so that a painful process does not become a public dispute at the courthouse.
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 have standing only if the deceased left no surviving spouse, no children, and no parents. Getting the standing question right before any filing deadline passes is one of the first things we confirm in the free consultation.
The general deadline is two years from the date of death (C.R.S. 13-80-102). That deadline is strictly enforced. If the at-fault party is a government entity, such as a city of Denver vehicle or an RTD bus, a written notice of claim must be filed within 182 days of discovering the injury under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (C.R.S. 24-10-109). Missing that notice deadline bars the entire claim, not just the damages. Because the standing hierarchy and the SOL can run simultaneously, it is important to contact an attorney soon after the death.
Families may recover economic damages, including the income and benefits your loved one would have provided over their lifetime, medical expenses incurred before death, and funeral and burial costs. Economic damages are not capped. Non-economic damages such as grief, loss of companionship, and loss of consortium are subject to a statutory cap. For claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, that cap is $2.125 million under C.R.S. 13-21-203, and it disappears entirely if the death resulted from a felonious killing. When a death results from gross negligence or willful and wanton conduct, punitive damages may also be available.
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 at trial. For claims accruing on or after January 1, 2024, the certified solatium amount is $135,990, paid in addition to economic damages once liability is established. There will be no further adjustments to this amount. Families often elect solatium to avoid the invasive discovery that a traditional non-economic damages claim can invite. Electing solatium does not limit economic damages, which remain uncapped. Whether it makes sense for your Denver case depends on your specific facts and the evidence available.
Colorado uses a modified comparative fault rule under C.R.S. 13-21-111. Your family can still recover as long as the deceased was found to be less than 50 percent at fault. If the deceased is found 50 percent or more at fault, the family recovers nothing. Below that threshold, the total damages are reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to the deceased. Denver defense lawyers and insurance adjusters routinely try to inflate the deceased's share of fault. We build the evidence case early to keep that number honest.
Wrongful death cases arising in Denver County are filed in Denver District Court, the 2nd Judicial District, with civil matters heard at the City and County Building, 1437 Bannock St. Most claims resolve through negotiation or mediation before a lawsuit is ever filed. But where a case would be filed affects the local rules, the jury pool, and which defense firms you face. We handle Denver District Court cases directly from our Lawrence St. office.
No. A wrongful death claim is brought by surviving family members for the losses they personally suffered, such as lost financial support and loss of companionship. A survival action is brought on behalf of the deceased's estate to recover losses the deceased suffered before passing, including pre-death medical bills and pain endured between injury and death. A Denver family can file both claims together to pursue full recovery. We analyze both options at the start of every case to make sure no avenue is overlooked.
It's More Than Money.
Free consultation. No fee unless we win. Available in English and Spanish from our Denver office.
Prefer to read first? See how Colorado's wrongful death law works.
CGH Injury Lawyers · 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205
