When someone you love was killed by another person's carelessness on Wadsworth, on Colfax, at a Lakewood business, or anywhere in Jefferson County, Colorado law gives your family the right to pursue compensation. CGH Injury Lawyers handles wrongful death cases for Lakewood families from our Denver office. You pay nothing unless we win.
No fee unless we winIt's More Than Money.
If your family lost someone in Lakewood because of another party's negligence, CGH Injury Lawyers can help. We serve Lakewood and all of Jefferson County from our Denver office, appear in Jefferson Combined Court in Golden when a case must be litigated, and handle every phase of the claim, from the initial standing analysis through trial, with no upfront fees. You pay nothing unless we win.
Losing a family member is devastating, and no legal system can 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. A wrongful death claim is a civil action. It can move forward even if the person who caused the death is never charged with a crime, or is acquitted in criminal court. Civil cases require a lower burden of proof, a preponderance of the evidence, and the family controls the process, including whether to settle or go to trial.
Economic damages are not subject to a cap. For 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), and the cap disappears entirely if the death resulted from a felonious killing.
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 a family's entire recovery at risk. The two-year deadline runs from the date of death, but the standing question is more complicated and more time-sensitive than most families realize.
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 a Lakewood spouse waits past the first year without filing, that window closes.
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 frequently arises when a single adult is killed, such as a young worker fatally injured on a Lakewood construction site or a pedestrian struck on West Colfax.
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 family recourse.
Because standing is time-sensitive and unforgiving, Lakewood families should confirm who holds the right to file before the first year runs. We help you identify the correct claimant early, so a procedural misstep never costs you the claim.
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 Jefferson County jury.
Whether solatium is the right choice depends on the specific facts of your case, the quality of the relationship evidence, and the estimated non-economic damages if proven at trial. We walk every Lakewood family through this decision during the free case review.
A single fatal incident in Lakewood often gives rise to two separate legal claims. They serve different purposes and distribute funds differently, and they are frequently filed together in Jefferson Combined Court.
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 described above.
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, lost wages between the injury event 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 Lakewood pedestrian struck on Wadsworth Boulevard who survived in the intensive care unit at St. Anthony Hospital for several days before passing. The pain endured during those days belongs to the survival action. The loss of twenty or thirty years of future income belongs to the wrongful death claim. Filed together, the two claims pursue full recovery for both the family and the estate.
Wrongful death claims arise whenever negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct causes a fatal outcome. These are the contexts we see most often in Lakewood cases filed in Jefferson Combined Court.
Fatal car, truck, and motorcycle crashes on Wadsworth Boulevard, the 6th Avenue Freeway, West Colfax, and C-470. CDOT has documented Wadsworth as a high-injury corridor with an active reconstruction project at US 6 and Wadsworth. Commercial trucking cases often carry federal safety violations on top of state liability.
Pedestrian fatalities on Lakewood's major arterials, including Wadsworth, West Colfax, and Morrison Road. Lakewood has active pedestrian infrastructure on these corridors, and failing to yield to crossing pedestrians is a documented cause of fatal crashes in Jefferson County.
Deaths caused by unsafe property conditions in Lakewood, including construction-site falls, inadequate security leading to fatal assault, pool drownings, and dangerous walkways at commercial properties along Wadsworth and West Colfax.
Fatal surgical errors, misdiagnosis, medication mistakes, and failure to monitor after care at Lakewood area facilities. These cases require expert testimony to establish the standard of care and how it was breached, and lower damage caps apply to medical malpractice wrongful death claims specifically.
Fatal injuries on Lakewood construction sites, in industrial facilities, or in transportation work along Jefferson County's commercial corridors. These cases may involve both workers' compensation death benefits and a separate third-party negligence claim against a contractor or equipment manufacturer.
Defective vehicles, dangerous consumer products, and faulty safety equipment that cause fatal injuries through design flaws or manufacturing defects. If a Lakewood family member was killed because a product failed, we evaluate the full chain of liability, including manufacturers and distributors.
A Lakewood wrongful death case lives in Lakewood and Jefferson County: the hospital that treated your family member, the roads and corridors where the fatal event happened, and the courthouse where your case will be filed. Here is the ground we work on.
Trauma Care
St. Anthony Hospital at 11600 W 2nd Pl in Lakewood is a Level I Trauma Center designated by the State of Colorado Department of Health. Level I is the highest trauma designation. Many of the most critically injured victims of fatal Lakewood crashes and incidents are initially transported here. Trauma records from St. Anthony document the full scope of injuries in the period between the incident and the death, and those records are foundational to a survival action and to the economic damage calculation in the wrongful death claim.
Courthouse
A Lakewood wrongful death lawsuit is filed in Jefferson Combined Court, located at 100 Jefferson County Parkway, Golden, CO 80401. Jefferson Combined Court is the 1st Judicial District. Local civil procedure in the 1st District, the Jefferson County jury pool, and the defense firms and adjusters who appear there all differ from other Colorado counties. We file Jefferson County wrongful death cases directly from our Denver office and handle the full case, from initial filings through any trial in Golden.
Roads and Corridors
Lakewood's fatal-crash landscape runs along five major corridors. Wadsworth Boulevard (SH 121) is a documented high-injury corridor, with CDOT running an active interchange reconstruction at US 6 and Wadsworth. West Colfax Avenue (US 40) carries heavy traffic alongside pedestrians and cyclists. The 6th Avenue Freeway (US 6) links Lakewood to downtown Denver and to I-70. C-470 forms Lakewood's southwestern border and carries high-speed regional traffic. Morrison Road (SH 8) cuts through the southern reaches of the city. Identifying which agency owns each segment, which insurer covers the at-fault party, and which safety standards apply is the first step in building a Lakewood wrongful death case.
If the fatal incident involved a government entity, such as a City of Lakewood vehicle, a Jefferson County public works project, a Regional Transportation District bus, or another public body, the standard two-year wrongful death deadline is not your first problem. The Colorado Governmental Immunity Act requires a written notice of claim first.
You must file a written notice of your claim within 182 days after discovering the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109). This is a formal notice to the government entity, not the same as filing a lawsuit. Missing this deadline will likely end your claim permanently. The statute calls compliance a jurisdictional prerequisite.
Covered entities include the City of Lakewood, Jefferson County, the Regional Transportation District, the Colorado Department of Transportation for state roads, school districts, and other public bodies. The notice must reach the correct entity, and that is not always obvious when the fatal event happened on a corridor that crosses city and county jurisdiction lines.
A valid notice must state the claim with the detail the statute requires, including the time, place, and circumstances of the incident and the nature of the harm. A deficient notice may be treated as no notice at all.
The Act grants immunity for many government functions, but important exceptions exist, including dangerous conditions of public buildings and certain public roadways. When the claim is against a government entity, the 2026 CGIA damage caps also apply: $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, as certified by the Colorado Secretary of State).
If the Lakewood fatal incident involved any government vehicle, road, facility, or employee, do not wait. Call (303) 209-9395 so we can confirm whether a government entity is involved and protect the 182-day deadline before it passes.
Trial-ready attorneys who handle Jefferson Combined Court cases directly, bilingual service, and no fee unless we win. We do not publish wrongful death settlement or verdict figures, because every case is different and a number on a page tells you nothing about your family's situation. What we offer is the work, not a headline.
The Act
The Colorado Wrongful Death Act defines every Lakewood family's rights: who can file, when, and what the recovery can include. We know every procedural step the statute demands.
Serving Lakewood
We serve Lakewood families from our Denver office, a short drive east on 6th Avenue, and we appear in Jefferson Combined Court in Golden ourselves. Your case is not handed off to local referral counsel.
The 182-Day Clock
Deaths involving City of Lakewood, Jefferson County, RTD, or CDOT carry a 182-day notice deadline. We move fast to preserve it.
Standing Analysis
Colorado's First Year Rule and the 2024 HB 24-1472 changes create procedural traps. We confirm the correct claimant before anyone files anything.
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 case in Jefferson Combined Court, insurers respond differently to a demand.
Bilingual
Spanish-speaking staff and attorneys serve Lakewood's Spanish-speaking community throughout the Jefferson County process.
No Win, No Fee
You pay nothing out of pocket for legal fees. We advance costs and collect only from a settlement or verdict in your Lakewood case.
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Colorado follows a modified comparative negligence rule with a 50 percent bar (C.R.S. 13-21-111). Surviving family members can still recover damages if the deceased was partly at fault, as long as the deceased was less than 50 percent responsible, and the award is reduced by the deceased's share of fault. At 50 percent or more, the family recovers nothing. Insurers in Lakewood cases know this and will aggressively argue the deceased was careless, which is why immediate evidence preservation matters.
Economic damages are not capped. For a Lakewood family that lost the primary earner in a crash on Wadsworth or US 6, those economic losses, including decades of projected income, benefits, and household contributions, typically form the largest part of the claim. Non-economic damages 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 January 1, 2028. If the death resulted from a felonious killing, the non-economic cap disappears entirely. When a death results from gross negligence or willful and wanton conduct, punitive damages may also be available.
Evidence disappears quickly after a fatal incident. Surveillance footage gets overwritten, vehicles are repaired or scrapped, and accident scenes are cleared. While your family is grieving, the at-fault party's insurer is already building its defense. Here is the path we walk with you.
The at-fault party's insurer may contact your family within days of the death. Do not give a recorded statement or accept any offer before speaking with us. An early low offer does not reflect the full value of your claim. Call (303) 209-9395.
We identify who holds the right to file under the First Year Rule, confirm whether any government entity is involved and whether the 182-day CGIA notice deadline is running, and calendar the two-year wrongful death deadline (C.R.S. 13-80-102).
We send preservation letters for surveillance footage from Lakewood businesses and traffic cameras, request black-box data from vehicles involved in crashes on Wadsworth or US 6, secure St. Anthony Hospital trauma records, and obtain police and crash reports from the Lakewood Police Department or Jefferson County Sheriff.
We work with economic experts to project the deceased's lost income, benefits, and household contributions over the full expected lifespan. For a working adult in Lakewood, this calculation is often the single largest component of the claim.
Once the evidence is in order and the full damages are documented, we present a demand to the responsible insurer. Most cases settle. We negotiate from a position of trial readiness, and that changes what insurers offer.
When an insurer refuses a fair resolution, we file in Jefferson Combined Court at 100 Jefferson County Parkway in Golden and try your case before a Jefferson County jury. We handle this court directly.
When a settlement or verdict is reached, Colorado law requires a fair division among eligible survivors, but the statute does not set fixed percentages. A distribution hearing confirms how the recovery is split, and disputes can arise when multiple family members have valid interests.
Disputes can arise between adult children, between a surviving spouse and children from a prior relationship, or among siblings when no closer heir exists. We often help Lakewood families reach a consensus proposal before the hearing, which honors everyone's loss and avoids the additional pain of a contested proceeding in Golden.
The general deadline is two years from the date of death (C.R.S. 13-80-102). That deadline is deceptively dangerous because a separate, shorter deadline can also be running at the same time. If the fatal incident involved any government entity, including a City of Lakewood vehicle, a Jefferson County road project, 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 the 182-day deadline bars the claim against the government entity entirely, regardless of what the two-year window says.
Colorado follows a strict standing hierarchy. In the first year after the death, only the surviving spouse may file. That exclusive right exists even when there are adult children or children from a prior relationship. The surviving spouse may choose to include children in the claim, but that decision belongs to the spouse. In the second year, both the surviving spouse and the children may file. If a Lakewood family's situation is complicated by prior marriages or multiple potential claimants, we work through the standing analysis in the free case review before anything is filed.
Wrongful death cases arising from incidents in Lakewood are filed in Jefferson Combined Court, the 1st Judicial District, at 100 Jefferson County Parkway, Golden, CO 80401. Most wrongful death claims settle before a lawsuit is ever filed, but where a case would be litigated affects the local civil procedure, the Jefferson County jury pool, and which defense firms and adjusters you are negotiating against. We handle Jefferson Combined Court cases directly and do not hand them off.
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. The certified amount for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2024 is $135,990, paid in addition to economic damages once liability is established. Families often choose solatium as a privacy shield because it avoids the invasive discovery that a traditional non-economic damages claim invites. Electing solatium does not reduce economic damages, which remain fully recoverable. Whether it is the right choice for a specific Lakewood case depends on the estimated value of non-economic losses if proven at trial and the family's willingness to go through that process.
Possibly, yes. Colorado uses a modified comparative fault rule with a 50 percent bar (C.R.S. 13-21-111). A family can still recover wrongful death damages as long as the deceased was less than 50 percent responsible for the incident. The total recovery is reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to the deceased. At 50 percent or more, there is no recovery. Insurers in Lakewood crash cases routinely argue that the deceased was primarily responsible, and that argument is something we challenge with evidence, reconstructionists, and witness testimony.
No. A fatal incident often gives rise to two separate claims. The 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 separate survival action is brought on behalf of the deceased's estate for losses the deceased suffered before passing, such as pre-death medical bills from St. Anthony Hospital and the pain endured between the incident and the death. Both claims are frequently filed together, and proceeds from the survival action are distributed under the will or under Colorado intestacy law.
For claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, non-economic damages in a Colorado wrongful death case are capped at $2.125 million under C.R.S. 13-21-203, with inflation adjustments beginning January 1, 2028. Lower caps apply to claims accruing before that date, and a lower schedule of caps applies specifically to wrongful death cases that arise from medical malpractice. If the death resulted from a felonious killing, the cap on non-economic damages disappears entirely. Economic damages such as lost income and funeral costs are never capped.
It is not legally required, but wrongful death claims involve the standing hierarchy, the probate process for any survival action, multiple deadlines including the 182-day CGIA window when government entities are involved, and complex economic damage calculations. Experienced counsel helps make sure every deadline is met, the correct claimant files, and the full value of the claim is built and presented. CGH offers a free, confidential consultation with no obligation, and we take wrongful death cases on a contingency basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we recover for your Lakewood family.
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Free consultation. No fee unless we win. Serving Lakewood families in English and Spanish from our Denver office.
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CGH Injury Lawyers, serving Lakewood · 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205
