IT'S MORE THAN MONEY.
CGH Injury Lawyers represents surviving spouses, children, and parents of Louisville families who lost a loved one to someone else's negligence. We serve Louisville and all of Boulder County from our Denver office, prepare every case for trial in Boulder County Combined Court, and take no fee unless we win your case.
No fee unless we winWhen a Louisville death is caused by another party's negligence, whether on US 36, at a business on Old Town Main Street, or in the care of a medical facility near AdventHealth Avista, the Colorado Wrongful Death Act lets surviving family members pursue civil compensation separate from any criminal case. CGH Injury Lawyers serves Louisville families in Boulder County from our Denver office, with no fee unless we win.
CGH Injury Lawyers handles the standing analysis, the damages calculation, the insurer negotiations, and trial in Boulder County District Court when an at-fault party refuses to be fair. There is no Louisville office. We serve Louisville and all of Boulder County from 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205, and we come to you.
Why these cases are different
Losing a family member to someone else's carelessness in Louisville is devastating, and the legal system cannot reverse the loss. The Wrongful Death Act exists for a narrower purpose: to hold the 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.
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, because filing out of turn can put a Louisville 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 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. This window matters greatly for Louisville families trying to understand their options before the two-year deadline in C.R.S. 13-80-102 arrives.
If there is no surviving spouse and no surviving children, the right to file passes to the deceased's parents.
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 and minors without recourse.
Because standing is time-sensitive and unforgiving, Louisville 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.
I wish I could leave more than 5 stars!
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 a Boulder 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 Louisville families who lost a primary earner in a US 36 crash, a workplace incident in Centennial Valley Business Park, or another act of negligence, 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.
Two different claims
A single fatal incident in Louisville often gives rise to two separate legal claims. They serve different purposes and distribute funds differently, and they are frequently filed together in Boulder County District 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.
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 incurred at AdventHealth Avista, lost wages between injury and death, and the pain endured. Proceeds are distributed under the will, or under Colorado intestacy law if there is no will.
Consider a Louisville crash victim who survives for one week in the hospital at AdventHealth Avista before passing away. The pain endured that week belongs to the survival action. The loss of the next twenty years of income belongs to the wrongful death claim. Filed together in Boulder County Combined Court, the two claims pursue full recovery for both the family and the estate.
Cases we handle for Louisville families
Wrongful death claims arise whenever negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct causes a fatal outcome. Louisville's geography and road network create specific contexts we see repeatedly.
The Denver-Boulder Turnpike running along Louisville's southwestern border carries heavy commuter traffic between Denver and Boulder. A documented 39-vehicle pileup near Louisville and weather-related fatal crashes on this corridor, combined with sustained downslope wind gusts above 100 miles per hour during mountain wave events, create fatal crash exposure for Louisville families year-round. Commercial trucking cases on US 36 often involve corporate liability and federal safety violations.
Colorado State Highway 42 runs south through Louisville and connects to regional commuter corridors. McCaslin Boulevard at the US 36 diverging diamond interchange, which opened in October 2015, is a documented bottleneck and crash concentration point. Heavy AM and PM traffic between Centennial Valley Business Park and the highway makes this area a recurring site for rear-end and angle crashes.
Deaths caused by unsafe conditions at Old Town Main Street businesses, apartment complexes, retail properties in Centennial Valley, or around the AdventHealth Avista campus. Inadequate security, dangerous walkways, poor lighting, and structural hazards are common contributing factors in these claims.
The Coal Creek Trail is a 14-mile multi-use path running through Louisville connecting Superior and Lafayette. Cyclists and pedestrians on this shared trail cross active roadways at numerous points. When a driver or another party's negligence causes a fatal collision on or near the trail, a wrongful death claim may be available to the surviving family.
Surgical errors, misdiagnosis, medication mistakes, and failure to monitor a patient at a Louisville-area facility. Medical malpractice wrongful death claims carry different damages caps under C.R.S. 13-21-203(1)(b) and require expert testimony to establish the standard of care and how it was breached.
If a loved one died in Louisville 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 in Boulder County Combined Court.
Local Knowledge
A Louisville wrongful death case lives in Louisville: the road where the death occurred, the hospital that treated your family member, and the courthouse where the case will be filed. Here is the ground we work on.
Courthouse
Louisville is in the 20th Judicial District. A Louisville wrongful death lawsuit that exceeds the county-court jurisdictional limit is filed in Boulder County Combined Court (District Court) at 1777 6th St., Boulder, CO 80302. The jury pool drawn from Boulder County, the local procedure, and the defense firms that handle Boulder County litigation all differ from courts in other Colorado counties. CGH handles Boulder County District Court wrongful death cases directly, no matter where in Louisville the fatal incident occurred. There is no CGH office in Louisville; we serve Louisville from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, and file cases in Boulder County.
Trauma Care
AdventHealth Avista at 100 Health Park Drive in Louisville is designated a Level III Trauma Center by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. It is the closest facility to many Louisville crash scenes. For the most severe injuries and fatal trauma, patients are often transferred to Foothills Hospital, Boulder Community Health's ACS-verified Level II Trauma Center at 4747 Arapahoe Avenue in Boulder, the first designated Level II facility in Boulder County. Trauma records from both facilities document the scope of your family member's injuries and establish the foundation of the damages claim in a Louisville wrongful death case.
High-Risk Roads
US 36, the Denver-Boulder Turnpike, forms the southwestern border of Louisville and carries heavy daily commuter traffic between Denver and Boulder. CDOT records document a 39-vehicle pileup on the Boulder Turnpike near Louisville and weather-related fatal crashes on this corridor. Mountain wave downslope winds with documented gusts up to 100 miles per hour directly contribute to multi-car crashes here. Colorado State Highway 42, a CDOT-maintained route running south from SH 7 through Louisville east to US 287, crosses the city. McCaslin Boulevard at the US 36 interchange, where a diverging diamond interchange opened October 19, 2015, is a documented congestion and crash concentration point. Northwest Parkway serves Louisville as a regional toll corridor connecting to the broader network. When a fatal crash on any of these corridors involves another party's negligence, the road conditions, traffic patterns, and CDOT records all become part of how we build the claim.
The rules that govern your claim
Louisville wrongful death claims run on Colorado statutes, not local rules. A few of them quietly decide whether you recover at all and how much. Here are the ones that matter most.
When a Louisville death involves a government entity, such as a crash with a city vehicle or a failure by a public agency to maintain a road, the CGIA notice deadline of 182 days from discovery (C.R.S. 24-10-109) and the per-person and per-occurrence caps of $505,000 and $1,421,000 respectively for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2026 (C.R.S. 24-10-114) can dramatically change the value and strategy of the case. We identify every applicable insurance policy and government immunity issue before committing to a demand.
After a recovery
When a settlement or verdict is reached in Boulder County, Colorado law requires a fair division among eligible survivors, but the statute does not set fixed percentages. That makes thoughtful handling of distribution important for every Louisville family.
Disputes among family members can arise, for example between siblings over percentages or between stepchildren and a stepparent. We often help Louisville families reach a consensus proposal before the Boulder County hearing, which honors everyone's loss and avoids the added pain of a contested public proceeding.
Built for trial in Boulder County
CGH Injury Lawyers is a Colorado trial firm founded in 2016, formerly Cheney Galluzzi and Howard. We prepare every Louisville wrongful death case as if it will be tried in Boulder County District Court, then negotiate from that strength. Most cases resolve through settlement or mediation, but an insurer that knows we are ready for a Boulder County jury treats a family very differently. We are direct about one thing: we do not have a Louisville office. We serve Louisville from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, and we travel to you.
Frequently asked questions
Louisville is in the 20th Judicial District. A Louisville wrongful death lawsuit that exceeds the county-court jurisdictional limit is filed in Boulder County Combined Court (District Court) at 1777 6th St., Boulder, CO 80302. CGH Injury Lawyers files and tries cases in Boulder County District Court directly. There is no CGH office in Louisville; we serve Louisville from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205, and we come to you.
The general deadline is two years from the date of death (C.R.S. 13-80-102). Strict exceptions apply. If the Louisville death involved a government entity, such as a crash with a CDOT-maintained road or a public bus, a written notice of claim must be filed within 182 days after discovery of the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109), well before the general filing deadline. Because the standing hierarchy is also time-sensitive, it is best to consult an attorney as soon as possible after a Louisville family loss.
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. Siblings have standing only if the deceased left no surviving spouse, no children, and no parents. We help Louisville families confirm who holds the right to file before the first year expires.
Under Colorado's modified comparative fault rule (C.R.S. 13-21-111), a Louisville family can still recover as long as the deceased was less than 50 percent at fault. The total award is reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to the deceased. If the deceased is found 50 percent or more at fault, the family recovers nothing. Insurers defending US 36 crashes and other Louisville incidents routinely try to inflate the victim's share of fault. Having an attorney challenge that assessment is how you protect the full value of the claim.
Louisville families may recover economic damages including lost income, lost benefits, medical bills from AdventHealth Avista or Foothills Hospital, and funeral costs. Non-economic damages such as grief, loss of companionship, and loss of consortium 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. Economic damages are not capped. When a death results from gross negligence, punitive damages may also be available.
Solatium (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 a Boulder County 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. Louisville families often choose solatium as a privacy shield: it avoids the invasive discovery that a traditional non-economic damages claim can invite. Electing solatium does not reduce economic damages, which remain recoverable and uncapped.
No. CGH Injury Lawyers has one office, at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. We serve Louisville and all of Boulder County from that Denver office, file wrongful death cases in Boulder County Combined Court (District Court) at 1777 6th St., Boulder, CO 80302, and meet you wherever is most convenient for your family. You can reach us at (303) 209-9395.
No. The at-fault party's insurance adjuster represents that company's financial interests, not your Louisville family's. Adjusters may contact you shortly after the death and use tactics designed to reduce the claim's value. We advise against giving a recorded statement or signing anything before speaking with us. Once you retain CGH, we handle all communication with the insurer, including those handling US 36 crash claims and premises liability matters in Boulder County, so you can focus on your family.
Start your Louisville claim
Tell us what happened in Louisville. We will review your case at no cost, with compassion and complete confidentiality.
IT'S MORE THAN MONEY.
Free consultation. No fee unless we win. Serving Louisville from our Denver office, in English and Spanish. Filing in Boulder County Combined Court.
Read next: Louisville personal injury hub | Colorado wrongful death overview
CGH Injury Lawyers · Serving Louisville from 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205
