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Boulder County, Colorado. CGH Injury Lawyers represents grieving families throughout Superior and the 20th Judicial District.
Superior, Colorado

Superior Wrongful Death Lawyers Who Carry the Legal Weight So Your Family Does Not Have To

When a death in Superior or anywhere in Boulder County results from someone else's negligence, the Colorado Wrongful Death Act gives surviving spouses, children, and parents the right to pursue civil accountability. A fatal crash on US-36, a Marshall Fire-related premises failure, or any other act of negligence can set this process in motion. CGH Injury Lawyers serves Superior families from our Denver office, handles every deadline and standing requirement, and is prepared to try your case at the Boulder County District Court in Boulder when an insurer refuses to be fair. No fee unless we win.

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  • Colorado's Wrongful Death Act, codified at C.R.S. 13-21-201 through 13-21-204, gives surviving family members the right to pursue civil compensation when negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct causes a death in Superior or anywhere in Boulder County.
  • Standing to file follows a strict hierarchy. In the first year after the death, only the surviving spouse may bring a claim. Children gain the right to file in the second year, and parents may file only if no spouse or children survive. Siblings were added by HB 24-1472 as a last-resort class.
  • The general filing deadline is two years from the date of death (C.R.S. 13-80-102). If a government entity is involved, a written notice of claim must be filed within 182 days of discovering the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)). That notice clock runs from the date you discover the injury, not the date of the death.

Superior is a city of approximately 13,896 people in Boulder County, situated along the US-36 corridor between Denver and Boulder. It is one of the communities most severely affected by the December 2021 Marshall Fire, and wrongful death claims arising from fire-related premises failures remain an active area of litigation. Fatal crashes on US-36 and McCaslin Boulevard add to the legal landscape Superior families face after a loss. CGH Injury Lawyers serves Superior from our Denver office, handles the standing analysis, the damages calculation, the insurer negotiations, and the trial in Boulder County District Court when necessary. You pay nothing unless we recover for you.

Who has the right to file

Who can bring a wrongful death claim after a Superior death?

Colorado law sets a precise order of who may file a wrongful death lawsuit and when. Families who wait too long or file out of order risk losing the claim entirely. The rules apply the same way whether the death happened on US-36, on McCaslin Boulevard, in a fire-damaged property, or anywhere else in Boulder County.

  1. Year one: the surviving spouse holds exclusive standing

    During the twelve months immediately following the death, only the surviving spouse has the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit. That standing is exclusive: it exists even when adult children or parents are equally grief-stricken and equally willing to pursue accountability. The surviving spouse may choose to bring children into the claim, but the choice belongs to the spouse alone in that first year.

  2. Year two: children and heirs gain the right to file

    If the surviving spouse does not file within the first year, or if there is no surviving spouse, the deceased's children gain the right to file during the second year. In year two, both the surviving spouse and the children may bring claims. The two-year deadline under C.R.S. 13-80-102 runs from the date of death, so action must be taken before that window closes regardless of which family member holds standing.

  3. Parents, when no spouse or children survive

    Parents of the deceased may file only if there is no surviving spouse and no surviving children. In Boulder County wrongful death cases involving a young victim without a spouse or children, parents frequently become the sole claimants. This situation arises in Marshall Fire-related deaths, in US-36 crashes involving young adults, and in other tragic circumstances where the victim had not yet started their own family.

  4. Siblings, under HB 24-1472

    Under HB 24-1472, siblings were added to the list of eligible claimants, but only as a last-resort class. Siblings may file only if the deceased left no surviving spouse, no surviving children, and no surviving parents. This change closed a gap that previously left some families without any legal recourse after a wrongful death.

Because the standing hierarchy is time-sensitive from the moment of death, confirming who holds the right to file should happen as early as possible. A procedural misstep, such as a child filing before the first year expires when a surviving spouse exists, can jeopardize the claim. We identify the correct claimant at the outset so a legal technicality never costs a Superior family their recovery.

The rules of the claim

Colorado wrongful death law decoded for Superior families

Wrongful death cases involve a different set of statutes than ordinary personal injury claims. Several of those statutes quietly determine how much a family can recover, what the deadline is, and whether recovery is available at all. Here are the rules that most directly shape a Superior wrongful death claim.

Deadlines that cannot be missed

  • The general wrongful death filing deadline is two years from the date of death (C.R.S. 13-80-102). Missing it ends the claim entirely, with very few exceptions.
  • If a Colorado government entity, such as a public utility, a Boulder County agency, or a municipal department, caused or contributed to the death, a formal written notice of claim must be served within 182 days of discovering the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)). That notice clock runs from the date of discovery, not the date of the death itself. Missing the notice deadline bars the claim against that government entity permanently.
  • For Superior wrongful death claims involving the Marshall Fire, the date of discovery may be disputed. Questions about when a family first knew or should have known the cause of a fire-related death can affect when the 182-day government-notice clock begins. We analyze this question at the outset of every such engagement.
  • The standing hierarchy also has its own internal timeline. The first-year-spouse-only window and the transition to children in year two must be tracked alongside the two-year filing deadline.

Damages and caps

  • Economic damages, including lost income, lost benefits, medical bills between the injury and the death, funeral and burial costs, and the value of lost household services, are not subject to any statutory cap. In a case involving a working parent who commuted on US-36 every day, the projected income loss alone can be the largest number in the claim.
  • Non-economic damages, including grief, loss of companionship, and emotional suffering of the survivors, are capped at $2,125,000 for wrongful death claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025 (C.R.S. 13-21-203(1)(a)). The cap disappears entirely when the death resulted from a felonious killing.
  • Under Colorado's modified comparative fault rule (C.R.S. 13-21-111), a family can still recover even if the deceased was partly at fault, as long as the deceased's share of fault was less than 50 percent. If the deceased bore 50 percent or more of the fault, the claim is barred. Insurers routinely try to inflate fault percentages against the decedent, especially in US-36 and McCaslin Boulevard crash cases where facts can be disputed.
  • When the death resulted from gross negligence or willful and wanton conduct, punitive damages may also be available (C.R.S. 13-21-102(1)(a)), capped at an equal amount of actual damages, with the court able to increase to three times actual damages for continued willful and wanton conduct.

The economic damages in a wrongful death case often form the largest portion of the recovery because they are fully uncapped and include decades of projected lost earnings. For a Superior family that lost a working parent who commuted on US-36 or worked in the Boulder-Denver corridor, those projected future losses can far exceed the non-economic cap. Building the full economic picture, with forensic economist projections and present-value calculations, is one of the most important tasks a wrongful death attorney performs. We bring in the right experts before we open any settlement discussion.

A strategic choice for surviving spouses

The solatium election: a guaranteed payment instead of proving grief at trial

Colorado law gives a surviving spouse, and in some cases parents, an alternative to contesting non-economic damages in front of a jury. Under C.R.S. 13-21-203.5, a claimant may elect a fixed statutory solatium payment for grief and loss of companionship instead of attempting to prove and quantify those losses through contested evidence.

  • The certified solatium amount for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2024 is $135,990 (C.R.S. 13-21-203.5). This is a fixed statutory figure paid in addition to economic damages once liability is established. It does not increase further; HB 24-1472 ended inflation adjustments to the solatium amount.
  • Electing solatium serves as a privacy shield. In a traditional non-economic damages claim, the defense may conduct invasive discovery into the quality and closeness of the marriage or parent-child relationship, including depositions and subpoenas of private communications. Solatium bypasses that process entirely. Many Superior families who have already endured enormous grief from the Marshall Fire or a sudden crash find that protection especially meaningful.
  • Choosing solatium does not limit economic damages in any way. Lost income, future earning capacity, funeral costs, and all other economic categories remain fully recoverable and are not subject to any cap regardless of the solatium election.

Whether to elect solatium or pursue full non-economic damages before a Boulder County jury is a strategic decision that depends on the specific facts of the case, the strength of the relationship evidence, and the at-fault party's resources. We walk every Superior family through that decision with a clear analysis of the tradeoffs, so the choice is made with complete information rather than under pressure.

Local Knowledge

Superior courts. Superior trauma care. Superior roads where fatal crashes and fire losses happen.

A wrongful death claim arising from a Superior death runs through Boulder County institutions: the court where a lawsuit is filed, the hospital where emergency care was attempted, and the roads and corridors where fatal crashes and fire-related tragedies occur. Knowing that ground in detail is part of how we build a stronger case for a Superior family.

Courthouse

Boulder County District Court, 20th Judicial District

A wrongful death lawsuit arising in Superior that exceeds the county-court jurisdictional limit is filed at the Boulder County District Court, 1777 Sixth St., Boulder, CO 80302, within the 20th Judicial District of Colorado. Superior sits entirely within Boulder County, so every Superior wrongful death case that reaches litigation lands in this court. The 20th Judicial District covers all of Boulder County, including personal injury and wrongful death matters. The defense firms active in that courthouse, the local procedural calendar, and the Boulder County jury pool all have their own character and composition. We handle 20th Judicial District wrongful death cases directly, including distribution hearings once a family reaches a recovery.

Trauma Care

Foothills Hospital (Boulder) and Longmont United Hospital

Superior does not have its own acute-care hospital. Foothills Hospital in Boulder is approximately eight miles from central Superior and is typically the nearest full-service facility for Superior crash and trauma victims. Longmont United Hospital is approximately 14 miles away and provides additional care for Boulder County residents. In a wrongful death case, the medical records documenting the final hours of a patient's treatment at one of these facilities become central evidence: they establish the nature and severity of the injury, the care provided, and the timeline leading to death. When injuries exceed either facility's capacity, transfers to higher-level Denver-area centers occur, creating records at multiple institutions that all must be obtained and reviewed. We gather every treatment record from every facility involved and retain medical experts to translate that record into evidence a Boulder County jury can understand and act on.

Roads and Fire Areas

US-36, McCaslin Boulevard, Rock Creek Road, and the Marshall Fire corridor

US Highway 36 runs directly through Superior and is the primary commuter artery connecting Boulder County communities to the Denver metro. At peak travel times, this corridor carries high-speed, high-volume traffic, with lane merges and abrupt deceleration near the McCaslin Boulevard interchange creating conditions for serious and fatal crashes. McCaslin Boulevard is the principal north-south arterial through Superior, connecting Rock Creek residential neighborhoods to US-36 and to Louisville to the north. The Rock Creek Road corridor feeds Superior's interior neighborhoods and sees significant local traffic, pedestrian movement, and bicycle use near the Rock Creek Community Park and trailhead areas. Beyond the road network, the December 2021 Marshall Fire destroyed large portions of Superior's Rock Creek neighborhood and the area near Marshall Road. Wrongful death claims tied to the Marshall Fire involve questions of premises liability, property owner responsibility, and potential utility or infrastructure liability. These are complex cases requiring careful fact investigation, and the applicable deadlines depend on when the family discovered the injury and its cause.

Two distinct legal claims

Wrongful death claim vs. survival action: Superior families often have both

A single fatal incident in Superior frequently gives rise to two separate legal claims that serve different purposes and distribute funds through different channels. They are typically filed together to capture every available category of recovery.

For the surviving family

The wrongful death claim

Brought by eligible family members (spouse, children, or parents, in the priority order set by the First Year Rule) for the losses they personally experienced. This includes the lost financial support the deceased would have provided, loss of companionship, grief, and emotional suffering. Eligible family members control this claim, including whether to settle, elect solatium, or take the case to a Boulder County jury.

For the estate

The survival action

Brought on behalf of the deceased's estate to recover losses the deceased personally suffered before passing. These include pre-death medical bills, wages lost between the injury and the death, and pain and suffering the deceased endured. Proceeds from a survival action flow through the estate and are distributed under the will or under Colorado intestacy law if no will exists.

To illustrate: a Superior resident struck on US-36 near the McCaslin interchange survives for three days in Foothills Hospital before passing away. The pain and suffering of those three days, and the medical bills from that time, belong to the survival action. The many years of income that family members would have received belongs to the wrongful death claim. Filing both together in Boulder County District Court ensures nothing is left on the table. We evaluate both claims at the outset of every engagement with a Superior family.

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After a wrongful death

What to do after a wrongful death in Superior

Grief comes first. But the legal clocks start running immediately after a death caused by another party's negligence, and a family that waits too long can lose the right to hold anyone accountable. These are the steps we walk Superior families through from the first call.

  1. Secure the evidence before it disappears

    In US-36 fatal crash cases, physical evidence, including electronic data from vehicle black boxes, dashcam footage, traffic camera data from the McCaslin interchange, and roadway condition records, can be lost within days. In Marshall Fire-related wrongful death claims, structural evidence, utility records, and fire investigation documentation can be altered, lost, or sealed. We issue litigation hold letters and preservation demands as early as possible to prevent spoliation that could undermine the claim.

  2. Gather all medical records from every facility

    Treatment records from Foothills Hospital in Boulder, Longmont United Hospital, and any Denver-area center the patient was transferred to are the foundation of both the wrongful death claim and any parallel survival action. We obtain every record, every imaging study, and every bill from every facility involved, and we retain medical experts to explain that record to a Boulder County jury.

  3. Identify the government entity deadline if one applies

    If a government actor, including a public utility, a Boulder County agency, or a state entity, contributed to the death, the 182-day notice of claim requirement under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1) is separate from and shorter than the two-year wrongful death deadline. In Superior wrongful death cases tied to the Marshall Fire, questions about public infrastructure and utility responsibility may trigger this notice requirement. We identify every potentially liable party at the outset of every Superior engagement, because missing the government notice window closes that avenue of recovery permanently.

  4. Confirm who holds standing and get the right claimant on file

    The First Year Rule means we need to know immediately whether a surviving spouse exists and whether they intend to file. If they do not, the family needs to know exactly when children gain the right to act. We map the standing hierarchy against the two-year deadline at the start of every Superior wrongful death engagement so no procedural error jeopardizes the claim.

  5. Build the full economic damages picture

    Economic damages are uncapped in a Colorado wrongful death case and often represent the majority of the claim's total value. We work with forensic economists to project lost income and benefits over the remaining work-life expectancy of the deceased, calculate the present value of those future losses, and document all other economic categories, including household services and the pre-death medical bills that belong to the survival action.

  6. Negotiate or litigate in Boulder County District Court

    Most wrongful death claims resolve through settlement or mediation once the insurer understands we are genuinely prepared to try the case. When an at-fault party's insurer refuses to pay the full value of the claim, we file at the Boulder County District Court, 1777 Sixth St., Boulder, CO 80302, in the 20th Judicial District. We handle the distribution hearing as well, ensuring a fair allocation among all eligible survivors.

How Superior families lose loved ones

Common causes of wrongful death in Superior and Boulder County

Wrongful death claims arise from many types of negligence. The causes we see most often in Superior and across Boulder County are shaped by the community's geography, the US-36 commuter corridor, the Marshall Fire aftermath, and Superior's active residential development.

US-36 and McCaslin Boulevard fatal crashes

US Highway 36 through Superior carries high-speed, high-volume commuter traffic every day between Boulder and Denver. Rear-end crashes, merge-point collisions, and sideswipe accidents at the McCaslin Boulevard interchange can produce fatal outcomes. McCaslin Boulevard itself, as the primary north-south arterial through the Rock Creek neighborhoods, sees concentrated stop-and-go traffic with a mix of commuters, delivery vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians. When a crash on either road is fatal, the wrongful death claim belongs in Boulder County District Court.

Marshall Fire premises and property failures

The December 2021 Marshall Fire was one of the most destructive wildfires in Colorado history. It burned through large portions of Superior, including the Rock Creek neighborhood. Deaths resulting from the fire can give rise to wrongful death claims involving premises liability, property owner responsibility, and potential utility or infrastructure liability. These are complex cases. Applicable deadlines depend on when the death occurred and when the family discovered the cause.

Pedestrian and bicycle fatalities

Rock Creek Road and the trail networks near Rock Creek Community Park see year-round pedestrian and cycling traffic. Pedestrian and bicycle fatalities caused by a motor vehicle are motor-vehicle torts with a three-year filing deadline under C.R.S. 13-80-101(1)(n), not the two-year general tort deadline. Near residential trailheads and park access points on McCaslin Boulevard, pedestrian exposure is elevated and so is the risk of a fatal encounter with inattentive or speeding drivers.

Construction zone fatalities

Post-Marshall Fire rebuilding has introduced active construction zones throughout Superior along McCaslin Boulevard, Rock Creek Road, and near rebuild sites. These zones create new traffic patterns, temporary lane configurations, and pedestrian detours that increase crash exposure. When a construction-zone fatality results from a contractor's failure to follow proper safety procedures, Colorado law provides a path to recovery through a wrongful death claim.

Medical negligence deaths

Deaths caused by surgical errors, misdiagnosis, medication mistakes, or failure to monitor a patient fall under the Wrongful Death Act when a healthcare provider's negligence caused or contributed to the death. Medical malpractice wrongful death claims carry different damage caps and procedural requirements than vehicle crash claims. We evaluate every category of potential liability and bring in the correct experts from the outset.

Other negligence-caused deaths

If someone in Superior died because another party was careless or reckless, there may be a wrongful death claim available. We will tell you honestly whether the facts support a viable claim, who holds standing to bring it, and what the realistic value of the case looks like across every damage category. Free, confidential consultation, no obligation.

Why CGH

Why Superior families choose CGH Injury Lawyers for wrongful death claims

Wrongful death cases require a different kind of preparation than ordinary personal injury claims: they involve standing analysis, economic modeling of future income loss, solatium election decisions, probate coordination for survival actions, and distribution hearings at the end. We do all of it. We are also honest about one thing from the start: CGH Injury Lawyers does not have a Superior office. We serve Boulder County from our Denver office and come to you. What you receive is rigorous legal work, not a storefront.

Trial-Ready

Built to try your case in Boulder County.

Managing Partner Kevin Cheney is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and has tried over 25 cases to verdict. When a wrongful death attorney is genuinely prepared to take a case before a Boulder County jury at 1777 Sixth St. in Boulder, insurers respond to demand letters very differently than they would otherwise.

Colorado-Licensed Attorneys

Not a paralegal. Not a call center.

Every Superior wrongful death case is handled by a licensed Colorado attorney from start to finish. Managing Partner Kevin Cheney holds ABOTA membership and has tried over 25 cases to verdict. Timothy G. Tarr has been recognized by Best Lawyers every year since 2023. Both know how to present a wrongful death damages case to a Boulder County jury and how to negotiate from that position of strength.

20th Judicial District

Boulder County courts.

Wrongful death lawsuits arising in Superior are filed at the Boulder County District Court in the 20th Judicial District. We file there, appear there, and handle distribution hearings there when a family reaches a recovery.

Honest About Location

Serving Superior from Denver.

CGH Injury Lawyers does not have a Superior office. Our office is at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. We serve Boulder County families and meet you wherever works for you, whether at our Denver office or at your home in Superior. Call (303) 209-9395.

Bilingual

Hablamos espanol.

Spanish-speaking attorneys and staff serve Superior's Spanish-speaking community through every stage of a wrongful death claim, from the first call through the distribution hearing.

No Win, No Fee

Contingency only. No upfront cost.

You pay nothing out of pocket for legal fees or case costs. We advance expenses and collect only from a settlement or jury verdict in your favor. A Superior family in the middle of grief should not have to worry about legal bills at the same time. There is no financial risk in calling us to find out whether you have a claim.

Questions

Superior wrongful death, frequently asked questions

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

The general wrongful death filing deadline in Colorado is two years from the date of death (C.R.S. 13-80-102). If any government entity contributed to the death, a separate written notice of claim must be served within 182 days of discovering the injury under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1). That government notice clock runs from the date of discovery, not the date of death, and missing it bars the claim against that entity entirely. In Superior wrongful death cases connected to the Marshall Fire, the discovery question can be especially complex. Contact an attorney as soon as possible after a wrongful death in Superior to make sure every clock is identified and protected.

My spouse was killed on US-36 near McCaslin Boulevard. The insurer says my spouse was partly at fault. Can I still recover?

In most cases, yes. Under Colorado's modified comparative fault rule (C.R.S. 13-21-111), a surviving family can still recover as long as the deceased was found to be less than 50 percent at fault. The total award is reduced by the deceased's percentage of fault. If the deceased is found to be 50 percent or more at fault, the claim is barred. Insurance companies routinely try to inflate the fault percentage attributed to the person who died precisely because doing so can reduce or eliminate what they owe the family. Having an attorney who can challenge that fault assignment with evidence, dashcam footage, witness statements, and crash reconstruction, is one of the most valuable things we do in a Superior wrongful death case.

What is the solatium election and should a Superior surviving spouse choose it?

Solatium under C.R.S. 13-21-203.5 lets a surviving spouse (and in some cases parents) elect a fixed statutory payment of $135,990 for grief and loss of companionship, rather than proving those losses through contested trial evidence. The appeal of solatium is privacy: a traditional non-economic damages claim can expose the marriage to invasive defense discovery, including depositions about the quality and closeness of the relationship. Solatium bypasses all of that. Electing solatium does not reduce economic damages, which remain fully recoverable. Whether to elect solatium or pursue full non-economic damages before a Boulder County jury depends on the specific facts of your case. We present that decision clearly so Superior families can choose with full information.

Where would a Superior wrongful death lawsuit be filed?

A wrongful death lawsuit arising from a Superior death that exceeds the county-court jurisdictional limit is filed at the Boulder County District Court, 1777 Sixth St., Boulder, CO 80302, within the 20th Judicial District of Colorado. Superior sits entirely within Boulder County, so every serious Superior wrongful death case that goes to litigation lands in this court. The court draws jurors from Boulder County and operates under the local procedures of the 20th Judicial District. We handle these cases and distribution hearings directly.

Does CGH Injury Lawyers have an office in Superior?

No. CGH Injury Lawyers has one office, at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. CGH Injury Lawyers does not have a Superior office. We serve Superior and Boulder County clients from our Denver office, file Superior wrongful death lawsuits at the Boulder County District Court in Boulder, and meet families wherever is most convenient for them, including at their home in Superior. Call us at (303) 209-9395 for a free, confidential consultation.

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

A wrongful death claim is brought by the surviving family members for the losses they personally experienced: lost financial support, loss of companionship, grief, and emotional suffering. The family controls the claim. A survival action is brought on behalf of the deceased's estate for losses the deceased personally suffered before death: pre-death medical bills, lost wages during the period between the injury and the death, and the pain and suffering the deceased endured. Proceeds from the survival action flow through the estate and are distributed under the will or under Colorado intestacy law. Both claims can be filed together in Boulder County District Court to capture every available category of recovery. We evaluate both at the start of every Superior wrongful death engagement.

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