IT'S MORE THAN MONEY.
When a Westminster crash on I-25 or US-36, a fall at The Orchard Town Center, or another act of negligence takes a family member, CGH Injury Lawyers serves surviving spouses, children, and parents under the Colorado Wrongful Death Act. We file in Adams County District Court, handle every insurer contact, and go to trial when necessary. You pay nothing unless we win.
No fee unless we winWhen negligence on Westminster's roads, properties, or worksites takes a family member, the Colorado Wrongful Death Act (C.R.S. 13-21-201 through 13-21-204) lets surviving family members pursue civil compensation, separate from any criminal case that may be underway. CGH Injury Lawyers serves Westminster families from our Denver office, filing wrongful death claims in Adams County District Court when the death occurred in Westminster or the Adams County portion of the city.
CGH Injury Lawyers represents Westminster families through the standing analysis, the damages calculation, every round of insurer negotiation, and trial in Adams County District Court when a fair resolution cannot be reached. You pay nothing unless we recover for your family.
Westminster context
Westminster is a city of more than 116,000 people crossed by six named state and federal highways: I-25, US-36, US-287, SH-128, SH-121, and SH-95. The volume and speed of traffic on these corridors, combined with Westminster's retail density and growing residential neighborhoods, create a specific environment for fatal negligence.
CDOT documents the I-25 and US-36 interchange as a crash hotspot with a steadily increasing crash rate since 2012. Rear-end collisions from congestion and speed-differential merging are the predominant crash type at this interchange. Fatal and catastrophic crashes here generate wrongful death claims against at-fault drivers, commercial carriers, and in some circumstances, against parties responsible for road conditions.
US-287 (Federal Boulevard) through Westminster at 96th Avenue and 102nd Avenue is a documented fatal pedestrian crash corridor. High vehicle speeds and sustained foot traffic create ongoing fatal exposure for pedestrians. When a driver's failure to yield or inattention causes a pedestrian fatality on Federal Boulevard, the Colorado Wrongful Death Act gives the surviving family members the right to pursue the at-fault driver's insurer and any other responsible party.
The Denver-Boulder Turnpike (US-36) carries heavy commuter and commercial truck traffic through Westminster, including the Church Ranch Business Park employment corridor. Multi-vehicle crashes on this corridor, including a documented seven-vehicle crash in June 2025, can involve commercial carrier liability and federal safety regulations alongside state wrongful death law. When a commercial vehicle is involved, the claim often reaches both the driver and the trucking company.
The Orchard Town Center near 144th Avenue, the Butterfly Pavilion at 6252 W. 104th Ave, and the retail corridors along Wadsworth Boulevard (SH-121) attract heavy foot traffic. Falls on dangerous property, inadequate security leading to assault, and unsafe construction conditions are recurring sources of fatal premises liability claims in Westminster. Property owners owe visitors a duty of reasonable care, and when a breach of that duty causes a death, a wrongful death claim may be available.
When a Westminster wrongful death involves a government vehicle, a government-maintained road, or a government employee acting in the scope of their duties, the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (CGIA) applies. Families have only 182 days from the date they discover the injury to file a written notice of claim (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)). Missing that notice bars the claim entirely. For 2026 accrual dates, CGIA recovery from a public entity is capped at $505,000 per person and $1,421,000 per occurrence (C.R.S. 24-10-114(1)(b), as certified by the Colorado Secretary of State).
Who has the right to file
Colorado law sets a strict order of who may bring a wrongful death lawsuit and when. Filing out of turn can put a Westminster family's entire 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 if there is no surviving spouse, the right to file 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. Parents of Westminster residents who were killed through negligence but who left no spouse or children carry this right under the statute.
Under HB 24-1472, siblings now have standing to file a wrongful death claim, 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 a surviving family member who could pursue accountability.
Westminster families should confirm who holds the right to file before the first year runs. The two-year wrongful death deadline (C.R.S. 13-80-102) starts at the date of death. When a Westminster death involves a government entity, the 182-day CGIA notice clock starts at the date of discovery and can run out before the standing analysis is even complete. Consulting an attorney early is not just advisable; it is often what keeps the claim alive.
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Compensation
Colorado divides wrongful death damages into two categories. The distinction matters because a statutory cap applies to one category and not the other. We calculate every recoverable category before we talk settlement.
Economic damages are not subject to a statutory cap. For Westminster families who lost a primary earner, the net pecuniary loss calculation, which projects the income the deceased would have earned across their remaining working life, is often the most significant component 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 beginning in 2028. The cap disappears entirely if the death resulted from a felonious killing. Lower, separately scheduled caps apply to wrongful deaths caused by medical malpractice, and the date the claim accrued controls which cap applies to your case. When the death resulted from gross negligence or willful and wanton conduct, punitive damages may also be available.
A strategic choice
Colorado gives a surviving spouse, and in some cases parents, a choice: prove non-economic losses in front of an Adams County jury, or elect a fixed statutory sum called solatium under C.R.S. 13-21-203.5 and receive that payment as soon as liability is established. Westminster families should understand this election before deciding how to pursue the claim.
Two separate claims
A single fatal Westminster incident often gives rise to two distinct legal claims. They serve different purposes and distribute proceeds differently. Filing both together can maximize a family's total recovery.
For the surviving family
Brought by the surviving spouse, children, or parents to recover the losses they personally experienced after the Westminster death: lost financial support, loss of companionship, grief, and related non-economic harm. Governed by the First Year Rule and the two-year filing deadline under C.R.S. 13-80-102.
For the estate
Brought on behalf of the deceased's estate to recover losses the deceased suffered before passing: pre-death medical bills incurred at St. Anthony North Hospital or during transport, lost wages between the injury and the death, and the pain endured. Proceeds are distributed under the will or under Colorado intestacy law if no will exists.
Consider a Westminster pedestrian struck on Federal Boulevard near 96th Avenue who survives four days in the intensive care unit at St. Anthony North Hospital before passing away. The pain, medical bills, and lost wages from those four days belong to the survival action. The future income the family loses over the next twenty years, and their grief, belong to the wrongful death claim. Filed together in Adams County District Court, the two claims pursue full recovery for both the family and the estate.
What insurers argue
After a fatal crash on I-25 or US-36, the at-fault driver's insurer almost always argues that the deceased was partly to blame. Colorado's modified comparative fault rule, codified at C.R.S. 13-21-111, is the legal framework that controls what happens next.
Local knowledge
A Westminster wrongful death case lives in Westminster: the corridor where the fatal event happened, the hospital that received your family member, and the courthouse where the case is tried. Here is the ground we work on for Westminster families.
Courthouse
Westminster sits primarily in Adams County. A Westminster wrongful death lawsuit is filed in Adams County District Court, 1100 Judicial Center Drive, Brighton, CO 80601, within the 17th Judicial District. That court's local rules, its jury pool drawn from Adams County residents, and the defense firms active in that courthouse are the environment where a Westminster wrongful death case lives if it reaches trial. CGH Injury Lawyers files and tries cases in Adams County District Court. For incidents occurring in the Jefferson County portion of Westminster, the applicable court is Jefferson County District Court. We handle both.
Trauma Care
St. Anthony North Hospital, part of CommonSpirit Health, is the CDPHE-designated Level III Trauma Center serving Westminster and the surrounding North Denver metro area. Fatal and near-fatal injuries sustained on I-25, US-36, or Federal Boulevard often arrive at St. Anthony North. Trauma records from that facility, including the treatment timeline, surgical intervention notes, and cause-of-death documentation, form the medical foundation of every Westminster wrongful death claim. We obtain and analyze those records as part of the initial case build.
High-Crash Corridors
Westminster is crossed by six named state and federal routes: I-25, US-36 (Denver-Boulder Turnpike), US-287 (Federal Boulevard and Wadsworth Bypass), SH-128 (120th Avenue), SH-121 (Wadsworth Boulevard), and SH-95 (Sheridan Boulevard). The I-25 and US-36 interchange is a CDOT-documented crash hotspot with a steadily increasing crash rate since 2012, where rear-end collisions from congestion and speed-differential merging are the predominant crash type. Federal Boulevard (US-287) at 96th and 102nd Avenues is a documented fatal pedestrian corridor. These public crash records are part of the liability evidence we gather for Westminster wrongful death claims from the first week of representation.
What we do for Westminster families
CGH Injury Lawyers is a Colorado trial firm founded in 2016, formerly Cheney Galluzzi and Howard. We prepare every wrongful death case as if it will be tried in Adams County District Court, then negotiate from that strength. An insurer that knows we are ready to try a case treats a Westminster family very differently.
We identify which family member holds the current right to file under the First Year Rule, confirm the two-year wrongful death deadline under C.R.S. 13-80-102, and check immediately whether the death involved any government actor that triggers the shorter 182-day CGIA notice window. Missing that CGIA notice can end the claim before it starts.
We obtain Westminster Police Department and Colorado State Patrol crash reports, CDOT road and interchange data for the relevant corridor, trauma records from St. Anthony North Hospital, and any surveillance or commercial dashcam footage from the crash location before that evidence is overwritten or destroyed.
We work with economic experts to project the net pecuniary loss, the future income and household services the deceased would have provided. We document non-economic losses, evaluate the solatium election, and account for every category the Colorado Wrongful Death Act allows before any demand is made.
Most Westminster wrongful death claims resolve through negotiation or mediation. When the at-fault party's insurer refuses a fair recovery, we file in Adams County District Court and try the case before an Adams County jury. Managing Partner Kevin Cheney is an ABOTA member who has tried over 25 cases to verdict. Westminster families facing a trial know we have been in that position before.
Westminster
Practice Areas
Frequently asked questions
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 of the deceased may file. Parents may file only when no surviving spouse or children exist. Under HB 24-1472, siblings now have standing when the deceased left no surviving spouse, no children, and no parents. Because the hierarchy is time-sensitive and unforgiving, Westminster families should confirm who holds the right to file before the first year runs out.
The general deadline is two years from the date of death under C.R.S. 13-80-102. Two important exceptions apply. If the death involved a government entity, a written notice of claim must be filed within 182 days of discovering the injury under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1), and missing that notice bars the claim entirely. For vehicular-homicide deaths where the driver fled the scene, a four-year deadline applies under C.R.S. 13-80-102(2). Westminster families should speak with an attorney as early as possible, because the two-year clock and the 182-day CGIA clock can both be running at the same time.
Westminster sits primarily in Adams County. A wrongful death lawsuit arising from a Westminster death is typically filed in Adams County District Court, 1100 Judicial Center Drive, Brighton, CO 80601, in the 17th Judicial District. For incidents in the Jefferson County portion of Westminster, the applicable court is Jefferson County District Court. CGH Injury Lawyers files and tries cases in both courts. The jury pool, the local defense bar, and the court's procedural practices all affect how a Westminster wrongful death case is built and argued.
Non-economic damages such as grief, emotional suffering, 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), with inflation adjustments beginning in 2028. The cap disappears entirely when the death resulted from a felonious killing. A lower, separately scheduled cap applies to deaths caused by medical malpractice. Economic damages, including lost income, medical bills, and funeral costs, are never capped. The date the wrongful death claim accrued controls which cap and which schedule applies.
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 before an Adams County jury. 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 that figure. Westminster families often elect solatium as a privacy shield, because it avoids the invasive defense discovery that a traditional non-economic damages claim can invite. Electing solatium does not reduce or cap economic damages.
Under Colorado's modified comparative fault rule (C.R.S. 13-21-111), Westminster families 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 to be 50 percent or more at fault, the family recovers nothing. Insurers who defend I-25 and US-36 wrongful death claims routinely try to inflate the deceased's fault percentage to hit or clear that 50-percent bar. Experienced counsel who can reconstruct the crash, present the evidence to an Adams County jury, and push back on inflated fault assignments is what keeps the full value of the claim on the table.
No. CGH Injury Lawyers has one office, at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. We serve Westminster families from that office, file Westminster wrongful death cases in Adams County District Court, and meet you wherever is convenient. The 30-mile drive from our Denver office to Brighton does not change how we build or try your case. Call (303) 209-9395 for a free, confidential consultation.
No. Insurance adjusters represent the at-fault party and work to minimize what the company pays. They may contact a Westminster family within hours of the death and use recorded statements, fault-shifting questions, and early settlement offers to limit the claim's value. Do not give a recorded statement, sign any release, or accept any offer before speaking with us. Once CGH Injury Lawyers is retained, we handle all insurer communication so your family can focus on each other.
IT'S MORE THAN MONEY.
Free consultation. No fee unless we win. Serving Westminster from our Denver office, in English and Spanish.
Read next: Colorado wrongful death law, statewide
CGH Injury Lawyers · Serving Westminster from 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205
