Two related claims
Colorado allows two overlapping claims when someone dies from another's negligence:
- Wrongful death (C.R.S. § 13-21-201): brought by surviving family for their own losses.
- Survival action: brought by the estate for the deceased's own damages before death (medical bills, pain, lost earnings until death).
Who has standing to sue — and when
Colorado uses a tiered system:
- Year 1: only the surviving spouse may sue (with limited exceptions).
- Year 2: the spouse, children, or (if no spouse or children) the parents may sue.
- The claim must be filed within two years of the death.
Damages available
- Economic losses: lost income, benefits, and services the deceased provided.
- Non-economic losses: grief, loss of companionship, mental anguish — capped by Colorado statute (the cap is higher for felonious killings).
- Funeral and burial expenses (via the survival action).
- Medical bills incurred before death (via the survival action).
Common Denver wrongful death cases
- Fatal motor vehicle collisions on I-25, I-70, and Denver arterials.
- Commercial trucking crashes.
- Medical malpractice (subject to Colorado's medical malpractice caps and rules).
- Workplace fatalities (with parallel workers' comp issues).
- Defective products.
What to look for in a wrongful death lawyer
- Handles Colorado wrongful death specifically, not as a side matter.
- Communicates with empathy — this isn't a normal transaction.
- Explains the interaction of caps, survival actions, and government claims clearly.
- Has actually taken wrongful death cases to trial.