Families in Colorado lose loved ones in numerous different ways. Sometimes, a family member contracts an illness or starts to show symptoms of a congenital disorder. Other times, a loved one will die because of some kind of incident, like a product malfunctioning or a motor vehicle collision.
Surviving family members can file wrongful death suits under Colorado law that will allow them to recover the financial losses they suffer when someone dies. Although many wrongful death lawsuits are against specific individuals, sometimes people file such lawsuits against businesses.
When might you have grounds for a wrongful death claim against a business?
When a bar or restaurant over-serves alcohol
Colorado has liquor laws that limit when a company with a license can serve alcohol to a customer. If a business violates those rules, it could have financial liability for the losses that result. If you know a restaurant or bar over-served someone who was already drunk or provided alcohol to a minor, you may be in a position to take legal action against them under Colorado’s dram shop laws.
When the company offers bad products or services
Sometimes, the relationship between a business’s practices and someone’s death is obvious. For example, family members who lost a loved one to an electrical shock when a kitchen tool shorts out because of bad wires could easily connect their loss to the defective product.
Improperly performed services could also result in death. If the business that just installed replacement windows in your house didn’t properly secure one of them, someone could fall from the second story if the window comes loose. In such cases, the surviving family members can bring a legal claim against the company involved.
When someone who works for the company causes a death
In some situations, a business can ultimately be responsible for things that its employees do on the clock.
For example, if a company hired someone with a history of drunk driving and gave them a company car, the business might have some liability for a fatality that results. Businesses with negligent workers or with improper vetting and hiring practices could face claims when they contribute to a tragic loss by employing someone who turns out to be dangerous.