Losing a loved one in a sudden preventable death causes grief and anguish, with life-long repercussions for family members. These impacts are often financial as well as emotional, especially if the loved one was a family provider or the family member who cared for the home and children. The consequences of a sudden preventable death become the family’s “damages” in a wrongful death claim in Colorado.
When a family member’s death occurred due to another party’s negligence, recklessness, or wrongdoing, a wrongful death claim holds the at-fault party financially accountable. While financial compensation cannot erase the deep grief or bring the loved one back, it helps relieve the economic hardship that often results from an untimely death.
Before you seek justice and accountability for a lost family member, it’s important to know who can make a wrongful death claim in Colorado and under what timeline a claim becomes available.
Colorado’s Priority System for Wrongful Death Claims
Like most states, Colorado limits those who can generate a wrongful death claim to immediate close family members. This prevents distant relations from exploiting an individual’s death for profit and limits a claim only to those who feel the economic impacts of the death. Succession for wrongful death claims in Colorado works as follows:
- Colorado allows only the spouse of a deceased person to file a wrongful death claim during the first year after the death unless there is no spouse, in which case the children of the decedent may file a claim
- During the second year, the right to file a wrongful death claim opens up to the children or heirs of the decedent as well as the spouse if they didn’t file in the first year
- The parents of a decedent may only file a wrongful death claim during the second year in Colorado if there are no living spouses or heirs
A person seeking compensation through a wrongful death lawsuit must adhere to the guidelines put in place for a claim, including following the laws limiting those who can file for wrongful death compensation.
What Can A Close Family Member Recover in a Colorado Wrongful Death Claim?
A successful wrongful death claim against a careless or reckless party helps the families of fatally injured victims gain a sense of closure, financial accountability, and justice. Wrongful death claims sometimes result from car accidents, premises liability cases, workplace fatalities, defective products, and medical malpractice. Common damages available in wrongful death claims include:
- Medical expenses incurred before the death
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Lost income for the number of working years the decedent would have had left to them had they not died
- Lost benefits such as insurance and retirement contributions
- Loss of household services
- Loss of consortium
- Emotional grief and anguish
Wrongful death claims must be filed within two years of the date of the death except in circumstances such as a hit-and-run accident. When the perpetrator isn’t identified or apprehended until some time after the accident. In these cases, the statute of limitations extends to four years for wrongful death claims.
Do Family Members Have to Go to Court for a Wrongful Death Claim?
Most wrongful death cases are resolved through a settlement from the appropriate insurance company. For instance, auto insurance after a car accident fatality or malpractice insurance after a wrongful death from medical negligence. Only when the at-fault party’s insurance fails to make an adequate settlement offer does the case require litigation in court. This occurs in less than 10% of wrongful death claims.
Contact A Westminster Wrongful Death Attorney If You Need Help With A Wrongful Death Claim
If you or a loved one has perished due to an accident or the negligence of another, contact a Westminster wrongful death attorney from Ciancio Ciancio Brown, P.C. We can help you during this difficult time and ensure your rights are protected. Contact us today.