Losing a family member is hard enough when it happens naturally. When the death was caused by someone else’s carelessness, grief comes with questions about accountability and about how the family moves forward financially. Colorado law gives certain family members the right to bring a wrongful death claim.
Pursuing it isn’t just about money; it’s also about holding someone accountable. Ridder Law represents families in Denver through wrongful death claims with the care these cases require. When you’re ready to talk, we’re here. Reach out to our Colorado personal injury attorney today to schedule your free case evaluation.
Families dealing with a wrongful death need a firm that delivers results and treats them like people. Ours is built to do both. Here’s what we offer:
- More than $50 million recovered for clients and families over 14 years of practice.
- Personal access to your lawyer, not a paralegal or case manager.
- Available 24/7 and you can call, text, email, or meet in person with your attorney throughout the case.
Your family’s focus should be on each other. Ours will be on the case, and you’ll always know exactly where it stands.
Meet Attorney Theodore “Ted” Ridder
Attorney Theodore Ridder is a lifelong Colorado resident. He knows the roads Aurora drivers use every day and understands the traffic patterns, construction zones, and commercial routes where serious truck crashes are most common.
When a serious truck accident happens in Aurora, you need a lawyer who understands both Colorado law and the realities of driving throughout the Aurora–Denver metro area. Ridder Law is a Colorado-born, Colorado-based firm that has spent more than a decade fighting for injured victims across the Front Range.
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Why Denver Wrongful Death Claims Require an Attorney
A wrongful death claim asks a family to handle complex litigation during the worst period of their lives. An attorney takes on the legal part that no grieving family should have to manage.
- Colorado law restricts who can file a wrongful death claim and when; an attorney will help you determine who is eligible to file.
- Calculating lifetime economic loss takes financial experts, and an attorney retains and works with them.
- An attorney handles every conversation with the insurer so the family never has to negotiate the value of their loved one’s life with an adjuster.
No settlement brings anyone back or makes up for the loss of your loved one, and no lawyer would claim otherwise. What a claim does is hold the responsible party accountable and protect the family’s financial future, and an attorney helps make sure this is done correctly.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Colorado?
Colorado law doesn’t let just anyone bring a wrongful death claim; the right belongs to specific family members, in a specific order. Understanding where your family fits is the first legal question in every case.
- The surviving spouse holds the exclusive right to file during the first year after the death, though the spouse can choose to allow the children to join the claim.
(a) In the first year after such death:
(I) By the spouse of the deceased
(II) Upon the written election of the spouse, by the spouse and the heir or heirs of the deceased;
- The children may file in the second year after the death, or in the first year if the spouse permits it. If there is no surviving spouse, the children’s right begins immediately.
- The parents may bring the claim when the person who died left no spouse and no children.
- The estate can separately pursue what’s called a survival action, which covers certain losses the deceased person’s estate suffered, and it runs alongside the family’s wrongful death claim.
These rules are strict, and filing by the wrong person or at the wrong time can jeopardize the claim.
What Compensation Can a Denver Family Recover?
Colorado allows families to recover for both the financial and the personal dimensions of their loss. A wrongful death claim can include:
Economic Losses
These are the income and benefits the person would have provided over their lifetime, along with funeral and burial expenses. For a working parent or spouse, this is often calculated across decades and requires financial experts to establish properly.
Non-Economic Losses
The grief, sorrow, and loss of companionship the family has suffered may be compensable. These non-economic losses recognize the real, daily impact of an absent loved one, covering emotional damages that, while harder to measure, are a significant part of what is lost in every wrongful death.
Punitive Damages
These are available in limited situations where the conduct that caused the death was more than careless. The defendant’s actions must have involved fraud, malice, or willful and wanton conduct.
No amount of money captures what a family has truly lost, but you shouldn’t have to bear the financial burden of losing a loved one when someone else was responsible for it.
How Long Does a Family Have to File in Colorado?
Colorado generally gives families two years from the date of death to file a wrongful death lawsuit, and the deadline is applied strictly.
(1) The following civil actions, regardless of the theory upon which suit is brought, or against whom suit is brought, must be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrues, and not thereafter:
- (a) Tort actions, including but not limited to actions for negligence, trespass, malicious abuse of process, malicious prosecution, outrageous conduct, interference with relationships, and tortious breach of contract; except that this paragraph (a) does not apply to any tort action arising out of the use or operation of a motor vehicle as set forth in section 13-80-101 (1)(n);
- (b) All actions for strict liability, absolute liability, or failure to instruct or warn;
- (c) All actions, regardless of the theory asserted, against any veterinarian;
- (d) All actions for wrongful death, except as described in subsection (2) of this section;
Two years passes faster than it might seem in these cases.
The investigation has to establish fault, and the economic loss calculations take time. Certain cases run on different clocks entirely, including claims involving government entities, which require formal notice within a much shorter window.
None of this is meant to pressure a grieving family; it’s meant to explain why talking to a lawyer early protects the choice to file later. Getting advice doesn’t commit you to anything, it just makes sure you have all the options you deserve.
Talk to a Denver Wrongful Death Lawyer About Your Family’s Rights
When you reach out to Ridder Law, there’s no requirement to get a case started. Your consultation is free and we’re just here to have a conversation with you about your options moving forward. Our team explains who in your family can bring the claim, what deadlines apply, and what pursuing it would actually involve, so you can make decisions with real information. Contact us when you’re ready.