A wrongful death is an unnecessary death that has been caused by the negligence of another person. Examples of wrongful death cases are deaths caused by a drunk, reckless or careless driver, deaths caused by the manufacture of an unsafe, defective or dangerous product, or even deaths caused by a physician who fails to diagnose a treatable disease.
Wrongful death lawsuits or claims are generally filed by family members or beneficiaries of the person who died unnecessarily. Each state in the U.S. has enacted wrongful death laws that specifically address the rights that surviving family members will have if a wrongful death occurs in these dates.
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Who May Bring A Wrongful Death Claim
Colorado 's wrongful death law is found in the Colorado Revised Statues (C.R.S. 13-21-201 et.seq.) These laws specifically identify which family members are eligible to bring a wrongful death claim in Colorado and provide time limits for bringing these claims. In Colorado, the surviving spouse has the exclusive standing to bring a claim within the first year after the death, and both the surviving spouse and children have standing to bring a claim thereafter. If there is no spouse, then the children may bring a claim; if there is no spouse and no children, then and only then may the parents of the deceased bring a claim. In wrongful death cases in Colorado, there is a two year statute of limitation, meaning that a claim must be brought within two years of the death.
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Damages
Colorado's Wrongful Death Act specifies the kinds of damages that can be recovered. For some types of damages, Colorado's wrongful death laws provide for limits on the maximum amount of damages that can be recovered. Colorado law specifies that wrongful death claims may be made to obtain monetary damages to cover the earnings the deceased person would have provided. Other damages that may be recovered include:
- Loss of support
- Lost benefits, such as insurance, from the death
- Loss of love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection or care suffered by the survivor of the decedent
- In some cases, punitive damages, intended to punish wrongdoers and prevent them from harming others
Under Colorado law, a survival action may be brought by the deceased person’s estate to recover expenses associated with the death such as funeral expenses and medical expenses accrued from the time of the incident to the time of death.
Some common causes of wrongful death include:
At Bachus & Schanker, LLC, we are experienced at handling wrongful death and survival claims with compassion and sensitivity. We understand the difficulty in discussing and working through the death of a loved one. We will make sure you have the support and resources you need during the legal process. The team of experienced attorneys at Bachus & Schanker, LLC will fight aggressively to make sure you have the resources you need to cope with such tragedies and seek the justice you deserve to take care of you and your family now and into the future.
If you believe that one of your family members is the victim of wrongful death, contact the experienced team of wrongful death attorneys at Bachus & Schanker, LLC in Denver, Colorado. We are prepared to act immediately to investigate your potential claim.
If you would like more information on this topic, call us at 303-893-9800 or toll free nationwide at 1(877) 653-9800, or use "Do I Have A Case?".
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