When you work with our experienced Boulder personal injury lawyers, you get more than a law firm that files paperwork for a wrongful death claim. You get a team that takes the time to learn who your loved one was, investigates why this happened, and uses Colorado’s Wrongful Death Act to pursue a result that reflects both the financial impact on your family and the profound human loss behind it. We invite you to schedule a free initial consultation to discuss how we can help with your case—with no upfront costs.
What Boesen Law Does for Boulder Wrongful Death Families
Wrongful death cases sit at the intersection of grief, complex insurance issues, and detailed Colorado statutes. They often involve more than one responsible party, overlapping policies, and a mix of wrongful death and survival claims, all at a time when your family’s emotional bandwidth is already stretched thin.
Reach out to our law firm for a no-cost, no-obligation consultation today. Call our personal injury lawyers in the state of Colorado at (303) 999-9999 or contact us online.
Boesen Law’s role is to steady that process and carry the legal load for you. In a typical Boulder wrongful death matter, we:
- Run a fact-driven investigation: We collect police and incident reports, medical and autopsy records, OSHA or safety inspection documents if applicable, photographs, videos, and witness statements. When the facts are disputed, we work with accident reconstruction experts, engineers, and medical specialists to piece together what really happened and who had the power to prevent it.
- Identify every responsible party and policy: A single death may implicate a negligent driver, a trucking company, a property owner, a contractor, a product manufacturer, or a healthcare provider. We examine contracts, corporate structures, and insurance records to locate all potential defendants and coverage, rather than stopping at the most obvious policy.
- Map Colorado’s wrongful death rules onto your family’s situation: Colorado’s Wrongful Death Act, including Colorado Revised Statutes section 13-21-201, determines who may file, when they may file, and what damages are available. We explain how those provisions apply to your family structure in plain language and help you decide who should be named as plaintiff and how the claim should be framed.
- Work with financial and vocational experts: Economists and vocational experts help us project lost earnings, benefits, and household services over the decades your loved one would likely have continued to contribute. Their analysis becomes the backbone of the economic portion of your damages.
- Present the human loss with care: Colorado law allows compensation for grief, loss of companionship, and the day-to-day changes your family now faces. We spend time learning about your loved one’s role in the family, their routines, and the relationships they nurtured, so that story can be told respectfully in negotiation or, if necessary, in court.
From the beginning, we handle communications with insurers and defense counsel, track every deadline, and protect you from rushed settlement pressure so you can focus on being with the people who need you most. Don’t wait to get the justice you deserve. Contact a Boulder wrongful death lawyer today to learn more about your rights and best options for pursuing compensation.
Who Can Bring a Wrongful Death Claim in Colorado?
Colorado does not allow every family member to file a wrongful death lawsuit at any time. Instead, the Wrongful Death Act creates a priority system that depends on the time since death and the decedent’s relationships.
Under C.R.S. 13-21-201, the right to file generally works like this:
- In the first year after death, the surviving spouse usually has the exclusive right to bring the claim, with limited options to include or authorize children or a designated beneficiary.
- If there is no surviving spouse, children or, in some circumstances, a designated beneficiary may be able to file sooner.
- In the second year, the right to file may expand to include combinations of spouse, children, designated beneficiaries, and sometimes parents when there is no spouse or descendants.
- Recent legislative changes have opened the door in narrow situations for siblings to file when there are no closer qualifying relatives, reflecting a broader recognition of how families are structured today.
At the same time, only one wrongful death action may be brought for a single decedent, and the estate may have its own separate survival claim to recover certain damages belonging to the person who died, such as medical bills and lost earnings before death.
In practice, we sit down with you, lay out your family tree and legal relationships, and then propose a structure that respects those rules, protects everyone’s rights, and minimizes conflict among relatives at an already difficult time.
Events That Commonly Lead to Wrongful Death Cases in Boulder
Wrongful death cases in Boulder often arise from preventable incidents where someone’s carelessness or reckless behavior costs a life. While no two situations are identical, certain types of accidents and failures appear more frequently in our practice than others.
Some of the most common scenarios in Boulder include:
- Serious motor vehicle and pedestrian crashes
- Outdoor and recreational incidents
- Workplace and industrial injuries
- Medical negligence and long-term care failures
- Defective products and unsafe property conditions
Behind each of these scenarios is a common thread: someone had a duty to act with reasonable care and failed to do so, and a family is now living with the consequences of that choice.
Over the years, Boesen Law has secured millions of dollars in compensation for families across Colorado, including numerous settlements and verdicts in the seven-figure range. We invite you to review examples of our results and request a consultation to discuss related cases that can help set expectations for yours.
Damages Available in a Boulder Wrongful Death Case
A wrongful death claim cannot restore the person you lost, but it can address the financial and emotional fallout the law recognizes so your family is not left to shoulder it alone. Colorado statutes spell out how these damages work, and your wrongful death lawyer at Boesen Law will explain everything in detail so you know exactly what to expect. The damages we pursue typically fall into these categories:
Economic losses
These are the measurable financial harms your family has suffered, such as:
- Income your loved one would likely have earned and contributed over their working lifetime.
- Employment benefits, including health insurance, retirement contributions, and other job-related perks.
- The value of household services and caregiving they provided, like childcare, elder care, transportation, and home maintenance.
- Funeral, burial, or cremation expenses and related costs.
Economists and vocational experts help us project these figures based on age, education, work history, and career trajectory, grounding the claim in data rather than estimates.
Non-economic losses
Colorado also recognizes that much of what you lose in a wrongful death case is not captured on a spreadsheet. Non-economic damages can address:
- Grief and emotional distress.
- Loss of companionship, love, guidance, and consortium.
- Loss of the comfort and enjoyment of shared life experiences.
These damages are governed by C.R.S. 13-21-203, which sets a cap for many wrongful death cases, and interact with the general non-economic damages limitations. The Colorado Secretary of State regularly publishes updated cap amounts to reflect inflation, and recent legislation has significantly increased those caps for newer cases.
Punitive damages
In rare cases where a defendant’s conduct shows fraud, malice, or willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others, Colorado law may allow exemplary (punitive) damages designed to punish and deter especially egregious behavior. Whether to pursue these claims depends on the facts, statutes, and strategic considerations in your specific case.
Why Families in Boulder Turn to Boesen Law
In a wrongful death case, you are asking a law firm not only to know the law, but to carry your family’s story into conference rooms and courtrooms with care. Families across Colorado choose Boesen Law because:
- Our focus is on serious injury and wrongful death
We regularly represent families after fatal crashes, workplace incidents, dangerous property conditions, and medical negligence, bringing a depth of experience to the complex mix of liability, damages, and insurance issues these cases present. - We have a record of meaningful results
The firm’s case results include significant recoveries in high-stakes personal injury and wrongful death cases. While every matter is unique, those outcomes reflect a willingness to invest in detailed investigation, expert testimony, and trial preparation when it is needed to protect a family’s interests. - We have the resources to build a complete case
Wrongful death litigation can require multiple experts, thousands of pages of records, and careful economic modeling. Our team has the infrastructure to manage that work and face well-funded defendants and insurers. - We communicate in plain language and respect your pace
You do not need legal jargon. You need clear explanations, realistic expectations, and the space to make decisions in your own time. We keep you updated, answer questions directly, and let you lead on critical choices like settlement versus trial.
Our goal in every Boulder wrongful death case is simple: honor your loved one’s life, protect your family’s future, and guide you through a process you never expected to face.
Talk With a Boulder Wrongful Death Lawyer
No verdict or settlement can replace the person you lost. What a wrongful death claim can do is create accountability and help provide the financial stability your family needs to move forward, from covering final expenses and replacing income to acknowledging the emotional weight of the loss.
If you have lost a loved one in Boulder and are unsure where to turn, you can connect with us through our contact us page to schedule a free consultation. We will listen to your story, explain how Colorado wrongful death law applies, and outline a strategy tailored to your family’s needs. You will not owe attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a wrongful death case in Colorado?
Under C.R.S. 13-21-202, a wrongful death occurs when a person dies because of another party’s wrongful act, neglect, or default, in circumstances where the decedent could have brought a personal injury claim had they survived. This can include fatal car crashes, workplace incidents, medical errors, dangerous property conditions, and defective products.
How long do we have to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Boulder?
For most Colorado wrongful death cases, the statute of limitations is two years from the date of death, as set out in C.R.S. 13-21-202. Certain situations, such as specific hit-and-run crashes or claims against government entities, may alter that timing or impose additional notice requirements, but courts enforce these deadlines strictly.
Who decides how a wrongful death settlement is shared among family members?
Colorado’s wrongful death statute determines who may bring the claim, but the distribution of any settlement or verdict often depends on a combination of statute, estate planning documents, and family agreements. Courts can become involved if there is a dispute. We walk families through those rules early and help craft agreements that reflect everyone’s rights and expectations.
What is the difference between a wrongful death claim and a survival action?
A wrongful death claim compensates surviving family members for their own losses, such as grief, loss of companionship, and lost financial support. A survival action belongs to the estate under C.R.S. 13-20-101 and can address damages the decedent could have sought personally if they had lived, such as certain medical expenses and lost wages before death. Many families pursue both, with careful coordination to avoid overlapping damages.
Will our family have to go to trial?
Many wrongful death cases resolve through negotiated settlements or mediation, especially when liability is clear and damages are well documented. However, some defendants deny responsibility or refuse to offer fair compensation. Boesen Law prepares every Boulder wrongful death case as if it might go before a jury, which strengthens our position in settlement discussions. Whether to accept an offer or proceed to trial is always your decision, and we provide candid advice about the risks and potential outcomes at each stage.
Reach out to our law firm for a no-cost, no-obligation consultation today. Call our personal injury lawyers in the state of Colorado at (303) 999-9999 or contact us online.
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