Wrongful death after a Colorado crash

Who may bring it

This is the part families are most often surprised by. It is not simply whoever was closest to the person who died.

What can be recovered

Economic loss — the support and services the person would have provided — and noneconomic loss, which Colorado caps. There is also a separate claim available to the estate for losses the person suffered before death.

Why the timing matters twice

The ordinary crash deadline applies, and on top of it the statute sequences who may sue and when. A family that waits can find the question of who is entitled to file has changed.

The Colorado rules that apply

Colorado limits who may bring a wrongful death claim: the surviving spouse, then the decedent’s heirs, meaning lineal descendants rather than parents, with parents able to sue for an unmarried minor who left no descendants. C.R.S. § 13-21-201(1) verified 2026-09-11

In the first year after a death, a Colorado wrongful death claim may be brought by the surviving spouse, by the heirs only on the spouse’s written election, or, where there is no spouse, by the heirs or a designated beneficiary. In the second year the spouse, the heirs, or both together may bring it. C.R.S. § 13-21-201(1) verified 2026-09-14

For civil actions filed on or after 1 January 2025, Colorado’s cap on noneconomic damages rose to $1,500,000, and the wrongful death cap to $2,125,000, with inflation adjustments every two years from 2028. HB24-1472, amending C.R.S. § 13-21-102.5 verified 2026-09-11

In Colorado, a claim for injury or property damage arising out of the use or operation of a motor vehicle must be brought within three years. C.R.S. § 13-80-101(1)(n) verified 2026-09-11