Types of Wrongful Death Accidents We Represent in Colorado Springs

Our Colorado Springs Wrongful Death Lawyers stand beside local families hit by tragedy. We are there until family members receive the support they’ll need to be able to remember a loved one properly without financial worry.

There are many ways residents and visitors in Colorado Springs can end up in scary accidents. Often, someone else’s mistake is found to be the cause of a deadly incident. A driver who could have paid more attention to a crosswalk and a pedestrian trying to cross the road. A guest to a business or someone’s property where the owner didn’t take the time to repair or remove hazards.

We help families earn support after these and other tragic accidents occur:

• Fatal Traffic Collisions. Perhaps the most dangerous thing we do each day. Start up a vehicle and merge with traffic on busy routes like I-25. The speeds involved and the reckless drivers cause hundreds of tragic deaths in our area each year. It may be a driver in a car looking at a cell phone. It may be a drowsy truck driver who is going too fast to be able to stop safely. Motorcyclists can be run off the road by someone in an SUV forgetting to check mirrors. Pedestrians and Cyclists may end up with life-threatening injuries.
• Work Hazards. Some jobs are more dangerous than others, but even a negligent employer at an office job can fail to remove a deadly hazard. Other occupations like construction work, work in factories, and those who are employed in agriculture on the Eastern Plains can face life-threatening risks. Employers can be held fully liable and would have to provide families with support.
• Falls at businesses, public places, and on residential properties. A loved one may slip and fall on a hazard left out at a store like Walmart and take a deadly blow to the head. Victims may never recover from a fall down a rotting set of stairs or a deck at an apartment complex. Property and business owners, and even a city department responsible for a public building or park, may be liable. We don’t back down from taking on major corporations and nationwide chains.
• Defective products. The things we buy, have delivered, or have installed in our homes can malfunction and cause deadly consequences. Retailers and the makers of the product can be held accountable through wrongful death lawsuits.
• Medical malpractice. When hospitals and medical care providers fail to provide proper medical treatment, misdiagnose your condition, or are negligent in their care, the results can easily be fatal. We provide strong representation for the families left behind and have the resources to fight large healthcare entities.

• Deadly dog bites. Dog owners are generally responsible any time their dogs bite someone. If an attack ends someone’s life, the dog owner’s homeowners insurance provider can be held accountable. We can also help grieving parents who have lost a child to a dog bite incident demand justice.

• Drowning accidents. Hazards around a public place like Monument Valley Pool can leave owners and operators responsible for a tragic drowning. This would apply to local hotels and nearby hot springs resorts that didn’t do enough to keep visitors safe.
• The Loss of Life Due to Fires and Floods. If it’s determined that a utility company, a local government agency, or a property owner could have done more to protect victims, a wrongful death claim could help the victim’s family recover.

How Can a Lawyer Help My Family After a Wrongful Death Accident?

Property owners, small and large business owners, and others are all liable for the harm they cause to others. Motorists are responsible when they cause deadly crashes. Unfortunately, the insurance companies representing those at fault have gotten good at avoiding blame for a tragic death.

Insurance adjusters may try to blame the victim for the accident. They may try to catch the family at a weak moment and convince a spouse and children to sign off on support that doesn’t fully cover the family in the difficult years ahead.

A compassionate and experienced Colorado Springs Wrongful Death Lawyer is a protection and constant resource for the family.

These are just a few of the ways an attorney can help families force insurers to do what’s right:

• A skilled attorney investigates the deadly accident and the cause. Powerful evidence is collected to make sure an insurance company can’t change the facts of what happened.
• An attorney makes sure a wrongful death claim demands everything the family needs to cover hardships now and provides for the family in the years ahead.
• An attorney files the claim for the family and handles the frustrating process of negotiation. This gives the family as much time as possible to grieve their loss without disruption.
• A Ganderton Law Attorney is an experienced negotiator. We will be demanding the maximum amount in support possible for family members. We know the level of support insurance companies want your family to accept. We also know how much they are willing to provide if forced to. A skilled attorney can often earn families much more than they could by handling a wrongful death claim themselves.
• Hopefully, an insurer does what’s right and accepts full responsibility for your loved one’s death. If you reach a fair settlement with the insurer, the case is closed. But if you aren’t satisfied with what your family has been offered, your lawyer is ready to file a lawsuit and take an insurance company to court to recover everything the family needs.
• We work on a contingency basis, so any family can afford strong legal representation. Our wrongful death attorneys don’t get paid unless we win your family’s case. If we don’t, your family doesn’t have to pay for our services. If your case is successful, the attorney’s fee comes out of the settlement check the insurer provides to your family.

How Long Does My Family Have to File a Wrongful Death Claim?

For most types of fatal accidents, Colorado allows certain family members to wait up to two years to file a wrongful death claim against those at fault. The countdown might start on the date of the accident. But if a victim survives, but dies later from the injuries, the two years may start on the day the victim passed away.

The exception in Colorado is for cases involving a fatal hit-and-run accident. Accident claims involving a hit-and-run driver can be filed up to four years from the date of the victim’s death. This is to allow extra time if a hit-and-run driver can’t be identified immediately after an accident.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Colorado?

After a fatal accident, several family members can file a claim, but at different times. The first focus will be on getting the husband or wife of the victim the support they need.

The time periods in which beneficiaries can file a wrongful death claim depend on how many years have passed:

• In the First Year – In most cases, only the spouse has the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit in the first year after a tragic death. The spouse can also give permission to other heirs to file in that first year. If the victim wasn’t married, the children of the victim could file.
• In the Second Year – The children and other heirs of the wrongful death victim can now file a claim. The parents of the victim would only be allowed to file a claim if the victim had no spouse or other heirs. The spouses of victims can still file in this second year if they failed to file a claim in the first year.

A skilled lawyer can also help families file this claim. A lawyer can represent the entire family or can represent individual members. The lawyer would be key to making sure those at fault faced full responsibility for their actions. The lawyer also makes sure clients receive their fair share of any settlement or judgment involving a wrongful death case.

What Type of Wrongful Death Support Can Families Receive?

A wrongful death attorney prepares a claim and includes a full list of the hardships a family has been put through, and includes the hardships the family will continue to endure.

This will include some financial concerns and some of the non-economic damages that families must cope with.

These are just a few of the things that should factor into any wrongful death settlement check:

• Money to pay all funeral and burial costs
• Money to pay any remaining emergency response and medical bills
• Additional support for the emotional trauma caused by a death and the loss of care and guidance in the years ahead
• Support for parents who have lost a young child, including non-economic damages such as the companionship they will never get to enjoy in the future

Your Ganderton Law wrongful death lawyer will make sure all of these factors are provided to your satisfaction. If not, your lawyer will reject a settlement and demand more on behalf of your family.

Local Resources and Support for Grieving Colorado Springs Families

Families may need documents to prove how their loved ones died and who was responsible. They may need important records to settle estate matters.

These are a few of the contacts that may prove important for a wrongful death case:

• Car accidents: If your loved one is killed in a traffic collision, an accident report may be an important piece of evidence to prove what happened. You can request a copy of a Colorado Springs Police report at the CSPD website. You can find more about the process on our informational page.
• Coroner’s Report: Families may need evidence from an autopsy to prove the cause of a loved one’s death. Family members can contact the El Paso County Coroner’s Office by making a written or online request. You can find information about requesting a report here.

It’s understandable that family members may need someone to talk to or a group to share their thoughts with after a tragic death. Several Colorado Springs services offer care and support to family members in mourning.

• Center for Grief and Loss in Association with Pike’s Peak Hospice. This organization offers adult grief counseling in groups or individually. There are also men-only and women-only groups and support for children and teens.

There are other support services around Colorado Springs that can be found online. Many of these services are free. Please remember that some wrongful death settlements will cover the cost of mental health care during such a difficult time.

Contact a Colorado Springs Wrongful Death Attorney

After a tragic, fatal accident, families left in mourning may have to fight to hold those at fault responsible. In some cases, a lawyer can help make sure insurance companies accept 100% of the blame and that they provide full support to those left behind.

Ganderton Law supports families who have been put through tragedies. We offer a free and confidential consultation to all family members. We want to hear about your loved one and the accident that claimed their life. Then we start a full investigation into what happened and collect the evidence necessary to earn the support families will need to rebuild their lives.

If your family feels we can help them earn more in support, they don’t need to find the money to hire a lawyer. We don’t get paid unless we win the wrongful death case. Then our attorney’s fee comes out of the settlement money that an insurance company is forced to pay.