Did you lose a family member in a fatal accident in Pueblo, CO?
At Ganderton Law Personal Injury Law Firm, we represent families pursuing full recovery after a death caused by another party’s negligence.
If you have lost a family member because of someone else’s negligence in Pueblo, the right to bring a claim belongs to particular relatives in a particular order, and that order shifts once a year has passed since the death. Our Pueblo, CO wrongful death lawyer handles fatal injury claims for surviving spouses, children, and parents throughout Pueblo County, drawing on 20 years of plaintiff-side practice. There is no charge to talk with us and no fee unless we recover. Families are welcome to call before deciding anything.
Wrongful Death Lawyer Pueblo, CO
A wrongful death lawyer brings the civil claim that a person could have brought had they survived, on behalf of the family the law recognizes as entitled to bring it. The work involves proving the same negligence any injury case requires, then documenting losses that reach across decades rather than months.
The City of Pueblo recorded 23 traffic deaths in 2023, placing it fourth among Colorado cities behind only Denver, Aurora, and Colorado Springs, according to CDOT year-end data. Fatal crashes are not the only source of these claims, but in Pueblo County they are the most common one.
Types of Wrongful Death Cases We Handle in Pueblo
Any incident that would have supported an injury claim can support a wrongful death claim when the person does not survive it. The categories below reflect what actually arrives at our office from Pueblo County.
- Car accidents. Head-on, intersection, and high-speed crashes on the highways and arterials running through the city. These claims usually require reconstruction, because the person who could explain what happened cannot.
- Motorcycle accidents. Riders die in collisions that would injure a driver, and the defense reliably opens by questioning the rider’s speed or helmet use rather than the driver’s turn.
- Truck accidents. Fatal collisions with tractor-trailers bring motor carriers and their insurers into the case, along with driver logs and telematics that get overwritten on a schedule.
- Hit-and-runs. When a driver leaves the scene, recovery often depends on uninsured motorist coverage while the criminal investigation runs separately.
- Bus accidents. Public and private carriers operate under different rules and different notice requirements, which affects how quickly a family has to act.
- Slip and falls. Falls from height, stairway collapses, and hazards on commercial property that prove fatal, particularly for older adults.
- Dog bites. Attacks that kill a child or an older adult, where liability often runs through a homeowner’s or renter’s policy.
- Brain injuries. Deaths that follow days or weeks after a head injury, where causation has to be traced back through the medical record to the original incident.
- Workplace and jobsite hazards. Fatal incidents involving equipment, falls, and site conditions, sometimes alongside a workers’ compensation claim and sometimes against a third party.
- Defective products and drowning incidents. Deaths caused by equipment that failed, by a product that was unreasonably dangerous, or by inadequate supervision and barriers around water.
Why Choose Ganderton Law Personal Injury Law Firm as my Wrongful Death Lawyer in Pueblo, CO?
Familiar With How These Cases Move in Pueblo County
Wrongful death claims that do not resolve are filed in the Pueblo Combined Court, which serves the 10th Judicial District. Knowing how a venue schedules and handles civil matters affects when to press a carrier and when to wait. Families should also know that the Pueblo County Coroner’s Office investigates deaths with any unnatural cause, and that its findings frequently become the foundation of the civil claim. That report should be requested early. We handle these matters on contingency, so a family carries no cost while the case is built.
Results in Catastrophic Injury Claims
David Ganderton has spent 20 years representing injured people and their families and is licensed in Colorado, Wyoming, and Florida, with a J.D. from Stetson University College of Law. Clients have recovered millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts, including outcomes in the most severe injury matters:
- $2.25 million in policy limits for a motorcycle collision
- $1.6 million in policy limits for a crash requiring spinal surgery
- $335,000 for a motorcycle and pedestrian collision causing traumatic brain injury
Every family’s circumstances differ, and no prior outcome sets a number for a new case. That experience does shape how a personal injury lawyer in Pueblo, CO approaches a fatal-injury file from the first week.
What Is Important to Understand About a Wrongful Death Case?
What Are Important Aspects of a Wrongful Death Case?
Standing comes first. Colorado sets an order for who may bring the claim: in the first year after a death, the surviving spouse holds that right, with heirs able to join on the spouse’s written election. In the second year, the spouse and the heirs may both file. Where there is no spouse and no children, parents may bring the action. As of January 2025, siblings may also file in limited circumstances where no other eligible party exists.
Two other realities shape these cases. Criminal proceedings, when they exist, run on a separate track and produce no compensation for a family. And a survival action, brought by the estate for losses the deceased person sustained before death, often runs alongside the wrongful death claim rather than replacing it. Proving negligence works the same way it does in any injury case, with the evidentiary burden falling on the family.
Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Wrongful Death Cases
Liability requires the same showing as any negligence claim: a duty of care, a breach of it, and a death caused by that breach. Colorado also reduces recovery by the deceased person’s share of fault and bars it entirely once that share equals or exceeds the defendant’s, which is why fault gets contested even in cases that look clear.
Recoverable damages generally include:
- Medical expenses for the final injury or illness
- Funeral and burial costs
- Lost financial support the deceased would have provided
- Loss of companionship, guidance, and consortium
- The survivors’ grief and emotional suffering
Colorado caps noneconomic damages in wrongful death actions. House Bill 24-1472 set that limit at $2.125 million for actions filed on or after January 1, 2025, with inflation adjustments beginning in 2028. Economic losses are not subject to that cap. How the recovery is divided among surviving family members is a separate question, and dividing wrongful death settlements can become contested where relationships were complicated.
Most Dangerous Locations for Fatal Accidents in Pueblo, CO
Fatal crashes concentrate on a handful of Pueblo routes. City streets and arterials:
- Northern Avenue, a heavily traveled commercial corridor with frequent turning conflicts
- Pueblo Boulevard, carrying high volumes at speed around the west and south of the city
- 4th Street and Santa Fe Avenue, where downtown traffic meets rail and industrial crossings
- Prairie Avenue, mixing residential access with through movement
Highways and high-speed corridors:
- Interstate 25, the north-south spine through Pueblo and the site of the region’s most severe crashes
- U.S. Highway 50, an east-west route carrying regional and freight traffic
- State Highway 47, connecting the north side with speeds that leave little margin for error
What Is The Wrongful Death Case Timeline?
Most wrongful death claims in Colorado carry a two-year deadline running from the date of death rather than the date of the incident. Certain circumstances change that period, including deaths arising from motor vehicle crashes and from hit-and-run or vehicular homicide, so the applicable deadline should be confirmed early rather than assumed. Colorado’s limitations provisions set each period.
A case typically moves through these stages:
- Investigation, including the coroner’s findings, law enforcement reports, and scene evidence
- Confirmation of who holds the right to file and whether an estate needs opening
- Identification of every applicable insurance policy and responsible party
- Demand and negotiation with the carriers
- Suit in Pueblo County, followed by discovery, mediation, and trial if the case does not resolve
What Should You Bring to Your Wrongful Death Consultation?
Nothing is required for a first conversation, and families often have very little in hand. These help when they exist:
- The death certificate and any coroner or autopsy report
- Police or crash reports, or the responding agency and case number
- Insurance information for the deceased and for the responsible party
- Medical bills and records from the final treatment
- Documentation of the deceased person’s income and benefits
We will explain who holds the right to file, what the claim is likely to involve, and what the realistic timeline looks like. Consultations are unhurried, and families are welcome to bring whoever they want present.
Reach Out to Ganderton Law Personal Injury Law Firm to Schedule a Consultation
Evidence in a fatal-injury case is at its most complete in the weeks right after the death, before vehicles are released and records begin to age. Contact us for a free consultation with our Pueblo wrongful death lawyer. We will walk through standing, liability, and available coverage, and answer the questions families usually have first. No fee unless we recover compensation. Ganderton Law Personal Injury Law Firm returns calls the same business day whenever possible.
Wrongful Death Statistics in Pueblo
The City of Pueblo recorded 21 traffic deaths in 2025, the same count as the year before. Pueblo County as a whole did worse. County fatalities climbed to 40, a 60 percent jump in a single year, while the statewide total rose only 2 percent to 701 deaths, according to CDOT’s 2025 fatality data. Our Pueblo wrongful death attorneys see that increase in our own caseload.
Crashes are not the only source of these claims. Falls, workplace incidents, and drownings account for a steady share of the fatal cases we handle in Pueblo, CO. Pueblo County had the lowest seat belt use rate in Colorado as recently as 2022, and impaired driving deaths statewide rose again last year.
- 21 traffic deaths inside Pueblo city limits in 2025, per CDOT’s year-end reporting
- 40 traffic deaths across Pueblo County in 2025, up 60 percent from 2024
- 235 impaired driving deaths statewide in 2025, an 11 percent increase, a pattern that drunk driving crashes in Pueblo reflect
- 162 motorcyclist deaths across Colorado in 2024, up 23 percent from 2023, according to CDOT’s 2024 report
- 5,070 workers died from job-related injuries nationwide in 2024, per BLS fatality data
Mistakes That Can Damage Your Wrongful Death Claim
Most of the damage we see in Pueblo wrongful death cases happens in the first sixty days, before the family has spoken with anyone.
- Giving a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurer. Adjusters call within days, and the call is recorded to build the carrier’s file. A grieving spouse guessing at speeds, or saying the deceased “probably didn’t see” the other car, hands the carrier a comparative fault argument. Refer those calls to your Pueblo wrongful death lawyer.
- Cashing the first check. A carrier that pays quickly is usually trying to close the claim below its exposure. Depositing the check, or signing the release that comes with it, can end the matter permanently. When the insurance company sends a check it should be set aside unsigned.
- Letting the vehicle go. Cars are released from impound and sold for salvage within weeks. A preservation letter to the tow yard and the carrier costs nothing and holds that evidence.
- Posting about the death online. Memorial posts are natural. Posts about fault, the other driver, or the family’s finances get screenshotted and used. Defense counsel searches social media in every fatal case.
- Filing under the wrong name. Colorado’s standing rules decide who may bring the claim in each year after the death. A child filing in year one without the spouse’s written election, or a sibling filing where a parent survives, can get the case dismissed. A wrongful death attorney in Pueblo, CO confirms standing before anything is filed.
- Missing the two-year window. Most Colorado wrongful death claims must be filed within two years of the death. Families sometimes wait for the criminal case to finish, and criminal cases can run past that mark. Settlement talks do not pause the deadline. Only a filed complaint does.
- Assuming the at-fault driver’s policy is the only coverage. Underinsured motorist coverage on the family’s own auto policy, a household policy, an employer’s commercial policy, and umbrella coverage all come into play. Policy limits often decide what a case is worth more than fault does.
- Treating a private property death as a lesser case. Fatal pedestrian strikes in shopping center lots and falls on commercial property support full wrongful death claims. A Pueblo parking lot accident with a fatal outcome is investigated the same way a highway crash is.
Pueblo Wrongful Death Lawyer FAQs
How much does a Pueblo wrongful death lawyer cost?
Nothing up front. We work on contingency, so the fee is a percentage of the recovery, and case costs such as reconstruction and records are advanced by our firm. If there is no recovery, there is no fee.
Is the initial consultation free?
Yes. It can take place at our Pueblo office on Bonforte Boulevard, by phone, or at a family member’s home when travel is difficult. We explain who may file, what the claim will likely involve, and whether the case fits our firm.
How long does a wrongful death case take in Pueblo County?
Claims that settle with the carrier often resolve within eight to eighteen months. Cases that proceed to suit in the Pueblo Combined Court take longer, since discovery, depositions, and mediation are scheduled around the court’s civil docket.
Will our family have to go to trial?
Most do not. The majority of wrongful death claims we handle resolve through negotiation or mediation. We still prepare every case as if it will be tried, because carriers pay more to families whose wrongful death attorney in Pueblo, CO is ready to try the case.
What if my family member was partly at fault?
Colorado’s comparative fault rule reduces the recovery by the deceased person’s share of fault and bars it entirely at 50 percent or more. Carriers assign fault aggressively in fatal cases because the person who could dispute it is gone.
Can we bring a claim if our relative was riding a motorcycle?
Yes. Fatal motorcycle crashes draw immediate defense arguments about speed and helmet use. Neither ends a claim by itself. Both get answered with scene evidence, witness accounts, and the medical record.
Does a criminal charge against the driver affect our claim?
The criminal case runs on a separate track and pays nothing to the family. A conviction can help prove liability in the civil case, and an acquittal does not end it, since the civil burden of proof is lower.
Does an estate need to be opened before we file?
Not always. The wrongful death claim belongs to the surviving family, not the estate. A survival claim for losses the deceased person suffered before death does require a personal representative, so we often recommend opening an estate in Pueblo County.
How do we choose between wrongful death lawyers in Pueblo?
Ask who will handle the file day to day, how many fatal cases the attorney has resolved, and whether the firm tries cases. The questions to ask before hiring apply doubly here, because a wrongful death claim cannot be refiled once it is mishandled.
Can a wrongful death lawyer help if the death happened outside Pueblo County?
Yes. Our firm handles fatal-injury claims throughout southern Colorado and files where venue is proper, whether that is Pueblo, Fremont, Huerfano, or Otero County.
Local Information for Pueblo, CO Wrongful Death Cases
Colorado Legal Resources for Wrongful Death Cases
Colorado’s wrongful death rules sit in the Colorado Revised Statutes, and the official text is free to read. These are the places to start.
- The Office of Legislative Legal Services publishes the current Colorado Revised Statutes and explains how to download each title.
- Title 13, Article 80 sets the filing deadlines, including the two-year limit on most wrongful death actions, within the Title 13 statutes.
- Title 13, Article 21, Part 1 contains Colorado’s comparative negligence rule, which reduces or bars recovery based on the deceased person’s share of fault.
- Title 13, Article 21, Part 2 governs damages for death by negligence, including the noneconomic damages cap and the rule that only one civil action may be brought for any one decedent.
Important Local Resources for Pueblo Wrongful Death Cases
Records from these Pueblo agencies form the foundation of most fatal-injury claims.
- Pueblo Police Department: (719) 553-2502. Investigates fatal crashes inside city limits and releases crash reports.
- Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office: (719) 583-6125. Handles deaths in unincorporated Pueblo County, including Pueblo West.
- Colorado State Patrol Troop 2D: (719) 288-2636. Investigates fatal crashes on I-25, U.S. 50, and the state highways around Pueblo.
- Pueblo Vital Records Office: (719) 583-4555. Issues certified death certificates with same-day service at the 9th Street office.
- UCHealth Parkview Medical Center: (719) 584-4000. The region’s trauma center, where most final treatment records originate.
Ganderton Law Personal Injury Law Firm lists these resources for convenience only and does not endorse, and is not affiliated with, any of them.
About Ganderton Law Personal Injury Law Firm
Founder David Ganderton has been named a Top 100 Trial Lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers and has been voted Best Personal Injury Attorney, Best Lawyer, and Best Law Firm in the Colorado Springs Gazette’s Best of the Springs awards, community-voted recognition. Outside the office he supports The Exodus Road, Safe Families for Children, and Denver Kids, and serves as an ambassador for the Tri-Lakes Chamber of Commerce. Our firm recovered $350,000 for a client whose fall on commercial property required spinal surgery, the kind of premises case that becomes a wrongful death claim when the injured person does not survive.
What Our Clients Say
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“David Ganderton and his team were really amazing in taking on a case they didn’t know for sure we would win. They worked diligently to help us and we ended up winning. Their compassion and family oriented mentality helped us know we wouldn’t be treated like just another number. Though our case was small they treated us like we were their number one client. Thank you David and Sean for the amazing work you do! We will forever be grateful.” – Meggan Norman
Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.
Additional Resources for Pueblo Wrongful Death Cases
- Criminal Cases vs. Wrongful Death Claims
- The Cap on Pain and Suffering Damages
- How Long Colorado Personal Injury Claims Take
- Proving Lost Income in a Colorado Injury Case
- Why Juries See the Full Medical Bill
Contact Ganderton Law Personal Injury Law Firm
The records a fatal-injury claim depends on are easiest to gather in the first months after a death. If you lost a spouse, parent, or child to someone else’s negligence in Pueblo, CO, our team can review what happened, explain who holds the right to file, and tell you whether the claim is worth pursuing. There is no fee unless we recover compensation, and the first meeting is free. Contact us to schedule a consultation with a Pueblo, CO wrongful death attorney.
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