Wrongful Death Investigations in Colorado

01The statute

Who May Bring a Colorado Wrongful Death Claim, and When

Colorado's wrongful death statute, C.R.S. § 13-21-202, allows a claim when a death is caused by a wrongful act, neglect or default that would have entitled the person to sue had they lived. Section 13-21-201 then controls who may file. In the first year after the death, generally only the surviving spouse may sue, though the spouse may elect in writing to bring the heirs in; if there is no spouse, the heirs or a designated beneficiary may sue. In the second year, the spouse, the heirs or the designated beneficiary may file. Parents may sue for an unmarried decedent with no descendants.

These rules matter to the investigation because they decide who the client is, which can require locating a missing family member with standing, and how quickly work must begin. Under C.R.S. § 13-80-102(1)(d), wrongful death actions generally must be commenced within two years, with a four-year period in subsection (2) for certain claims involving vehicular homicide combined with leaving the scene. Vehicle cases may raise separate limitation questions, which counsel must resolve. Our Colorado investigators plan the evidence work around whichever date counsel sets, and a short investigative consulting call can prioritize the first tasks.

• Year one: generally the surviving spouse controls the claim
• Year two: spouse, heirs or designated beneficiary
• Parents for unmarried decedents without descendants
• Generally two years to file under § 13-80-102(1)(d)

02Damages and fault

The 2025 Damages Cap and Colorado's Comparative Fault Rule

HB24-1472 substantially raised the noneconomic damages cap for wrongful death under C.R.S. § 13-21-203. Published summaries from defense and industry sources report a cap of $2,125,000 for suits filed on or after January 1, 2025, up from $679,990, with inflation adjustments every two years beginning in 2028, and no cap where the death resulted from a felonious killing. Counsel should confirm the figure that applies to a specific filing date. Higher exposure means both sides now invest more in the factual record earlier, and our attorney services are built for that.

Fault allocation can matter as much as the cap. Under C.R.S. § 13-21-111, which expressly reaches negligence actions for death, recovery is allowed only when the claimant's side was less negligent than the defendant, and damages are reduced by the claimant's percentage of fault. That makes the decedent's own conduct a central defense question: speed, impairment, seat belt use, footwear on an icy walk, or whether a worker followed a site procedure documented through workplace surveillance. We investigate those facts as carefully as the defendant's conduct, because a surprise at deposition is worse than an honest early answer. Toxicology questions sometimes connect to our drug overdose investigations.

03Roadway deaths

Fatal Crashes on I-25, I-70 and Mountain Passes

Many Colorado wrongful death cases begin on the highway. I-25 carries the Front Range from Trinidad through Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Denver and Fort Collins, and I-70 crosses the Continental Divide through the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel, whose west portal sits at 11,158 feet, before descending through Vail Pass and Glenwood Canyon. Traction and chain law conditions apply on the I-70 mountain corridor from September through May, and commercial vehicles over 16,000 pounds must carry chains on several mountain routes. Whether a driver or carrier complied can become a liability question, often explored through our insurance claim investigations.

Crash evidence disappears quickly. Businesses and some agencies overwrite camera footage, tow yards release or salvage vehicles, and witnesses who stopped briefly on a mountain shoulder are rarely identified in a report. We canvass for witnesses, identify nearby cameras, photograph the scene and roadway features, and help counsel preserve vehicle event data and electronic logging records before they are lost. Mountain roads also complicate timing: closures and weather can delay a scene visit, which we explain up front. Southern Colorado crashes are covered through our Pueblo investigators.

04Workplace deaths

Oil Fields, Construction Sites, Resorts and Plants

Worksite deaths raise layered questions about employers, contractors, equipment makers and property owners. Weld County's oil and gas operations involve multiple contractors on a single pad, rotating crews and equipment that may be repaired or removed soon after an incident. Front Range construction, from Douglas County subdivisions to Denver high-rises, involves general contractors, subcontractors and inspectors whose roles must be sorted out. Our Greeley investigators are familiar with how field crews and contractors document their work.

Mountain recreation deaths have their own record. Ski areas, outfitters and lodging operators in Summit, Eagle and Pitkin counties may have incident reports, patrol logs and waivers that become central, and employees and guests often leave the area within weeks. We locate those witnesses and gather what counsel requests, coordinating the effort through our corporate investigations team. Where a death followed theft of safety equipment or tampering, the inquiry overlaps with our stolen equipment investigations. Counsel decides how any workers' compensation issues affect the claim.

05Institutional deaths

Deaths in Nursing Homes, Hospitals and Jails

When a resident dies in a nursing home or assisted living facility, the investigation focuses on staffing, prior complaints, falls, wounds and how the facility responded. In Colorado, complaints about health facilities go to the Department of Public Health and Environment's Health Facilities and Emergency Medical Services Division, and records of those complaints and inspections can help counsel frame requests. Mandatory reporting rules for at-risk elders, defined as people 70 or older, may also have generated police reports. We interview former staff, family visitors and other residents' relatives through our retirement home abuse investigations.

Deaths in custody or in correctional facilities raise different procedures, notice requirements and immunity questions that counsel must address. Our role is factual: identifying witnesses, including former inmates and staff who have since moved, and documenting timelines from records counsel obtains, sometimes with help from our Colorado Springs investigators. That work is described further on our correctional facility abuse page. Hospital deaths often involve medical experts, so we focus on witness location, scheduling records and nonmedical facts rather than medical judgments, which belong to qualified experts retained by counsel.

06Unknown defendants

Fatal Hit-and-Run Cases and Unidentified Drivers

A wrongful death case cannot proceed far without a defendant. In fatal hit-and-run cases, law enforcement leads the criminal investigation, and Colorado's Medina Alert program can help agencies broadcast vehicle descriptions. A civil investigation runs alongside without interfering: we look for private cameras, interview people who were nearby, research vehicle descriptions and partial plates through lawful sources and follow up on tips the family receives. The four-year limitation period in § 13-80-102(2) for certain vehicular homicide and leaving-the-scene claims can matter here, so counsel should evaluate it early. Our hit-and-run skip tracing team handles this work.

Once a driver is identified, locating them and their assets becomes important for service and recovery. A defendant who moves, changes jobs or avoids contact can delay a case for months. We locate defendants through lawful records research, coordinate service of the summons and complaint, and, where counsel needs it, research assets through our Colorado asset investigations. Under C.R.C.P. 4(m), service generally must occur within 63 days after the complaint is filed, so location work often starts before filing.

07Preservation and cost

Preserving Evidence Early, and What an Investigation Costs

The first weeks decide what evidence survives. Video is overwritten, vehicles are repaired or crushed, social media posts are deleted and witnesses forget details or move away. Our first-phase work usually includes a scene visit, a camera canvass, initial witness interviews and a list of records counsel should demand in preservation letters. Defendants and insurers use the same early work to evaluate exposure honestly. Witnesses who have left the area are located through our Colorado skip tracing service.

Billing for this work follows civil litigation support terms, $100 an hour against a $1,000 minimum. Remote items carry published prices, including $102 for a basic background check and $300 for a due diligence report. Travel to Western Slope or mountain locations is quoted in writing in advance, while metro cases are handled by our Denver investigators under the same written scope. Colorado does not currently license private investigators at the state level, so the burden of vetting falls on counsel; Delator Group is a licensed Tennessee firm and works to Tennessee's standard in Colorado. Published rates for every service sit on our Colorado service pricing page.

Services

Wrongful death investigation services in Colorado

• Scene documentationPhotographs, measurements and notes on roadway, lighting, signage and site conditions, captured as early as weather and access allow after the incident.Learn more
• Witness canvass and interviewsDrivers, residents, coworkers and passersby identified and interviewed, with dated statements prepared for counsel's review and later use in discovery.Learn more
• Video and data preservationBusiness and residential cameras identified quickly, and vehicle, phone and logging data flagged so counsel can send preservation demands in time.Learn more
• Unknown driver identificationLawful research on vehicle descriptions and partial plates, plus tip follow-up, when a fatal crash involved a driver who fled the scene.Learn more
• Decedent timelineThe final hours or days reconstructed from witnesses and records, addressing comparative fault questions honestly before the other side raises them.Learn more
• Facility and staffing researchFormer staff, visitors and complaint histories researched when a death occurred in a nursing home, care facility or correctional setting.Learn more
• Defendant and asset researchDefendants located for service of process and their assets researched through lawful sources to inform settlement, judgment and collection strategy.Learn more
• Service of processSummonses, complaints and subpoenas served across Colorado counties with logged attempts and a signed affidavit of service on the court's form.Learn more
• Litigation reports and testimonyWritten reports with photographs, statements and timelines, with our investigators available to testify about how the evidence was found and handled.Learn more

How it works

How a Colorado death case investigation runs

1. 01

   Intake with counsel

   Counsel shares the date and place of death, the likely defendants, the client's statutory standing and the filing deadline. We return a written scope and price promptly.

2. 02

   First-phase preservation

   We visit the scene when conditions allow, canvass for cameras and witnesses, and give counsel a list of records and data to demand before they are lost.

3. 03

   Witnesses and records

   Investigators locate and interview witnesses, assemble timelines and research defendants, reporting each confirmed fact to counsel in writing as the work proceeds through each phase.

4. 04

   Report and testimony

   Counsel receives a written report with exhibits suited to mediation or trial. Our investigators remain available for depositions and testimony about how the evidence was collected.

Compare

Colorado rules that shape a wrongful death investigation (summarized; confirm current law with counsel)

Statewide coverage

Wrongful death investigations across Colorado

Front Range cases are supported by investigators assigned to Denver, Colorado Springs and the I-25 corridor, with northern Colorado crashes and oil field incidents handled through Greeley and Fort Collins. Mountain corridor and resort deaths along I-70 are scheduled with chain-law conditions and closures in mind, and Western Slope matters run through Grand Junction. Southwest cases, including those near the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute reservations where tribal jurisdiction may apply, are handled through Durango. Each case has one point of contact and one written scope.

• Denver
• Colorado Springs
• Greeley
• Pueblo
• Grand Junction
• Durango
• All of Colorado

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Every service

Investigations available in Colorado

Every service below is available in Colorado and across Colorado, run by the same Delator Group leadership that manages our Tennessee casework. Choose a service to read how it works in Colorado.

Service areas

Private investigators across Colorado