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Zigner
Well-Known Member
Your question is poorly formed, however, it is answerable. Colorado law does not appear to allow a sibling of the decedent to sue for wrongful death.
army judge
Super Moderator
We have a couple of attorneys who respond that happen to practice law in Colorado.
Hold on a bit, I'm certain one or two will eventually chime in with a relevant response.
Thank you, grammar cop, I will strive to do better. LOL.
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Zigner
Well-Known Member
No, you misunderstand. Your question was so poorly formed as to almost be unanswerable. I'd go further, but it would be lost on you.
zddoodah
Well-Known Member
Here's a link to Colorado's wrongful death statute, which lays out a somewhat convoluted scheme for who has standing to sue for wrongful death. As I read it (and I'm assuming that the deceased is an adult), in the first year after the date of death, if there is a surviving spouse, only he/she can sue, unless he/she gives written election for the "heir(s)" of the deceased to sue. If there is no surviving spouse, then a wrongful death suit may be filed by the heir(s) or by "the designated beneficiary, if there is one, . . . pursuant to article 22 of title 15, C.R.S."
After the first year (and before the two-year statute of limitations expires), any of the surviving spouse, the heir(s) or the designated beneficiary may sue.
I am assuming that "heir(s)" means either the persons named in the deceased's will or the persons who stand to inherit the deceased's estate if he/she had no will. Here's a link to article 22 of title 15, and I'll leave it to you to sort out what "designated beneficiary" means.
I think the bottom line is that a sibling only has standing to sue for wrongful death if he/she stands to inherit from the deceased's estate - either by will or by virtue of the intestate law. Note that, without a will, a sibling only stands to inherit if the deceased has no surviving spouse, no surviving issue (i.e., children, grandchildren and other lineal descendants) and no surviving parents.
After the first year (and before the two-year statute of limitations expires), any of the surviving spouse, the heir(s) or the designated beneficiary may sue.
I am assuming that "heir(s)" means either the persons named in the deceased's will or the persons who stand to inherit the deceased's estate if he/she had no will. Here's a link to article 22 of title 15, and I'll leave it to you to sort out what "designated beneficiary" means.
I think the bottom line is that a sibling only has standing to sue for wrongful death if he/she stands to inherit from the deceased's estate - either by will or by virtue of the intestate law. Note that, without a will, a sibling only stands to inherit if the deceased has no surviving spouse, no surviving issue (i.e., children, grandchildren and other lineal descendants) and no surviving parents.
Thank you very much for the information, that is exactly what I needed to see. I have a brother that passed recently, it appears I cannot do anything at this point. Cheers, G
PayrollHRGuy
Well-Known Member
In Colorado, there is no specific law that prevents a sibling from suing a nursing home for wrongful death. However, generally speaking, the right to bring a wrongful death claim belongs to the personal representative of the deceased person's estate. The personal representative is typically appointed by the court and is responsible for managing the deceased person's assets and debts, and for bringing any legal claims on behalf of the estate. The personal representative is typically a close relative, such as a spouse, child, or parent, but it can also be a distant relative or even a non-relative. Therefore, a sibling would have to be the appointed representative of the estate of their deceased sibling to bring a wrongful death claim against the nursing home.
CHATBOT Answer.
CHATBOT Answer.
Zigner
Well-Known Member
BAD answer.
Tax Counsel
Well-Known Member
The chatbot answer is not very good in this situation. A wrongful death claim in Colorado is not brought by the estate. The personal representative of the estate may bring a separate action known as a "survival action." Wrongful death claims are brought personally by the relative that has standing to do so, and as zddoodah points out, the group of persons able to sue is limited. The spouse of the decedent, if there is one, gets the first shot at the lawsuit in the first year. If there is no claim filed by a spouse then the children of the deceased may sue, if none of those exist then the decedent's beneficiary may file, and finally if there is no designated beneficiary then the parents may sue. That's it. The only way that a sibling may file a wrongful death claim therefore is if the sibling is the designated beneficiary and there is no spouse or children to file a claim. Even if they don't have standing to sue for wrongful death the sibiling might benefit from a survival action by the estate since any award won by the estate increases the pot in the estate that may be distributed.
And, as I pointed out before in another thread, I think quoting the entire chatbot response may be copyright infringement.
zddoodah
Well-Known Member
Ummm...that's just plain wrong (unless it's simply based on the notion that anyone can sue anyone for anything, which isn't particularly helpful here), as is most of the post. I linked to the wrongful death statute in my response #6 in the thread. The statute has a fairly detailed scheme about who has standing to sue for wrongful death, and I noted that a sibling generally will NOT have standing.
Zigner
Well-Known Member
The terms of service for the chatbot transfer all rights to the user - I posted the info and link in another thread.
Tax Counsel
Well-Known Member
Are you sure of which chatbot he's using? There is more than one out there. As I indicated before, if the terms of service allow for it, then all is good. I'm just making sure of that as posting material covered by copyright could affect the site, too.
Zigner
Well-Known Member
I went to the site he gave as the link in another thread.
Tax Counsel
Well-Known Member
Ok, then there is very likely no problem, though I can't state that with absolute certainty as I've not read it myself.
PayrollHRGuy
Well-Known Member
I've given the ChatGBT feed back on the response it gave to this question.
Tax Counsel
Well-Known Member
That's the one getting all the press. And as its answers to various questions (legal and otherwise) demonstrate, it has potential but still has a long way to go. The quality of its answers vary significantly. Not surprisingly, those questions that would require more than just gathering up what the computer sees as relevant material and spitting it out fare the worst because the chat program is not taught analysis skills in the way humans are. That's why I see poor legal answers from these chat programs, including the one you posted here. And, as you pointed out on another thread, there is the issue of keeping the computer up to date with our changing world.
The appearance of the Do Not Pay chat bot in a courtroom has been cancelled because of numerous threats of prosecution and jail time from prosecutors and bar associations for the unlawful practice of law.
https://www.fastcompany.com/9084007...andoning-its-idea-of-putting-a-robot-in-court
https://www.fastcompany.com/9084007...andoning-its-idea-of-putting-a-robot-in-court
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