Longmont Slip and Fall Lawyer

Colorado Slip and Fall Law

Colorado’s Premises Liability Act governs slip and fall cases. Premises liability is a subset of personal injury law and pertains to injuries that occur on someone else’s property because of an unsafe or defective condition.

To have a successful premises liability case, your slip and fall accident lawyer will help you prove that the property owner was aware of or should have been aware of their property’s hazardous condition and failed to address it, thus causing the injury.

Falls are the most common type of premises liability claim. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in five falls causes a significant injury, such as a broken bone or a head injury. These injuries can have lasting consequences like limited mobility, inability to function without assistance, and impact on quality of life.

Why Choose Us

• We have decades of combined experience
• We provide personalized attention
• We offer free initial consultations
• We hold insurance companies accountable
• We have recovered over $230 Million for our clients

Who Is Liable for a Slip and Fall Accident?

Property owners in Colorado can be held liable for injuries that occur because of unsafe premises, as can any person who rents, leases, possesses, or works on the property. For example, if a person slips and falls on coffee at a coffee shop, the shopkeeper renting the space would be liable rather than the property owner because the shopkeeper was responsible for maintaining the property at the time of the accident. If a manager was responsible for ensuring the coffee shop floor was clean, they could also be liable. Multiple people or entities could sometimes share liability for your injuries. An experienced Longmont slip and fall attorney can help you determine who is legally responsible for your injury, given the facts of the case.

To obtain compensation, you must prove the following elements regarding the defendant’s failure to maintain a reasonably safe property.

Dangerous Conditions

A dangerous condition must exist on the property. For example, the entryway to a restaurant may have had a broken floorboard that was not repaired or blocked off to prevent injury. This would constitute a dangerous condition.

Knowledge of the Dangerous Condition

In the case of the floorboard, if it was not broken before the accident and did not indicate wear, the restaurant manager may not have been aware that it posed a danger. If it had been reported previously and not addressed, it is reasonable to infer that the restaurant knew about the issue.

Failure to Warn or Protect

The manager or responsible party on the property must have failed to warn or protect visitors from the dangerous condition. In the floorboard case, it should have been blocked off from public access and repaired as soon as reasonably possible.

Common Defenses to Slip and Fall Claims

It is unlikely that the negligent party, their insurance company, or legal counsel will give in to your requests without any contention. Though every situation is different, there are a handful of common defenses you can reasonably expect the negligent party to use, including the following:

• The injured person was trespassing on the property where the slip and fall accident occurred (property owners do not owe the same duty of care to trespassers);
• The injured person was acting carelessly or recklessly on the property when the slip and fall accident occurred; and
• A reasonable person should have been able to avoid the slip and fall accident because the hazard was marked or was obvious.

You do not have to and should not combat these defenses alone. Your Longmont slip and fall attorney can help you build a case that ensures you are prepared for these arguments and that the facts of the case are brought to light.

How Long Do You Have to File a Slip and Fall Lawsuit?

According to the Colorado statute of limitations for personal injury cases, you must file a claim two years from the date the injury occurred. If you try to file your lawsuit after that time, the property owner will likely ask the court to dismiss the case. If the dismissal is granted, you do not have any other legal right to recovery. In rare situations, there may be exceptions to the statute of limitations. Your Longmont slip and fall attorney can help you file your claim before the deadline or review your unique circumstances to determine if any exceptions apply.

Generally, the sooner you can file your case, the better. As time passes, acquiring meaningful evidence, such as images of the dangerous property condition and witness testimony, can become more challenging.

3 Reasons Why You Need a Longmont Slip and Fall Lawyer

While you may feel confident in your ability to handle your case without professional help, you’ll soon realize that presenting an injury claim requires a lot of hard work and legal expertise.

When you should be working your way back from painful disabilities, you’ll have to comply with insurance adjuster requests. Before you see a single dime of settlement money, there is a long list of procedures and issues to follow through. It will be your job to contact doctors for bills and reports.

Taking care of a serious injury case on your own involves focus on investigation, evaluation, and negotiation. Instead of taking on these new challenges, you should be working on your personal recovery.

When you are seriously injured, your financial future depends on obtaining adequate compensation for your injuries. You have a lot at stake. That’s why it’s important to seek help from a Longmont Slip and Fall Lawyer before you make a critical mistake. Here are 3 additional reasons to consider.

1. Liability Issues

Accidents often involve liability issues that can be difficult to resolve. Colorado’s comparative negligence statute plays a key role in liability assessments. You must determine whether or not you contributed to the circumstances which caused the accident and how it may affect the compensation you receive for your injuries.

2. Dealing with Insurance Companies and Adjusters

When you have a serious injury claim, the other driver’s insurance company adjuster will call and may want to visit your home. It’s an adjuster’s job to clear up any liability issues, so they must record your statement.

3. Calculating Damages

When you’re injured, you know the pain, disabilities, and scarring you are forced to endure, but do you know their economic value? Injury claims don’t have one-size-fits-all evaluations. If two different people sustain the same injury, the settlement value will be different due to a wide range of factors. Attorneys research your injuries to understand how they affect you.

Contact a Longmont Slip and Fall Lawyer

Proving fault and obtaining maximum compensation in a slip and fall case takes skill and expertise. With over 30 years of experience, the personal injury attorneys at Sloat, Nicholson & Hoover, P.C., have succeeded in obtaining more than $100 million in verdicts or settlements for clients in Longmont and surrounding areas throughout Colorado.

Sustaining a serious injury after a slip and fall can be a traumatic experience, and it is essential to have access to compassionate and diligent legal representation. Contact us to schedule your free initial case consultation with a slip and fall accident lawyer.

ATTORNEY ROBERT S. HOOVER

Robert S. Hoover is a seasoned personal injury trial attorney and managing partner at Sloat, Nicholson & Hoover, P.C. in Boulder, Colorado. With over 30 years of experience, he specializes in complex and catastrophic cases, including brain injuries, wrongful death, and serious vehicle accidents. He is known for his compassionate, client-centered approach and meticulous trial preparation. Influenced by personal experiences and mentorship from top litigators, he has secured numerous multimillion-dollar recoveries and remains actively involved in legal organizations and community leadership. [ ATTORNEY BIO ]