Remember these important steps if you’re involved in a slip and fall accident, or any type of accident on someone else’s property:

1. Seek medical attention. As with any relatively serious injury, you should seek medical attention immediately.
2. File an accident report before leaving the premises, if possible.
3. Take photos and preserve any evidence you have of the scene, if physically possible.
4. Obtain contact information from any witnesses to the incident. If you can show evidence that the accident was caused by the negligence of the property owner in maintaining a reasonable level of safety on their property, you may have the elements of a premises liability case.
5. Contact an experienced personal injury attorney before you talk to anyone from the other party’s insurance company.

Premises liability pertains to the liability of property owners for accidents and injuries that occur on their property. A premises liability lawsuit is a negligence action that holds property owners responsible for injuries occurring on their property, and it enables injured victims to recover damages to compensate them for their injuries.

According to Colorado premises liability law, when a landowner has a dangerous condition on his property and fails to take necessary steps to keep visitors safe, someone injured on the property may be entitled to gain compensation by filing a premises liability lawsuit. An agent or person in control of the property or conducting an activity on the property may also be held responsible.

If you have incurred medical bills, have lost wages or earning capacity, or have experienced pain and suffering because of an injury on someone else’s property, you may be entitled to compensation that can help make you whole again or help pay for the costs that you have incurred.

One reason people may file a premises liability lawsuit is a slip-and-fall injury caused by uneven, cracked, or elevated sidewalks; missing or loose handrails; inadequate lighting; or wet or slippery surfaces. Other reasons include swimming pool accidents, fallen trees, animal attacks, dangerous conditions at construction sites, inadequate security, and products falling from store shelves.

Under Colorado law, a premises liability claim must be brought before the statute of limitations runs out — i.e., two years from the date that the incident occurred.

Likely defendants in a premises liability lawsuit include:

• Property owners or managers of hotels, motels, apartment buildings, shopping centers, sports stadiums, swimming pools, restaurants, bars, and movie theaters.
• Landlords, who are required to ensure that their properties are free of hazards that could cause injury to shoppers, tenants, and visitors to the property.
• Private homeowners, who are responsible for dangerous conditions that lead to injuries inside or outside of their residences as well as places of public gathering.

Property owners are required by law to maintain their property and protect certain visitors from injury. An owner’s failure to exercise reasonable care to rid their property of known problems or to warn visitors about potential hazards can render him liable for injuries sustained there. However, the visitor must use the property normally, and if he is injured while acting in a risky, cavalier, unanticipated, or illegal way, the property owner may be able to avoid liability.

People injured on another person’s property may be eligible to recover damages for a premises liability injury. However, landowners typically owe a different duty of care to different people present on their property, based on why they were there in the first place. These people generally fall into three categories:

• An invitee is someone who was invited, directly or indirectly, to the property, such as customers in a store or patrons in a restaurant. An invitee can recover damages only if his injury was caused by the property owner’s failure to use reasonable care in protecting against dangers that they knew about (or should have known about).
• A licensee is someone like a houseguest who entered the property for his own benefit and to whom the property owner owes a duty of care regarding foreseeable dangers on the property. A licensee can recover damages caused by the owner’s failure to warn of dangers that the owner knew about or that were not ordinarily present on the property.
• A trespasser is someone who entered the property without the permission of the owner. He is typically entitled only to damages that were intentionally caused by the landowner.

Colorado is a modified comparative negligence state, which means that it allows individuals to recover damages in a personal injury lawsuit as long as they were not 50 percent or more at fault for their own injuries. If they are found to be 49 percent or less at fault, the damages they are eligible to recover will be reduced in proportion to that relative fault.

The type and amount of damages that may be awarded in a premises liability lawsuit depend on many factors, including the severity of the injuries, the circumstances in which the injury occurred, and the limits of the available insurance policy.

Damages awarded to an injured person filing such a lawsuit in Colorado generally include compensation for medical bills, lost wages, lost or reduced earning capacity, and pain and suffering.

As in the case of any personal injury lawsuit, you are free to represent yourself in a premises liability lawsuit. However, premises liability claims can be very complicated, and working with an experienced personal injury lawyer will help you to obtain fair compensation and ensure that your legal rights are protected. Attorneys who handle such claims are typically paid on a contingency basis, which means that they do not collect a fee unless you are awarded damages.

If you were injured as the result of the negligence of a landowner, contact the Law Offices of Daniel R. Rosen online or call (303) 454-8000 to schedule your free initial consultation today.