Longmont Slip and Fall Attorneys

Denver Personal Injury Lawyers » Longmont Slip and Fall Attorneys

Many people lose their footing or trip and fall from time to time. Some of those falls cause serious injuries that require extensive medical treatment. Those falls, particularly those from considerable heights, can prove fatal or cause permanent disabilities.

Although people may blame themselves if they slip, trip, or fall, many slip and fall accidents occur because the property owner failed to maintain their premises and keep visitors safe. If someone else’s negligence or carelessness caused you severe injuries in a slip and fall accident in Longmont, you could obtain compensation from those responsible.

Contact the Longmont slip and fall accident lawyers at Fuicelli & Lee for a free consultation about your case and advice on how you can get the compensation you deserve. Our attorneys have many years of experience helping injured clients throughout Longmont and across Colorado.

Call us today at (303) 444-4444 or contact us online to request a free case review.

Why Choose Fuicelli & Lee as Your Longmont Slip and Fall Accident Attorneys?

You want an experienced attorney to handle your Longmont slip and fall accident claim, and our attorneys have almost 150 years of total experience handling legal claims and lawsuits.

Other areas to consider about our law firm include:

• We have recovered more than $142 Million in verdicts and settlements for a wide range of personal injury victims throughout Colorado.
• Other lawyers bring us their cases or consult with us when they find a good case that they lack the resources or experience to win.
• We will evaluate your case for free and offer an objective, honest opinion about your chances of getting the compensation you need.
• Along with offering free consultations, our lawyers also work on a contingency fee basis. You won’t have to pay us any money upfront to represent you, and we will only accept a fee if we obtain compensation for you.
• We will fight for full, fair, and complete compensation for you.

When you work with Fuicelli & Lee, you can expect to receive unmatched representation. Personal injury law is all we do, and we choose the cases we handle carefully so we can provide personalized attention to each client. Our lawyers have earned consistent top rankings and honors from members of the legal community, and we have received numerous five-star client reviews and testimonials from those we have served.

We are proud of our record of success and our reputation for excellence and integrity. To discuss your slip and fall accident claim with a member of our legal team at no cost, contact Fuicelli & Lee today at (303) 444-4444.

What is Premises Liability?

Virtually all slip and fall accident claims fall under the practice area of premises liability. This is because slip and fall accidents usually happen on someone’s property, be it a home, office, retail store, or some other location.

Some common causes of slip and fall accidents in Longmont include:

• Wet floors
• Uneven flooring or sidewalks
• Frayed carpet or upturned rugs
• Unsecured electrical cords on the ground
• Ice and snow
• Boxes or pallets of goods lying in store aisles
• Inadequate lighting
• Damaged or uneven stairs

Longmont is home to many businesses, including several large supermarkets and retail stores. The city also has several parks and recreational areas, such as Boulder County Fairgrounds and Clark Centennial Park, as well as the Longmont Museum. More than 100,000 people live in Longmont, and the city has miles of sidewalks property owners must keep safe for pedestrians.

All residential and commercial property owners in Longmont must maintain their property to reduce the chances of someone falling and suffering injuries. If they can’t repair the hazard or take steps to remediate the problem immediately, property owners should place warning signs and barriers around the hazard to warn others of potential danger.

Types of Slip and Fall Accident Injuries

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that around 20 percent of falls cause serious injuries.

Nationwide, approximately 800,000 people require hospitalization for their slip and fall injuries each year, and some common serious injuries you can suffer in a slip and fall accident include:

• Head injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Hip injuries
• Broken bones
• Sprains and muscle strains
• Soft tissue damage
• Neck and shoulder injuries
• Back injuries
• Spinal cord injuries

Elderly people are particularly vulnerable to hip fractures, and falls in general account for around 95 percent of all hip injuries. Falls are also a leading cause of traumatic brain injuries and head injuries. Additionally, falls from heights, such as ladders and scaffolding, can cause life-threatening injuries or death. Many severe and fatal fall accidents occur in the construction, roofing, and tree maintenance industries.

Regardless of the reason for your fall or the severity of your injuries, you shouldn’t have to cover the costs of medical treatment, therapy, and other related expenses if the fall resulted from the property owner’s negligence. To determine if you have a viable premises liability claim, you should consult an attorney right away for a complete evaluation of your case.

What Types of Property Visitors Does Premises Liability Law Cover?

Premises liability law protects most people who are on a property legally. However, Colorado’s premises liability laws assign property owners different duties of care to people depending on the person’s reason for being on the property.

The law lists three legal statuses property visitors can fall under that are relevant to premises liability claims:

1. Trespasser. Someone on the property without the property owner’s consent. This can include someone who received permission at one point but lost their privileges and can no longer enter the property legally.
2. Licensee. Someone who enters or remains on a property for their own convenience or interests with express permission from the property owner. Social guests fall under this definition.
3. Invitee. Someone who enters a property to conduct business that benefits both parties, whether through expressed or implied consent from the property owner. Store shoppers, for instance, are common invitees. The definition also includes private property open to the public where the landowner wants or allows the public to enter. In most cases, invitees also include delivery drivers, utility workers, postal carriers, and other professionals who enter a property legally to perform their duties. For instance, a UPS driver, meter reader, or pizza delivery person could file a premises liability claim against the property owner if they fall and injure themselves while on the premises.

Judges hearing premises liability cases typically determine the legal status of property visitors.

They often use these factors to decide a victim’s legal status:

• Why was the person on the property?
• How did the person use the property?
• Could the victim foresee the accident?
• Did the property owner make reasonable efforts to warn visitors of danger or mitigate the hazard?

You need an attorney throughout the injury claims process to advocate for you if the property owner tries to deny liability based on your legal status. Call Fuicelli & Lee today.

Who Can I Hold Legally Responsible for My Longmont Slip and Fall Accident Injuries?

In almost every case where a victim entered a property legally, they can hold property owners or landowners responsible for injuries others sustain on their premises.

Colorado law defines a landowner as:

• An authorized agent or possessor of real property
• Someone who holds legal responsibility for the property’s condition and the activities that occur on the property

Because these definitions are so broad, various people or entities can hold liability for victims’ injuries aside from the party named on the property deed or title.

They include:

• Tenants
• Contractors
• Vendors
• Property managers
• Event planners

The definitions can include others as well depending on their legal responsibility to the property.

Is a Property Owner Liable for a Trespasser’s Injuries?

As stated above, Colorado law considers someone a trespasser if they enter a property illegally or without the owner’s consent. Although trespassing violates the law, a trespasser may recover compensation from a property owner if the owner deliberately or willfully injured them.

The facts and circumstances of your case determine whether or not you can seek compensation from the property owner if you trespass onto their property and suffer injuries. Therefore, you need an attorney to review your case and advise you of your options.

How to Prove Negligence in a Slip and Fall Accident?

To recover damages in a slip and fall accident case in Longmont, our attorneys must show:

• You suffered injuries or damages resulting from a fall accident on a property.
• The property owner knew or should have known of the danger.
• The owner did not take reasonable steps to mitigate the danger, such as cleaning up a spill or placing warning signs around the hazard.
• The owner’s failure to act injured you.

Your attorney will investigate your case and gather evidence to support your claim, including:

• Documentation you received medical treatment for your injuries and maintained your treatment plan
• Proof of your financial losses, such as medical bills, proof of lost income, and receipts for related out-of-pocket expenses
• Security or surveillance camera footage of the accident, if possible
• Eyewitness testimony

Your lawyer may also use any contracts between you and the property owner, for instance, to show your legal reason to enter the property. Regardless, they will need to gather as much evidence as possible to show the property owner bears liability for your injuries.

How Much Compensation Can I Get?

The compensation you can pursue in a Longmont slip and fall accident injury claim depends on the circumstances surrounding the accident and the extent and severity of your injuries. Some injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries or hip fractures, may result in long-term, permanent disabilities. You may need a lifetime of care and accommodations because of your slip and fall injury, and your expenses could total hundreds of thousands of dollars or more.

Colorado allows personal injury victims to recover economic and non-economic damages from those responsible for their injuries.

Your damages can cover your financial costs along with other intangible losses you suffered, such as:

• Past, current, and future medical expenses related to your injury
• Costs for assisted medical devices, and home or vehicle modifications to accommodate your injury or a resulting disability
• Lost income and loss of earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Loss of companionship
• Loss of consortium in the event of wrongful death

Your Longmont slip and fall accident lawyer can sit with you and calculate the compensation you need to cover not only your current damages but the ongoing adverse effects your injury will have on your life and future.

How Do I Obtain Compensation for My Slip and Fall Injuries?

For most slip and fall accidents, the property owner’s liability insurance policy will cover your injuries, and your lawyer will first file a claim with the landowner’s insurance carrier to obtain compensation for you. However, insurance companies notoriously deny or devalue claims, paying victims far less than they deserve.

A Longmont slip and fall accident attorney from Fuicelli & Lee will negotiate with the insurance company to get them to honor the policy and pay you the full and fair compensation you need.

Even if an insurer pays you the full amount of the policyholder’s liability coverage, it may not cover all your expenses and losses. Also, an insurer may deny your claim and refuse to negotiate. They could also act in bad faith regarding your claim or the settlement agreement.

In these scenarios, you may take your case to trial and sue the defendant. You may also take your premises liability case to court if the insurance company questions your legal status for entering the property and uses it to deny your claim.

Although time-consuming and stressful, a premises liability lawsuit may provide your only recourse to pursue compensation. However, Colorado gives you only two years in most cases to file a slip and fall accident lawsuit in civil court. You need to contact an attorney immediately to safeguard your chances of getting the compensation you need.

The attorneys at Fuicelli & Lee have extensive personal injury trial experience, and we have gained reputations as fierce and tenacious litigators. We have also negotiated substantial settlements for our clients outside of court, and you can trust we will fight hard to maximize your financial recovery.

How Do Pre-Existing Conditions Affect Slip and Fall Accident Injury Claims?

Pre-existing conditions can affect any personal injury claim, but they often become particularly relevant in slip and fall cases. A pre-existing condition can serve as a double-edged sword in a slip and fall claim. On the one hand, the insurer could point to your pre-existing condition as the real cause of your pain and suffering and refuse to honor your claim. On the other hand, a fall can exacerbate a pre-existing condition for which you need compensation for treatment and recovery.

For example, if you already had a degenerative bone condition and the fall aggravated the condition or caused further disability, you could obtain compensation. The same holds if you previously suffered from a unique emotional or psychological issue and the fall aggravated your condition or caused you to relapse.

You need an attorney on your side who understands the law and can protect your rights and interests if you have a pre-existing condition. An attorney can engage professional experts who can attest to the fall exacerbating your pre-existing condition so you don’t lose out on the full, fair, and complete compensation you deserve.

Contact an Experienced Longmont Slip and Fall Accident Lawyer Today

Keith Fuicelli  Slip and Fall Accident Lawyer in Longmont

The Longmont slip and fall accident lawyers at Fuicelli & Lee have decades of experience fighting for maximum compensation for our clients. We will review your claim at no cost and advise you of your options. You can count on us when you need us, and we are committed to helping you get the full amount of compensation you deserve.

Contact us today at (303) 444-4444 to request a free consultation.

Fuicelli & Lee, PC – Denver Office

1731 Gilpin Street
Denver, CO 80218
PHONE: (303) 444-4444