Aurora Premises Liability

Aurora Premises Liability Cases We Handle

Bachus & Schanker handles all types of premises liability cases. Specifically, you may have rights under Colorado law for injuries suffered in the following types of spaces in Aurora:

• Shops
• Office buildings
• Hotels
• Casinos
• Apartment buildings
• Parking lots
• Private residences

Some common accidents people experience while on these premises include:

• Slip-and-fall accidents
• Tripping accidents
• Collisions with falling objects
• Burns and smoke inhalation
• Electrocution
• Elevator and escalator accidents
• Criminal acts due to negligent security
• Drownings
• Amusement park ride accidents

Contact us to discuss your injuries. An Aurora premises liability lawyer from our firm can analyze your situation and explain the right you have to pursue financial compensation for your losses.

Premises Liability Law In Colorado

Premises liability is an old concept based on knowledge. When someone allows others onto their property, they know the hazardous conditions present on it. Fairness dictates that they fix those conditions or warn their visitors of the hazards.

Colorado is unusual because the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that premises liability is entirely statutory rather than common law. Specifically, Colorado’s legislature passed a law called the Colorado Premises Liability Act that distills premises liability into one statute that supersedes all of the state’s case law.

This statute defines who may be liable for any injuries that happen. Ultimately, the responsible party is the person or business that’s legally responsible for the condition of the premises or the activities conducted on it. This might be the:

• Property owner
• Property manager
• Business tenant
• Business operator
• Homeowner
• Tenant

Each of these examples belongs to one of the three classes of visitors: invitees, licensees, and trespassers. An invitee is someone who was invited onto the property. It also covers people present to transact business with the party responsible for the property. In other words, there is a mutual benefit for the invitee and landowner. 

Examples of invitees include:

• Customers
• Clients
• Ticketholders
• Hotel guests
• Apartment tenants

A licensee has the owner’s permission to be present but was not invited for the owner’s benefit. Licensees might be found at locations like parks, churches, or homeless shelters. The third class, the trespasser, does not have the owner’s permission to be present on the land.

Liability For Injuries Caused By Dangerous Conditions In Aurora

Your ability to recover injury compensation depends on which type of visitor you were and how your injury occurred. Landowners owe the lowest level of care to trespassers. A trespasser can only file a premises liability lawsuit for willful or deliberate injuries.

A licensee can file a premises liability lawsuit in two situations. First, they can file if the landowner fails to exercise “reasonable care” in addressing dangers the owner created and actually knew about. Second, owners are liable if they unreasonably fail to warn invitees of dangers not ordinarily seen on similar properties.

An invitee has the highest level of protection. They can seek compensation when landowners fail to exercise reasonable care to protect them from dangerous conditions they knew or should have known about.

The statute includes an exception for agricultural or vacant land. Landowners are only responsible for injuries on these properties when they actually know of the danger.

Compensation Recoverable In Aurora Premises Liability Cases

The compensation you recover in a premises liability lawsuit can cover your economic and non-economic losses. Economic losses include all the monetary expenses you incurred due to your injuries, such as: 

• Past and future medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Diminished future earnings 

You prove these losses using bank records, wage records, and other financial documents.

You can also seek compensation for non-economic losses. These losses, informally referred to as “pain and suffering,” represent all the ways your injuries eroded your quality of life. 

For example, suppose that you suffered third-degree burns in a hotel fire. In addition to the physical pain and mental anguish of your injuries, you may have permanent scars that disfigure you. Non-economic damages compensate you for the toll that this takes on you.

The landowner may use a doctrine called comparative negligence to limit your compensation. This defense applies when you did something that contributed to the cause of your injuries.

Thus, you might bear a share of the blame for an accident if you were running in a parking lot when you stepped into a pothole. The store may still be responsible for failing to fix the pothole or place warning signs. However, you may lose a share of your compensation due to your role.

How a Premises Liability Lawyer Helps You

When you hire Bachus & Schanker, we provide the following services:

• Discussing your accident and identifying any premises liability claims
• Identifying the parties liable for your injuries
• Collecting evidence like photos, medical records, and witness statements
• Filing a claim with the landowner’s insurer
• Negotiating with the insurer to settle your case
• Litigating against the at-fault party if negotiations break down

We provide these services on contingency. You will only pay legal fees when we win or settle your case.

Contact Our Aurora Premises Liability Lawyers

When you suffer an injury on someone else’s premises, they should bear the financial burden of your losses. We will analyze your case and determine the compensation you can seek under Colorado law.

Sources: 

Chapter 12 Premises Liability.

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-21-115.

Vigil vs. Franklin.