You slipped in a grocery store. You fell in a restaurant parking lot. You were injured at a gym, a hotel, a retail store, or an office building. Now you’re dealing with medical bills, missed work, and pain — and you’re wondering whether the business is responsible.
The answer depends on a legal concept called premises liability — and in Colorado, the rules are specific. Here’s what you need to know.
The Core Concept: Duty of Care
When you enter a business as a customer, you are what the law calls an invitee — someone who has been invited onto the property for commercial purposes. Business owners owe invitees the highest duty of care under Colorado premises liability law.
That means the business must:
- Regularly inspect the property for hazards
- Fix known dangers within a reasonable timeframe
- Warn customers of hazards they cannot immediately fix
- Maintain the property in a reasonably safe condition
When a business fails to meet that standard and someone gets hurt as a result, the business may be held liable.
What You Have to Prove
To win a premises liability claim against a business in Colorado, you generally need to establish four things:
- The business owned, leased, or controlled the property
- A hazardous condition existed on the property
- The business knew — or should have known — about the hazard
- That hazard directly caused your injury and resulting damages
The hardest element to prove is often number three: what the business knew and when. This is why evidence gathered immediately after an accident is so important.
Common Business Injury Scenarios
Premises liability cases against businesses come in many forms. Some of the most common include:
- Slip and fall accidents — wet floors, spilled liquids, freshly mopped surfaces without signage
- Trip and fall accidents — uneven pavement, broken flooring, loose rugs, exposed cables
- Parking lot injuries — potholes, ice and snow, poor lighting, unmarked curbs
- Inadequate security — assaults or crimes that occur because a business failed to provide reasonable security measures
- Falling merchandise or objects — improperly stocked shelves or unsecured fixtures
- Escalator and elevator accidents — mechanical failures or improper maintenance
- Swimming pool accidents — at hotels, gyms, or apartment complexes
If you were hurt in any of these situations, it’s worth a conversation with a personal injury attorney.
The “Open and Obvious” Defense
One of the most common defenses businesses use is that the hazard was “open and obvious” — meaning a reasonable person would have noticed and avoided it.
Colorado courts have recognized this defense, but it’s not absolute. If the business created the hazardous condition, if avoiding the hazard wasn’t practical, or if the business had reason to expect people would be distracted (think: a busy store during a sale), the open and obvious defense may not hold up.
Don’t assume a business is off the hook just because a hazard was visible. Let an attorney evaluate the specifics.
What About Comparative Fault?
Colorado follows a modified comparative fault rule. This means that even if you were partially at fault for your own injury — say, you were looking at your phone when you slipped — you can still recover damages, as long as you were less than 50% at fault.
However, your compensation will be reduced by your percentage of fault. If you were 20% at fault and your damages are $100,000, you’d recover $80,000.
Insurance companies will try to assign as much fault to you as possible. An experienced attorney knows how to push back on that.
Act Quickly — Evidence Disappears Fast
One of the most important things you can do after a business injury is act fast. Here’s why:
- Surveillance footage is often overwritten within 24 to 72 hours
- Wet floors get cleaned up, hazards get fixed
- Witnesses forget what they saw
- Incident reports can be altered or minimized
If you were injured at a business, take photos immediately, report the incident to management and ask for a copy of the incident report, get witness contact information, and seek medical attention right away — even if you feel okay in the moment.
When to Call an Attorney
You should contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible if:
- You were injured on a business’s property due to a hazard they should have addressed
- Your injuries required medical treatment
- You missed work or have ongoing pain and limitations
- The business or their insurance company has already contacted you
A free consultation costs you nothing and gives you a clear picture of whether you have a viable claim.
Kim Welch Law Handles Premises Liability Cases in Colorado and Nevada
Whether you were hurt at a Colorado Springs retailer, a Las Vegas hotel, or anywhere in between, Kim Welch Law can help. We’ll investigate the circumstances, hold the right parties accountable, and fight to recover what you’re owed.
Colorado Springs & Henderson, NV: (888) 590-5510 Website: www.kimwelchlaw.com
Kim Welch is a personal injury attorney serving clients in Colorado Springs, CO and Henderson, NV. This blog post is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Contact our office for guidance specific to your situation.