Colorado Premises Liability Attorney
Marlo Greer and Greer Law Group, Premises Liability Lawyers Serving Clients Across Colorado
Under Colorado law, property owners must take reasonable steps to protect people who come onto their property. How much care they owe depends on why you were there. If you have been injured while on another person’s property, whether it is a business, private land, or a residence, you may be able to hold the owner accountable and receive compensation for your injuries, lost wages, and other damages. Dangerous conditions such as wet floors, broken stairs, poor lighting, or unmarked hazards can cause serious injuries that impact your life for months or even years. In such cases, it is important to work with a premises liability attorney in Colorado to ensure your rights are fully protected. A Colorado premises liability lawyer understands how to investigate what happened, gather crucial evidence, and build a strong claim against negligent property owners or businesses who failed in their duty of care. Without the guidance of a skilled premises liability attorney, it can be difficult to fight insurance companies determined to deny or reduce your claim.
Call Marlo Greer and the attorneys at the Greer Law Group at our Denver office today at 303-331-6460 to speak with a Colorado premises liability lawyer and explore your legal options. We are committed to protecting your rights and pursuing fair compensation for your injuries and suffering.
What Are Some Common Accidents That Involve Premises Liability?
Any accident that happens due to the negligence of the property owner may involve premises liability. Colorado’s Premises Liability Act (C.R.S. 13-21-115) sets out what a property owner owes to people on the property, and the answer depends on the visitor’s legal status. A few examples of premises liability accidents include:
- Swimming pool accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Falls from decks or balconies
- Construction site accidents
- Play structure accidents
- Tripping on obstacles
- Stepping or falling on sharp objects
- Ceiling or structural collapse
- Inadequate lighting or signage
- Negligent security
- Elevator or escalator accidents
- Defective stairways
- Parking lot accidents
- Accidents caused by inadequate maintenance
…and many other situations too numerous to list.
What Kinds of Damages Can I Seek in My Colorado Premises Liability Case?
The first factor in determining what damages might be recoverable in a premises liability case is the status of the plaintiff. There are three legal statuses for the plaintiff in a premises liability case, based on the purpose of the plaintiff’s presence on the property. These are the three categories:
- Trespasser: A trespasser is defined as a person who has not been invited or given permission to be on the property and who is not allowed (or no longer allowed) to be on the property. Having granted permission previously does not necessarily mean that the property owner has granted permission indefinitely.
- Licensee: A licensee is a person who is on the property with the permission of the owner. Licensees include social guests.
- Invitee: An invitee is a person who enters or remains to conduct business transactions or through the welcoming of the public. Invitees are generally the customers of a business. This can include business establishments such as stores or offices, and can also include any area open to the public, whether or not business is transacted.
Under the statute, the judge decides the status of the individual who was on the property. This legal status determines the type of damages the plaintiff is allowed to receive:
- Trespasser: A trespasser is only entitled to damages that were caused willfully or deliberately by the property owner.
- Licensee: A licensee may recover damages for the property owner’s unreasonable failure to use reasonable care about dangers the owner created and actually knew about, or to warn about certain other dangers the owner actually knew about.
- Invitee: Invitees are eligible to recover damages for a property owner’s failure to provide reasonable protection against harm from dangers they actually knew about or should have known about.
Is There a Limit on the Amount I Can Seek in Compensation for My Premises Liability Claim in Colorado?
Premises liability cases are personal injury cases. The damages you may seek in a personal injury case in Colorado include economic (pecuniary) damages and non-economic (non-pecuniary) damages.
Economic damages include actual, documented expenses caused by your premises liability injury, including things like medical bills, lost wages, the costs of over-the-counter medications or medical devices that you may require, and other costs such as travel to and from medical appointments. These costs are easily proven with pay stubs, receipts, and copies of bills. There is no limit on how much you can receive in economic damages in Colorado.
Non-economic damages include less tangible losses caused by your premises liability injury. They can include things like pain and suffering, mental distress, loss of relationships, permanent scarring or disfigurement, and the loss of the enjoyment of life you had previously, to name a few. There are limits on what you can recover in non-economic damages in Colorado. For claims that arise on or after January 1, 2025, the limit on non-economic damages in Colorado is $1.5 million, and it will be adjusted for inflation starting in 2028. Damages for physical impairment or disfigurement are not subject to this cap. The Colorado Secretary of State publishes a Certificate with all of the current damage caps, and it is a good idea to check it out to see what the caps may be at the time of your personal injury claim.
A third kind of damages that may be awarded in certain cases is punitive damages. In Colorado, a claim for punitive damages cannot be included in the initial complaint. It can be added later, after the parties exchange initial disclosures, if the plaintiff shows prima facie proof of fraud, malice, or willful and wanton conduct. Punitive damages are designed to punish the defendant, as the name suggests, and also to serve as a deterrent to those who might act in a similar fashion in the future. Punitive damages are generally limited to an amount equal to the actual damages awarded, and they are awarded in addition to those damages. A judge can increase them up to three times the actual damages in limited situations, such as when the defendant kept up the harmful conduct while the case was pending.
Is There a Time Limit for Filing a Premises Liability Claim in Colorado?
A time limit on filing claims is called a statute of limitations. In Colorado, the statute of limitations for premises liability cases is generally two years. The clock usually starts on the date you were hurt. Under Colorado law, it starts when you knew, or reasonably should have known, about the injury and its cause, so an injury discovered later can start the clock later.
What Is an “Attractive Nuisance”?
One type of Colorado premises liability case involves what is known as an attractive nuisance. An attractive nuisance is a feature of the property that is likely to attract children and also harm them. In Colorado, the doctrine applies to children under 14. Some examples of attractive nuisances include:
- Swimming pools not fenced with a locked gate
- Outdoor play equipment such as playsets, jungle gyms, or trampolines
- Discarded appliances such as old refrigerators or freezers that may trap a child who gets inside
- Abandoned vehicles that children may play in and set in motion or otherwise injure themselves
- Water hazards such as cisterns or rain collection canals that are not fenced or otherwise blocked off
- Falling hazards such as abandoned wells or deep holes
- Construction sites with unattended heavy equipment or tools or dirt piles and construction materials
There are five criteria that must be met in order to recover compensation for damages caused by an attractive nuisance:
- The landowner knows, or should know, that children could trespass on the property.
- The condition poses an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death to children.
- The children involved are too young to understand the risk of the dangerous condition.
- The cost required to remedy the dangerous condition is minimal compared with the risk to children.
- The landowner does not take reasonable steps to eliminate the danger posed by the condition.
What Can a Premises Liability Lawyer in Colorado Do for Me?
If you, your child, or another loved one has been injured due to the negligence of a property owner, you may be entitled to monetary compensation that will pay medical bills, make up for lost wages, and at least partially compensate you for the pain and suffering the injury caused. Handling the legal requirements of a premises liability case can be complex and time-consuming, and success requires legal knowledge. The premises liability attorneys at Greer Law Group understand that recuperating from an injury can be a long process that requires rest. We are here to take on the burden of your premises liability case so that you can have the rest and peace of mind you need to recover from your injuries and get back to as normal a life as possible.
Marlo Greer and the premises liability attorneys at Greer Law Group have the right combination of compassion and skill to stand by your side. You need us on your side, and we will be there, every step of the way. Our injury lawyers are here to help. 303-331-6460
Colorado Premises Liability FAQs
It depends on why you were there (C.R.S. 13-21-115). An invitee, such as a customer, can recover when the owner unreasonably failed to use reasonable care to protect against dangers the owner knew or should have known about. A licensee, such as a social guest, can recover for dangers the owner actually knew about, under narrower rules. A trespasser can recover only for damages the owner caused willfully or deliberately.
Generally two years (C.R.S. 13-80-102(1)(a)). The clock starts when you knew or should have known about the injury and its cause, which is usually the date you were hurt. If the property is owned by a public entity, a written notice of claim is due within 182 days of discovering the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109).
An attractive nuisance is a dangerous condition on property that is likely to attract children, such as an unfenced pool or abandoned appliance. Colorado’s Premises Liability Act keeps the attractive nuisance doctrine for children under 14 (C.R.S. 13-21-115).
Economic damages such as medical bills and lost wages are not capped. For claims that accrue on or after January 1, 2025, non-economic damages are capped at $1.5 million, and damages for physical impairment or disfigurement are not limited by that cap (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5).
Greer Law Group, led by trial lawyer Marlo Greer, represents people seriously or permanently injured on unsafe property across Colorado from its Denver office. Call 303-331-6460 to talk with the team about your case.