Denver Slip and Fall Injury Lawyer

You slipped on a wet floor at the grocery store. You tripped on a broken sidewalk outside your apartment building. You fell in a poorly lit parking garage. Now you’re hurt, and the property owner is acting like it’s no big deal — or worse, like it’s your fault.

Property owners in Denver have a legal duty to keep their premises reasonably safe for visitors. When they ignore hazards, skip maintenance, or fail to warn people about dangerous conditions, they are negligent. And when that negligence causes someone to fall and get hurt, the law holds them accountable.

At McCormick & Murphy, P.C., we represent people who have been injured in slip and fall accidents across Denver and throughout Colorado. We know how to prove these cases, and we know how to deal with insurance companies that try to downplay your injuries or shift the blame onto you.

If you were hurt in a fall on someone else’s property, call us at 888-668-1182. We’ll tell you whether you have a case and what we can do to help.

What Makes a Slip and Fall a Valid Legal Claim

Not every fall leads to a lawsuit. But if you fell because a property owner failed to maintain safe conditions or failed to warn you about a danger they knew existed, you may have a premises liability claim.

In Colorado, property owners owe different levels of care depending on why you were on their property. If you were invited onto the premises — as a customer, tenant, or guest — the owner has a duty to keep the property reasonably safe and to fix or warn you about hazards they know about or should know about.

That duty includes:

• Regularly inspecting the property for hazards
• Fixing dangerous conditions in a reasonable amount of time
• Warning visitors about hazards that can’t be fixed immediately
• Keeping walkways, stairs, and entrances well-lit and clear
• Cleaning up spills, ice, snow, and debris promptly

When a property owner fails to meet that standard and you fall and get hurt as a result, you have the right to seek compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Common Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents in Denver

Slip and fall accidents happen in all kinds of places, but certain hazards show up over and over again. We’ve handled cases involving:

• Wet or slippery floors in grocery stores, restaurants, and retail shops — often with no warning signs
• Icy sidewalks and parking lots that weren’t salted or cleared after a snowstorm
• Uneven pavement, cracked concrete, or potholes in walkways and parking areas
• Torn or wrinkled carpeting and rugs
• Poor lighting in stairwells, hallways, and parking garages
• Broken or missing handrails on stairs and ramps
• Cluttered walkways or debris left in high-traffic areas
• Recently mopped floors with no wet floor sign

These aren’t accidents. They’re failures to maintain property and failures to protect people who have every right to be there.

Where Slip and Fall Accidents Happen in Denver

We’ve represented clients who were injured in falls at all kinds of locations throughout Denver, Wheat Ridge, Lakewood, Arvada, Westminster, Thornton, Aurora, Englewood, Littleton, Centennial, and surrounding areas:

• Grocery stores and supermarkets
• Restaurants, bars, and coffee shops
• Apartment buildings and condominiums
• Hotels and motels
• Office buildings and commercial properties
• Shopping malls and retail stores
• Gas stations and convenience stores
• Hospitals and medical facilities
• Parking lots and parking garages
• Public sidewalks adjacent to private property

In each of these places, someone is responsible for keeping the property safe. When they don’t, people get hurt.

Proving Negligence in a Denver Slip and Fall Case

Insurance companies fight slip and fall claims hard. They’ll say the hazard was obvious. They’ll say you weren’t paying attention. They’ll say you’re exaggerating your injuries. That’s why evidence matters so much in these cases.

To prove negligence, we have to show four things:

The property owner owed you a duty of care. If you were lawfully on the property — as a customer, tenant, or guest — the owner owed you a duty to keep the premises reasonably safe.

The property owner breached that duty. This means they either created a dangerous condition, knew about it and didn’t fix it, or should have known about it through reasonable inspection and maintenance.

The breach caused your fall. There has to be a direct connection between the hazard and your accident. If you tripped on a crack in the sidewalk, we need to show that crack caused you to fall.

You suffered damages. This includes your medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and any other losses directly related to the fall.

The key issue in most slip and fall cases is whether the property owner knew or should have known about the hazard. If a spill just happened seconds before you walked through, that’s different from a spill that sat there for hours. If ice has been building up in a parking lot for days without any attempt to clear it, that’s negligence.

Evidence That Strengthens Your Slip and Fall Claim

The best time to gather evidence is right after the accident. The longer you wait, the harder it gets. Surveillance footage gets recorded over. Spills get cleaned up. Witnesses forget details or move on.

If you’re able to do so safely, take these steps after a fall:

• Report the fall to the property owner or manager and ask them to document it in an incident report
• Take photos of the hazard that caused your fall — the wet floor, broken step, uneven pavement, or whatever it was
• Take photos of the surrounding area, including lighting conditions and any lack of warning signs
• Get the names and contact information of anyone who saw you fall
• Write down exactly what happened while the details are fresh in your mind
• Keep the shoes and clothing you were wearing — they can be evidence
• Seek medical attention right away, even if you think you’re okay

After you hire us, we immediately send a preservation letter to the property owner demanding they preserve all evidence, including surveillance video, maintenance logs, incident reports, and inspection records. We interview witnesses, visit the scene, and work with experts when necessary to reconstruct what happened and prove negligence.

Injuries We See in Slip and Fall Cases

People assume slip and fall accidents aren’t serious. Insurance companies certainly want you to believe that. But the reality is that falls cause some of the most devastating injuries we see.

Common injuries from slip and fall accidents include:

• Broken bones — wrists, arms, hips, ankles, and legs
• Traumatic brain injuries and concussions
• Spinal cord injuries and herniated discs
• Shoulder injuries, including rotator cuff tears
• Knee injuries, including torn ligaments and meniscus tears
• Facial injuries and dental damage
• Soft tissue injuries, sprains, and strains
• Cuts, bruises, and lacerations

Older adults are especially vulnerable to serious injuries from falls. A broken hip can change someone’s life permanently. A head injury can lead to lasting cognitive problems. These injuries require surgery, long-term physical therapy, and sometimes round-the-clock care.

Dealing With Insurance Companies After a Slip and Fall

The property owner’s insurance company may contact you soon after your fall. They’ll sound friendly and concerned. They’ll ask you to give a recorded statement about what happened. They may even offer you a quick settlement.

Do not give a recorded statement without talking to a lawyer first. Do not sign anything. Do not accept a settlement offer before you know the full extent of your injuries.

Insurance adjusters are trained to minimize claims. They’ll look for any reason to deny your claim or reduce what they pay. They’ll use your own words against you. They’ll pressure you to settle before you’ve had time to see a doctor or understand how serious your injuries are.

Once you hire us, we handle all communication with the insurance company. We know their tactics, and we don’t let them push our clients around.

Colorado’s Statute of Limitations for Slip and Fall Claims

In Colorado, you generally have two years from the date of your fall to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you don’t file within that time, you lose your right to seek compensation.

Two years might sound like a long time, but it goes faster than you think. Evidence disappears. Witnesses become harder to find. Medical records get stored away. The sooner you contact a lawyer, the stronger your case will be.

There are some exceptions to the two-year rule, especially if the property is owned by a government entity. Claims against cities, counties, or other government agencies have much shorter deadlines — often as little as 180 days to file a notice of claim. If you fell on government property or in a government building, you need to act fast.

What Your Slip and Fall Case Is Worth

Every case is different. The value of your claim depends on the severity of your injuries, how much medical treatment you need, how long you’re out of work, and how the fall affects your daily life.

Compensation in a slip and fall case can include:

• Past and future medical expenses
• Lost wages and lost earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Permanent disability or disfigurement

Insurance companies try to settle these cases as cheaply as possible. They’ll point to any pre-existing conditions you have and argue your injuries aren’t as bad as you say. They’ll offer you a fraction of what your case is worth and hope you take it because you need the money.

We don’t settle cases until we know the full extent of your injuries and the impact on your life. We build a strong case, document every loss, and fight for full compensation.

Colorado’s Comparative Negligence Rule

Colorado follows a rule called modified comparative negligence. That means even if you were partially at fault for your fall, you can still recover compensation — as long as you were less than 50 percent at fault.

Let’s say you tripped on a hazard, but the property owner argues you were looking at your phone and not paying attention. If a jury finds you 20 percent at fault and the property owner 80 percent at fault, your damages would be reduced by 20 percent. So if your total damages were $100,000, you’d recover $80,000.

If you’re found 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing.

Insurance companies use this rule to their advantage. They’ll blame you for not watching where you were going, for wearing the wrong shoes, for being distracted. That’s why it’s important to have a lawyer who knows how to push back and show that the property owner’s negligence was the real cause of your fall.

Why You Need a Denver Slip and Fall Lawyer

You don’t have to hire a lawyer to pursue a slip and fall claim. But trying to handle it on your own puts you at a serious disadvantage.

Property owners and their insurance companies have lawyers. Those lawyers know how to defend these cases. They know what arguments work. They know how to devalue your claim. And they’re betting you don’t know how to fight back.

When you hire McCormick & Murphy, P.C., you level the playing field. We know premises liability law. We know how to investigate these cases and gather the evidence that proves negligence. We know how to deal with insurance adjusters who try to lowball you or deny your claim. And we’re not afraid to take a case to trial if that’s what it takes to get you the compensation you deserve.

How We Handle Slip and Fall Cases

When you call us, we start by listening. We want to know what happened, where it happened, and how you’ve been affected. We’ll ask about your injuries, your medical treatment, and whether you’ve talked to the property owner or their insurance company.

If we take your case, we get to work right away. We send a preservation letter to the property owner. We gather evidence, interview witnesses, and review surveillance footage. We obtain your medical records and work with your doctors to understand the full extent of your injuries.

We build a demand package that lays out the facts, the law, and the damages. We negotiate with the insurance company from a position of strength. And if they refuse to offer fair compensation, we file a lawsuit and take the case to court.

Throughout the process, we keep you informed. We explain your options. We answer your questions. And we fight for your rights every step of the way.

Serving Denver and Communities Throughout Colorado

McCormick & Murphy, P.C. represents slip and fall injury victims in Denver and throughout the surrounding areas, including Wheat Ridge, Lakewood, Arvada, Westminster, Thornton, Northglenn, Commerce City, Aurora, Englewood, Littleton, Centennial, Greenwood Village, Lone Tree, Parker, Highlands Ranch, Castle Rock, Broomfield, Brighton, Longmont, Boulder, Louisville, Lafayette, Superior, Erie, Golden, Morrison, Evergreen, Conifer, Bailey, Pine, Idaho Springs, Georgetown, Estes Park, Fort Collins, Loveland, and Greeley.

Wherever your accident happened, we’re ready to help.

Contact a Denver Slip and Fall Lawyer Today

If you were injured in a slip and fall accident, you have rights. You have the right to hold the property owner accountable. You have the right to seek compensation for your injuries and losses. And you have the right to a lawyer who will fight for you.

Don’t let the insurance company convince you that your case isn’t worth pursuing. Don’t let them pressure you into accepting a settlement that doesn’t come close to covering your medical bills and lost income.

Call McCormick & Murphy, P.C. at 888-668-1182. We’ll review your case, answer your questions, and help you understand your options. You can also visit us at our Denver office at 1547 N Gaylord St UNIT 303, Denver, CO 80206, or online at https://mccormickmurphy.com/denver-personal-injury-attorneys/.

The consultation is free. You don’t pay anything unless we win your case. Let us help you get the compensation you deserve.