Larimer County · Store and restaurant falls
Fort Collins Store and Restaurant Fall Lawyers
Fort Collins store and restaurant fall? Free consultation. No attorney fee unless we recover for you.
Your Legal Standing as a Customer
When you walk into a store or restaurant along College Avenue, Harmony Road, or Mulberry Street to shop or eat, you are generally treated as an invitee under Colorado law. That status matters because it obligates the property owner to address dangers they actually knew about or reasonably should have known about through ordinary care.
A spill or slick floor claim is rarely simple. We look at how the substance ended up on the floor, how long it sat there before someone fell, whether staff or management gave any warning, and whether the business had any practice of checking its floors. These questions shape whether the owner had a fair chance to fix the hazard or warn customers before you were hurt.
We do not assume a business failed just because a customer fell. We also do not assume a wet-floor sign or a mop bucket in the aisle automatically clears the business of responsibility. Each case depends on the specific facts of how the condition arose and how the business responded.
Building the Record After a Fall
Stores and restaurants often have surveillance cameras covering aisles, entrances, and dining areas. Footage can show how long a spill or hazard was present, whether employees walked past it, and how the fall actually happened. Incident reports filled out by management at the time can also lock in details before memories fade or get reshaped.
Cleanup and inspection logs, when a business keeps them, can show whether floors were checked on any regular basis and what staff did once they learned of a spill. We gather this material early because video is frequently overwritten and logs can be discarded as part of routine business practice.
- Photos of the spill, floor condition, or hazard before it gets cleaned up
- The shoes and clothing you were wearing at the time
- Names of any employees or witnesses who saw the fall or the hazard
- A copy of any incident report the business completed
- Medical records from any evaluation or treatment you received
Handling Fall Claims in Larimer County
We work with clients who fell in stores and restaurants across Fort Collins, including areas near College Avenue and Harmony Road, as well as nearby Loveland and Wellington. Many of these injuries get evaluated at UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital, and those medical records often become an important part of documenting what happened.
If a claim moves into litigation, it is typically filed and handled through the Larimer County Justice Center. We are based in Denver and regularly handle matters throughout the region, so distance from our office does not affect how closely we manage a Fort Collins case.
What You May Be Able to Recover
- Medical expenses related to the fall
- Future medical care if your injury requires ongoing treatment
- Lost income from time away from work
- Pain and suffering from your injuries
- Out-of-pocket costs tied to your recovery
What clients say about McCormick & Murphy
Real outcomes and reviews. Check Google reviews for the office that serves Fort Collins — and read client testimonials.
After I was hit by a drunk driver with no insurance, my own insurer refused UM benefits. McCormick & Murphy sued for uninsured motorist benefits and bad faith. A jury awarded me over $900,000.
C. O., Denver · UM / bad-faith verdict
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case depends on its facts, coverage, venue, and evidence.
Fort Collins Store and restaurant falls FAQ
Does a wet-floor sign automatically protect the business?
No. A sign can be evidence the business tried to warn customers, but it does not automatically defeat a claim. We look at where the sign was placed, whether it was visible, and how the hazard developed in the first place.
What if there was no sign at all?
The absence of a sign does not automatically prove the business was careless either. We still need to show the business knew or should have known about the hazard and failed to act on it within a reasonable time.
How do you prove how long a spill was on the floor?
We look to surveillance footage, employee schedules, incident reports, and witness statements. Time-stamped video is often the clearest way to establish how long a hazard sat unaddressed.
I fell at a restaurant near Harmony Road but wasn't sure what caused it. Can I still have a claim?
Possibly. We can investigate the scene, request video footage, and talk to witnesses to help identify what caused the fall. Even if the cause isn't obvious to you right away, that does not mean it can't be established.
Do I need to have reported the fall to store management right away?
Reporting the incident helps create a record, but not reporting it immediately does not automatically bar a claim. We can still gather other evidence, though acting promptly gives us the best chance of preserving footage and witness accounts.
Discuss a Fort Collins premises injury
Free consultation. No attorney fee unless we recover for you.