Duty of Care in Denver Slip and Fall Cases 

The property owner’s duty of care in Denver slip and fall cases changes based on the status of the person that is on the property. There are three classifications for a person on the property of another. Those three are an invitee, a licensee, and a trespasser. However, regardless of the person’s classification, the property owner still has a duty to observe a reasonable standard of care and maintain a safe premises. If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident due to a negligent property owner, consult a distinguished slip and fall lawyer that could help you file your personal injury claim.

Property Owner Obligations

The obligations of the property owner are determined on what the status of the person who is on their land is. If a person is an invitee on the land and the obligations of that property owner are to discover dangers that are on the property and take reasonable steps to warn or protect against those dangers so that the invitee is not injured.

That occurs if a person is at a department store and there is water on the floor of the produce section. The department store has a duty or an obligation to make routine checks to see if the water is there or not and if it is there, to clean it up, and the failure to do that then becomes unreasonable.

If a person is a licensee and if they actually know of a danger on the property, then the landowner is required to protect them from that. If there is some latent or something hidden on the property that they are unaware of, then there is really no duty or obligation on them to protect for that.

Defining the Standard of Reasonable Care

When discussing duty of care in Denver slip and fall cases, it is important to consider whether the property was also observing a reasonable standard of care. The standard of reasonable care is basically the landowner acting counter to how a reasonable person would under the same or similar circumstances.

A jury would ask, whether most people would conduct themselves the same way given the circumstances and if they would have, then the jury will typically say, that an action reasonable, or if they did something that the jury feels other stores and landowners would not have done, then they then determine that that was unreasonable.

Invitees

If an individual is an invitee on the premises, the person can recover from damages if the landowner has unreasonably failed to exercise reasonable care to protect against dangers which the landowner knew about or should have known about, which basically means they have failed to act as a reasonable person under the same or similar circumstances but also that that failure is unreasonable. If the jury determines that they were reasonable in doing it, then a person does not meet that standard.

Licensees

If an individual is a licensee, they can recover for the landowner’s unreasonable failure to exercise reasonable care with respect to dangers created by the landowner which they actually knew about, which is a big separation, if an individual is an invitee, the standard is that the landowner actually knew or should have known.

If the person is a licensee, they have to prove that the landowner actually knew about it. There is no should have known classification. If there is something special on the property that they have introduced or that they are aware of and failed to warn their licensee about, then the licensee may recover damages. There is a higher standard for licensees than for an invitee.

Trespassers

Trespassers can only recover for damages willfully or deliberately caused by the landowner. It has to be some sort of intentional conduct.

As far as trespassers go, a property owner’s duty of care in Denver slip and fall cases is just that they have to refrain from doing intentional damage to the trespasser. If the property owner is unaware of their obligations, it does not affect their liability.

Consulting a Slip and Fall Lawyer

In order to learn more about duty of care in Denver slip and fall cases, seek experienced legal counsel. A knowledgeable attorney can answer any questions you may have about slip and fall accidents, and could evaluate your claim. If you have a case, the lawyer could devote the time and resources necessary to ensure that you receive the damages that you deserve.