Establishing Liability in Denver Slip and Fall Cases

Slip and fall accidents are not only embarrassing, they can also lead to serious injuries. If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident, you may have already contacted a qualified slip and fall attorney, but you might be wondering what your next step should be. Establishing liability in Denver slip and fall cases is instrumental to the success of your personal injury claim. An experienced attorney understands that and could devote the time and resources necessary to prove liability and help you recover the damages that you deserve.

Elements in Slip and Fall Cases

The first thing that the plaintiff and their attorney need to prove in a slip and fall case is liability. Specifically, they need to show that the landowner has acted unreasonably in failing to take reasonable steps to protect the plaintiff if a plaintiff is an invitee. If there is a licensee, that standard is lower but the first thing they want to establish is that there was some liability, that there was something dangerous on the premises and that the landowner should have known about it or knew about it and then failed to do anything to protect.

The next thing they want to show is that the plaintiff was injured. They lay out their injuries and have doctors testify that and testify to their injuries, but they also need to prove that their injuries were caused by the landowner’s failure to protect them. They basically want to establish those three things in front of a jury if the case is at trial in order to be successful. If they cannot establish one of those three elements, then in all likelihood, there is going to be a verdict against the plaintiff.

Evidence in Slip and Fall Cases

The best evidence in slip and fall cases is photographs and the testimony of any witnesses that were there. If someone was responsible for shoveling the sidewalks and they say that they were in a hurry and that they were not as thorough as they should have been, that is concrete evidence that could help with establishing liability in Denver slip and fall cases. Sometimes, the second best way they go about getting this is usually through expert testimony where there is an expert in maybe property management who could explain that there is a certain standard that all property management companies use and that through examining photographs and documentation, the expert has determined that the property owner did not follow the standard of care that already exists.

Evidence the Plaintiff Should Try to Collect

The most important pieces of evidence that the plaintiff should try to gather is going to be photographs of the scene, photographs of the substance. If it is a slip and fall on snow and ice and maybe the snow was shoveled off and no salt was put down, so they have ice there, they should take pictures of the whole surrounding area to show that the defendant did a haphazard job and did not really meet the standard that they should have met. The plaintiff should also keep a copy of the incident report, if possible.

How the Age of the Injured Party Can Affect the Outcome of Case

The impact of the injured party’s age can have a significant impact on the outcome of a case. A lot of times, juries are more sympathetic for the elderly to be honest. If there is an elderly person using a walker near their apartment complex and there is ice and snow all over, it draws sympathy towards that person if they slipped and fell because there is a lot that the apartment complex or whoever is being sued could have done to protect the plaintiff and they failed to do it. It really seems more unreasonable when they look at the frailties of the particular plaintiff.

Denver Slip and Fall Attorneys Can Help Establish Liability

If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident, a slip and fall attorney can be an invaluable asset when trying to prove liability. One of the major elements of establishing liability in Denver slip and fall cases is showing that the defendants could have taken reasonable steps to find out about the dangerous condition on the property. Usually, there is not a fight over the ice being dangerous. Everyone has kind of agreed at this point that ice on the ground is a dangerous condition, the attorney’s job is to show evidence that a defendant either acted unreasonably or did not act appropriately in clearing or salting the ice. That is to say,  that the defendant’s actions did not align with what a reasonable person would do. Work with a qualified slip and fall accident lawyer that could help you prove liability and recover damages.