Notice in Denver Slip and Fall Cases

Notice in Denver slip and fall cases means that the landowner was aware of the condition that caused injury to the injured party. If a person is shopping in a store and water leaks out of a jug that is on a shelf and an employee sees the water but does nothing of it, well, the notice is there. The employee saw it. A representative of the store knew of this dangerous condition and chose to do nothing so that is imputed to the store and if that person were to testify, they would have to mention the standard in which they knew of this danger. Basically, notice is what knowledge did they have. If you have slipped and fallen in an accident, work with a skilled slip and fall lawyer that could help you establish notice in your case.

Constructive Notice

Constructive notice in Denver slip and fall cases comes into play when given all of the facts and circumstances known to the defendant: they should have known of the danger, not necessarily that they did see it but had they done a proper investigation, then they would have seen it. Going back to the water example, if there is a policy that requires floor checks every 15 minutes and no floor check is done in that time period but the water accumulates there, had the place followed their obligations and done what they should have done, they would have knowledge of that. Therefore, that is when constructive comes into play. While the victim may not have actually had knowledge about it but they should have so that is going to make them liable and make them responsible.

Is Denver a Contributory or a Comparative Negligence Jurisdiction?

It is a comparative negligence jurisdiction; a jury will apportion fault to both the plaintiff and the defendant with facts that support that kind of apportionment. A lot of times in slip and fall cases, there is some percentage of negligence being apportioned to the plaintiff simply because juries are not too favorable to slip and fall cases but they believe that if a person is walking down an aisle and they and fall on some substance in the aisle, they probably should have seen it.

A person has the 100% of total fault that can be apportioned. For example, the court might say that they are going to apportion 85% to the defendant because they should have taken reasonable steps to clean this up; however, they are also going to apportion 15% to the plaintiff because the plaintiff should have seen the water that they slipped on and so they are not completely free from fault.

Discuss Notices with a Denver Slip and Fall Attorney

Before your consultation with a slip and fall attorney, you should be prepared to share any information you have gathered from the time the slip and fall occurred until the date that you meet with your lawyer. You should be prepared to share information about any other claims that you have made, any other instances where you have been injured where it was someone else’s fault because a personal injury and slip and fall lawyer will understand that those questions are all coming from an insurance adjuster or a defense attorney at some point so they like to be ahead of the game and know those things ahead of time.

If you have been injured in a slip and fall incident and want to know more about the role of notice in Denver slip and fall cases, work with an experienced slip and fall lawyer that can attempt to get you the damages that you deserve. Call our office to get started.