Practice Area
Hurt by a dangerous condition on someone else’s property? Colorado law decides what the owner owed you. We prove what they knew and what they should have fixed, and you pay nothing unless we recover.
When you hire Smith & Weidinger, you work with the lawyer handling your case, not a call center. Founding partner Matthew A. Weidinger focuses on serious-injury cases with complex liability and damages. Before co-founding the firm, he worked at large and small personal injury firms in Denver and Colorado Springs and served as a Deputy District Attorney in Mesa County.
Injuries caused by dangerous property conditions are one of Matthew’s focus areas. We handle slip, trip, and fall claims against stores, restaurants, apartment complexes, landlords, property managers, and public entities from our offices in Denver (1040 S. Gaylord St.) and Colorado Springs (415 N. Tejon St.). These cases usually turn on what the owner knew, and that evidence disappears fast.
Colorado’s Premises Liability Act (C.R.S. 13-21-115) sets three levels of duty, and the judge decides which one applies.
Most premises injury lawsuits in Colorado must be filed within two years (C.R.S. 13-80-102(1)(a)). That’s a year shorter than the deadline for car crashes. If you fell on public property, like a public building, a city sidewalk, or a facility in a public park, the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act applies. It requires written notice within 182 days, limits the kinds of conditions that qualify, and caps damages.
Most claims against a business or homeowner are paid by the property’s liability insurance. If you fell at work, workers’ compensation is usually your remedy against your employer, but a claim against a different company that controlled the property may still be possible. We sort out which claims you have before any deadline passes.
Colorado personal injury
Stores and buildings often record over surveillance video within days. Get a free consultation with a Colorado injury attorney. Not a screener.
You pay nothing upfront.
Not a call center.
Serious-injury crashes and the insurance claims that follow.
Commercial trucking crashes with complex liability.
Injuries caused by dangerous property conditions.
Property owners and their insurers defend falls the same way: the hazard was obvious, it hadn’t been there long, or you should have been watching. Answering that takes proof gathered early, before the floor is mopped, the ice is salted, and the video is overwritten.
We also look past the owner to everyone responsible for the property’s condition.
Every premises claim is built from the same pieces:
Photos, measurements, lighting, and the exact spot. A broken step or a slick surface can be tested and documented.
Inspection logs, cleaning schedules, prior complaints, and work orders that show the owner knew or should have known.
Store and building surveillance. We send preservation letters right away.
The owner, a tenant business, a property manager, and the snow-removal or maintenance contractor.
Falls cause fractures, head injuries, and back injuries that can take months to heal. We document the whole recovery.
We look at all of it. Then we decide, with you, whether to settle or file suit.
You talk with a lawyer, not a screener. We explain your options, the deadlines that apply, and how our contingency fee works.
Get the care you need. We deal with the insurance companies and help coordinate MedPay, health insurance, and providers so your treatment doesn't stall.
We collect the reports, photos, video, witness statements, and records, and we send preservation letters before evidence is lost.
Once your doctors have a clear picture of your recovery, we document your losses (medical bills, lost income, future care, and how the injury changed your life) and present the claim.
We negotiate with every insurer involved, and with the health plans and providers that want to be repaid, so more of the settlement stays with you.
If the insurer won't be fair, we file suit before the deadline and prepare the case for trial. Most cases settle, and that preparation is what gets them to a fair number.
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These are the questions we hear most after a fall. The answers below are general. Where you fell, why you were there, and what the owner knew decide how they apply to you.
Generally two years from the fall. If you fell on public property, written notice is due within 182 days. Evidence like video and cleaning logs disappears much sooner, so talk to a lawyer early.
Possibly. Weather alone doesn’t decide it. The question is whether the owner used reasonable care, which can depend on how long the ice was there, whether the owner shoveled, salted, or warned, and whether something like a leaking gutter or poor drainage made it worse.
You can still recover if you were less than 50% at fault. Your compensation is reduced by your share of the fault. Owners often argue a hazard was obvious, and photos taken right away help answer that.
Get medical care, report the fall to a manager, and ask that an incident report be made. Photograph the hazard, your shoes, and the area, and get witness names. Don’t give a recorded statement to the store’s insurer before you talk to a lawyer.
Sometimes. Colorado’s Governmental Immunity Act allows some claims for dangerous conditions of public buildings and of streets and sidewalks within city limits, but the rules are narrow, damages are capped, and written notice is due within 182 days.
Possibly. A social guest is usually a licensee, so the question is whether the homeowner knew about the danger and failed to fix it or warn you. These claims are usually paid by homeowner’s insurance, not by your friend personally.
