BOULDER SLIP AND FALL ATTORNEY
Help after an injury on unsafe property.
A fall or another injury on someone’s property can leave you with questions about responsibility and insurance. Francis Law helps you understand the facts and your options.
Looking closely at the property and the fall.
Slip-and-fall claims often turn on the details: the condition of the property, how the injury happened, and what evidence is available. Greg works directly with clients to evaluate those questions and plan the next steps.
The property condition
Photos, incident reports, and maintenance information can help show the condition involved.
What happened
Witness accounts and a clear timeline help explain how the injury occurred.
The effect on your life
Medical records, expenses, and changes to work or daily activities help document the impact.
Keep a clear picture of the property.
A few details can make the first conversation more useful. Bring what you have; you do not need every item before contacting the firm.
- If available, keep photographs of the condition and the surrounding area.
- Save any incident report and note whom you spoke with at the property.
- Record the date, time, weather, and other details you remember about the fall.
Work directly with Greg Francis.
Francis Law is a solo personal injury practice. Your consultation is a chance to describe what happened, ask questions, and discuss whether the firm can help.
The initial 30-minute consultation is free. Representation, fees, and costs are explained in a written agreement before you decide to hire the firm.
Prepare for your consultation.
If available, gather the accident report, photographs, insurance letters, and a brief timeline. Bring your questions. You can contact the firm even if you do not yet have all of the documents.
Explore the full slip and fall guide & FAQs
What To Know About Injury Cases in Boulder
Boulder property owners carry a legal obligation that most people do not think about until something goes wrong. Whether someone operates a brewery on Walnut Street, manages an apartment complex near campus, or owns a commercial building along Broadway, they are required under Colorado law to maintain reasonably safe conditions for the people who come onto their property. When they fail to do that and someone is hurt as a result, the injured person may have a valid premises liability claim regardless of whether the hazard was obvious, whether the owner intended any harm, or whether the business carries insurance.
What makes Boulder premises liability cases distinctive is the variety of property types and the volume of foot traffic moving through them. High-density retail areas, outdoor dining spaces, shared residential walkways, parking structures, and recreational facilities all generate different kinds of hazards and different liability questions. The legal analysis in each case starts with the same core questions: what was the condition, how long had it existed, and did the owner know or should they have known about it before someone got hurt?
Injuries on Someone’s Property
Falls are the most common source of premises liability claims, but they are far from the only way people get seriously hurt on someone else’s property. A broken handrail sends someone down a staircase and results in a fractured wrist or traumatic brain injury. Unsecured shelving in a retail space collapses and causes crush injuries. A dog bite on residential property leaves a visitor with deep lacerations and nerve damage. A poorly maintained pool deck results in a spinal injury. Inadequate lighting in a parking structure creates conditions where an assault occurs that a working security system might have prevented.
What all of these situations have in common is that the injury was foreseeable and the property owner had the ability to prevent it. Colorado premises liability law holds property owners accountable when they fail to address known hazards, regardless of whether the injury came from a fall, an animal, a structural failure, or an unsafe condition that invited criminal activity. Francis Law handles the full range of premises liability claims and evaluates every case against what the property owner knew, what they should have done, and what their failure to act actually cost the person who was hurt.
Falls in Colorado
Slip, trip, and fall claims are contested more aggressively than most injured people expect. Property owners and their insurers have a standard playbook: argue that the condition was open and obvious, that the injured person was not paying attention, that the hazard had only just formed, or that the fall did not actually cause the injuries claimed. Each of these arguments has legal limits, but each also has the potential to reduce or eliminate a recovery if the claim is not built to address them directly.
Colorado’s modified comparative negligence system means that an injured person who is found partially at fault can still recover, as long as their share of fault is under 50 percent. That rule cuts both ways. It gives injured people a path to recovery even when they bear some responsibility, but it also gives insurers an incentive to argue that the injured person was more at fault than the evidence actually supports. A well-documented claim that establishes the property owner’s knowledge of the hazard, the length of time it existed, and the injured person’s reasonable conduct at the time consistently produces better outcomes than one that leaves those questions open for the insurer to answer.
Property Negligence
Property negligence is not about accidents in the general sense. It is about a property owner’s failure to act on a hazard they knew about or should have found through reasonable care. That distinction matters because it determines who bears responsibility when someone is hurt. A customer who trips over a display that has been incorrectly positioned for weeks is a different situation from someone who trips over a display that was moved minutes before. A visitor injured by a railing that building maintenance had flagged as unstable months earlier is a different situation from a railing that failed without any prior indication.
Building the negligence case requires connecting the owner’s knowledge to their inaction. That connection is made through evidence, including maintenance records, prior incident reports, employee communications, inspection logs, and physical documentation of the condition itself. In many cases that evidence exists but disappears quickly if it is not requested promptly. Francis Law focuses on identifying what documentation is available, securing it before it is lost, and building the liability narrative that demonstrates the property owner’s failure to act was the cause of the injury, not bad luck.
Frequently Asked Questions
Evidence, value, and responsibility
What is a slip and fall claim worth?
Value depends on the severity of injuries, medical treatment, liability, and how well the claim is supported by evidence. Even serious injuries may be undervalued if liability is disputed or not clearly established.
Why are slip and fall cases harder to prove?
These cases often depend on showing that a dangerous condition existed and that the property owner knew or should have known about it. Without clear evidence—such as photos, incident reports, or witness information—insurers may deny the claim or dispute liability.
What evidence matters most in a slip and fall claim?
Key evidence can include photos of the condition, incident reports, witness statements, and documentation of how long the hazard existed. In many cases, the strength of the claim depends on what is preserved early.
What if the insurance company says the fall was my fault?
Insurers often argue that the injured person was not paying attention or should have avoided the hazard. Colorado follows a comparative fault system, which means fault can be shared. A careful analysis is often needed to understand how those arguments affect the claim.
Property owners and visitors
What is premises liability?
Premises liability is the area of Colorado law that governs injury claims arising from dangerous conditions on someone else’s property. It applies to a wide range of situations, from falls on commercial property to dog bites on residential land to injuries caused by inadequate security or structural failures.
Does premises liability only apply to businesses?
No. Residential property owners, landlords, and even private homeowners can face premises liability claims when someone is injured due to a hazardous condition on their property. The applicable standard of care depends on the relationship between the owner and the visitor and the nature of the property.
What does it mean that Colorado uses a “duty of care” standard?
A duty of care is a legal obligation to act reasonably to prevent foreseeable harm. In premises liability cases, the property owner’s duty is to maintain their property in a reasonably safe condition for the people they invite onto it. Breach of that duty, combined with an injury that results from the breach, is the foundation of a premises liability claim.
Can I bring a claim if I was injured at a friend’s house?
Yes, though these cases can feel uncomfortable. Homeowner’s insurance typically covers premises liability claims, which means the claim is generally directed at the insurance company rather than your friend personally. An attorney can walk you through how that process works without it necessarily damaging the personal relationship.
What if there was a “no trespassing” or “enter at your own risk” sign?
Disclaimer signs limit but do not always eliminate a property owner’s liability. Colorado law restricts the ability of property owners to waive liability for their own negligence through posted signs alone. Whether a sign affects your claim depends on the specific facts and the language involved.
Specific property injury situations
How does a dog bite claim work under Colorado law?
Colorado has a strict liability statute for dog bites, meaning a dog owner can be held liable for injuries their dog causes without the injured person needing to prove the owner knew the dog was dangerous. There are some exceptions, but in most cases the focus of a dog bite claim is on damages rather than establishing the owner’s fault.
What if the hazard was caused by another customer or visitor, not the property owner?
A property owner can still be liable if they knew or should have known that a hazard created by a third party existed and failed to address it within a reasonable time. A store that ignores a spill for an extended period is in a different legal position than one where the spill just occurred.
Can I bring a claim if the injury happened at a gym or recreational facility where I signed a waiver?
Waivers are enforceable in Colorado but have limits. They generally protect against claims arising from inherent risks of an activity but do not shield a property owner from liability for gross negligence or reckless conduct. Whether a waiver bars your specific claim requires a careful review of both the waiver language and the facts of what happened.
What if I was injured on property that is under construction?
Construction site injuries involve a distinct liability framework. Depending on the circumstances, the general contractor, a subcontractor, the property owner, or a combination may bear responsibility. These cases often involve multiple defendants and require prompt evidence preservation, including site safety logs and contractor agreements, before they are altered or lost.
Getting help and preserving evidence
How quickly should I contact an attorney after a premises liability injury?
As soon as possible. Evidence in premises liability cases, including security footage, incident reports, and the physical condition of the property, disappears faster than in most other injury contexts. The sooner legal guidance is involved, the better the chance of preserving what matters most to the claim.