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Colorado Premises Liability Checklist
A fall can derail your day and your health. Use this step-by-step plan to protect your body, preserve evidence, and prepare for Colorado’s premises liability process if negligence played a role.
Call 911 or request immediate assistance if you suspect a head, spine, or fracture injury. Even if you can stand, schedule a medical evaluation within 48 hours because adrenaline can mask sprains, concussions, and internal injuries. Keep copies of ER notes, diagnostic imaging, and follow-up instructions; they create a contemporaneous record that links your injuries to the fall.
Hazards disappear quickly once staff notice a fall. Use your phone to capture wide and close-up photos, video, and lighting conditions. Include the specific hazard (spill, debris, ice, uneven surface), warning signage (or lack thereof), and your footwear. Jot down the date, exact time, location, weather, and any sensory observations (odor of cleaning products, flickering bulbs, temperature). If bystanders witnessed the incident, politely ask for their names and contact information; their statements often break liability stalemates.
Notify a manager, property owner, or supervisor before you leave. Request a copy of any incident report or, if corporate policy forbids it, note who took your statement and when. Provide factual details (where you fell, visible hazards, that you are injured) and avoid speculation or apologies. Decline recorded statements from insurers until you have legal guidance. Adjusters probe for comparative fault sound bites that can shrink or zero out your claim under C.R.S. § 13-21-111.[4]
Preserve clothing, footwear, and personal items in the same condition they were in after the fall. Do not wash or repair them; defense teams may request inspection to evaluate traction, tread wear, or staining patterns.
Colorado’s Premises Liability Act (CPLA) is the exclusive remedy for injuries tied to the condition of land or activities on it.[1] It classifies visitors as invitees, licensees, or trespassers and calibrates the landowner’s duty accordingly. Invitees (customers, business visitors) receive the highest protection; landowners must exercise reasonable care to discover and address dangers they knew or should have known about.[1] Licensees (social guests) must show the landowner actually knew of the danger. Trespassers are limited to intentional or willful misconduct, with an attractive nuisance carveout for children under fourteen.[1]
As you gather evidence, keep these classifications in mind; they dictate what kind of notice you must prove and frame any future negotiations or litigation.
Most premises liability suits must be filed within two years of the incident.[3]If the fall occurred on city, county, state, or other public property, you also have to deliver written notice to the appropriate governmental entity within 182 days of discovering the injury.[2] Missing either deadline almost always bars recovery, regardless of liability strength. Note the dates in multiple places and set reminders so treatment or repair conversations do not eclipse legal timing.
Expect insurers to argue you share fault, claiming you ignored an obvious hazard, wore inappropriate shoes, or were distracted. Colorado’s modified comparative negligence rule reduces awards by your percentage of fault and bars recovery if you reach 50 percent.[4] Combat this early by documenting lighting levels, signage, maintenance lapses, or other facts that show why the danger wasn’t reasonably avoidable.
Create a case file for medical bills, imaging, prescription receipts, time-off logs, and communication with the property owner or insurer. Summarize each medical appointment and symptom change; detailed notes strengthen causation and damages narratives.
Because the CPLA is technical and deadlines unforgiving, consult a Colorado premises liability attorney early. Counsel can evaluate entrant status, send evidence preservation letters, handle insurer outreach, and ensure filings comply with state statutes.[1]