Colorado Springs Slip and Fall
Ice on a Colorado Springs parking lot. A wet floor at a Briargate retail center. A broken step at a Garden of the Gods trailhead. Any of these can land you in UCHealth Memorial with broken bones, a spinal injury, or a traumatic brain injury. Colorado law gives you specific rights based on why you were on that property, and the clock to act against government defendants starts immediately. CGH Injury Lawyers serves Colorado Springs from our Denver office. Call (303) 209-9395 for a free review.
No fee unless we winA Colorado Springs slip and fall claim is a fact-intensive fight over property owner knowledge, your legal status on the land, and how your percentage of fault stacks up. CGH reviews these cases at no charge. If we take your case, you pay nothing unless we win.
Not every fall qualifies as a compensable premises liability claim. A property owner is not automatically liable because you slipped on their land. Under C.R.S. 13-21-115, liability turns on what the owner knew or should have known, what duty they owed you based on your visitor status, and whether their failure to act caused your injury.
We take cases where the facts support a real claim: a documented hazard the owner ignored, a serious injury requiring medical treatment, and evidence that you were on the property lawfully. We do not take cases we do not believe we can win, and we will tell you plainly if your facts do not support a strong claim. That honesty protects you from wasting time and money on unwinnable litigation.
Injuries we commonly see in Colorado Springs slip and fall cases include: fractured wrists, hips, and ankles from outstretched falls; herniated discs and spinal cord injuries from high-impact drops; traumatic brain injuries from backward head strikes; and soft-tissue tears requiring surgery. If your injury required an emergency room visit, surgery, or extended physical therapy, call us.
Under the Premises Liability Act, C.R.S. 13-21-115, a property owner owes you a duty of care that depends on your legal status when you entered the property. Common-law defenses such as open-and-obvious and natural accumulation are not absolute bars under the PLA; they become factors in the comparative fault analysis rather than automatic shields against liability. There are three categories.
| Visitor status | Who qualifies | What the owner must do |
|---|---|---|
| Invitee | You were invited to enter for the owner's business purposes or as a member of the public invited to use the land | Exercise reasonable care to protect against dangers the owner knew or should have known about; warn of unreasonable risks; inspect and maintain the property |
| Licensee | You entered with permission but for your own purposes, not the owner's business benefit (social guest, for example) | Warn of known dangers that the licensee is unlikely to discover; refrain from willfully or deliberately causing harm |
| Trespasser | You had no permission to be on the property | Refrain from willfully or deliberately causing harm; additional duties apply for child trespassers under the attractive nuisance doctrine |
Most Colorado Springs slip and fall victims are invitees -- shoppers at Citadel Mall, diners at a Tejon Street restaurant, patients at a medical facility, or members of the public using a government building. As an invitee you receive the highest duty of care. The owner must inspect for hazards, fix them within a reasonable time, and warn you of any danger they cannot immediately correct.
The key factual questions in every case: Did the owner know about the hazard (actual notice) or should they have known about it (constructive notice)? Was the hazard present long enough that a reasonable inspection program would have caught it? Did the owner's response -- or failure to respond -- fall below the standard of care?
CGH Injury Lawyers serves Colorado Springs from our Denver office. We know the El Paso County court system, the local property landscape, and the seasonal and structural hazards that generate slip and fall cases here.
El Paso County slip and fall claims are filed in the 4th Judicial District Court, located at 270 S. Tejon Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80903. Government immunity claims against the City of Colorado Springs or El Paso County go through the same court after the mandatory 182-day notice process.
Serious Colorado Springs falls typically route to UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central (Level I Trauma Center) or UCHealth Memorial Hospital North (Level III Trauma Center). Your medical records from these facilities are central evidence in every claim we pursue.
If you were hurt on property owned or controlled by the City of Colorado Springs, El Paso County, or another Colorado government entity, the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)) requires you to file a written notice of claim within 182 days after you discover the injury. This is not a soft deadline. Courts treat it as a jurisdictional prerequisite. Miss it and your right to sue is gone regardless of how serious your injuries are.
The notice must be in writing, describe the injury, identify the claimant, and be served on the proper government office. An informal call or complaint to a city department does not satisfy the requirement.
If the government entity is found liable, the CGIA caps recovery. For claims accruing on or after January 1, 2026, damages against a public entity are capped at $505,000 per person and $1,421,000 per occurrence (C.R.S. 24-10-114(1)(b)).
Do not wait to see how your injuries develop before contacting us. If a government entity is involved, call immediately. We will identify whether the CGIA applies, prepare and serve the notice, and preserve your right to recover.
Kevin Cheney is an American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) member -- an invitation-only recognition for experienced civil trial attorneys. He has tried more than 25 jury trials to verdict. Insurance carriers know the difference between a firm that settles everything and one that will take them to a Colorado Springs courtroom.
Timothy Tarr has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America, a credential based on peer review and professional standing in the Colorado personal injury bar.
Not every fall is a viable case. If the property owner had no notice of the hazard, if your injuries are minor, or if the facts cut against liability under C.R.S. 13-21-115, we will tell you that clearly at the free review stage rather than take your case and string it along.
We obtain incident reports, security camera footage, maintenance logs, and weather records. We identify whether the owner had actual or constructive notice of the hazard. We do not open settlement talks until the evidence picture is complete.
CGH handles slip and fall cases on a contingency basis. You owe us nothing in attorney fees unless we recover for you. There is no cost to you to get a case review.
Our office is at 2701 Lawrence Street, Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. We travel to meet Colorado Springs clients and appear in the 4th Judicial District when the case requires it. Distance is not a barrier to strong representation.
Go to UCHealth Memorial, Penrose Hospital, or the nearest urgent care. Your medical records are the foundation of your claim. Gaps in treatment are used against you by defense counsel.
Ask for a written incident report. Get a copy before you leave if possible. If a city or county facility is involved, the 182-day CGIA notice clock runs from when you discovered your injury -- call us immediately so we can prepare and serve the formal written notice before the deadline.
Photograph the exact spot where you fell, including the hazard itself, any warning signs (or their absence), the surrounding area, and your injuries. If witnesses are present, collect their names and contact information.
Do not wash them. Defense experts examine footwear for tread wear as part of the contributory negligence analysis.
Insurance adjusters may contact you quickly. Anything you say to them can be used to reduce or deny your claim. Call us before you give any recorded statement.
If a government entity is involved, call the same day. We are reachable 24 hours a day.
A successful premises liability claim can recover economic damages and non-economic damages, subject to Colorado's statutory limits.
Economic damages are not capped. They include: all medical expenses past and future (emergency care, surgery, hospitalization, physical therapy, medications, assistive devices); lost wages for time you missed from work; diminished earning capacity if your injury affects your long-term ability to work; and other out-of-pocket costs caused by the injury.
Non-economic damages include pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium. For claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, Colorado caps non-economic damages at $1,500,000 (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5). However, damages for physical impairment or disfigurement are not subject to this cap under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5). If your fall caused permanent physical limitations or scarring, that portion of your recovery is uncapped.
Colorado follows modified comparative negligence (C.R.S. 13-21-111). If you are found partially at fault for the fall, your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault. If you are found to be 50% or more at fault, you recover nothing. This is why defense teams aggressively argue that you were not watching where you were going, that you were wearing improper footwear, or that the hazard was open and obvious. We counter these arguments with the evidence gathered during investigation.
If the at-fault entity is a public body, CGIA damage caps apply: $505,000 per person and $1,421,000 per occurrence for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2026 (C.R.S. 24-10-114(1)(b)).
The defense argues you should have seen the hazard and avoided it. Under C.R.S. 13-21-115, the open-and-obvious nature of a condition is one factor in the comparative fault analysis, not an absolute bar. We document whether the hazard was actually visible from your approach angle and under the lighting conditions at the time of the fall.
Colorado recognizes a natural accumulation rule as part of the comparative negligence analysis. An owner who does nothing to alter naturally accumulated snow or ice may have a partial defense. However, once an owner treats a surface and creates a more dangerous condition -- uneven ice melt, refreezing after inadequate sanding -- the natural accumulation argument weakens. We obtain weather records, salt logs, and maintenance schedules to evaluate this defense in every Colorado Springs winter-fall case.
The owner claims they did not know about the hazard. We answer this by establishing constructive notice: How long was the hazard present? Did the owner have a regular inspection program? Were there prior complaints about the same condition? Incident reports, surveillance footage, and employee maintenance logs are the evidence we pursue.
The defense argues your own actions -- distracted walking, improper footwear, rushing -- contributed to your fall. We build your affirmative evidence first: the hazard existed, the owner knew or should have known, and the owner failed to act. We then contest the percentage the defense assigns to you, because the difference between 49% fault and 50% fault is the difference between recovering damages and recovering nothing under C.R.S. 13-21-111.
Many Colorado Springs slip and fall cases involve commercial general liability (CGL) insurance. In practice, you are not suing your neighbor or a local business owner out of their personal funds. You are making a claim against a commercial insurer. Insurance companies have dedicated defense teams whose job is to minimize what they pay. They are not neutral parties.
CGH communicates directly with the insurer's defense counsel and adjusters. We do not allow our clients to be isolated by early settlement pressure or low-ball offers made before the full extent of injuries is known. We wait for maximum medical improvement before we evaluate settlement value, and we are prepared to file suit if the insurer's number does not reflect the evidence.
For most slip and fall cases against private property owners, the statute of limitations is two years from the date of injury (C.R.S. 13-80-102(1)(a)). If the property was owned by a government entity -- City of Colorado Springs, El Paso County, or another public body -- you must file a written notice of claim within 182 days after you discover the injury under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1). Missing the 182-day government deadline is an absolute bar to suit. Do not wait on any claim.
C.R.S. 13-21-115, the Colorado Premises Liability Act, determines what duty a property owner owed you based on your legal status when you entered. Invitees (customers, members of the public invited onto the land) receive the highest duty: the owner must exercise reasonable care to discover and protect against dangerous conditions. Licensees (social guests) receive a lesser duty. Trespassers receive only the duty to refrain from willful harm. Most Colorado Springs slip and fall victims in retail, restaurant, or public-access settings qualify as invitees.
Yes, as long as you are found less than 50% at fault. Colorado's modified comparative negligence statute (C.R.S. 13-21-111) reduces your recovery by your percentage of fault. If you are found 30% at fault and your damages are $100,000, you recover $70,000. If you are found 50% or more at fault, you recover nothing. The defense will argue you were distracted, wearing improper footwear, or that the hazard was open and obvious. We contest those assignments aggressively.
Call us the same day if possible. Under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1), you must serve a written notice of claim on the City of Colorado Springs within 182 days of discovering your injury. This is a jurisdictional prerequisite -- courts cannot hear your case if you miss this window. We prepare and serve the notice and simultaneously preserve evidence before it disappears. Do not call the city's risk management department first without speaking to us.
Colorado recognizes a natural accumulation defense as part of the comparative fault analysis. If snow or ice accumulated naturally and the owner made no attempt to alter it, the owner has a potential defense. However, once an owner undertakes removal or treatment and does so negligently -- creating uneven ice melt, inadequate sanding that refreezes, or clearing that leaves hidden ice patches -- the defense weakens significantly. We gather weather records and the owner's maintenance logs to evaluate whether the condition was natural or created by negligent maintenance.
Garden of the Gods is managed by the City of Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services department. Falls there involve government immunity analysis under the CGIA. You must serve the 182-day written notice on the City of Colorado Springs. If the claim proceeds and the city is found liable, damages are capped under C.R.S. 24-10-114(1)(b) at $505,000 per person for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2026. Call us immediately after a fall at any public park or government facility.
Yes. Non-economic damages -- pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life -- are recoverable in a Colorado slip and fall claim. For claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025, Colorado caps non-economic damages at $1,500,000 (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5). Damages for physical impairment or disfigurement are not subject to this cap under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5(5). Economic damages including medical bills and lost wages are not capped.
CGH handles slip and fall cases on a contingency fee basis. You owe no attorney fees unless we recover for you. The free case review is exactly that -- free. We evaluate your facts, give you an honest assessment, and if we take your case, our fee comes out of the recovery, not your pocket.
IT'S MORE THAN MONEY.
If you or someone you care about was seriously hurt in a slip and fall in Colorado Springs or anywhere in El Paso County, CGH Injury Lawyers will review your case at no charge. We serve Colorado Springs from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence Street, Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. Call (303) 209-9395 or fill out the form below. We are available 24 hours a day.
CGH Injury Lawyers · 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205 · Serving Colorado Springs from our Denver office
Cheney Galluzzi & Howard, LLC, d/b/a CGH Injury Lawyers. Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case turns on its own facts, injuries, and available insurance coverage. This site is for general information and is not legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.
