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Downtown Longmont, Colorado. CGH Injury Lawyers represents slip and fall victims in Longmont and Boulder County from our Denver office.
Longmont, Colorado

Longmont Slip and Fall Lawyers Who Build Premises Liability Claims to Full Value

A fall at a Longmont grocery store, a retail shop on Main Street, an apartment complex, or a government-owned sidewalk can fracture bones, injure your spine, and upend your life in an instant. CGH Injury Lawyers serves Longmont slip and fall victims from our Denver office, navigates the Premises Liability Act and the 182-day government-notice rule, and files in the Boulder County Combined Court when an owner or insurer refuses to be fair. You pay nothing unless we win.

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Serving Longmont from our Denver Office CGH Injury Lawyers 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201 Denver, CO 80205 (303) 209-9395 Se habla espanol
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  • Longmont slip and fall cases are governed by Colorado's Premises Liability Act (C.R.S. 13-21-115). The duty a property owner owes you depends on whether you were an invitee, a licensee, or a trespasser when you fell. Most Longmont customers, retail shoppers, and apartment tenants qualify as invitees who are owed the highest duty of care.
  • Most Longmont slip and fall injury claims must be filed within two years of the date of the fall (C.R.S. 13-80-102). If you fell on government property, such as a Longmont city sidewalk, a public parking structure, or a city park, you must serve a written notice of claim within 182 days of discovering the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)) or the claim is permanently barred.
  • Colorado follows a modified comparative fault rule (C.R.S. 13-21-111). You can recover damages as long as you were less than 50 percent responsible for your fall. If a property owner or insurer argues you were 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. Documenting the hazard immediately is critical to preserving that recovery.

Longmont's mix of aging commercial buildings along Main Street, high-traffic retail zones, apartment complexes east of US 287, and icy winter conditions on public sidewalks and parking lots creates real premises liability exposure for residents and visitors every year. CGH Injury Lawyers handles Longmont slip and fall claims from our Denver office, files at the Boulder County Combined Court in Longmont when a fair resolution is refused, and advances all costs so you pay nothing unless we recover for you.

The law that governs your case

How Colorado's Premises Liability Act decides what a Longmont property owner owed you (C.R.S. 13-21-115)

Colorado does not use the old common-law negligence framework for most slip and fall cases. Instead, the Premises Liability Act classifies every visitor into one of three categories. That classification determines the exact duty the property owner owed you before you fell, and it shapes every negotiation and every courtroom argument that follows.

  1. Invitee: the highest duty of care

    When you enter a Longmont store, restaurant, shopping center, or apartment complex as a customer or tenant, you are typically an invitee. You are there for the mutual benefit of both you and the property owner. The law requires the owner to actively inspect the property for dangerous conditions, repair them without undue delay, and warn you of hazards that cannot be fixed immediately. A Longmont grocery store that lets a spill sit untreated for twenty minutes while you shop owes you this highest standard. Falling short of it creates liability.

  2. Licensee: a moderate duty

    A licensee enters the property with permission but primarily for their own benefit, not for the owner's commercial advantage. Social guests at a private Longmont home are the clearest example. The owner must warn a licensee of known dangers that are not obvious but has no duty to search for hidden hazards. The distinction between invitee and licensee can affect the outcome of a premises case significantly, which is why establishing your exact status is one of the first things we analyze.

  3. Trespasser: a limited duty

    A trespasser enters without permission and is owed only protection from willful or wanton harm. However, special rules under the attractive nuisance doctrine protect child trespassers who are drawn onto a property by a condition that poses unreasonable danger, such as an unfenced swimming pool or an unsecured construction site accessible from a Longmont neighborhood.

The vast majority of Longmont slip and fall victims who contact us were invitees: shoppers at a Main Street business, tenants in an apartment, visitors to a hotel, or patrons at a restaurant. In those cases the owner's duty was at its highest, and a failure to inspect and fix a floor hazard, an icy entrance, or a broken step creates clear legal liability under C.R.S. 13-21-115.

Where Longmont falls happen

The dangerous conditions behind the most serious Longmont slip and fall claims

Not every fall creates legal liability. The Premises Liability Act requires proof that a dangerous condition existed and that the owner knew or should have known about it. These are the hazards we investigate most often in Longmont premises liability cases.

Winter and outdoor hazards specific to Longmont

  • Ice and snow left uncleared on commercial sidewalks along Main Street and Ken Pratt Boulevard after a storm has passed
  • Refrozen ice patches created by inadequate snow removal in retail parking lots near US 287
  • Flash flooding from St. Vrain Creek drainage that leaves standing water and mud on business entrances and walkways
  • Damaged or uneven pavers in older downtown Longmont districts where freeze-thaw cycles crack and shift pavement

Indoor and structural hazards

  • Wet entryways and tracked-in water without warning signs at Longmont grocery stores, retail shops, and restaurants
  • Broken or missing stair handrails in apartment complexes and older commercial buildings
  • Poorly lit stairwells, parking garages, and building corridors where light fixtures go unrepaired
  • Loose floor mats, torn carpeting, or unmarked step-down transitions at commercial properties along the SH 119 corridor

Longmont maintains an official Winter Weather Road Report each season because snow and ice are documented annual hazards here. That same winter weather that affects the roads creates slip and fall risk on every commercial walkway, parking lot, and apartment entrance in the city. When an owner ignores that risk long after a storm has passed, the natural accumulation rule that usually protects them disappears, and liability attaches.

Snow and ice cases

The natural accumulation rule and when a Longmont property owner is still liable

Colorado follows the natural accumulation rule, which generally shields property owners from liability for ice and snow that falls naturally during a storm. Longmont's documented winter hazard profile means this rule comes up in many premises cases here, and understanding when it stops protecting an owner is essential to evaluating your claim.

When the natural accumulation rule still protects the owner

  • A storm is actively ongoing and accumulation is still in progress
  • The fall occurs so soon after snowfall ends that a reasonable owner could not yet have cleared the surface
  • The condition is the ordinary result of natural weather with no action by the owner that worsened it

When the owner can still be held liable

  • Enough time has passed after the storm for a reasonable owner to clear the walkway or parking lot, and no action was taken
  • The owner began clearing snow or ice but did so negligently, leaving hidden patches or channels that refroze overnight
  • The owner created the hazard through their own actions, such as piling cleared snow in a location where it melted and refroze in a travel path

Recent Colorado Court of Appeals decisions have limited the natural accumulation defense when an owner began snow removal but carried it out carelessly. If the owner started the job and created a more dangerous surface in the process, the natural accumulation defense can fail entirely. We examine the timeline, maintenance records, and property camera footage to establish exactly when the owner became responsible for your fall.

Fell on government property?

The 182-day notice deadline if you fell on a Longmont city sidewalk, park, or public building

If you slipped or tripped on a public sidewalk, in a Longmont city park, in a government office building, or on any property owned or controlled by the City of Longmont, Boulder County, or another public entity, a completely separate set of rules applies. Most people assume they have two years to act, just like a private property case. They do not. The Colorado Governmental Immunity Act imposes a far shorter window that has ended many otherwise valid claims.

  1. File written notice within 182 days of discovering the injury

    Under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1), you must file a formal written notice of claim with the responsible government entity within 182 days of discovering the injury, not 180 days, not one year. The clock starts from when you discovered the injury, not from the date of the fall. This is not a lawsuit. It is a formal pre-suit notice that must be sent to the right government office before any litigation can proceed. Failing to file it almost always ends the claim entirely, regardless of how clear the hazard was.

  2. Identify which government entity controls the property

    A fall on what looks like a city sidewalk in Longmont may involve the City of Longmont, Boulder County, CDOT if the sidewalk borders a state highway, or another public body. The notice must reach the correct entity or it fails. On corridors like US 287 or near public buildings on Main Street, identifying the responsible government party is not always straightforward, and getting it wrong wastes your 182 days.

  3. Confirm that a CGIA immunity exception applies

    The Colorado Governmental Immunity Act grants broad immunity to public entities, but important exceptions exist. Dangerous conditions of public buildings and certain public facilities that the entity knew or should have known about can create liability notwithstanding the general immunity grant. We evaluate whether your Longmont fall fits an exception before investing in the notice process.

  4. Understand the CGIA caps on what you can recover from a government entity

    Even if your claim succeeds against a government entity, the CGIA caps the recovery. For claims accruing on or after January 1, 2026, the per-person limit is $505,000 and the per-occurrence aggregate is $1,421,000 (C.R.S. 24-10-114). There is no willful or wanton conduct exception that lifts these caps. That reality shapes how we value and pursue government-property fall cases differently from private-property cases.

If you fell on a Longmont city sidewalk, in a public park near Boulder County Fairgrounds, or anywhere that a government entity controls the property, call (303) 209-9395 immediately. Six months passes faster than most people expect, and the 182-day notice is not recoverable once it expires.

Building the case

Proving notice and beating the open-and-obvious defense in a Longmont fall case

Winning a Longmont premises liability case requires proving the property owner knew or should have known about the hazard that caused your fall. Owners defend these cases with two arguments above all others: they had no notice, and the hazard was open and obvious. Here is how both work and how we address them.

Actual notice

  • An employee or manager was directly told about the hazardous condition before the fall
  • Prior incident reports or customer complaints about the same hazard are on file
  • Staff members observed the spill, broken step, or icy surface before your fall occurred

Constructive notice

  • The hazard existed long enough that a reasonable inspection would have discovered it
  • Maintenance logs or inspection schedules show the area went unchecked for an unreasonable period
  • In-store or property surveillance footage shows how long the dangerous condition was present before the fall

The open-and-obvious defense: common but not absolute

Colorado property owners frequently argue that the hazard that caused your fall was so visible and apparent that a reasonable person exercising ordinary care would have avoided it. Colorado courts have historically been receptive to this defense, but it is not a guaranteed win for the owner. Recent Colorado Court of Appeals decisions have limited the open-and-obvious rule when the hazard was so unreasonably dangerous that injury was virtually certain even for a careful person.

Whether a hazard was open and obvious is also measured against what a reasonable person in your situation would have seen and been able to avoid. Carrying packages, navigating a crowded Longmont retail aisle, or approaching a dark entryway in winter conditions all affect what a reasonable person would notice. We build the factual record with scene photos, video footage, and witness statements so the open-and-obvious argument fails when the evidence does not support it.

Local knowledge

Longmont courts. Longmont trauma care. Longmont premises.

A Longmont slip and fall claim lives in Longmont: the property where you fell, the hospital that treated you, and the courthouse where any lawsuit is filed. Here is the local ground we work on for every Boulder County premises liability client.

Courthouse

Boulder County Combined Court, Longmont (20th Judicial District)

Longmont slip and fall lawsuits above the county court jurisdictional limit are filed at the Boulder County Combined Court, 1035 Kimbark St, Longmont, CO 80501, (720) 564-2522, in Colorado's 20th Judicial District. Court hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The 20th Judicial District handles civil claims over $15,000, which includes virtually every serious premises liability case. Filing in Longmont rather than at the Boulder courthouse affects local procedural rules, the Longmont-area jury pool, and the defense firms and insurance adjusters your attorney will face across the table. CGH Injury Lawyers handles 20th Judicial District premises cases directly from our Denver office with no additional charge to Longmont clients.

Trauma Care

Longmont United Hospital, Level III Trauma Center

After a serious fall in Longmont, patients are typically treated at Longmont United Hospital (CommonSpirit Health), 1950 Mountain View Ave, Longmont, CO 80501. Longmont United is designated a Level III Trauma Center by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and is also certified as a DNV Comprehensive Stroke Center. Slip and fall injuries, including hip fractures, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and internal trauma, are documented and treated here. Those hospital records form the foundation of the damages claim. We work with those records from day one of every Longmont premises liability case. When injuries are catastrophic and require Level I or Level II care, patients may be transferred to facilities in Denver or Aurora, and we coordinate medical records from every treating facility.

Local Premises Risk

Main Street commercial zone, SH 119 retailers, apartment corridors, and public sidewalks

The downtown Longmont Main Street commercial district concentrates foot traffic around retail, restaurants, and entertainment in buildings that range from newly renovated to decades old. Older buildings along this corridor carry elevated risk of deteriorating stairs, uneven thresholds, and aging handrails. The high-density retail zones along Ken Pratt Boulevard (SH 119) expose pedestrians to large parking lots with inadequate drainage and winter maintenance schedules that do not match actual ice conditions. Apartment complexes east of US 287 generate ongoing stairwell, hallway, and exterior walkway maintenance claims. Public sidewalks throughout Longmont, particularly near Boulder County Fairgrounds and the downtown core, are subject to the CGIA's 182-day notice requirement when the city or county controls the property. We know where Longmont premises liability cases originate and who the responsible parties are.

After the fall

What to do after a slip and fall in Longmont

Premises liability evidence disappears quickly. Store video gets overwritten, spills get mopped up, and ice melts. The steps you take in the minutes and hours after a Longmont fall determine whether the hazard can be proven and what you can recover. These are the actions that matter.

  1. Get emergency medical care

    If your injuries require immediate attention, go to Longmont United Hospital at 1950 Mountain View Ave, Longmont's designated Level III Trauma Center. Even if you feel able to walk away, get examined that day or the next. Hip fractures in older adults, traumatic brain injuries, and spinal disc injuries can all present mild symptoms at first and worsen significantly over hours or days. A medical record created close in time to the fall ties your diagnosis directly to the incident.

  2. Report the fall to the property owner or manager

    Before you leave the property, report the fall to the store manager, building manager, or whoever is responsible for the premises. Ask for a written incident report and keep a copy. This creates a contemporaneous record of the hazard and your fall that the owner cannot later pretend did not happen. If you fell on a Longmont city sidewalk or government property, also make a note of the specific address and time, since the CGIA notice timeline starts from the moment you discover the injury.

  3. Document the scene immediately

    Photograph the hazard, the surrounding area, the lighting conditions, and any warning signs that were or were not present. If you fell on ice in a Longmont parking lot, photograph the extent of the ice, whether any sand or salt had been applied, and where the nearest drainage runs. Get the names and contact information of any witnesses before they leave. Video from your phone of the exact surface is worth more than any description later.

  4. Preserve evidence of the hazard

    Save the shoes and clothing you were wearing. Do not clean them. Sole condition, heel wear, and the absence of defects in your footwear are all things a property owner will attack in litigation. Keep any receipts or records showing you were at the property that day. If the hazard was structural, such as a broken handrail or a damaged step, take multiple photographs from multiple angles before leaving the scene.

  5. Watch for government-entity deadlines

    If your fall happened on a Longmont public sidewalk, in a city-owned building, in a public park, or on any property the City of Longmont or Boulder County controls, the 182-day CGIA notice deadline under C.R.S. 24-10-109(1) has already started. Missing this deadline almost always ends the claim against the government entity, no matter how strong the evidence is. Call us before the window closes.

  6. Contact a Longmont premises liability attorney

    The standard two-year statute of limitations for a private premises claim under C.R.S. 13-80-102 runs from the date of the fall. That feels like a long time, but critical evidence, particularly surveillance footage and maintenance records, disappears within days. A free consultation with CGH Injury Lawyers costs you nothing and puts us in a position to send preservation letters before that evidence is gone.

Compensation

What you can recover after a Longmont slip and fall, even if you were partly at fault

Colorado law lets injured people recover the full documented value of a fall injury and the human cost of living with its consequences. Two broad categories apply to every Boulder County premises liability claim, along with a fault rule that insurers use aggressively to reduce what they pay.

Economic damages (no cap)

  • Medical expenses, past and future, including emergency care at Longmont United and any subsequent surgeries, physical therapy, or long-term treatment
  • Lost wages from time missed at work during recovery
  • Loss of future earning capacity when the fall injury limits your ability to work long-term
  • Costs of assistive devices, home modifications, and long-term care needs
  • Out-of-pocket transportation and care expenses directly caused by the fall

Non-economic and other damages

  • Pain and suffering from the fall and the recovery process
  • Emotional distress and anxiety tied to the injury
  • Loss of enjoyment of life when the fall limits activities that mattered before the injury
  • Loss of consortium when a spouse or family member is affected by the injury
  • Compensation for permanent physical impairment or disfigurement, which carries no cap under Colorado law

Economic damages such as medical bills and lost wages carry no cap in Colorado premises liability cases. Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering are capped at $1,500,000 for claims accruing on or after January 1, 2025 (C.R.S. 13-21-102.5). Compensation for physical impairment or disfigurement carries no cap at all, which is why serious fall injuries involving permanent hip damage, spinal cord injury, or traumatic brain injury can build their core value in those categories.

Colorado's modified comparative fault rule (C.R.S. 13-21-111) allows you to recover as long as you were less than 50 percent responsible for your fall. Your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault. At 50 percent or more, you recover nothing. Property owners and their insurers use this rule as a default opening argument: you were not watching where you were going, you were wearing improper footwear, or you were distracted. Documenting the hazard, the lighting, the warning signs that were absent, and your own path through the space is how we build the record that defeats those arguments at the Boulder County Combined Court.

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Your team

The Longmont slip and fall team behind your case

CGH Injury Lawyers is a eight-attorney Colorado firm founded in 2016, formerly Cheney Galluzzi and Howard. Managing Partner Kevin Cheney is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and has tried over 25 cases to verdict. Timothy G. Tarr has been recognized by Best Lawyers every year since 2023. Every Longmont premises liability case is handled by a licensed Colorado attorney who files and tries cases in the 20th Judicial District, not by a paralegal.

ABOTA member on the team Tim Tarr: Best Lawyers in America since 2023 Over 25 cases to verdict 20th Judicial District experience Bilingual EN / ES Free consultation No fee unless we win

One thing we will tell you upfront: CGH Injury Lawyers does not have a Longmont office. We serve Longmont slip and fall clients from our Denver office at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205. We come to you for meetings when needed, we file at the Boulder County Combined Court in Longmont, and we try cases in the 20th Judicial District. What you get is the work and the result, not a storefront on Main Street.

Frequently asked questions

Longmont slip and fall frequently asked questions

How long do I have to file a slip and fall claim in Longmont?

You generally have two years from the date of the fall to file a personal injury lawsuit against a private property owner under C.R.S. 13-80-102. That deadline starts running the day you fall, not when you finish medical treatment. If you fell on government property, such as a Longmont city sidewalk or a public building, a much shorter 182-day written notice deadline applies under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)). Missing the CGIA notice almost always ends the government-entity portion of your claim permanently. Do not wait to contact an attorney, because evidence from Longmont properties disappears quickly.

Can I sue the City of Longmont if I fell on a public sidewalk?

Yes, in some circumstances, but you must comply with the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act. You must file a formal written notice of claim with the City of Longmont within 182 days of discovering the injury (C.R.S. 24-10-109(1)). The CGIA grants broad immunity to public entities but provides exceptions for dangerous conditions of public buildings and certain public facilities that the entity knew or should have known about. If the claim succeeds, recovery is capped at $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). The combination of the short notice deadline and the CGIA caps makes government-property fall cases distinct from private premises cases.

What if I slipped on ice in a Longmont parking lot during winter?

Colorado follows the natural accumulation rule, which generally protects property owners from liability for ice and snow that falls naturally during a storm. However, if the storm has passed and the owner failed to clear the lot within a reasonable time, or if the owner began snow removal but created a more dangerous refrozen surface in the process, liability can attach. Longmont maintains a Winter Weather Road Report each season because snow and ice are official designated hazards here. The specific timeline after the storm ended, the maintenance records for the parking lot, and any available surveillance footage from the lot are all critical to evaluating whether the owner's natural accumulation defense holds up.

What if the property owner says the hazard was obvious?

The open-and-obvious defense is a common argument in Longmont slip and fall cases, but it is not absolute. Even a visible hazard can create liability under Colorado's Premises Liability Act when the hazard is so unreasonably dangerous that a careful person could not avoid it given the circumstances. Whether a hazard was truly open and obvious depends on lighting conditions, what else was competing for your attention, the layout of the space, and whether adequate warnings were posted. Recent Colorado appellate decisions have limited this defense when owners create conditions that are unreasonably dangerous. We build the factual record that challenges the defense where the evidence does not support it.

What can I recover if I was partly at fault for my fall in Longmont?

Colorado's modified comparative fault rule (C.R.S. 13-21-111) lets you recover as long as you were less than 50 percent responsible for your fall. Your compensation is reduced by your share of fault. For example, if you are found 30 percent at fault, you recover 70 percent of your total damages. If you are found 50 percent or more at fault, you recover nothing. Property owners and their insurers argue contributory fault in almost every Longmont premises liability case as a tool to reduce their payout. Documenting the hazard and the conditions of the property at the time of the fall is the most effective way to limit the fault assigned to you.

Does CGH Injury Lawyers have an office in Longmont?

No. CGH Injury Lawyers has one office, at 2701 Lawrence St., Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205, (303) 209-9395. We serve Longmont and Boulder County slip and fall clients from that office, file premises liability cases at the Boulder County Combined Court in Longmont, and meet you wherever is convenient. There is no additional charge for Longmont clients. We are available in English and Spanish.

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