Denver Negligent Ice/Snow Removal Attorneys

Property owners and building managers in Colorado are responsible for making sure their properties won’t endanger visitors or put them at risk of injury. During the winter months, this should involve removing the ice and/or snow from the sidewalks, parking lots, walkways, and other areas around building entrances. When property owners or managers overlook this responsibility, accidents and serious injuries can happen.

At Dormer Harpring, our Denver personal injury lawyers are dedicated to helping people when unsafe property conditions cause accidents and injuries. Focused on our clients’ needs and the pursuit of justice, we are tireless advocates who are ready to help you get onto the path to recovery so you can get your life back to normal. Our goal is to bring your case to a successful resolution so you can focus on healing, your overall recovery, and your future.

Removing Ice & Snow: General Obligations for Maintaining Safe Premises

In general, the duty to remove ice and snow (to keep properties safe for visitors) usually requires building owners/managers to:

• Shovel/remove snow from main walkways or corridors
• Identify areas with black ice or other hidden ice
• Put salt down on these areas to prevent re-freezing (to limit additional slipping hazards)
• Ensure that the water from melting ice and/or snow properly drains off (and does not create a new slip-and-fall risk for visitors)
• Post signs or other warnings to alert visitors that certain areas may be wet or icy and to proceed with caution.

This duty to remove ice and snow generally extends to:

• All known dangers at a property
• Any dangers that a “reasonable” person in the same situation would recognize and address.

In other words, property owners and managers cannot necessarily avoid their responsibilities to remove ice and snow because they simply didn’t know about its presence.

Negligent Ice or Snow Removal Claims in Colorado: More Important Information

• Filing deadlines – When negligent ice or snow removal causes accidents and injuries, injured people will generally have two years from the date of their accident to file a claim for compensation. Put in legal terms, there is a two-year statute of limitations for negligent ice and snow removal claims in Colorado.
• When a government entity is involved – When the responsible party is a government entity (because, for instance, the accident occurred at a park, a public school, etc.), the filing deadlines are much shorter, and the procedures are different. In these situations, consulting an attorney as soon as possible will be important to preserving claims for recovery.
  

Contact a Denver Premises Liability Attorney

If you have been hurt in an accident on someone else’s property, contact a Denver premises liability lawyer at Dormer Harpring for unique representation as you get onto the path to recovery. From our Denver office, our attorneys provide exceptional representation to people throughout Denver County, Adams County, Boulder County, Arapahoe County, Jefferson County, and the State of Colorado.