Woman Receives $4 Million After Sustaining Injuries From Fall

Lakewood, Colorado Personal Injury Lawyer Serving Denver, Boulder, and Nearby Areas

Posted: July 15, 2018

Some people in Colorado do not take the possibility of a premises liability suit seriously, and this is particularly evident during and after snowstorms. A recent ruling for this type of suit may change the minds of these people though. According to reports, a woman living in a condo complex was involved in a slip and fall incident that resulted in her sustaining some very serious back injuries, so serious in fact that she is now disabled. Interestingly, the woman slipped on her own steps, so how was she able to file a lawsuit in this case?

The answer is simple: the condominium’s bylaws indicated that the homeowners’ association and the managing agent were responsible for clearing ice and snow. The costly incident occurred on Jan. 11, 2009, around 6 p.m. The woman, now 59 years old, left her home to visit one of her neighbors. As she walked down the steps that connected her patio to her walkway, she slipped and fell. A meteorologist who testified for the plaintiff indicated that two inches of snow had fallen the day before and freezing rain had occurred that morning.

Through its managing agent, the homeowners’ association had hired a company to perform snow removal duties. But a worker for the company failed to adequately address the ice and snow on this woman’s property. According to her and her husband, the ice on the patio had not been addressed. A neighbor across the street testified that some of the snow had been removed from her steps but none of it had been removed from the patio. These conditions resulted in multiple spinal fractures, which necessitated surgery to be properly addressed. Medical exams indicated that the woman is totally disabled and will suffer from chronic pain for the rest of her days.

The jury awarded the woman more than $4 million with the managing agent holding 75 percent of the responsibility and the snow removal service holding the remaining 25 percent. If you have been hurt in an  incident, speak with a slip-and-fall attorney so that you do not have to pay for the medical expenses stemming from any injuries.

Source: Staten Island Live, “Staten Island woman awarded $4M in slip-and-fall lawsuit” Frank Donnelly, Jun. 10, 2013