Posted on January 13, 2022 in Car Accident

Getting hit by a car can be an immensely terrifying experience. Pedestrians who are struck by motor vehicles often sustain severe injuries, as they have nothing to protect them against the impact. Drivers have a duty to be aware of the pedestrians around their vehicle and take care to avoid striking one. Pedestrian accidents often happen very quickly, with little to no warning and no opportunity to get out of the way. You may or may not have seen the careless driver coming. The driver may or may not have seen you coming.

The causes of pedestrian accidents can be complex. If you were hit by a car, it is important that you contact a qualified lawyer as soon as you can. The sooner an attorney is able to start documenting evidence, the more evidence is likely to still be undisturbed and available for your legal purposes.

What Causes Most Pedestrian Accidents in Colorado?

Most often, pedestrian collisions are the result of a driver who neglected his duty to use an appropriate level of care to avoid injuring others. In some cases, pedestrians do share some responsibility, but it may still be possible for partially at-fault pedestrians to recover some compensation depending on the exact circumstances. Pedestrian accidents often happen due to:

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on January 06, 2022 in Wrongful Death

Losing any loved one due to someone else’s carelessness can be emotionally devastating. You may be experiencing a lot of grief and anger about the death, and eager to seek damages from the responsible party. Colorado, like most states, limits who has the standing to file a wrongful death suit. These claims are reserved for those immediate family members most likely to be affected not just emotionally, but financially, by the loss. The goal is to make sure those most harmed are compensated. If you have lost a close relative because someone was careless about their safety, speaking to an attorney is the first step to recovering damages.

Which Relatives Are Eligible to File a Larimer County Wrongful Death Action?

If the decedent was married, Colorado grants his spouse the exclusive right to sue for wrongful death during the first year after the fatal accident, although the spouse can join others if she chooses. This makes quite a bit of sense. Spouses often depend on one another, both financially and in other aspects of life. When a person loses their spouse unexpectedly in an accident, they are the one most likely to suffer financially as a result and to have expenses associated with the death. If there are young children involved, it is most frequently the surviving spouse who now bears all of the childrearing responsibility.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on December 29, 2021 in Personal Injury

Colorado is well-known for its ski slopes. Our state’s many ski resorts attract visitors from all over the country during the wintertime. Skiing and snowboarding can be great fun but are also at times dangerous. There are a number of ways for accidents to happen on Colorado’s ski slopes, and in some instances, it may be possible to recover compensation for your injuries. However, whether you will be able to recover depends on a number of factors. Your accident will need to be considered on a case-by-case basis by a qualified attorney to determine whether seeking damages is the right course of action for you.

What Does Colorado’s Ski Safety Act Do?

If you plan on participating in these winter sports over the holidays, you should be aware of the Colorado Ski Safety Act. This act limits the liability of ski resort operators for injuries that occur on their property. Ski resorts cannot be held liable for accidents and injuries “resulting from any of the inherent dangers and risks of skiing.” The act effectively recognizes that skiing and snowboarding are risky activities that may result in injuries even if the resort has done everything possible to promote safety.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on December 20, 2021 in Car Accident

After a single-car accident, you may be wondering how you will handle all the expenses associated with the car crash. If another driver did not hit you, it may not be clear who you could seek compensation from and how you will recover damages. Depending on who or what caused your accident, it may still be possible to be compensated. Another person could have contributed to your accident, even if they did not directly crash into you. If you were hurt in a single-car accident that may have been caused by another’s negligence, it is best to speak to an attorney as soon as possible. Proving this type of claim can sometimes be a challenge.

Who May I Have a Claim Against if Only My Vehicle Crashed?

There can be situations where a single-car accident is not only not the driver’s fault, but the fault of a third party. It is important to look into the circumstances of a single-car crash to determine who may be liable if someone other than the driver contributed to the accident. The driver of a lone crashed vehicle may still have a claim against another person in these situations:

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on December 14, 2021 in Car Accident

After an accident, you may easily be able to tell that the other driver is impaired. They could be slurring their words, not making much sense, stumbling around, or even nodding off. In that case, it will generally be obvious to the police as well. Other times, it may not be immediately obvious that drugs or alcohol were a factor, such as if the intoxicated driver is badly injured and quickly transported to the hospital. In these cases, the accident scene itself may offer a few clues as to the at-fault driver’s sobriety.

If you think the driver who crashed into you may have been drunk, calling an attorney when the police are done can be to your benefit. A lawyer may be able to help you later prove that the responsible driver was intoxicated at the time.

What Signs Suggest that Drugs or Alcohol Were Involved in a Crash?

It is important to remember that none of these signs are definitive. Any number of things other than drug or alcohol impairment could cause a driver to have an accident that resembles a DUI crash. A person who has a seizure while driving, for example, could leave behind a similar accident scene. However, if you notice that multiple clues are present, it may be worth a closer investigation to determine whether drugs played a role. Keep an eye out for:

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on December 07, 2021 in Car Accident

Rideshare services are a popular and often convenient way to get around. They are less expensive than traditional cabs and often easier to find, but there are some drawbacks. Rideshare drivers do not have any special training or licensing. Very few qualifications aside from having a valid driver’s license are typically required. So, it is no surprise that some rideshare passengers become involved in car accidents caused by careless drivers. If you were hurt in a rideshare accident, you will want to call a qualified lawyer as soon as you can, as claims against rideshare services can be quite complicated.

Why Rideshare Drivers Crash

It is important to remember that rideshare drivers are not trained professionals. Many drive in their spare time occasionally and have other priorities. Reasons rideshare drivers may cause accidents include:

• Distraction - Drivers may be focused on using their rideshare app to navigate or manage the ride. Those who have other jobs may simply be focused on something else going on in their life, possibly using their cell phone for another purpose such as sending emails or checking messages.

  Continue Reading ››

 Posted on November 25, 2021 in Workplace Injury

Electrocution injuries can be extremely serious, or even fatal. Electrical burns can cause permanent disfigurement and lead to long hospitalizations. Cardiac complications can result. Most workplace accidents are avoidable when reasonable precautions are taken. Employer negligence is often the cause of electrocution accidents on job sites. If you were electrocuted at work, you should speak to a workplace accidents lawyer immediately. Your attorney will want to conduct a complete investigation aimed at proving the cause of your accident so that you can recover compensation for your injuries, whether through workers’ compensation or another legal recourse.

What Types of Employer Negligence Cause Workplace Electrocutions?

Employers have a duty to keep their workplaces reasonably safe. Although certain industries, like construction, come with an increased level of risk, the employer must still take reasonable precautions to reduce the risk of injuries. Your workplace electrocution could have been caused by:

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on November 15, 2021 in Car Accident

Recreational and medical cannabis use has been legal for adults 21 and over in Colorado for years. Detecting an odor of cannabis from a residential property is no longer grounds for calling the police, but the same smell emanating from the vehicle that just hit yours is. Driving under the influence of marijuana is a crime in Colorado - and it may be an easy way to establish negligence. Drugged driving is a crime because it is dangerous. When someone chooses to drive despite feeling the effects of cannabis, they are being careless with the safety of others. If you were hurt by a driver who may have been under the influence, you should get in contact with a personal injury lawyer who can set you on the path to recovering compensation.

How Cannabis and Alcohol Use Affect Accident Claims

Driving under the influence of cannabis is just as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol, and just as illegal. Colorado treats alcohol and cannabis DUIs in much the same way. If the driver who caused your accident was “high,” he could be subject to arrest on top of being liable to you in a lawsuit. Because driving while impaired - whether by alcohol, cannabis, or another substance - is illegal and highly dangerous, the presumption is that a drunk or drugged driver is liable.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on November 10, 2021 in Car Accident

Driver fatigue is one of the leading causes of crashes involving large trucks. Commercial truck drivers work long hours - sometimes longer than they are supposed to. A series of federal regulations govern how long a trucker can drive without stopping, and how long his breaks must be. When drivers ignore those regulations - sometimes with their company’s blessing - devastating crashes can result. The difficulty can be in proving that driver fatigue contributed to the crash. If you were hurt in a trucking accident, it would be wise to contact an attorney as soon as you can. Important evidence can be lost or destroyed very quickly after an accident, so you will want to have your own attorney start investigating right away.

How Can it be Proven that Driver Fatigue Caused the Accident?

A truck driver may be quite literally asleep at the wheel one moment and wide awake the next. In the aftermath of a crash, an adrenaline-fueled driver may not show any signs of drowsiness when the police come to take their report. Officers cannot use roadside drowsiness tests as they would use roadside sobriety tests for a drunk driver. Personal injury lawyers must instead rely on other means to prove that driver fatigue contributed to the accident.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on November 04, 2021 in Workplace Injury

On October 21, tragedy struck the set of actor Alec Baldwin's movie “Rust” when a prop gun went off, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Negligence-based lawsuits are expected to be filed on behalf of the victims, and Santa Fe County Prosecutors are investigating to determine whether criminal charges should be filed. The incident took place in New Mexico, and so will any resulting lawsuit. This blog will consider how the lawsuit may play out if the incident had occurred in Colorado.

How Did the Shooting Happen and How Does Colorado Law Apply?

Facts and details about how a live round found its way into what was supposed to be a “cold” prop gun are still emerging. Clearly, a lot of important industry safety protocols were missed somewhere along the line. Ammunition is generally forbidden on movie sets for this exact reason. Attorneys for the film’s armorer have stated that she did not know where the bullet came from, however, veteran armorers have stated in multiple interviews since the tragic event that the ultimate responsibility for all firearms and ammunition on a film set lies with the armorer.

Continue Reading ››