Greenwood Village Personal Injury Law Blog

How property owners can prepare for premises liability

On behalf of Tomazin, Hillyard & Clor, LLP posted in premises liability on Friday, December 6, 2019.

If a property in Colorado is not maintained, this can lead to accidents and personal injuries. Of course, there are accidents that occur even if a property is well-maintained. In the year 2017, more than 53,000 cases of personal injury were filed. This number has gone down in comparison to previous years, but too many people are still being injured in preventable accidents. This may lead property owners to wonder what they can do to prepare for potential liability at their property.

It is important for property owners to have the right type of insurance coverage. A good environmental assessment is going to look at general risk factors. Depending on the property and where it is located, a superior assessment may be advisable. Property owners should work with reputable insurance companies that are known for providing fair payouts and offering adequate coverage.

Texting and driving isn't the only dangerous distraction

On behalf of Tomazin, Hillyard & Clor, LLP on Thursday, November 21, 2019.

Texting and driving receives a great deal of attention from law enforcement officials, advocacy groups and government officials, as it should. If you use a smartphone while driving, you present a significant risk to everyone on the road.

However, smartphones aren't the only distraction that could lead to devastating crashes. A much more low-tech distraction could do so as well. For instance, if you are eating while driving, it presents a danger also.

How technology is affecting distracted drivers

On behalf of Tomazin, Hillyard & Clor, LLP posted in auto accidents on Wednesday, November 20, 2019.

Many Colorado drivers understand the responsibility they take on when they get behind the wheel. They realize that they have the responsibility to drive in a safe manner and in harmony with the law. Still, people around the country are dying or getting injured because some drivers choose to drive distracted.

For some drivers, the distraction comes from the technologies that are included in their vehicle, like dashboard touchscreens. It is unlikely that automobile manufacturers are going to remove these technologies from their vehicles because they are popular with consumers.

AAA warns against drowsy driving after end of DST

On behalf of Tomazin, Hillyard & Clor, LLP posted in auto accidents on Monday, November 4, 2019.

AAA is warning drivers in Colorado and across the U.S. about the danger of drowsy driving after the end of daylight saving time. Though everyone gets to sleep an extra hour, the disruption of sleep patterns can have an adverse effect that lingers for several days afterward. Studies have shown how car accident numbers increase in the days after DST ends.

In this country, on average, there are 328,000 drowsy driving crashes every year, including 6,400 fatal crashes and 109,000 crashes involving injury. The National Sleep Foundation backs this up and states that 50,000 of those crash-related injuries are debilitating.

Facing the significant cost of a spinal cord injury

On behalf of Tomazin, Hillyard & Clor, LLP on Wednesday, October 30, 2019.

A catastrophic injury may result when someone else's careless or reckless actions lead to an accident. What may have begun as a normal day suddenly became anything but normal. The first days after the accident may have been a blur of doctors, diagnostic tests and pain medicine. When things began to clear, you saw the look of suffering in your loved one's eyes and began to understand how bad things were.

You may feel grateful to be alive after the motor vehicle accident that left you with a spinal cord injury. However, your life just become quite complicated. You may already have a pile of medical bills from your trip to the emergency room and subsequent hospital stay, but this may be only the beginning.

Dangerous amusement park rides can take lives

On behalf of Tomazin, Hillyard & Clor, LLP posted in premises liability on Tuesday, October 22, 2019.

Amusement parks in Colorado and across the country may be driven to develop the next big ride and attract visitors from near and far. The biggest, tallest and fastest roller coaster or water slide may pose a strong appeal to thrill-seekers, but amusement park operators also have a responsibility to protect their guests' safety. Many people who enjoy these thrilling rides are children without the ability to assess their safety. Poorly developed rides can pose a risk of catastrophic injury or even death as illustrated by the case of the tallest water slide in the world.

Erected at the Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas, the ride rose 17 stories in the air and transported guests at up to 70 miles per hour on a raft through a water trail. Despite multiple problems and safety concerns, the ride wasn't shut down until August 2016 after a 10-year-old boy was killed when his raft flew in the air, colliding with a metal pole and safety net.

Would giving truck drivers more time to drive increase the risk?

On behalf of Tomazin, Hillyard & Clor, LLP on Saturday, October 19, 2019.

The federal government regulates how long a truck driver can be on the road before taking certain mandatory rest breaks. Even so, truck driver fatigue remains an issue and a danger for everyone on the roads. Now, the government may relax the hours of service rules, which could potentially worsen an already dangerous situation.

What exactly does the government intend to do? How will it affect you? Others are already asking these questions.

Proving fault after a car accident

On behalf of Tomazin, Hillyard & Clor, LLP on Thursday, October 17, 2019.

Getting the right compensation for your injuries after a serious car wreck is a priority. You will have to demonstrate that the other driver was responsible for the accident in order to successfully get that compensation through a personal injury claim. You know that the other driver was responsible for the accident, but proving fault requires more than just your account of the collision.

Insurance companies are often eager to shift blame to avoid paying out for injuries. As an injury victim, you need a compelling argument. Here is some helpful information for creating and supporting your claim.

Higher speed limits leading to more fatalities

On behalf of Tomazin, Hillyard & Clor, LLP posted in auto accidents on Thursday, October 10, 2019.

Research conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety indicates that rising speed limits have led to an increase in the number of roadway fatalities nationwide. Drivers in Colorado may be interested in the details of the study, which concluded that higher travel speeds have resulted in more traffic deaths even though the number of fatalities overall has dropped since 1993. Until 1995, the speed limit nationwide was 55 mph. Since then, more than 40 states have increased limits to 70 mph or more.

After looking at the number of traffic fatalities annually for the years from 1993 to 2017, IIHS researchers concluded that there were 36,760 more traffic deaths during that period than there would have been if speed limits had remained at 55 mph. The study controlled for factors like the use of seat belts, unemployment rates and the number of younger drivers in an area.

Victims of Walmart shooting cite inadequate security in lawsuit

On behalf of Tomazin, Hillyard & Clor, LLP posted in premises liability on Wednesday, September 25, 2019.

Colorado residents may remember the August 2019 shooting that occurred at an El Paso Walmart Supercenter. One family affected by the shooting has filed a lawsuit against Walmart, stating that its lack of active on-site security at the time of the incident was a form of negligence. The lawsuit poses a challenge to the long-held belief that owners cannot be held responsible for violent acts in retail stores and malls.

News media reports back up the fact that there was no discernible security presence when the gunman went on his rampage. El Paso Walmarts used to have off-duty officers on the premises, but Walmart had discontinued the practice prior to the shooting. In the wake of the shooting, Walmart returned to its original practice.