Ouray, CO Personal Injury Law Firms & Lawyers

What does the driver being a "big over 300 pound guy" have to do with the liability analysis in arriving at fault for the accident? The rules of the road require that all motor vehicle operators (1) maintain a safe following distance, (2) operate in control at all times (3) keep a lookout and (4) drive safely under the circumstances. The fact that it was raining and the road surface was more slippery than usual is a circumstance requiring that extra safety precautions, i.e. increasing following distance, be employed. The "stopped short" defense is rarely if ever successful, in view of the above 4 rules of the road. You are liable. Your insurance would defend you and pay up to the policy limit. However, you opted not to have insurance. Therefore, you should take the money that you saved by not having insurance and hire an attorney to defend you and think of a way to minimize your liability exposure. I wish you the best.

$80,000 would be too low IF liability is clearly against the defendant(s). Often, slip and fall cases aren't all too clear on the issue of liability, and so this issue must be factored in to the valuation on settlement. Because if the matter went to trial, and you lost the case (because the jury found the defendants weren't liable) then $80,000 would seem like a great settlement. However, if you could "look into a crystal ball" and know the jury would find the defendants liable (i.e. at fault) then (in my opinion) $80,000 would be too little. So, since I don't know how good (or not) the liability is against the defendant(s), I really can't say for sure. Please call if you would like to discuss this directly.

You must establish that the gym did something wrong or failed to do something they were required to do. Just because you slipped on the ice doesn't make the property owner or tenant liable. How were they negligent?