Injury at night club

[mobbdeep]

What is the name of your state?
Colorado

Hello,

Last night I was at a night club and I slipped and fell twice in what would have most likely been alcohol and fractured my wrist in two places. This was not due to dancing or being unable to walk but merely a slip and fall twice. The first time I slipped and fell in it two people helped me up but due to them pulling me up off the ground so quickly in the same spot, the second they let go of my hands, I slipped again and fractured my wrist.

Several people suggested I take this up with the night club for the pain/suffering and medical expenses. Is this something I can do?

Thanks!

 

[adjusterjack]

Several people suggested I take this up with the night club for the pain/suffering and medical expenses. Is this something I can do?

I'm sure you have the ability to do just that.

Just understand that you haven't won the lawsuit lottery.

You were at a night club, at night, lots of people drinking, lots of alcohol being sloshed around.

I can't see the night club being liable for alcohol dropped on the floor perhaps moments before you slipped.

What time did this occur?

What were you drinking and how many drinks did you have?

Was this reported to management when it happened?

Do you have the contact information for the people that helped you up.

Did EMTs come and treat you at the scene?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state?
Colorado

Hello,

Last night I was at a night club and I slipped and fell twice in what would have most likely been alcohol and fractured my wrist in two places. This was not due to dancing or being unable to walk but merely a slip and fall twice. The first time I slipped and fell in it two people helped me up but due to them pulling me up off the ground so quickly in the same spot, the second they let go of my hands, I slipped again and fractured my wrist.

Several people suggested I take this up with the night club for the pain/suffering and medical expenses. Is this something I can do?

Thanks!

You must be able to prove that the night club did not take reasonable steps to keep the premises safe to prevent accidents. This can be hard to prove if the management was not notified that someone spilled drinks on the floor.

In addition, Colorado is a “contributory negligence” state which means that, even if the club is somehow found negligent, if you are found to have contributed to the accident (e.g., you were unsteady on your feet due to overconsumption of alcohol), any damages awarded would be reduced by your percentage of fault. If you are judged more than 50% at fault, the night club will not be held liable for your injuries.

There is a two-year statute of limitations for slip and fall accidents, which means if you intend to file a lawsuit, you must do so within two years from the date of your accident.

Personal injury attorneys generally offer free consultations. Speaking to one in your area would be smart to better determine where you stand legally.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state?
Colorado

Hello,

Last night I was at a night club and I slipped and fell twice in what would have most likely been alcohol and fractured my wrist in two places. This was not due to dancing or being unable to walk but merely a slip and fall twice. The first time I slipped and fell in it two people helped me up but due to them pulling me up off the ground so quickly in the same spot, the second they let go of my hands, I slipped again and fractured my wrist.

Several people suggested I take this up with the night club for the pain/suffering and medical expenses. Is this something I can do?

Thanks!

Links to the laws:

Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-21-111: https://law.justia.com/codes/colorado/2020/title-13/article-21/section-13-21-111/

Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-80-102:
https://law.justia.com/codes/colorado/2020/title-13/article-80/section-13-80-102/

 

[zddoodah]

To elaborate on the prior response, you have two paths of recovery:

1. The club probably has insurance that includes a component that will pay up to a specified, relatively small amount for medical expenses (NOT "pain & suffering"). This insurance will pay regardless of legal liability. It will cost you nothing to inquire about this.

2. You will have to prove that the club (more specifically, one or more employees or agents of the club) was negligent and that such negligence caused your injury. How will you prove that?

There are two possibilities. First, that an employee or agent of the club actually caused the spill. Since you didn't mention anything about this, there is probably no chance you could prove this. The second possibility is that one or more employees/agents of the club was on notice of a dangerous condition and failed to take reasonable measures to remedy the situation. In the case of spills, that means you have to prove either that the club had actual notice and didn't act with reasonable promptness or that the spill had been there long enough that the club should have known and failed to act. My guess is that you have little or no way to get evidence to prove any of those things, but maybe.

 

[quincy]

It would be wise to speak to a personal injury lawyer in your area, mobbdeep. To help in your search for a an attorney, here is a link to the Colorado Bar:

https://www.cobar.org/For-the-Public

 

[Taxing Matters]

What is the name of your state?
The first time I slipped and fell in it two people helped me up but due to them pulling me up off the ground so quickly in the same spot, the second they let go of my hands, I slipped again and fractured my wrist.

The part I put in bold could be a problem for you, too, should you sue the night club and this fact gets entered into evidence. The reason is that the club would argue that it wasn't the liquid on the floor that is responsible for your injury, but rather the negligence of the people assisting you in getting up.

It would be wise to speak to a personal injury lawyer in your area, mobbdeep. To help in your search for a an attorney, here is a link to the Colorado Bar:

https://www.cobar.org/For-the-Public

I agree. Though I am a Colorado attorney, personal injury is not my area of practice. Having an attorney will help you get the most out of this, if you find an attorney willing to take it. If the damages are not very large, then the interest may not be there. What were the medical expenses from this? Did you lose any pay from work because of it? Any other losses caused by the injury? Note that typically your fee for the lawyer's time will be one third of whatever is recovered, plus certain actual expenses incurred by the lawyer.

 

[mobbdeep]

Thank you guys, I will be getting in contact with a personal injury lawyer to see what's best for me. I'm definitely not trying to turn this into a money grab but for the sake of the negligence of the night club itself. It's a multi level venue and there's been numerous times I've slipped while holding the handrail and being sober because the insane amount of liquids being spilled on the floor, stairs, etc. There's always tons of plastic cups everywhere and the only attempt ever being made to make sure the floors and stairs are safe is at the end of the night when everyone is gone. I'll be there 3-4 hours at a time and not a single person cleaning anything on the floor.

 

[Just Blue]

Thank you guys, I will be getting in contact with a personal injury lawyer to see what's best for me. I'm definitely not trying to turn this into a money grab but for the sake of the negligence of the night club itself. It's a multi level venue and there's been numerous times I've slipped while holding the handrail and being sober because the insane amount of liquids being spilled on the floor, stairs, etc. There's always tons of plastic cups everywhere and the only attempt ever being made to make sure the floors and stairs are safe is at the end of the night when everyone is gone. I'll be there 3-4 hours at a time and not a single person cleaning anything on the floor.

Then why do you keep going back?

 

[quincy]

Thank you guys, I will be getting in contact with a personal injury lawyer to see what's best for me. I'm definitely not trying to turn this into a money grab but for the sake of the negligence of the night club itself. It's a multi level venue and there's been numerous times I've slipped while holding the handrail and being sober because the insane amount of liquids being spilled on the floor, stairs, etc. There's always tons of plastic cups everywhere and the only attempt ever being made to make sure the floors and stairs are safe is at the end of the night when everyone is gone. I'll be there 3-4 hours at a time and not a single person cleaning anything on the floor.

It is good that you will be speaking with a personal injury lawyer.

The fact that you knew from previous visits to the night club that the floor in the night club was usually slippery can be a bit of a problem - although that same fact can also be a problem for the night club, especially if there have been slip and fall accidents there before and the night club did nothing to make the venue safer for patrons.

The attorney you speak to can do a bit of investigating and determine for you better than we can whether you have a legal action worth pursuing.

I hope your wrist is healing nicely.

 

[mobbdeep]

Well, following up here as May 22nd will be the 2 year mark (statute of limitation) and we've made positive progress. My lawyer received an offer from them today in which he's going to go back and negotiate. The offer was their first offer which was only the cost of my medical expenses before insurance and less than half of what the demand amount was. However, he explained that the original demand amount was an inflated number to leave room for negotiation between both parties. My thing is, the amount they offered and taking out the lawyer fees, it leaves me with half of what they offered which is more than what I personally have, but leaves no room for cushion or anything else. He did keep mentioning how pleased he was with the offer considering the case would be extremely hard but their response on the low ball offer is that I did have a couple of drinks (which is obvious), I didn't report it to any staff, no recollection from the staff of the incident happening, and there's no camera footage showing the incident occurring. Taking that into consideration and thinking about what a case like this would look like in court in front of a judge and 6 jurors — it would look a little bizarre. Without being greedy, I'm thinking we should settle at half of what the original demand was and call it even but my attorney said he's not foreseeing me being able to get double the amount of my medical expenses.

Now, an additional question came to mind when he broke down the numbers for me and what it would look like going to my pockets. He gave me the dollar amount which was literally 50% of what the offer was "after fees and winning taken out." I'm mainly confused because during the entirety of all of this, it was always 35% of whatever the settlement amount was. I've attached the a redacted version of our agreement I signed when hiring them and if it's something extra in the fine print I missed, I'm willing to understand and own up to misreading the fine print. I just want to understand where I missed.

Link to agreement: https://imgur.com/a/tcoCagE

 

[quincy]

Well, following up here as May 22nd will be the 2 year mark (statute of limitation) and we've made positive progress. My lawyer received an offer from them today in which he's going to go back and negotiate. The offer was their first offer which was only the cost of my medical expenses before insurance and less than half of what the demand amount was. However, he explained that the original demand amount was an inflated number to leave room for negotiation between both parties. My thing is, the amount they offered and taking out the lawyer fees, it leaves me with half of what they offered which is more than what I personally have, but leaves no room for cushion or anything else. He did keep mentioning how pleased he was with the offer considering the case would be extremely hard but their response on the low ball offer is that I did have a couple of drinks (which is obvious), I didn't report it to any staff, no recollection from the staff of the incident happening, and there's no camera footage showing the incident occurring. Taking that into consideration and thinking about what a case like this would look like in court in front of a judge and 6 jurors — it would look a little bizarre. Without being greedy, I'm thinking we should settle at half of what the original demand was and call it even but my attorney said he's not foreseeing me being able to get double the amount of my medical expenses.

Now, an additional question came to mind when he broke down the numbers for me and what it would look like going to my pockets. He gave me the dollar amount which was literally 50% of what the offer was "after fees and winning taken out." I'm mainly confused because during the entirety of all of this, it was always 35% of whatever the settlement amount was. I've attached the a redacted version of our agreement I signed when hiring them and if it's something extra in the fine print I missed, I'm willing to understand and own up to misreading the fine print. I just want to understand where I missed.

Link to agreement: https://imgur.com/a/tcoCagE

Sorry, mobbdeep. We cannot review or analyze legal documents. That exceeds the scope of this forum.

You have an attorney. Have the attorney go over the agreement with you until you understand all of the terms and conditions. It doesn’t matter if it takes several attempts by your attorney to explain all aspects of the settlement to your understanding. It’s his job. He should do it without complaint.

The fact that a settlement has been proposed is, indeed, positive news.

 

[mobbdeep]

Sorry, mobbdeep. We cannot review or analyze legal documents. That exceeds the scope of this forum.

You have an attorney. Have the attorney go over the agreement with you until you understand all of the terms and conditions. It doesn’t matter if it takes several attempts by your attorney to explain all aspects of the settlement to your understanding. It’s his job. He should do it without complaint.

The fact that a settlement has been proposed is, indeed, positive news.

Thank you for this information. I will contact him tomorrow to ask for an in-depth breakdown of what fees outside of the 35% reward. And yes, I'm definitely glad that there was an offer considering how difficult this case could be in court.

 

[quincy]

Thank you for this information. I will contact him tomorrow to ask for an in-depth breakdown of what fees outside of the 35% reward. And yes, I'm definitely glad that there was an offer considering how difficult this case could be in court.

I too have concern over how successful you would be in court. This settlement might be the best you can hope for given the facts of the incident as you described them.

Good luck.