Recreational businesses in Denver, Colorado offer their residents plenty of opportunities to enjoy water activities. From something as simple as swimming to boating and everything in between. These recreational activities can be a source of adrenaline, excitement, and enjoyment.
However, it is important to note that these businesses have an obligation to ensure your safety while taking part in water activities while you are within their premises. Unfortunately, it isn’t too uncommon for water activities to turn into an accident that can lead to severe injuries and even fatalities.
This is backed up by a grim statistic by the CDC where nearly 11 people in the US die from drowning-related incidents every day. When these accidents occur due to the negligence of the business owner, their victims and loved ones can seek compensation by filing personal injury claims in Denver, Colorado.
How to Prove Negligence in a Water-Related Recreational Injury?
In order to prove negligence, our personal injury lawyer in Colorado must be able to show that the at-fault business owes you a duty of care. The business, through negligence, failed to uphold its duty to you and caused injuries that caused you to suffer damages.
Various types of evidence will be collected, including police investigation, findings from an investigator, medical records, expert opinions, and even photogrammetry evidence to prove negligence.
At Bourassa Law Group, our personal injury attorneys know the ins and outs of building a strong case for you. They have the right set of expertise and experience to get you the highest possible amount of monetary compensation that you can receive from your case.
The Three Elements all Plaintiffs Must Provide
With that said, there are a few elements that you must be able to establish in order to prove negligence. These are as follows:
Duty
You must be able to prove that the business owed you a duty of care. The law imposes a duty on businesses to provide their patrons with a reasonable level of care. The standard of care in businesses is much higher than that expected of others.
Breach
Once it has been established that the business owed you a duty of care, it must then be proven that the business breached its standard of care.
This part can be tricky because there are no set of rules that can be used to determine whether a defendant breached the standard of care.
In the case of businesses that offer water-related recreational activities, experts are brought from the industry to provide their opinion on industry norms and whether the business’s conduct falls within those norms.
Causation
Before the business can be held liable, you must be able to establish that it was their negligence and carelessness that led to your injury.
One way to establish causation is to ask a very simple question:
“Would this incident have occurred if the business had established better safety protocols or standard industry practices?”
If the answer is no, then their action, or lack thereof, caused harm to the plaintiff.
Although the concept of causation appears simple enough at first, it can get rather complicated especially if experts from the industry disagree about what caused the incident to occur in the first place.
What Type of Compensation Can I Receive for Water-Related Recreational Injuries?
Colorado courts may award you with compensation that covers various types of damages, including:
- Medical expenses that you had to pay because of treatment after the injury
- Loss of income that occurred because of the injury, both present and estimated future earnings
- Pain and suffering that was caused by the water-related recreational injury, which usually encompasses intangible damages such as emotional distress, trauma, and PTSD
- Property damage resulting from the incident, such as the loss of equipment while participating in the water-related recreational activity
Wrapping Up
If you or your loved one has been injured because of a water-related recreational incident, you may have grounds to file a personal injury claim. You may also be able to file a wrongful death claim if the incident led to the death of a loved one.
Water-related recreational injuries result in serious injuries and deaths every year. At Bourassa Law Group, our personal injury lawyers in Denver can help you hold the negligent business accountable.
Dial 800-870-8910 and connect to our top-rated personal injury lawyers in Denver, Colorado within seconds. Our goal is to help you get the full compensation you deserve so you can process the pain and grief resulting from the injury.
Note: This article is intended to provide general information only and is not meant to offer legal advice. For professional advice, you should contact us on our provided contact information and we will point you in the right direction.
1-800-870-8910