Dangerous conditions such as torn carpeting, unmarked changes in floor height, poor lighting, cracked or broken stairs, or unmarked wet floor or carpet inside a building can cause someone to slip and fall and get hurt.
In addition, a slip and fall injury might be caused by inadequate snow and ice removal, or a hidden hazard like leaves covering a pothole on a sidewalk.
A person injured in a slip and fall on another’s property must prove that a dangerous condition caused their injuries, and that the owner or possessor of the property knew or should have known of the dangerous condition(s). To establish that a property owner or possessor knew there was a dangerous condition one of the following must be demonstrated:
- The owner/possessor created the condition
- The owner/possessor knew the condition existed and negligently failed to correct it
- The condition existed for long enough that the owner/possessor should have discovered and corrected it prior to the slip and fall incident
Slip and fall claims against a government entity are subject to statutes requiring proof of additional facts.
Hundreds of thousands of premises liability claims are made each year due to slip and fall injuries. Slip and fall injuries range in severity, but there are many incidents in which the victim becomes disabled or even dies after slipping and falling.
Regardless of what caused your slip and fall accident – wet floor, lack of warning, poor lighting, flooring defects, or any other cause – you may be entitled to pursue compensation from the property owner or occupier who failed to mark or fix the dangerous condition.
“Under Pennsylvania law, property owners have a legal obligation to provide a safe environment for everyone lawfully on their property,” explains our experienced slip and fall attorney in Pittsburgh from Shenderovich, Shenderovich & Fishman. “If you have evidence proving that a property owner was negligent and was aware or should have been aware of the hazardous condition that caused your slip and fall accident, you may be entitled to recover damages.”
RESPONSIBLE PARTIES
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY
In slip and fall cases on any commercial property, there are often a number of people or entities that may be held responsible for someone’s injuries such as when a business rents space from a property owner. In this case, both the property owner and the tenant (the business) may be named as defendants by someone injured on that property. The tenant is known as a possessor of the property and has a duty to use reasonable care to prevent injury to those on the premises under its control. A party who negligently manages or maintains that property might also be liable. In residential settings, landlords may be held responsible to tenants or third parties for slip and fall injuries on common areas of the rental property. Third-party snow and ice removal contractors, or contractors who perform inadequate repairs to things like leaking pipes or broken sidewalks also may be liable.
GOVERNMENT PROPERTY
When a slip and fall injury occurs on property owned by a local, state, or federal government entity, there are special rules that apply.There are very stringent notice requirements and broad immunity provisions that sometimes shield government entities from liability for injuries that occur on their properties. Our attorneys are well-versed in the liability of government parties to fight for what you deserve.
WHAT TYPES OF EVIDENCE DO YOU NEED IN A SLIP AND FALL CASE?
Whether or not your slip and fall case can succeed depends on the strength of the evidence provided as part of your premises liability claim. Our Pittsburgh slip and fall lawyer knows that a successful premises liability claim should consist of the following elements:
- Photos and videos. Photographs and videos taken at the scene of a slip and fall accident will serve as invaluable pieces of evidence in your case. Make sure you take photos of the dangerous condition that caused the accident, any bruising and cuts, or other injuries. Also, if there is security footage available, you may want to get access to it with the help of a skilled lawyer.
- Witness statements. If someone saw how your slip and fall accident occurred, make sure you exchange contact information with that person so that you have a witness in your legal case.
- Accident report. If your accident occurred in a store, shopping mall, restaurant, café, or any other establishment, you need to file an accident report at the scene of the accident. This can be done by notifying the manager of the slip and fall accident. If you do not do this, the owner of the property may claim that you got injured somewhere else.
- Other pieces of evidence. Keep the shoes that you were wearing at the time of the slip and fall accident if you actually slipped on something. It is best to avoid wearing them until after the investigation is complete to not tamper with evidence.
HOW MUCH CAN YOU GET FROM A SLIP AND FALL CASE?
Unfortunately, there is no magic formula to calculate how much your slip and fall case is worth Every case is unique, and there are dozens of factors that need to be taken into account when determining the value of your claim.
Typically, you can seek compensation for the economic losses you may have incurred as a result of your slip and fall accident, including medical bills and lost wages.
If your injuries leave you in need of ongoing medical care, a qualified Pittsburgh slip and fall accident attorney can obtain an expert opinion regarding the potential cost of that care when determining how much compensation you may be eligible to receive. They may also account for your lost earning potential if your injuries are severe enough to impair your ability to work in the future.
A slip and fall accident may also cause you to endure non-economic hardships. For instance, as you recover from your injuries, you may experience pain. This pain might never go away entirely if your injuries were serious. Along with your physical pain, you may struggle with depression, anxiety, and other medical issues.
It may be possible to receive compensation for these non-economic damages .Our experienced Pittsburgh slip and fall accident lawyers will work hard to ensure that you receive the maximum compensation for your injuries.
PREPARING FOR A CONSULTATION WITH A PITTSBURGH SLIP AND FALL LAWYER
Before hiring a lawyer, you can review your case with one by scheduling a free consultation. To ensure this meeting is productive and informative, take the following steps in preparation:
- Write out a narrative. You don’t want to accidentally leave out critical details when describing your accident to an attorney. Guard against this by writing out a thorough narrative of your accident based on your memories of the incident. Bring this narrative with you to your case evaluation.
- Gather evidence. Investigating your accident and gathering evidence of negligence is one of many ways a Pittsburgh slip and fall accident lawyer can assist you. However, if you already have evidence (such as pictures, accident reports, etc.) or witness names/contact information, bring it along when meeting with a lawyer.
- Document your losses. Bring copies of your medical bills and pay stubs to give a lawyer a sense of your economic losses. Yes, you may continue to incur additional economic losses, but it is helpful to present documentation of the losses you already ncurred
- Make a list of questions. Your free consultation with a lawyer gives you a chance to ask the various questions you may have about your case. Make the most of this opportunity by making a list of your questions.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF HIRING A PITTSBURGH SLIP AND FALL ATTORNEY?
Many people who get injured in slip and fall accidents wonder, “Do I really need a slip and fall lawyer to handle my case or can I do it on my own?” Here are the top three reasons why you should consider hiring a Pittsburgh slip and fall lawyer as soon as possible:
- You get to build the strongest legal case possible. In order to collect compelling evidence and build a strong legal case, you need to have an in-depth understanding of Pennsylvania premises liability law. Although everyone can use Google, and you can learn a thing or two about our legal system overnight, that knowledge will not be enough to win a legal case.
- You get maximum compensation. An experienced lawyer will thoroughly investigate your case in order to determine all sources of financial compensation available in your particular situation. Only a skilled attorney can help you determine how much your slip and fall case is worth because he or she has most likely handled similar cases in the past.
- You can focus on recovery while your lawyer does what he/she does best. If you were badly injured in a slip and fall accident, you probably have no time and energy to handle every aspect of your legal case. Handling a slip and fall case can be quite overwhelming and stressful, which is not something that you want in your life when recovering after an injury as this could impede your recovery.
Discuss your case with our skilled lawyers from Shenderovich, Shenderovich & Fishman to get a better understanding of how Pennsylvania’s slip and fall law works. Schedule a free consultation to speak with our legal experts and determine your best legal strategy right now. Call at 888-988-9467.