A slip and fall describes personal injury cases in which a person slips or trips and falls, and is injured on another’s property. These types of cases usually come under the broader category of premises liability claims. Any dangerous conditions such as torn carpeting, changes in flooring, poor lighting, narrow stairs, or a wet floor inside a building can cause someone to slip and fall and get hurt. Other types of slip and fall incidents can occur when people trip on broken or cracked public sidewalks or trip and fall on the stairs.
In addition, a slip and fall case might arise when someone slips or trips and falls because of weather conditions or a hidden hazard, for example leaves covering a pothole on a sidewalk.
In most cases, 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
A dangerous condition must present an unreasonable risk to a person on that property and it must have been a condition that the injured party should not have anticipated under the circumstances. This latter requirement implies that people must be aware of, and avoid, obvious dangers that could harm them.
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 rental property.
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. Specifically, 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 liability of government parties to fight for what you deserve.
Hundreds of thousands of premises liability claims are made each year due to slip and fall injuries. The severity of slip and fall injuries ranges from one case to another, but there are many incidents in which the victim becomes disabled or even dies after slipping on a wet or slippery surface and falling.
Regardless of what caused your slip and fall accident – wet floor, lack of warning, poorly lit stairwell, flooring defects, or any other cause – you may be entitled to pursue compensation from the property owner or occupier who failed to prevent 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.”
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 in an instant. It does not work like that. Every case is unique, and there are dozens of factors that need to be taken into account when making the determination of how much you can get from your legal case.
Our experienced slip and fall lawyer in Pittsburgh explains that some premises liability case reach more than $1 million in compensation, while others may be worth $500,000 or $100,000. In cases where the victim suffered minor injuries, the case may be worth no more than $10,000. Also, how much your case is worth depends on whether or not you are represented by a legal expert.
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.
