Falling down on someone else’s property does not mean you automatically have a slip and fall claim on your hands. If you are injured in an accident, it’s important to understand the requirements that need to be met in Pennsylvania for you to successfully recover compensation.
Negligence
A slip and fall or trip and fall case can be brought against any business or entity whosenegligence contributes to the accident. Falling down merely because there was a slippery substance or even ice, without more evidence, may not constitute a slip and fall claim. If you are injured, as the result of negligence, your attorney must be able to prove the following:
1.You were owed a duty
2.The owner or manager of the property failed in their duty
3.The negligence caused the accident
4.You were injured as a result
However, proving negligence is easily the hardest part of any slip and fall case. In Pennsylvania, the law requires one of three things for responsibility on the part of the owner or manager of the property:
1.They created the danger
2.They knew about the danger and didn’t handle it properly
3.They should have known about the danger
You must also have sustained injuries caused by the fall. Your attorney will also look at whether or not you had anything to do with the slip and fall. If your case goes to trial, a judge and jury would analyze your percentage of responsibility, resulting in either a reduced settlement or a complete loss. It is therefore important for you as the injured person from a slip or trip and fall incident to collect and preserve as much of the evidence for the attorneys to evaluate including names of potential witnesses to contact, photographs of the scene to view, and understand what you were doing or what you may have told someone immediately afterwards such as on a claim intake form.
If you have been involved in a slip and fall, and sustained a serious injury as a result, it is important to contact one of our Schuylkill County personal injury lawyers at The Law Offices of Anthony Urban, P.C. We can discuss your claim and offer an honest opinion on your chances for successfully recovering compensation. In Pennsylvania, the statute of limitations for filing a slip and fall claim is 2 years, so you must act quickly.
Call (888) 268-0023 or contact us online to speak with a representative.