Falling may seem like a common accident, but it could result in a broken bone or even a spinal cord injury. If you slipped and fell on another person’s property, then it’s possible that the owner’s negligence was the cause of your fall.
When negligence occurs
The law in Pennsylvania states that the owner must pay for your medical expenses if their negligence caused your injuries. This means that you could sue if they knew about the problem and did not do anything about it. Examples of negligence are:
- Torn carpets
- Narrow stairs
- Uneven terrain
- Wet or greasy floors
- Damaged sidewalks
- Broken railings
If a sign warns about the possible risk of falling, you cannot file a lawsuit against the owner. The same principle applies when there are barriers around the area that is wet or recently waxed. For a lawsuit to be successful, you must prove in court that the cause of the accident was a dangerous condition and that the owner knew of that dangerous condition and took no steps to mitigate the danger.
Contributory negligence
In Pennsylvania, you could get less compensation for your injuries if you had some fault in the accident. One example of contributory negligence would be if you fell because you were looking at your phone while walking on a slippery surface. When the effect of contributory negligence applies, the amount of compensation awarded in the lawsuit diminishes depending on the percentage of fault that you had in the accident.
Compensation
If the owner of the establishment was negligent about the dangerous condition, you have the right to get compensation for your injuries. But beware, you would need to file a claim within two years of the accident.
