Ensuring Accident Victims Are Aware of Their Legal Rights and Options

According to the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC), over 9 million people were injured as a result of an unintentional fall, including nearly 33,000 who were killed, in 2015. Slips and falls are one of the leading causes of injury in the United States and many times are the result of dangerous property conditions that could have, and should have, been avoided. Conditions such as wet floors, broken and uneven sidewalks, icy parking lots, broken pavers, and improper lighting conditions are some of the most common causes of slip and fall injuries.

Often, the victims of slip and fall injuries find themselves in the emergency room with a million important questions in their heads: Who is going to pay for their medical bills? Who is the responsible party? What could have been done to prevent the dangerous condition? While every situation varies based on the facts of the case, what does not change is how important it is to reach out to a trusted slip and fall attorney as soon as possible so that victims know their rights and ensure their case is preserved.

At Full Court Justice, we offer free and confidential consultations with a local personal injury attorney for your slip and fall injury case. We have over forty years of experience trying a variety of slip and fall cases in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and have achieved great results for clients injured in a slip and fall in a variety of circumstances. 

Call Full Court Justice at(215) 770-0282 to talk to an attorney about your slip and fall accident and whether you could be owed compensation for your injuries. We offer free initial consultations where we can review the facts of your case and outline how we would move forward with a personal injury claim.

Where Can Slip and Fall Injuries Occur?

Slip and fall injuries and premises liability lawsuits can happen at a number of places, and our firm has represented clients against a long array of landowners and companies. The list of properties where a slip and fall injury can occur includes:

• Casinos
• Amusement parks
• Stadiums
• Storage facilities
• Shopping malls
• Restaurants
• Nightclubs
• Bars
• Office buildings
• Parking lots
• Streets
• Sidewalks
• Pools
• Dentists offices
• Doctors offices
• Ice skating rinks
• Hotels
• Salons
• Apartment buildings
• Houses
• Movie theaters
• Boats
• Bus stations
• Train stations
• Nursing homes
• Retirement homes
• Camps
• Gymnasiums
• Fitness centers

If you fell and were injured in any of these public places around Philadelphia, our attorneys can determine what went wrong and who may be liable. No matter where a slip and fall accident occurs, property owners should be held accountable for keeping their spaces in a safe condition for lawful visitors. If you have questions about your case or what to do next, contact our firm.

Who Is Liable in a Slip and Fall Case?

The first question to ask when determining liability in a slip and fall injury lawsuit is: Why was the victim on the property? There are three main categories of people who enter onto someone else’s land:

Business Invitee

A business invitee is someone who is on another’s property for a purpose related to the property owner’s business, such as customers, delivery people, or employees. A property owner owes the highest duty of care to business invitees because they have been invited onto the property for profit. A property owner must maintain the property in a reasonably safe condition and cannot use the excuse of not knowing about an unsafe condition if it is proven that he or she should have known about it.

Licensee

When a person enters a property with the landowner’s permission but for the visitor’s own benefit, they are categorized as a licensee under the law. A social guest or family friend coming over to a house is an example of this. A property owner has a duty to warn licensees of dangerous conditions on the property that create an unreasonable risk of harm if the property owner knows about the condition and it is not likely to be discovered by the invitee. The difference between a business invitee and a licensee is that the business invitee is liable for a slip and fall injury even if he did not know of the dangerous condition that caused it, as long as he should have known if he had inspected it.

Trespasser 

A trespasser is a person who enters onto the property of another without the owner’s consent. Property owners generally owe little duty to trespassers. The exceptions are if the injury was the result of the property owner’s willful lack of care, or if the injured person was a child and the property owner should have foreseen a possible trespass by children, such as if the property owner had an unfenced pool or playground equipment. These situations can be complex and require careful legal analysis by a qualified attorney to determine if the victim has a legal claim.

Are Just the Property Owners Liable?

Property owners are not the only party that may be liable for slip and fall or trip and fall injuries. Often, many other parties can be liable for causing these traumatic injuries. Many property owners have management companies that take care of day-to-day safety and independent contractors for clearing snow and taking on renovation projects. The tenant of a multi-unit building may also be liable. This will depend upon a variety of factors, including the lease between the tenant and the landlord and where in the building the slip and fall injury occurred.

Determining who is responsible for the victim’s injuries in these situations can be challenging, especially if multiple people have control over the property. Business contracts for maintenance or management can shift liability, and an experienced attorney must review your case to determine who can be held liable and what claim you may have.

Types of Slip and Fall Injuries

The personal injury lawyers at Full Court Justice have seen a number of varying injuries related to slips and falls and trips and falls throughout our years. Our clients have suffered traumatic injuries from falls, including the following:

• Death
• Brain injury
• Broken ankle
• Broken neck
• Open head wound
• Skull fracture
• Broken back
• Broken hip
• Elbow dislocation
• Facial disfigurement
• Burns
• Bruising and contusion
• Brachial plexopathy
• Nerve damage
• Paralysis
• Disc herniation
• Radiculopathy
• Neuropathy
• Torn rotator cuff
• Broken shoulder

A slip and fall accident can happen in a matter of seconds, but many of these injuries can result in months of healing and even permanent deficits. In addition to the physical pain during the recovery process, victims often also face financial strain from an inability to work and medical bills, and emotional challenges like depression and anxiety. Filing a slip and fall lawsuit allows you to hold the at-fault party accountable and recover compensation for these losses.

What Can the Victim of a Slip and Fall Injury Recover?

If liability is proven, then the compensation that a victim receives in a premises liability case is referred to as the damages. The term “damages” encompasses every way that the injury you sustained has affected your life. This includes your medical bills, including doctor visits, surgery, drug prescriptions, medical equipment, physical therapy, and specialist consultations, as well as your medical bills that you are expected to owe in the future for your ongoing care. You can also recover your lost wages for work you have missed, the wages you stand to lose in the future, and any health insurance liens. Lastly, you can recover from your pain and suffering, loss of life’s pleasures, embarrassment and humiliation, and scarring and disfigurement.

What Should You Do After a Philadelphia Slip and Fall Accident?

Slip and fall accidents can happen anywhere, but what you do right after a fall can ensure your injuries get proper treatment and that you protect your legal rights. Even what seems like a minor fall can cause more damage than victims initially realize, and these steps can give you a clear path to follow after a slip and fall accident.

Report the Accident to the Property Owner

Any time you fall while on another person’s property, you should ensure the owner or manager knows what happened. Reporting the incident ensures there is a record of the accident and notifies the owner of a potential hazard so that they can address it before anyone else is injured. It is important to stick to the facts of what happened and not get involved in an argument or altercation or do anything that could be construed as admitting fault. Make them aware of what happened and ask for a copy of the incident report for your own records.

Seek Medical Attention

Getting checked out by a doctor after a fall is important for your physical health and safety and for any potential legal action later on. When a slip and fall happens in a public place, the person may be embarrassed or not want to make a scene. It is also common for people to think they are fine or just a bit banged up, when really they have serious injuries they are not aware of. Going to see a medical professional to rule out any major issues, such as fractures or concussions, ensures you get the proper medical treatment and provides critical documentation of your injuries if you decide to file a claim later on.

Consult a Slip and Fall Attorney

Once your initial injuries have been evaluated and you’ve received any necessary medical treatment, it’s time to have a consultation with an attorney. Even if you’re not sure if you have grounds to file a lawsuit, talking with a slip and fall lawyer ensures you’re aware of your options and how liability comes into play. We can also help you determine who is the primary person responsible, whether that’s a business owner or a maintenance contractor.

Get Help From a Slip and Fall Lawyer

Slip and fall cases can be devastating for the victims, but they can also get complicated quickly. Whether you’re dealing with a situation where there are multiple property owners or managers, or the other party is blaming the accident on you, getting legal guidance from an experienced attorney can help. We can help determine the owner’s legal responsibility and create a strategy to prove what really happened and present the strongest case possible.

If you’ve been injured after a slip and fall accident, talk to one of our attorneys as soon as possible to give yourself the best chance of a favorable outcome. The legal team at Full Court Justice offers free initial consultations for prospective clients. Call our Philadelphia office at(215) 770-0282 to speak to a member of our team and take the first step in seeking compensation for your damages.