Whenever you go onto property owned or managed by someone else, you have a right to expect that person will have kept their property in reasonably safe condition and will warn you about any hazards they know about. A property owner who does not live up to this basic expectation can often be held financially liable for any harm you suffer as a direct result.
As any knowledgeable personal injury attorney will tell you, knowing someone else is responsible for your personal injury and actually holding them accountable for it in court are two very different things. If you were injured recently because a landowner did not take proper care of their premises, a qualified Bethlehem premises liability lawyer can help you pursue the payments you need and deserve.
At Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers, we have helped over 30,000 injury victims recover the compensation they deserve after accidents like these. In one case, Managing Partner Rich Godshall obtained $485,000 on behalf of a client who suffered from a broken leg after falling on a sidewalk. Let us get to work for you so that you can get the payments you need to move on with your life.
What Makes a Landowner Liable for an Injury?
It is critical to realize that landowners in Pennsylvania are not equally liable for every accident that happens on their property. The specific “duty” a property owner owes to visitors varies depending on what type of visitor is on their property at a given time: invitee, licensee, or trespasser. A qualified Bethlehem premises liability attorney can further explain landowner liability for an accident.
What is an Invitee?
An “invitee” is someone who was invited onto the property by the owner for that owner’s financial benefit. Property owners have a legal duty to warn invitees about all hazards they know about, as well as to make sure their property remains in a reasonably safe condition by regularly inspecting it for hazards they are not aware of yet.
What is a Licensee?
Someone who was legally on another’s property for their own purposes is known as a “licensee.” Landowners have to warn licensees about known hazards that are not immediately obvious, but are not responsible for injuries caused by hazards they did not yet know about.
What is a Trespasser?
Property owners have less of a duty to protect those trespassing on their land unlawfully. However, landowners cannot intentionally create dangerous property conditions in an attempt to hurt trespassers, and they may still be liable for injuries caused by dangerous conditions on their property that they were aware of.
Don’t Wait to Take Legal Action
If you are recovering from injuries that occurred on someone else’s property, it is crucial to act quickly when getting in touch with a lawyer. You deserve to be paid for your losses, but failing to file within the state’s legal deadline could leave you unable to collect the money you need.
In most cases, you will have two years from the date of your accident to file suit. A skilled premises liability attorney can help you build your case within this time after a dog bite, amusement park injury, or other premises liability accident in Bethlehem.
Talk to a Bethlehem Premises Liability Attorney Today
Holding a landowner liable for an accident on their property can be complicated in both legal and personal terms. On top of making sense of the various rules and restrictions for civil claims like this, you may also need to contend with the various losses that your accident has left you with.
Assistance from a Bethlehem premises liability lawyer can be absolutely vital to getting through this process as effectively and quickly as possible. Call today for a free case review.