Even if you only fall a short distance, landing awkwardly or hitting something hard on the way down can cause long-lasting and even life-changing injuries. If you fell because of dangerous hazards on someone else’s property, the landowner might be liable for your injuries and losses.
However, these types of civil cases can be complicated to pursue, requiring help from an experienced injury attorney. If you want the best chances of getting a favorable outcome from your lawsuit or settlement demand, there’s no substitute for a Philadelphia slip and fall lawyer at Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers.
With help from winning attorneys like Managing Partner Rich Godshall and Partner Ryan Jablonski, your odds of getting the compensation you deserve are much higher. We recently recovered $380,000 for a contractor who suffered injuries to his spine and shoulders after falling through a hidden trapdoor. Let us put our extensive experience to work for you.
Liability in Trip and Fall Cases
It’s important to note that getting hurt on someone else’s land doesn’t automatically make the landowner liable for your losses. To successfully sue a property owner or manager for a slip and fall accident, you and your Philadelphia attorney must prove they were legally “negligent” in some way.
This specifically means proving that the landowner or manager had a duty to keep you safe from harm by acting a certain way and instead acted carelessly or recklessly, directly leading to your accident. As your Philadelphia slip and fall attorney can explain, property owners in Pennsylvania owe different “duties” to different types of visitors. For example, the kinds of situations that might justify a lawsuit against a retail store owner might not be enough to justify a lawsuit against a private homeowner.
Contesting Partial Liability
In a trip and fall case, you’ll likely need to prove that you weren’t to blame for causing or worsening your losses through your own misconduct. For example, a defendant may argue that you were partially to blame for wearing shoes without any tread or running someplace a reasonable person would’ve been walking. As established under 42 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes §7102, any percentage of total fault assigned to you by a court might lead to reduced damages—or prevent you from recovering any compensation at all.
Compensation for a Slip and Fall Accident
If you can show that someone else is entirely to blame for your slip and fall injuries, you can make that other person pay for every past and future form of harm you will experience from that accident, including:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Lost work wages
- Medical bills
- Emotional anguish
- Loss of life’s pleasures
- Personal property damage/loss
However, you’ll likely be barred from getting any money if you wait too long to file suit. 42 P.S.A. §5524 sets a two-year filing deadline beginning on the date of your accident. The sooner you contact a Philadelphia slip and fall attorney at Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers, the sooner we can begin building your claim for compensation.
Work with a Philadelphia Slip and Fall Attorney
A bad fall can leave you with painful injuries that are expensive to treat, disruptive to live with, and difficult to recover from financially. Compensation from the person responsible for your fall can be crucial to protecting your future prospects and well-being. However, getting the money you deserve can be next to impossible without professional legal help.
Once hired, your Philadelphia slip and fall lawyer will work tirelessly to enforce your rights and secure compensation on your behalf. Call Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers today to discuss your options in a free consultation.
