Philadelphia Premises Liability Attorney
When you are on someone else’s property, they owe you a duty to keep their premises in a reasonably safe condition. Negligent maintenance of property results in more injuries than most people realize. In many cases, premises liability claims arise when someone falls and injures themself on another person’s property.
According to the National Floor Safety Institute, falls account for an estimated 8 million emergency room visits every year. The World Health Organization defines a fall as an event that results in a person inadvertently coming to rest on the ground, the floor, or another lower level. If you were injured on someone else’s property in Pennsylvania, contact Rosen Justice Injury Lawyers today to talk to a premises liability attorney.
Premises Liability Law in Pennsylvania: An Overview
Pennsylvania premises liability law imposes an obligation on property owners to maintain their property in a reasonably safe condition. If a property owner negligently maintains their property and their negligence causes someone else’s injury, the property owner might be liable for any losses.
Proving Premises Liability
Premises liability claims require you to prove that a property owner was negligent in maintaining their property. To prove negligence, you need to establish four elements: duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and harm.
Duty
Owners and occupiers of property owe a duty of care to those legally on their property to remedy or warn about dangers and keep their property reasonably safe. In premises liability law, visitors are divided into three categories: invitees, licensees, and trespassers. Exactly what an owner or occupier must do to keep a visitor safe depends on which category a visitor is in.
Invitees are people who visit a property to transact business, such as a store customer. Property owners owe invitees the highest duty of care to keep their property in a safe condition. The property owner should remedy any condition they know or should have known was dangerous and warn invitees of open and obvious dangers. A licensee is someone who comes onto another person’s property with permission to be there, such as a social guest.
Property owners owe licensees a slightly lower duty of care than an invitee. Property owners do not owe a duty of care to individuals trespassing on their property other than to not harm a trespasser through wanton or willful conduct.
Breach
A property owner breaches their duty of care when they fail to maintain their property and keep it in a reasonably safe condition. A property owner can breach their duty of care in numerous ways, such as:
- Failing to provide warnings about wet or icy conditions,
- Lack of adequate lighting in stairways,
- Leaving drink or food spills on the floor,
- Leaving debris on walkways, or
- Failing to warn of open and obvious dangers.
Photographs or other documentation of one of these conditions can help you establish that the property owner breached their duty of care.
Causation
To prove causation, you must show that the property owner’s negligence directly caused your injury. While this may seem relatively easy, the property owner may allege that something else caused your injury. A qualified premises liability lawyer can help you establish the link between your injury and the property owner’s negligence.
Damages
Finally, you must prove you suffered actual damages as a result of the property owner’s breach. In other words, you cannot file a premises liability lawsuit if you did not incur any losses, such as medical bills or lost wages. The types of damages people typically suffer in premises liability accidents are described further below.
Where Do Premises Liability Accidents Happen?
Premises liability accidents often occur in places where a property owner or occupant opens up their business to customers and other invitees. For example, premises liability accidents can happen in:
- Grocery stores,
- Ski resorts,
- Hotel resorts,
- Department stores,
- Apartment complexes,
- Parking lots,
- Shopping malls, or
- Restaurants.
Remember, property owners do not owe a duty of care to someone who is on their property illegally.
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How Do You Calculate Premises Liability Settlements?
Premises liability settlements should compensate you for any damages you suffered as a result of the property owner’s negligent maintenance of their property, including:
- Medical bills,
- Lost wages for missed work,
- Rehabilitation costs,
- Pain and suffering,
- Loss of enjoyment of life,
- Loss of future earning capacity, and
- Emotional distress.
You can offer evidence of these expenses by presenting your medical bills, testimony from your doctor, or photographic evidence of your injuries.
What Kinds of Injuries Happen in Premises Liability Accidents?
Premises liability injuries can range from minor abrasions to life-threatening issues. Common injuries suffered in premises cases include:
- Back injuries,
- Broken bones,
- Spinal cord injuries,
- Neck injuries,
- Pulled muscles,
- Bruises and scrapes,
- Sprains, and
- Paralysis.
If you suffer an injury in a premises liability accident, you should contact an attorney as soon as possible so that they can protect your right to compensation.
How Can a Premises Liability Pennsylvania Attorney Help My Case?
A qualified premises liability attorney can formulate a strategy to effectively present your case and maximize your potential recovery. The team at Rosen Justice Injury Lawyers has extensive experience handling premises liability claims. A member of our team can help you by:
- Negotiating with the opposing party or an insurance company on your behalf,
- Locating eyewitnesses to testify, and
- Helping you calculate the value of your losses.
At Rosen Justice Injury Lawyers, we are committed to helping our clients secure the outcome they deserve. If you or a loved one suffered injuries in a premises liability accident, contact our office today to schedule your free initial consultation.
Contact Our Premises Liability Attorneys at Rosen Justice Injury Lawyers Today
Contact our premises liability attorneys today. When you work with an attorney at Rosen Justice Injury Lawyers, you can expect effective and compassionate legal service. We will take the time to meet with you one-on-one and listen to the details of your case so that we completely understand your needs and goals.
A one-size-fits-all strategy cannot address every premises liability claim. That is why we create a personalized strategy for each of our clients that emphasizes the strengths of their case. If you or a loved one suffered injuries due to another person’s negligence, contact Rosen Justice Injury Lawyers today. You will not pay us a single penny unless we recover compensation for you.
