A cracked step. A loose paver. A sunken patch in the path to the front door. People trip on these every day in Philadelphia apartment buildings, and one bad fall can mean a broken wrist, a torn knee, or months away from work. Most people ask the same thing afterward: who has to pay for this? The answer is not always the person named on the deed. Pennsylvania law looks at who controlled the walkway,...
READ MOREBroken stairs in an apartment building can turn a normal walk down the hallway into a trip to the emergency room. A cracked step, a loose board, or a missing piece of concrete can catch your foot before you even notice it’s there. If this happened to you, you might be wondering if you have a case against your landlord. The short answer is yes; in many situations, you can sue. Our Philadelphia slip and...
READ MOREYou might be dealing with pain, missed work, and a lot of confusion all at once. One minute you were walking through an apartment hallway, stairwell, sidewalk, or entryway, and the next minute you were on the ground, trying to figure out what just happened. After that first shock wears off, the questions usually come fast. Who should have fixed this? Who was supposed to clean it up? Who is legally responsible now? The short...
READ MOREYou might be feeling two things at once after a fall in your building. First, pain, embarrassment, or worry about how badly you are hurt. Second, confusion, because it seems obvious that if you slipped in a hallway or fell on stairs in a rental property, the landlord must be at fault. That assumption is common, and it is not always right. In many cases, a landlord may be responsible, but liability usually depends on...
READ MOREYou might be feeling shaken, sore, and more than a little overwhelmed. One minute you were walking through a store, across an icy sidewalk, or down a stairwell, and the next you were on the ground, wondering what just happened and who is responsible. After a fall, life can split into a clear before and after. Before, you had a normal day. After, you may be dealing with pain, missed work, medical bills, and a...
READ MOREYou might be replaying the moment over and over. One second you were walking down a stairway, through a hallway, or out of a store, and the next you were on the ground, stunned and in pain. People may be telling you it was “just an accident.” Yet something about the steps, the railing, or the poor lighting keeps bothering you. You feel like there is more to the story, but you are not sure...
READ MOREYou might still replay the moment in your head. One second you were walking through a store, an apartment hallway, a parking lot, or a city sidewalk, and the next you were on the ground, hurting and embarrassed. People may have rushed over. Someone might have said, “Are you okay?” and you said yes, even though you really were not. Now you are dealing with pain, medical bills, missed work, and maybe a nagging feeling...
READ MOREYou might be replaying the moment over and over. One second you were walking through a grocery aisle or down the stairs in your apartment building, and the next you were on the ground, in pain, embarrassed, and unsure what just happened. Now the soreness has set in, the medical bills are starting to arrive, and you may be missing work. On top of that, people are already asking, “Are you sure it wasn’t your...
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