If you get hurt on someone else’s property, you might wonder who has to pay for your medical bills. This area of law is called premises liability. In Philadelphia, property owners and managers have a legal duty to keep their buildings and sidewalks safe for everyone. When they ignore a broken step or leave a spill on the floor, they can be held responsible for the harm they cause.
What is Premises Liability Law?
Premises liability is a rule that says property owners must keep their land and buildings safe. If there is a danger on the property that the owner knew about or should have known about, they need to fix it or put up a warning sign. Negligence happens when an owner does not take these basic steps. If their laziness leads to an accident, the law says they are responsible for the outcome. This applies to many situations like falling on a wet floor or getting hurt because a parking lot was too dark to see a hole in the ground.
Common Examples of These Cases
Many different accidents fall under this category. Slip and fall cases are the most frequent. These happen when you trip on an uneven sidewalk or slip on a puddle in a grocery store aisle. Other examples include:
- Broken stairs or loose handrails that cause a fall.
- Inadequate lighting in hallways or stairwells.
- Dog bites or animal attacks on someone’s property.
- Assaults that happen because a business did not have enough security.
- Swimming pool accidents where there was no fence or warning.
The Duty of Care and Visitor Status
In Pennsylvania, the amount of protection you have depends on why you were on the property. The law looks at your status as a visitor to decide how much the owner owed you in terms of safety.
Invitees and Customers
This group gets the highest level of protection. An invitee is someone at a place for business, like a shopper at a mall or a guest at a hotel. Owners must inspect their property regularly to find hidden dangers and fix them right away to keep customers safe.
Licensees and Social Guests
A licensee is someone invited for social reasons, like a friend coming over for dinner. Owners must warn these guests about any dangers they already know about that might not be obvious. However, they usually do not have to inspect the property as strictly as a business does.
Trespassers
A trespasser is someone on the property without any permission. Owners owe them very little. They just cannot intentionally set traps or try to hurt them on purpose.
Proving Your Case in Philadelphia
To win a claim, you have to show that the owner was at fault. You must prove four specific things. First, the owner had a duty to keep you safe. Second, they breached that duty by failing to act. Third, that failure caused your injury. Fourth, you suffered real losses, like hospital bills or lost pay from work.
Notice of the Hazard
A big part of these cases is proving notice. This means the owner knew the danger was there. Actual notice is when someone told the owner about the problem. Constructive notice is when the danger was there for so long that any reasonable owner would have found it if they were doing their job.
Important Pennsylvania Rules and Time Limits
Pennsylvania has a specific law for cases where both people are a little bit at fault. This is called the 51 percent rule. You can still get money for your injuries if you were partly to blame, as long as you were not more than half responsible. Your total check will just be smaller based on your percentage of fault. If you are found to be 51 percent or more at fault, you cannot get anything at all.
You also have a deadline to file your case. In Pennsylvania, the statute of limitations for personal injury is two years. If you wait longer than two years from the day you got hurt, the court will likely throw your case out.
How to Document Your Accident
The things you do right after you get hurt can change the outcome of your claim. You should try to collect as much information as possible while you are still at the scene.
- Take photos of the hazard that caused you to fall.
- Get the names and phone numbers of people who saw what happened.
- Report the accident to the manager or owner and ask for a copy of the report.
- See a doctor immediately so your injuries are recorded in a medical file.
Get Help with Your Claim Today
Going through an injury claim alone is difficult. Property owners and their insurance companies often try to blame the victim to avoid paying. If you were hurt because of a dangerous property condition, you deserve to have your bills paid and your pain recognized. You can reach out to Philly Slip and Fall Guys to discuss your situation. Give us a call at 215-268-6898 to see how we can assist you in getting the money you need for your recovery.
