What is Premises Liability Exactly ?

Slips, trips and falls that are not work-related fall within a category of personal injury law called premises liability. Premises liability law works under the assumption that people responsible for property have a duty to prevent hazards that can cause injury. This can include safe walkways, stairwells and other structural obstacles, landscaping, and even water or other potentially slippery substances being allowed to create dangerous conditions.

Premises liability complaints can involve more than one defendant if it can be shown that multiple parties held a duty to ensure safe conditions, but failed to do so. Defendants can be individuals, businesses, organizations and municipalities depending on the nature of the injury and the location where the injury occurred.

Our slip, trip, and fall attorneys help injured clients identify defendants that owe a duty to care, but might have been overlooked. Identifying all of the proper defendants often leads to a better settlement. In some claims, overlooking the appropriate responsible parties can lead to claims being refused, extremely low caps on policy limits, and not enough funds to properly treat and rehabilitate your injury.

You may have a claim under the following circumstances

Types of scenarios where property owners might be held negligent or grossly negligent for trip, slip and fall injuries include:

• Failure to remove water, ice, and slippery substances from floors and walkways.
• Failure to correct bunched or wrinkled carpeting and rugs.
• Failure to warn of hazards that might not be obvious, such as holes in the floor, loose boards, and unexpected dangers.
• Failure to correct broken sidewalks, parking surfaces and walkways. This can include pathways to and from business areas and areas surrounding parking lots.
• Failure to safely stack and store items that can fall and injure.
  • Failure to remove obstacles from walkways, doorways and stairwells. Items like mop buckets and wet floor signs left in doorways or walkways are common tripping hazards.
• Failure to provide proper lighting. Most businesses are responsible for lighting inside and outside, including parking areas where darkness and negligently maintained surfaces make for a dangerous combination.

You may not have a claim under the following circumstances

Pennsylvania law does not allow for recovery of damages when the danger should have been obvious to a reasonable person who is injured. The courts have determined that falls down stairs that are properly constructed, for example, are not subject to liability. Other situations that the courts have determined do not meet standards for liability include:

• Trespassing.
• Willful disregard for known danger.
• Horseplay.
• Certain activities that are inherently dangerous, such as off-road driving.
• Drifted or piled snow in which there has not been time to remove.

Pennsylvania also applies a “comparative negligence” standard to premises liability cases. Comparative negligence means that the courts will determine how much responsibility the defendant had for their safety, and how much “at fault,” as a percentage of total responsibility they are. If the court determines that the defendant is more than 50 percent responsible for the injury, no damages can be recovered.

Insurance Companies Do Not Work in Your Best Interest

A common theme our accident attorneys see with slip, trip, and fall claims is insurance companies deciding that benefits are not owed for one of the above reasons.

Unfortunately, it is the responsibility of the injured person to prove that the slip, trip, and fall injury happened as a result of an unsafe condition or practice and was not their fault.
Many injured people do not proceed with injury claims after an insurance company identifies one of the reasons for disqualifying the claim.

Often, these people think the insurance company knows best, or that they were in the wrong and responsible for their injury. Many times, the pain and suffering from the injury is so great that injured people simply give up.

Our personal injury lawyers will not let an insurance company bully you into an unfair settlement using an argument that the injury was your fault. Contacting our premises liability attorneys immediately prevents lost time and improves your chances of a fair settlement.

Why Hire a Personal injury Law Firm to Represent You

Our attorneys have helped thousands of Philadelphia residents recover millions in benefits for injuries they suffered. We protect you from insurance companies that want to settle quickly and cheaply, making sure you get the medical help and financial compensation you deserve. We keep the insurance company from using loopholes in the law to provide you with substandard treatment and a settlement that leaves you physically and financially suffering.

Many people do not seek help from personal injury attorneys after an accident until it is too late. You should contact us as soon as possible so we can get to work securing the help you need and protecting you from the insurance companies. Remember Personal injury claims have strict time limits in Pennsylvania.

Certain types of accidents may have different time limits in Philadelphia than in the state. Do not wait until an insurance company has made you an unfair settlement offer or denied your claim to call us. Calling us at once will help your claim because we will be able to prevent insurance companies from stalling your claim and denying you the benefits you are owed.

Insurance companies know how to use the comparative negligence standard and other nuanced aspects of Pennsylvania law. They will use the law against you. Our accident lawyers will put a stop to insurance companies that only want to settle quickly without any care about your health and well-being. We make sure that you and your family get the compensation and medical care you need to get your life back after a slip, trip, and fall accident.

The sooner you contact one of the injury attorneys with the Law Offices of Joel Kofsky, the more quickly we can get to work helping you and your family through a difficult time. You do not have to go up against the insurance company alone.

Common Places Slip, Trip, and Fall Injuries Happen
Almost anywhere can be dangerous under the wrong circumstances. The personal injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Joel Kofsky see hundreds of slip, trip, and fall claims each year, and each is unique. We have seen many slip, trip, and fall accidents in these places:

• Stairs
• Elevators
• Wet Floors
• Parking Lots
• Icy and Snowy Walkways
• Nursing Homes

The accident lawyers at the Law Offices of Joel Kofsky know how to proceed with your case depending on where and how your accidental injury happened. We can identify possible liable parties and can make sure that witnesses are properly interviewed. Our slip, trip, and fall lawyers know how to work with the insurance companies to arrange the best medical treatment and physical therapy to help you recover from a slip, trip, and fall injury.

How Much is My Slip, Trip, and Fall Accident Worth?

It is natural to question how much you might be able to get for an accidental injury, but a better question you might ask is ‘How much is my health worth to me?’

We believe that your health is worth everything. Our injury lawyers are experienced in slip, trip, and fall accidents in Philadelphia and all over Pennsylvania. Our reputation means the insurance company is likely to come to a fair and agreeable settlement for your injury more quickly than if you try to settle on your own. In most cases, our accident attorneys are able to get as much as five times more than an insurance company’s initial settlement offer. The only way to find out what your claim might be worth is to discuss it with one of our personal injury lawyers.

We offer a free consultation so that you can discuss your claim free of charge and free of worry.

Our injury attorneys believe in fighting for what is right. Many slip, trip, and fall accidents that are not reported lead to a continued problem. If a property owner or business manager is not aware of a problem, then more people may be hurt. We want to make sure that the responsible party for your accidental injury is held accountable to prevent dangerous situations from continuing. When we win your case, it reminds other businesses that the laws are in place to protect Philadelphia residents. We take pride in being part of the effort to ensure the health and safety of all Pennsylvanians.

Working for You, Not the Insurance Companies

We work for you, not the insurance company. We want to make sure that you and your family are able to heal and recover from your injury without the stress of handling your claim. When you hire us to handle your slip, trip and fall accident, you will have the best representation in Pennsylvania. That’s why we guarantee that “We win, or it’s Free”®.