Slip & Fall Injury Attorney in Philadelphia

Your Right to Safe Premises

Have you been injured because of hazardous and dangerous premise conditions?

In Pennsylvania, the law requires public and private property owners and occupiers of land to reasonably ensure that their premises are free of hazards or dangerous conditions that could cause injury to others who enter or come onto the premises. When someone has been injured in a slip and fall incident, it usually means that a person has slipped, tripped or fallen because of a dangerous condition on the property that should not have existed or been present or should have been discovered and remedied.

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    Where Do Slip and Fall Incidents Occur?

    A slip or trip and fall incident can happen just about anywhere where people may conduct their daily activities, including a supermarket, department store, on a sidewalk, commercial properties, stairwells, residential homes and parking lots.

    The walking surface of a property may be unsafe or dangerous for any number of reasons, including because of cracked, chipped, damaged or uneven sidewalks or pavements, broken concrete, potholes, open manholes, wet or icy surfaces, spilled liquids, broken tiles, loose railings, poor or non-existent lighting conditions or missing or inadequate warnings or signs that floors may be wet or slippery.

    The Types of Injuries

    There is no limitation on the types of injuries that can be suffered in a slip, trip, and fall incident. Unfortunately, injury victims can and do experience all sorts of injuries as a result of a spill, such as back, neck, knee, or hip injuries, torn rotator cuffs, spinal cord injuries, dislocated joints, torn ligaments, and tendons, broken bones or even traumatic head and brain injuries.

    Dino Privitera

    Your Attorney

    Mr. Privitera is the founder of The Privitera Law Firm LLC and concentrates his practice on the representation of catastrophically injured victims.

    Mr. Privitera has been repeatedly recognized throughout the legal community for his skill and expertise, work ethic, preparation and dedication to his clients in personal injury and wrongful death matters. Mr. Privitera has earned the respect of the legal community, has extensive experience, a sterling reputation for handling significant personal injury and wrongful death cases and proven track record of success and outstanding results.

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    What Are the Different Categories of People on Property

    The duty of care owed by a property owner or possessor of land depends on the legal status of the person coming onto the property, and whether the person coming onto the property is an invitee, licensee or trespasser.

    An invitee is either a public invitee or a business visitor. On the one hand, a public invitee is a person who is invited to enter or remain on the land as a member of the public for a purpose for which the land is held open to the public. On the other hand, a business visitor is a person who is invited to enter or remain on land for a purpose directly or indirectly connected with business dealings with the possessor of land.

    A licensee is a person who is privileged to enter or remain on the land by virtue of a possessor’s consent. A licensee is someone who enters another’s property with their permission for social or recreational purposes, fun, benefit or entertainment. A social guest visiting a friend or family would be considered a licensee.

    A trespasser is a person who enters or remains upon the land in the possession of another without the privilege to do so created by the possessor’s consent or otherwise.

    What Are the Duties Owed By Property Owners to Others?

    In Pennsylvania, the duty of care that a property owner or possessor of land owes to you depends on your status. The highest duty of care is owed to invitees. The lowest duty of care is owed to trespassers. The duty of care owed to licensees falls in the middle:

    Duty to Invitee

    A property owner has a duty to conduct reasonable inspections of the property and to take reasonable precautions to make the premises safe and to warn invitees of any dangers of which the property owners know or should know, in the exercise of due care.

    Duty to Licensee

    A property owner owes a licensee a duty to disclose known dangerous conditions on the property.

    Duty to Licensee

    A property owner owes a licensee a duty to disclose known dangerous conditions on the property.

    Duty to Trespasser

    The law takes a harsh view of trespassers. In most cases, the property owner or possessor of land generally owes no duty of care to trespassers except to refrain from willfully or wantonly injuring them. For example, a property owner would not be able to set booby traps or hide loaded spring guns on his property to prevent trespassers from coming onto his property. However, in Pennsylvania, a child trespasser is treated differently, and rightfully so. In the case of a child trespasser, a property owner may be held liable under the attractive nuisance doctrine if the property owner has an artificial hazard on his property that may reasonably attract children and injure them, such as an improperly secured swimming pool.

    How To Prove Fault In a Slip And Fall Case

    Slip and fall cases can be complicated and are usually vigorously defended, especially by large companies. In slip, trip, and fall cases, the injured party’s status will trigger the type and extent of the duty of care owed by the property owner. In order to establish liability on the part of a property owner, it is important to consider several factors:

    • Whether the person injured is a trespasser, licensee or invitee?
    • Whether the property owner had notice of the hazardous condition?
    • Whether the property owner knew or should have known in the exercise of due diligence of the hazardous condition of the property?
    • Whether the property owner should have discovered the dangerous condition in the ordinary course of business operations?
    • Whether the property owner had an affirmative duty to inspect the property to locate and remedy property hazards?
    • Whether the property owner took reasonable steps to promptly correct the hazardous condition or warn the injured person of the danger?

    When a property owner has failed to keep his or her property reasonably safe causing you or a loved one to suffer injury in a slip, trip, and fall incident, you may be entitled to substantial compensation for the injuries you have suffered.