What happens when something gets left on the floor of a department store and you trip and fall? What if the injuries are serious and you lose time from work and spend weeks to months in a cast or in treatment?
Is it your fault for not watching where you are going? Or is it the store’s fault for not keeping their aisles clear? Like anything else, the answer depends on a host of circumstances. It seems fair that if you get injured at a place of business, it should be the businesses’ responsibility, right?
Causes of Trip and Falls
A person can trip over just about anything. A turned-up edge of a rug. A case of canned goods left on the aisle floor. A jack handle at a auto parts store. A sidewalk that has been lifted because of a tree root. Just about anything can cause someone to trip just about anywhere. If the person is injured, then he or she might be able to make a claim against the owner of the property.
The Trouble with Trip and Falls
Anytime an injured person wants another person to pay for their injuries, they have to prove that the person did a careless or negligent act that caused the injury. This isn’t as easy as it sounds.
To prove negligence, Pennsylvania Law requires the injured to show one of the three conditions:
- That the owner knew of the dangerous condition and did nothing to fix it.
- That the owner should have known a dangerous condition existed and didn’t take steps to fix the condition.
- That the owner negligently created the dangerous condition.
Defenses to Slip and Fall Injuries
The law allows a shop owner to take reasonable steps to fix a hazard in the store. If a sidewalk has come up and requires repairs, then the law gives the owner a reasonable time to fix it. Just how long is that? There is no cut answer, the law says that it will judge the actions of the owner based on what a reasonable store owner would do under similar circumstances.
Common Types of Trip and Fall Injuries
When someone trips, they usually fall forward off balance and hit the floor hard. This creates common injuries for the victim. Some of them are:
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Severe Concussion
- Broken Hips
- Broken Wrists
- Other Fractures
- Severe sprains
Contact a Philadelphia Slip and Fall Injury Lawyer.
If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall, you need to talk to someone who has experience in making successful claims. You need a Philadelphia Slip and Fall Attorney. Someone who is going to be on your side and can make the system work for you. The insurance companies and store owners go through these claims all the time, and they are experienced at finding ways to pay you little or nothing.
At The Pearce Law Firm, P.C., we’ve handled many slip and fall cases. Insurance companies routinely deal with these cases, but it’s possible that this is your first—and hopefully only—one. They know how to pay you as little as possible or none at all and will often try to blame you for your injuries.
Contact us today for a free consultation and case evaluation after any type of accident which resulted in a serious injury.