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Losing your footing without warning can be incredibly dangerous, especially if it results in you injuring your head, neck, or back on the way down. If you were hurt in a sudden fall because a property owner did not keep their land in reasonably safe condition, you might have grounds to sue.
However, achieving a positive result from a case like this can be virtually impossible without a personal injury attorney’s help. Retaining a skilled Harrisburg slip and fall lawyer can make a huge difference not only in how much compensation you are able to obtain, but potentially in whether you can get paid at all. Our team at Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. is ready to get to work for you, so reach out today to get started.
Proving a Landowner at Fault for Damages
Under state law, property owners and managers have different amounts of responsibility—or “duties of care”—when it comes to protecting property visitors from harm depending on why that visitor is on that property. Broadly speaking, though, landowners must exercise “ordinary care” by inspecting their property regularly and either immediately fixing or warning visitors about any hazards they discover.
If a landowner allows a dangerous condition—for example, broken floor tile, an un-mopped spill, or even a burned-out light fixture—to persist on their property, anyone who slips or trips and falls specifically because of that hazard could have grounds to file suit over any injuries they suffer. Specific damages that could be factored into a lawsuit or settlement include:
- Emergency medical bills
- Lost work income during recovery
- Future medical care costs, like physical therapy bills
- Personal property damage
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional and psychological distress
- Lost earning capacity, lost enjoyment of life, and other effects of permanent disfigurement/disability
A Harrisburg slip and fall attorney can go into specific detail during an initial consultation about what forms of harm a particular person could incorporate into their case.
Possible Obstacles to Comprehensive Recovery
Even if a landowner is mostly to blame for a person slipping or tripping and getting hurt, that injured person could miss out on some compensation if they are found partially to blame for causing their damages through their own negligence—for instance, if they were not wearing appropriate footwear or were talking while texting when they fell. Under 42 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes §7102, any person more to blame for their own damages than all defendants named in their civil claim is ineligible to recover any money whatsoever.
Another state statute worth knowing about before pursuing a trip and fall claim is the statute of limitations codified in 42 P.S.A. §5524, which limits most prospective plaintiffs to two years at most after sustaining an injury to begin filing suit over it. Guidance from a seasoned slip and fall lawyer in Harrisburg can be crucial to understanding and navigating around legal roadblocks like these.
Contact a Harrisburg Slip and Fall Attorney Today
No matter what specifically caused your dangerous fall, establishing that it would not have happened but for an unreasonably unsafe property condition could allow you to recover significant civil compensation. If you want to see a cent of the recovery you deserve, though, seeking assistance from experienced legal counsel is a virtual necessity.
From start to finish of your claim, your dedicated Harrisburg slip and fall lawyer can tirelessly protect your rights. Learn more by calling our office today.
