Philadelphia Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

The general rule is that to recover damages for negligence resulting in death or injury to person, the fact that the plaintiff may have committed contributory negligence does not stop him/her from recovering where such negligence was not greater than the negligence of the defendant(s). Instead, any damages sustained by the plaintiff will be reduced in proportion to the amount of negligence attributed to the plaintiff.

What does this mean? In Pennsylvania, if you are injured in an accident, you can recover monetary damages from a defendant as long as you are found to be no more than 50% liable for damages. If a plaintiff is found to be 50% (or less) liable, each defendant shall be liable for their proportionate total dollar amount awarded as damages.

Currently, Pennsylvania upholds joint and several liability. Under joint and several liability, an injured party may collect the entire award against any party found to be responsible for the accident. It then becomes the responsibility of the defendants to sort out their respective proportions of liability and payment. However, this aspect of the Pennsylvania civil justice system (and injury victim's civil rights) is currently under attack. Republicans in the State Legislature are trying to pass legislation (titled the "Fair Share" Act) that would do away with joint and several liability. If this happens, defendants in many lawsuits only would pay the percentage of damages for which they are found liable - leaving innocent victims of their accidents high and dry - while saving insurance companies money.

If you have been injured, and have questions about how the comparative fault system works in Pennsylvania, you should consult an experienced personal injury attorney to advise you on how these laws will impact your own individual and unique case.

As a personal injury attorney, I am often asked to help clients that have been injured due to falling on a defective condition of someone else's property. These accidents, referred to as "slip and fall" and/or "trip and fall" cases commonly occur on sidewalks, in common areas outside the home, and at places that do retail business. A slip and fall case is a general name for a class of cases known as premises liability cases.

Not everyone who is injured by falling on another person's property has a case and in fact, these cases can be very difficult to prove. There are specific legal requirements must be proven in order for you to recover compensation due to a defective condition of a floor or walkway. This is why it is critically important to speak with an experienced attorney without delay if you are injured in a slip and fall accident.

If you do fall and injure yourself on someone else's property, you should make sure that receiving medical attention is your first priority. If the owner is present, ask them to call an ambulance for you if necessary. After any necessary emergency treatment is rendered there are several steps that you need to take so to preserve your claim and increase the likelihood of succeeding in litigation.

1. Examine the area where you fell. Maybe there was water on the floor or a broken sidewalk that caused you to fall. In order to recover damages for your injury you will need to show that there was a defective condition of the property. Accordingly, it is important for you to know why you fell.

2. Report the incident to the owner or manager of the property as soon as possible. Tell them that you fell and were injured on their property. Get a copy of the incident report. However, it is important not to give a recorded statement about the facts and circumstances of the accident before consulting a lawyer. If a person gives a recorded statement to an adjuster without consulting a lawyer first, then the person will likely say something which will prevent any recovery. An experienced personal injury attorney can help advise you of the legal elements and defenses at issue and show you how to use this information to your advantage.

Continue reading "What to do legally if you are injured in a slip and fall accident in Pennsylvania" »