What Damages Can You Sue For After a Slip and Fall?
You can sue for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost income after being injured in a slip or fall accident in Pennsylvania, as long as your injuries were caused by a property owner, occupier, or other responsible party’s negligence.
According to 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524(2), you have two years from the date of the incident to file a claim. You must prove that dangerous conditions such as ice, water, poor lighting, broken steps, or other structural hazards caused your injuries to be eligible for compensation.
Factors such as why you were on the property, who was in control of the area at the time, and whether the at-fault party created, knew about, or should have known about the hazards may also impact your case.
Proving the Negligence of a Property Owner
Proving liability requires you to provide concrete evidence showing that the property’s owner or manager breached their duty to maintain safe premises. Evidence in these cases can be time-sensitive, so it’s important to gather it as soon as possible after your fall. Start by:
- Photographing or videoing the exact accident scene and the hazards that caused your slip or fall
- Taking note of any surveillance cameras nearby which may have captured the incident
- Reporting the incident to the property owner, manager or business, and requesting a copy of their incident report
- Gathering eyewitnesses’ contact information
- Retaining medical records, bills, work leave notices, and proof of any other losses you’ve experienced
- Preserving and storing the clothing and shoes you were wearing at the time
Compensation in Scranton Slip and Fall Cases
If a property owner or manager’s negligence caused your slip and fall, you have a strong case for recovering damages – even if you were partly at fault for your accident.
Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102, the comparative negligence rule allows you to seek compensation provided that you were no more than 50% responsible for your accident. In these situations, your compensation will be reduced in line with your determined percentage of fault.
Your Pennsylvania slip and fall lawyer can investigate your case and its circumstances, identify the liable parties involved, and ensure that your degree of fault is accurately represented to secure fair compensation for your injuries.