Pennsylvania Slip and Fall Lawsuits

Pennsylvania slip and fall law is designed to serve two purposes: to compensate people who have been injured because of property owner negligence; and to protect innocent property owners from frivolous or unnecessary slip and fall lawsuits. In order to meet this dual obligation, the burden of proof has come to rest squarely on the shoulders of the injured.

Depending on the specific circumstances of your accident, in particular, the amount and quality of evidence you have amassed to support your claim, it is possible that rather than proceeding to a full-on lawsuit, we may decide that it would be wiser to pursue an out of court settlement. Of course, the final decision regarding this choice would be yours, and working collaboratively we would assess which course would best serve your interests.

If we proceed with a slip and fall lawsuit, we will be required to prove that:

1. The defendant (property owner) owed you a duty (to maintain reasonably safe conditions on their property),
2. That they failed to fulfill this duty, and
3. In so failing caused the accident in which you were injured.

We will also be required to present evidence in order to establish damages.

Therefore, one of your most important tasks is to get photographs of the accident scene so we can document the condition of the site at the time of your slip or fall to establish the actual cause of the incident. For example, if a buckled sidewalk or a wet spot on the floor caused your fall, a picture can show the extent of the defect. Take advantage of today’s wide availability of cell phone cameras to get documentation of dangerous conditions within minutes of the incident.