Premises Liability: Determining Who is Responsible for Your Injury
If you have been injured on someone else’s property in the state of Pennsylvania, there’s a good chance you have grounds for a premises liability claim. Property owners in Pennsylvania are required to maintain their properties in a way that people coming into or onto the properties are not injured. Failure to rectify dangerous conditions in a timely manner can leave property owners on the losing end of a premises liability lawsuit.
Premises liability claims may arise from:
- Slip and fall accidents
- Inadequate maintenance
- Dangerous construction
- Poor lighting
- Lack of security
A premises liability lawyer at a catastrophic injury law firm is generally happy to review your case to determine who is responsible for your injury.
Proving Liability
Successful premises liability claims hinge on proving four basic elements. First, the property owner must owe the injured person duty of care, and it must be demonstrated that the property owner breached that duty. The person affected must be injured due to that breach in duty, and damages must result from the person’s injuries. A preponderance of evidence must show that the facts in the case indicate that it’s more than likely that these elements are true.
Proof of Negligence
In a nutshell, the owner of the property can be held liable for injuries and damages that result if it can be proven that person is negligent. This means that your premises liability lawyer in Philadelphia demonstrates that the owner knew about the dangerous conditions or hazards on his property (or should have reasonably known about the situation) but failed to fix it. Proof can be provided with documentation of your injuries, videos or photos of the dangerous condition, testimony from bystanders, and maintenance records, among other types of evidence. In some cases, more than one party is negligent, such as when a property owner and property manager allow a dangerous condition to exist longer than necessary to remedy it.
Time is of the Essence
As with all types of personal injury cases in the state of Pennsylvania, time is of the essence when seeking damages under a premises liability claim. The state limits the amount of time that plaintiffs have to file their claims to two years. With rare exception, no cases are recognized once the statute of limitations has passed.
If you think your injuries are the result of someone else’s failure to maintain their property in a safe manner, contact our premises liability lawyer in Philadelphia right away!
