Our Slip and Fall Lawyers Can Help You Win Compensation
Property owners have a duty of care duty to maintain their property so that visitors are protected from undue harm. If property owners are negligent and fail to do so and someone falls and is injured as a result, the property owner can be held liable for resulting injuries. Slip and fall injuries can be serious, including broken bones, bruises, concussions, lacerations, brain injuries, or spinal cord injuries. Slip and fall accidents may result in long-term medical expenses, a loss of ability to work, emotional distress, and physical pain and suffering. Some tragic instances of slip and fall may even result in wrongful death.
If you or a loved one has been injured or someone has died as a result of a slip and fall accident due to someone else’s negligence, fault, or failure to maintain property or correct hazards, you may be entitled to compensation for your losses through insurance or a lawsuit. However, Pennsylvania laws are complicated; insurance companies will attempt to pay out as little as possible; and property owners will often try to put the blame for the accident on you. They have attorneys on their side, so it is difficult to fight them on your own. To pursue the compensation, you should work with a skilled and experienced slip and fall lawyer.
The Pennsylvania slip and fall lawyers at Wapner Newman understand what a difficult time this is for you and that you may be dealing with tremendous pain and medical bills at a time you are unable to work. We can help by handling all legal hurdles involved with filing a lawsuit and getting you the compensation you deserve. We will aggressively fight to hold the negligent parties accountable and win a settlement that covers both your expenses and the pain and suffering from your injuries.
We offer a free consultation to discuss the facts of your individual situation and determine the best way to move forward with your case. We work on a contingency basis, which means you pay nothing unless we win, so call us today at (215) 569-0900 for your free, no-obligation case evaluation.
How Our Slip and Fall Attorneys in Philadelphia Work for You
Why Choose Us?
Having the right wrongful death or personal injury attorney on your side can make a major difference in the outcome of your case. There are many attorneys out there, and it’s important to find the right one for you. Here are some reasons why we believe you can’t do better than Wapner Newman:
- We have extensive trial experience and we get results.
- We have won millions of dollars for our clients, including a $45 million verdict for an abuse victim and a $227 million settlement for deaths caused by a Market Street building collapse.
- Our managing partner, Marc G. Brecher, has been recognized as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer since 2004 and is listed among the top 100 trial lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers Association and rated by the Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review.
- We have the knowledge, connections, and resources to conduct a full investigation into your case and hire experts to testify on your behalf.
- We offer free initial consultations to get you started.
- We treat our clients like family, as you can see by their testimonials.
When you hire our Philadelphia slip and fall lawyers, we will get to work for you immediately, aggressively fighting for justice and the settlement you deserve.
Our Slip and Fall Attorneys Know the System
The term “slip and fall case” refers to a situation where a person slips, trips, or falls on a dangerous surface and suffers an injury. It is a common type of personal injury case and also is part of a larger category of law that is known as premises liability law.
Landlords and their insurance companies have powerful attorneys who try to use the law against you, so it makes sense for you to have an attorney fighting for your rights to a fair settlement. Our slip and fall attorneys at Wapner Newman know all the legal actions which need to be taken. When you have us on your side, we will:
- Meet with you to hear your version of what happened and determine who the at-fault parties may be and what your case may be worth
- Investigate the accident to determine who was at fault and gather evidence such as police reports, medical records, previous complaints against a landlord, photos, and videos to find where another party was negligent and show why you were not at fault
- Identify all defendants responsible for the accident
- Interview eyewitnesses and first responders
- Hire expert witnesses to reconstruct what happened and other experts such as accountants and psychologists to show how your life and that of your family is negatively affected by the accident, what your future expenses may be, and testify accordingly
- Deal with insurance companies so you won’t have to and aggressively negotiate for a fair settlement
- Take your case to court if an agreement with the insurance company cannot be reached.
Our Slip and Fall Injury Attorneys Must Prove Negligence
Slip and Fall Lawyers Know How to Show Negligence
To win your slip and fall case, our attorneys will have to prove that someone else was negligent, at fault, and therefore liable for the accident. Slip and fall cases are complicated, because there may be multiple parties who can be held liable, such as:
- Multiple owners of a business or property
- Property managers, maintenance workers, and the companies they work for
- Municipalities, if you fell in a public place
- Employers who failed to keep a workplace safe for employees.
These parties have what is known as a duty of care to make sure the property they are responsible for is properly maintained to prevent injuries to others and to fix unsafe conditions in a timely manner. If they are negligent and fail to do so and you are injured due to this negligence, you have a valid slip and fall case.
Our attorneys will strive to prove that any or all of the parties responsible for upkeep of the property (the defendants in the case) were negligent and at fault, as they all may have insurance and assets that can go toward a settlement.
Our slip and fall attorney must establish that there was negligence by a defendant because:
- The defendant had a duty of care to keep the property in a safe manner.
- This duty was breached because there was a dangerous condition on the property that posed an unreasonable risk of harm.
- The defendant knew or should have known about the condition and had time to remedy the condition but failed to do so.
- This negligent failure to properly fix or warn about the defect caused your accident.
- You suffered damages as a result.
Be aware that the defendants, their insurance companies, and their attorneys will try to shift liability and prove that you were careless and at fault for the accident. Or they may claim they were never notified of the risk or that they didn’t have enough time or resources to fix it before someone was injured. Our slip and fall lawyers are prepared to combat these arguments by the preponderance of evidence showing negligence.
Examples of negligence that lead to slips and falls include:
- Ice and snow were not timely removed from a walkway.
- Food or liquid was spilled on the floor and not cleaned up, or a mopped area was left wet with no warning signs.
- Floors and sidewalks are broken, cracked, have holes, or are uneven.
- Carpet or rugs are not secured.
- Stairs have broken or missing railings.
- Wiring crosses walking areas and creates tripping hazards.
- Lighting is inadequate to see where you are going.
No matter what the cause of dangerous premises, property owners have a duty to keep their premises safe for other people.
Slip and Fall Attorneys Explain Property Owner’s Obligations
The duty and obligation to make a property safe depends to some extent on your purpose for being on the property. The law defines your status as:
- a business invitee — someone who goes to a property for a business purpose. A business invitee is owed the highest standard of care, so operators must inspect their property and correct any dangerous conditions.
- a licensee – someone who has the owner’s permission to be on the property, but not necessarily an express invitation. There is a duty to correct or warn licensees about a known dangerous condition, but no duty to inspect the property.
- a trespasser – someone who goes onto a property but does not have permission. Unless deliberately trying to cause harm, the owner is not responsible for injury to trespassers.
Our Slip and Fall Law Firm Determines Fair Settlement Awards
Settlement Amounts Vary According to Circumstances
Since slip and fall accidents can cause injuries that range from a sprained ankle to paralysis or death, settlement amounts can vary accordingly and may range from thousands to millions of dollars. In determining what your case may be worth, our attorneys would carefully evaluate your expenses now and into the future.
Factors which would be considered in a settlement amount include:
- The severity and extent of your injuries
- Whether they will be permanent and require lifelong care
- Your lost earnings and whether you will be able to work in the future
- Whether death was involved
- How much insurance coverage and assets are available
- Whether the property was privately or government-owned
- The availability of evidence to prove your case
- The individual jurisdiction, judge, and jury if there is a trial, as some jurisdictions are more sympathetic to victims than others are.
In addition, the skill and negotiating power of your attorney and law firm are important. At Wapner Newman, we have the knowledge and experience necessary to evaluate what your case is worth, to negotiate efficiently for a fair settlement, and to prepare and argue your case effectively should it go to trial.
Damage Awards You May Receive
While we cannot tell you exactly how much your case is worth, we know that you may be eligible for a variety of damages. In Pennsylvania these may include payment for your economic and non-economic damages, and you may also receive an award for punitive damages.
Economic damages: These include all your damages that have easy-to-calculate dollar amounts, including:
- medical and rehabilitation bills
- lost income from being unable to work, currently and into the future
- any property damage
- funeral costs, in case of death
- legal fees.
Non-economic damages: These are for more intangible damages that do not have a specific dollar value, including:
- emotional and mental anguish and anxiety
- physical pain and suffering
- loss of consortium and enjoyment of life
- life-altering effects of a permanent disability.
Punitive damages: These may be available in rare cases involving gross negligence, intentional torts or egregious wrongdoing on the defendant’s part. Punitive damages are intended to punish the at-fault party for conduct considered especially egregious and to prevent others from acting similarly. Pennsylvania does not cap punitive damage awards except in medical malpractice cases.
Our Wapner Newman slip and fall attorneys will fight for a damage award that pays for your expenses and losses from the accident and those you are likely to suffer in the future. In addition, if your slip and fall accident occurred while you were at work, you may be eligible for Pennsylvania workers’ compensation benefits. Call today to get started at (215) 569-0900.
Slip and Fall Injury Attorneys Answer Questions
Our Slip and Fall Attorneys Keep You Informed
After a serious slip and fall accident, you are bound to have questions and concerns. While these are best addressed at your initial consultation, here are answers to frequently asked questions to get you started:
No. While insurance companies are concerned with their bottom line and want to pay as little as possible. They may try to get you to admit that you were at fault for the accident or contact you to make an offer to settle your claim quickly. This is often a lowball offer, and once you accept an insurance settlement, you waive your right to seek damages under a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit, and you will not be able to get anything additional, even if your injuries get worse over time. Tell the insurance company to contact your attorney and let Wapner Newman handle negotiations.
According to Pennsylvania statute Title 42 § 5524 there is generally a two-year statute of limitations, a deadline to file an action to recover damages for personal injury or wrongful death caused by the wrongful act or neglect or unlawful violence or negligence of another. If you miss this deadline, the courts are likely to refuse to hear your case.
Even if you contributed to the accident, you may still be able to get a settlement, since Pennsylvania has a modified comparative negligence ruled. According to Pennsylvania statute Section 7102 Title 42, as long as you are less than 51% at fault, you would receive the proportion of the settlement that the defendants are at fault. This means, for example if the award is for $100,000 and you are found to be 20 percent at fault, you would still receive $80,000.
If a slip and fall accident results in a death, our attorneys can file a wrongful death claim. This is like a personal injury case where an eligible family member of the deceased seeks compensation since the deceased can no longer do so. It is a civil lawsuit asking for financial restitution for survivors.
The good news is that it doesn’t cost anything up front. At Wapner Newman, we work on a contingency basis, which means we take on all costs and expenses of your case, and you pay nothing unless and until we win. Fees and expenses are then taken out of the settlement award.
When you have Wapner Newman on your side, we will keep you informed throughout the entire process, answering your questions as they arise. Contact our Philadelphia slip and fall attorneys as soon as possible to avoid making costly mistakes.
Get Help From Our Philadelphia Slip and Fall Attorneys
We Get Results in Your Slip and Fall Claim
Slip and fall accidents are a part of premises liability law; in many of these cases, insurance companies will get to work as soon as you are injured to minimize your settlement. If you sustain an injury from a slip and fall in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, you should contact our premises liability attorneys as soon as possible, before you discuss anything with an insurance company.
Our slip and fall lawyers take every case under the assumption that it will require tough litigation in a trial setting and are fully prepared to take every step necessary to secure your compensation. Let us handle all aspects of your case so you can focus on your recovery.
Call Wapner Newman today at (215) 569-0900 to discuss your case with a slip and fall attorney in Philadelphia. If transportation is an issue, we will come to you. Our firm serves slip and fall accident victims throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with offices in Philadelphia, West Conshohocken, Allentown, and Marlton.
Client Testimonial
”Robert Miller is a true professional. I utilized his services for two accidents that I had a few years apart and both times his hard work created a positive outcome for my cases. He listens and is patient and is very thorough. I would highly recommend him and his law office.” – Danielle Joniak (Google Review)