As a Pennsylvanian resident who has been injured in a slip-and-fall accident, you know that it can be difficult to prove fault. Just how do you show that you were the victim?
FindLaw has an article about proving fault in a slip-and-fall accident, which may be harder than it initially seems. A number of things will be looked at in order to determine fault. First of all, it must be determined that the property owner could have reasonably prevented the accident. They aren’t held responsible for things that a person could have avoided, such as tripping on a hose on a lawn that’s being watered.
Next, did they fulfill their duties to maintain reasonably safe conditions? Are they fixing leaks? Do they properly cover and secure things like swimming pools or trampolines?
Generally speaking, there are three guidelines that can be used to determine if you have a chance of winning your case. You must have at least one of the following:
- The property owner should have known about the danger, as any reasonable person in their shoes would have
- The property owner caused the danger, such as spilling something
- The property owner knew about a danger and did not attempt to fix it, like knowing there is ice in a parking lot and not putting down sand or salt
However, these are blanket rules and they don’t apply to every situation. This is one of many potential reasons why premise liability cases are a headache to deal with, and why you may benefit from the aid of an attorney.
