SLIP AND FALL ACCIDENTS AND PENNSYLVANIA PREMISES LIABILITY LAW

Late fall and early winter are peak times for slip and fall injuries throughout the Commonwealth. Accumulations of ice and snow can make walking near commercial properties a particularly treacherous activity.

In a previous blog post, we discussed a lawsuit filed by New Jersey woman against a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-area home improvement store. In that case, the woman claimed that she slipped and fell on a puddle of water at the front of the store after husband dropped her off from their car. Imagine if that puddle of water had instead been a slab of ice.

Pennsylvania law has long recognized the duty of a landlord to take reasonable care to ensure that conditions on their property are not unreasonably dangerous to others. Another tenant of premises liability doctrine holds that a property owner also has a duty to exercise reasonable preventative measures against foreseeable risks. This means that they should not require extra notice of potential hazards which were known to them, or reasonably should have been known them.

A good example of this is the current Doylestown Borough ordinance regarding snow and ice removal. According to the code, property owners must clear their walkways which pose a danger to others within 10 hours after a period of snowfall has ended. Essentially, this means that a land owner should have known that their publicly assessable walkways may cause a hazard after a heavy snowfall and taking corrective action.

Pennsylvania residents injured as a result of a slip and fall accident should know that our firm has been representing clients in personal injury claims for over 30 years. We are experienced in addressing the unique issues associated with these types of cases. There will be no charge to you for our analysis and evaluation of your case.