If you have suffered injuries in a slip-and-fall accident in Pennsylvania, you can file a lawsuit against the property owner or manager. You can only do this if the accident is due to negligence and not your own irresponsible actions. There are time limits on when you can file.
Comparative negligence in slip-and-fall cases
Pennsylvania follows modified comparative negligence laws, which means that if you’re determined to be partially responsible for your slip-and-fall accident and subsequent injuries, any compensation you seek in a lawsuit is reduced by your level of responsibility. For example, you were paying too much attention to your phone while walking down a flight of stairs in a building; the last step was loose and you stumbled, twisting your ankle and fracturing it. If you were asking for $10,000 in your lawsuit but the jury determined that you were 10% at fault for the accident, you would recover $9,000 if your claim was successful.
However, if you are determined to be 50% responsible for your injuries, you cannot recover any compensation. Your limit of responsibility must be 49% or your case is thrown out.
Statute of limitations in slip-and-fall cases
Slip-and-fall claims have a two-year statute of limitations. This means you must file your lawsuit with the court no later than two years from the date of your accident. If you don’t file within that time frame, you forgo any chance to have your claim heard and will not be able to recover compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering and any other damages you’ve suffered.
In rarer slip-and-fall cases, you might only have property damage from the accident. Limitations still apply to that situation as well.
Injuries from slip-and-fall accidents can be devastating. If you plan on filing a lawsuit, make sure you do so in a timely manner to avoid problems.