Reading Premises Liability Attorney
Property owners in Reading, Pennsylvania, are responsible for ensuring that their premises are safe for any visitors. If someone slips on a wet floor or trips and falls in a cluttered walkway, they could hire an experienced Reading premises liability lawyer and file a legal claim to seek compensation from the property owner.
Pennsylvania laws state that both commercial and private property owners must keep their premises reasonably safe or place warnings of potential dangers. If the owner or manager knew there was a risk of injury and did nothing to remedy the problem, it’s possible for the victim to file a claim against them for negligence.
At Wilk Law Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers, our experienced premises liability attorneys in Reading, Pennsylvania, offer the assistance you need if you’ve suffered losses because of someone else’s negligent or wrongful conduct. We’re here to provide skillful guidance and support as you navigate the claims process and pursue the compensation you deserve.
How does a premises liability claim work? Learn more about your rights if you’ve suffered an accident on someone else’s property and what you can expect from the process.
What Exactly Is a Premises Liability Claim in Reading, Pennsylvania?
Premises liability claims revolve around the understanding that anyone who invites or allows others onto their property has a duty of care toward them. In these cases, the duty of care refers to the owner taking all reasonable steps to ensure that their premises are safe.
Premises liability claims hinge on a few key factors, beginning with the visitor being on the property lawfully. Keep in mind that you don’t have to be explicitly invited if you’re on the property to perform professional duties like delivering mail.
Property owners owe a significant duty of care toward guests, especially if they’re there for business reasons. If they’ve allowed people on their property and know that there are hazards about, they must clearly mark them or remedy the problem to avoid injuries.
Owners don’t owe the same duty of care to trespassers, though they’re never entitled to act with malice or gross neglect.
Another important factor in premises liability claims is being able to show that the property owner knew or should have known about the hazard on their premises and took no steps to resolve the problem. You must also be able to demonstrate that you were injured because of their conduct or suffered other losses.
Because of the complexities involved in proving all of these factors, it’s recommended that you hire an experienced Reading premises liability lawyer immediately after sustaining an accident on someone else’s property. The skilled attorneys at Wilk Law Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers can investigate the circumstances and analyze your chances of a successful claim.
Where Are Some Locations Where Premises Liability Accidents Commonly Occur in Pennsylvania?
Premises liability accidents can occur on any type of property, whether private or commercial. However, some locations tend to see accidents more often than others. One of these places is construction sites.
Construction sites are packed with tools, materials, and workers, making accidents much more likely. If contractors don’t maintain clutter-free premises, slips and falls, electrocution accidents, and a number of other mishaps can occur. Unfortunately, accidents that occur on construction sites are often catastrophic.
Parking lots are another frequent location for accidents. If the parking surface isn’t maintained properly and someone trips and falls, or if the lot doesn’t provide appropriate visibility, pedestrians and drivers can suffer serious accidents. Parking lots should also be well-lit to deter crimes like robberies and assaults.
Accidents also happen surprisingly often in retail stores. Torn or bunched carpets, broken banisters or stair steps, and wet or cluttered floors can all result in slip and fall accidents. Negligent security can put shoppers at risk, too, as can malfunctioning elevators and escalators.
Another common site of premises liability accidents is hotels, where issues with elevators or stairs or a lack of security could result in assaults or robberies. Because there are so many people in a hotel at any given time, property owners and managers must be extra vigilant to ensure the safety of their patrons.
Other locations where accidents might occur include:
- Restaurants
- Office buildings
- Movie theaters
- Bars
- Public spaces
Most people don’t think of parks as places where accidents are likely to happen, but anywhere that dogs are allowed, it’s possible to suffer bites or attacks that leave you with serious injuries.
No matter what kind of accident you’ve been in, an experienced Reading premises liability attorney can help you understand your rights and options for seeking compensation.
What Are the Most Common Types of Premises Liability Claims in Reading, Pennsylvania?
Our skilled attorneys have helped countless clients who have suffered all manner of accidents due to the negligence of others. Here are some of the most frequent types of claims we manage:
Slip and Fall Accidents
Slips and falls are the most common type of accident that lead to premises liability claims. In 2021, more than 6.9 million people across the country were treated in emergency rooms due to fall-related injuries. These accidents frequently occur in public spaces, including on sidewalks and in stores.
Slip and fall accidents can happen for many reasons, including:
- Broken steps or banisters
- Missing or damaged handrails
- Potholes in sidewalks
- Ice or snow that hasn’t been cleared
- Damaged sidewalks or walkways
- Debris or other obstacles
If you slip on a wet floor that hasn’t been marked as a hazard, you can hold the property owner or manager responsible, no matter what kind of building you’re in. That’s also the case if you’re a guest in a private home.
Animal Attacks and Dog Bites
Dogs aren’t always man’s best friend. In fact, nearly 1,000 people end up needing emergency treatment every day in the U.S. as a result of serious dog bites. Between 2011 and 2021, there were 468 recorded fatalities stemming from dog attacks.
Postal workers frequently get bitten in the course of their jobs, with more than 5,800 cases in 2023. Children, too, are often the victims of dog bites because they don’t always know not to pet dangerous animals — many children are unable to read the signs dogs display to let them know to stay away.
Pennsylvania has strict liability laws in regard to dog bites. If a dog bites you without provocation and while you were lawfully on the premises, the animal’s owner is likely liable for your injuries, which means they must pay your resulting medical bills.
However, they don’t have to compensate you for pain and suffering unless you can prove that they were negligent. That means demonstrating that the dog was dangerous and that the owner failed to keep it under control.
It’s typically fairly easy to prove that a dog’s owner knew their pet was dangerous if the animal has bitten someone before. If the owner still allowed them to come into contact with people or made no attempt to keep them on a leash or wear a muzzle, they’d be deemed negligent.
Swimming Pool Accidents
Slips and falls can be deadly if they occur near a pool. If the walkways around the pool aren’t kept as dry as possible (given the setting and circumstances), the threat of a fall goes up. In the worst-case scenario, a visitor could hit their head and fall in the pool, putting them at risk of drowning.
Other accidents can occur due to broken railings, lack of proper lighting, missing depth indicators, and a lack of adequate fencing around the pool area, which can be especially dangerous for children.
Falling Objects
If you’re sitting at a restaurant or standing in line at the bank and a piece of the ceiling falls and hits you, you may have the right to file a claim against the owner or manager of the location.
In these cases, you would have to prove that the owner knew or should have known that it was possible for such an accident to happen. For example, if there were water marks on the ceiling, the owner should have taken steps to inspect the ceiling and fix the damage.
Items on shelves that haven’t been arranged properly can also fall and strike shoppers in retail stores. Similarly, falling objects on construction sites can lead to fatal accidents, as they often involve tools, building materials, or heavy equipment.
Escalator and Elevator Accidents
Escalators and elevators are essential in stores and buildings, and they must receive regular maintenance to ensure that they work properly. If an escalator or elevator breaks or otherwise malfunctions and causes injuries, the fault could lie with the manufacturer or the building’s owner if they failed to perform the right inspections.
Each year in the United States, there are approximately 10,000 escalator accidents each year that send victims to the emergency room.
Negligent Security
Property owners are expected to know whether their guests or visitors are in danger of crimes like robbery and assault and take action to prevent them. This often means implementing security guards, alarm systems, and specialized locks.
The same is true for private residences. If you’re a guest in someone’s home and their lack of locks or other security measures leads you to suffer injuries, you can take legal action against them with the aid of a Reading premises liability lawyer.
Those who run commercial businesses must also ensure that their parking lots are safe for customers. If a visitor gets hurt while walking to their car because a lack of lights makes it easier for a criminal to rob or assault them, the owners of the premises can be held responsible.
For immediate legal assistance from an experienced Reading premises liability lawyer contact our legal team today. We offer free case evaluations and are never too busy to speak with you.
How Is Negligence Proven in Premises Liability Claims in Pennsylvania?
All premises liability claims rely on the legal duty that property owners and managers have to maintain reasonably safe premises for those who are legally on their properties.
To hold someone liable for an accident that occurred on their premises, you must show that they knew or should have known that the danger existed. You must also demonstrate that the property owner had the opportunity and the means to address the problem and chose not to.
As mentioned, the first thing you must establish is that the defendant owed you a duty of care. In this case, all that’s required is that you prove you were on the property lawfully. Keep in mind that commercial property owners owe guests a higher duty of care than private property owners do.
Next, you must show that the property owner failed to take the necessary steps to keep you safe. If they made no effort to remove a patch of ice from the sidewalk leading to their store, for example, and they didn’t bother placing a warning sign, they breached their duty of care.
The next element necessary in a premises liability claim is to show that you sustained financial losses or other hardships as a direct result of the property owner’s negligence. If you can satisfy all of these requirements, you likely have a valid claim.
The Reading personal injury lawyers at Wilk Law Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers can help you gather the necessary evidence to help prove each one of these points.
Who Can Be Sued for an Accident on Another Person’s Property in Reading, Pennsylvania?
The party that’s most often targeted for legal action in a premises liability claim is the owner of the property. However, they’re not the only potentially liable party. It’s crucial to remember that anyone who contributes to your injuries could be responsible in a premises liability claim.
For example, if a faulty piece of equipment caused your injuries, you may be able to hold the manufacturer or distributor responsible. Similarly, if there’s construction taking place at a location and you get hurt due to materials or equipment being left sitting out, you may be able to hold the contractor responsible.
Your landlord could also be liable. If you were to suffer serious burns because of a malfunctioning boiler that you asked them to fix to no avail, they would be legally negligent and would have to cover your resulting losses.
The rules are slightly different if you’re injured on government property. You can file a claim against the government entity responsible for maintaining the property, but you’ll have a much shorter amount of time in which to do so.
While it’s always wise to have a skilled and experienced Reading premises liability attorney on your side, it’s even more vital when a government entity is involved.
What Happens if a Child Is Injured on My Property in Pennsylvania?
If a child who has a right to be on your property gets hurt there, you might be liable for their injuries. But what if they didn’t have that right?
Trespassers are often subject to Pennsylvania’s modified comparative negligence law, which states that any compensation they receive can be reduced by the amount of fault they bear for their own injuries.
An adult who trespasses on your property bears a significant amount of fault. That’s not the case with children, however — you can be held responsible for any injuries they sustain, even if they were trespassing.
Attractive Nuisance Laws in Pennsylvania
Some structures or conditions can make a property more attractive to children while also posing a risk to their lives. If a property owner can reasonably predict that children might trespass, they must take steps to prevent such a scenario.
Attractive nuisance claims are challenging because the plaintiff must show that the defendant knew that a danger existed on their property and that the property itself could draw underage trespassers. If the cost of removing the danger was slight compared to the cost of the potential injuries, the defendant should have acted to do so.
Examples of attractive nuisances in Reading, Pennsylvania, include:
- Swimming pools
- Trampolines
- Towers
- Playgrounds
Attractive nuisance laws are vital because they acknowledge that children don’t have the self-control that adults do. An adult may know to avoid certain dangers, but children often lack the necessary judgment and discretion. Attractive nuisance laws help protect their lives.
Skilled Personal Injury Lawyers in Reading, Pennsylvania
Being injured because of someone else’s negligent or wrongful conduct can be devastating. You may feel powerless as your medical bills and lost wages begin to mount, but you aren’t. You have the right to file a premises liability claim and seek compensation for your losses. Wilk Law Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers can help.
Seasoned premises liability lawyer and founding attorney Tyler J. Wilk can assist you by gathering and presenting evidence that proves the defendant is liable for your injuries and negotiating with the insurance companies on your behalf.
Contact our team today to discuss your injuries and start your claim.
Locations near Reading, Pennsylvania, which Wilk Law Personal Injury & Car Accident Lawyers serves include West Chester, Philadelphia, Exton, Berwyn, Phoenixville, Kennett Square, Valley Forge, Coatesville, Pottstown, Downingtown, Devon, Frazer, and more.