Property owners have an obligation to ensure their property is free from any known hazards that could harm guests and visitors. If a property owner’s negligence resulted in you suffering an injury in a slip and fall accident, you may be entitled to compensation. To find out more about your right to pursue a personal injury claim against a negligent property owner, contact Schmidt Kramer’s York slip and fall lawyers.
We had a very positive experience. Thank you for all of your hard work!
– Client of Schmidt Kramer
We have a proven history of successfully handling injury cases and have recovered more than $100 million in compensation on behalf of our clients.
Our lawyers can review your claim during our free, no obligation consultation and help to determine if you have a case that is eligible to recover compensation. There is no obligation however if you choose to hire us, there are no upfront fees and we only get paid when we win.
Complete a Free Case Evaluation form today.
How Can a York Slip and Fall Lawyer Help Me?
If you are considering filing a personal injury claim after a slip and fall accident, you will likely need to work with the at-fault party’s insurance company to recover compensation.
Although the claims process may seem straightforward, many accident victims are often unfamiliar with the the tactics insurers may use to negotiate a settlement. This may result in the victim receiving much less compensation than he or she needs to pay for his or her medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. In some cases, an insurer may deny you compensation altogether.
For this reason, it may be in your best interest to hire a York personal injury attorney to help you with your claim. An experienced attorney will act as your advocate during the claims process. He or she will handle all communications with the insurance company and help you negotiate a settlement that accurately reflects the losses you have suffered due to your slip and fall accident.
Additionally, your attorney will work to build a case on your behalf that supports your claim. This includes obtaining evidence that proves your slip and fall accident resulted from the property owner’s negligence. He or she will also collect copies of your medical records to show the extent of your injury, as well as the medical treatment you were prescribed to heal your injuries.
Furthermore, a York slip and fall lawyer will help you understand your claim’s true value and help you obtain the compensation you deserve. All too often, accident victims are provided inadequate compensation for the injuries they suffered due to the at-fault party’s negligence. This often occurs when an insurance company makes an initial offer that is much lower than what the victim may actually be owed. An attorney will inform you of whether an insurer’s offer is adequate, and work to negotiate a fair settlement on your behalf.
To find out more about how a York slip and fall lawyer can help your claim, contact Schmidt Kramer to schedule a free, no obligation consultation. Our team of accomplished attorneys is dedicated to helping injury victims obtain the justice and compensation they deserve after an accident. We understand the difficulties you may be facing, and will not hesitate to pursue maximum compensation for your claim.
To get started, call (717) 888-8888.
Compensation for a Slip and Fall Accident
After a slip and fall accident, many victims experience financial difficulties and a reduced quality of life due to the at-fault party’s negligence.
As a result, slip and fall accident victims may be entitled to recover several types of compensation from the at-fault party:
Economic Damages
Economic damages refers to the financial losses you suffered as a result of the slip and fall accident. These types of damages can be recovered through a personal injury claim and may include compensation for:
Medical Expenses
This will cover all of the past, present and future medical expenses associated with the injury you suffered in the slip and fall accident. This may include the cost of:
- Surgery
- Medical testing
- Prescription medication
- Doctors’ visits
- Hospital stays
- Medical assistive equipment, such as a wheelchair
- Rehabilitation
Lost Wages
A York slip and fall accident attorney will also help you pursue compensation for the wages you lost as a result of your injury. This may include any income you would have earned had you not been injured in the slip and fall accident. Your attorney will use your time cards, old paychecks and a statement from your employer to determine the value of your lost wages.
Loss of Earning Capacity
In some cases, an accident victim’s injury may be so severe that it prevents him or her from working and being able to earn an income.
When this occurs, you may be entitled to compensation for loss of earning capacity. This includes the amount of income you would have earned from your occupation throughout your lifetime.
Noneconomic Damages
Some accident victims may be entitled to pursue compensation for the noneconomic damages they suffered as a result of their injury. This refers to the intangible suffering you endured as a result of the accident.
However, noneconomic damages can only be obtained by filing a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault party and includes compensation for:
Pain and Suffering
In many cases, victims who file a personal injury lawsuit seek compensation for the physical or mental pain, discomfort and suffering they endured after the accident.
The amount of compensation you may receive for your pain and suffering depends on the severity of your injury. Typically, the more pain and discomfort you experience, the more compensation you may receive.
Loss of Enjoyment of Life
After a slip and fall accident, your life may drastically change due to your injuries. If you are no longer able to enjoy the hobbies or activities you took pleasure in before the accident, you may be entitled to compensation for loss of enjoyment of life.
However, it may be difficult to prove these losses, so it is important that you carefully document how your life has been affected by the accident.
Emotional Distress
Emotional distress damages are meant to compensate you for the psychological suffering you have endured since being injured in a slip and fall accident.
This entails the impact your injury has had on your daily life, and may include compensation for:
- Sleep loss
- Fear
- Anxiety
- Depression
Call (717) 888-8888 to discuss your claim with slip and fall lawyer in York.
How Do I Know if I Have a Case?
In order for our York slip and fall attorneys to obtain compensation for your case, we must prove the accident resulted from the property owner’s negligence. However, this will require us to establish that the property owner owed you a legal duty of care to ensure your safety.
In slip and fall cases, a property owner’s duty of care varies depending on the visitor’s status when he or she was on the property. There are three different types of legal statuses for visitors to a property:
- Invitees: These are individuals who have been invited to enter the property with the intention of benefiting the owner. Common examples of people who might be considered invitees are maintenance workers, customers in a retail store, delivery people, employees and those who enter land open to the public, such as museums or public parks. Property owners owe the highest duty of care to invitees. They must warn invitees of potentially dangerous conditions and take reasonable steps to discover dangerous hazards on the property. Property owners can be held liable for injuries to invitees if you can prove they should have known about a danger and failed to take reasonable steps to protect you from it. Reasonable steps could include conducting routine inspections to discover dangerous conditions.
- Licensees: Someone who has permission to enter a property for his or her own benefit, such as a guest visiting the property’s owner, is considered a licensee. Examples of licensees include friends, neighbors and door-to-door salesman. Property owners must warn licensees about any known hazard that may exist on the property and hazards their guests are unlikely to discover on their own. However, there is no legal duty to inspect the premises or repair hazards that are discovered. If you were injured as a licensee, the property owner could be held liable if your slip and fall attorney in York can prove the owner knew about the hazard, he or she did not warn you, and you were not aware of the hazard.
- Trespassers: These are individuals who have illegally entered a property without the owner’s permission. Although property owners are not required to ensure trespassers’ safety they cannot intentionally harm them. However, property owners must make their property reasonably safe when children trespass on the property because of an attractive nuisance. A common example of an attractive nuisance is a swimming pool. Property owners must exercise reasonable care to protect children from harm. Reasonable care could include putting up a fence. In cases involving attractive nuisances, your York slip and fall lawyer must prove the owner should have known about the danger and failed to take reasonable steps to eliminate the hazard or protect children from it.
Once we have established your legal status as a visitor to a property, we will consider several factors when building a case, such as:
- Was the property owner aware of the hazard?
- Did the property owner regularly inspect the property for dangerous hazards?
- Was the area where the accident occurred expected to contain a hazard? In other words, should the property owner have anticipated the hazard?
- Did the property owner take steps to correct the hazard before your slip and fall accident?
- Did you receive an adequate warning about the hazard before your slip and fall accident?
Proving liability in a slip and fall case can be difficult. This is why it can be to your advantage to work with a skilled slip and fall attorney in York. He or she will have extensive knowledge of Pennsylvania laws on negligence and premises liability.
Call (717) 888-8888 to find out if you have a case.
Types of Slip and Fall Accidents
Typically, fall accidents are classified into three categories:
- Slip and fall: You lose your ground and slip on a wet or slick surface.
- Trip and fall: You caught your foot on an object in your path and fell to the ground.
- Step and fall: You stepped over an unexpected hazard and fell as a result.
These accidents are caused by several types of hazards, including:
- Cluttered floors
- Cracked or uneven surfaces
- Rain
- Loose wiring
- Recently mopped or waxed floors
- Wet or slick surfaces
- Ripped or torn carpeting
- Potholes
- Inadequate property maintenance
- Snow or ice buildup
To bring a successful slip and fall claim against a property owner, you must be able to show he or she failed to efficiently address any dangerous conditions that were located on the property. This means you must show the property owner failed to show reasonable care by neglecting to fix or warn about a hazardous condition.
Our York slip and fall attorneys will thoroughly analyze your claim and the cause of your accident to help determine if you have a case. We will identify any hazards that existed on the property that the owner should have known about and corrected before you suffered your injury.
Call (717) 888-8888 if you were injured in a slip and fall accident.
Deadline for Pursuing Compensation After a Slip and Fall Accident
There may be several deadlines you need to follow in order to obtain compensation after a slip and fall accident. This includes deadlines imposed by insurance companies and the state of Pennsylvania.
Often, insurance companies have strict deadlines you must follow to file a personal injury claim after being injured in an accident. If you wait too long to inform an insurer of your injury, your claim may be denied. To avoid this, you should notify the at-fault party’s insurer as soon as possible to begin the claims process.
Additionally, Pennsylvania imposes a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits. This legal deadline begins on the date your injury occurred. If you fail to take legal action against the at-fault party within two years of your accident, you will no longer have the right to file a lawsuit.
To ensure your slip and fall case is filed within the required time limits, contact a slip and fall attorney in York as soon as possible. He or she will inform you of where your case stands within the statute of limitations and file a lawsuit on your behalf within the two-year deadline.
Complete a Free Case Evaluation form today.
Slip and Fall Accident Injuries
After slipping and falling onto a hard or unstable surface, slip and fall accident victims may suffer serious injuries, such as:
- Head injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Paraplegia
- Quadriplegia
- Neck injuries
- Soft tissue damage
- Fractured bones
- Internal bleeding
- Bruising
- Cuts and abrasions
These injuries can have a catastrophic effect on your life, physically, financially and emotionally. This is why you should strongly consider pursuing fair compensation for what you are dealing with. The York slip and fall lawyers at our firm can guide you through the legal process.
Call (717) 888-8888 if you were injured in an accident.
Contact Our Slip and Fall Attorneys in York
If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident, it is imperative that you seek medical attention as soon as possible. Once you have diagnosed your injuries and determined the type of treatment you may require, contact our slip and fall lawyers in York to schedule a free, no obligation consultation.
During your free, no obligation consultation, we will examine the damages you suffered during the slip and fall accident to help you determine the amount of compensation you may be entitled to receive.
At Schmidt Kramer, we take cases on contingency so there are no upfront fees. We only get paid if you are compensated.
Get qualified legal help after a slip and fall accident. Call (717) 888-8888.