Who Is at Fault When You Slip and Fall at Someone’s Home?

Who is at fault when you slip and fall at someone’s home? How do you determine who is at fault? How do you determine whether you have a case?

There are three main factors in determining responsibility in a slip and fall case: establishing negligence, proving negligence, and hiring the best slip and fall lawyers in Delaware County.

Establishing Negligence

If you slip and fall at someone’s home and sustain an injury it is first necessary to establish negligence. Besides a few exceptions, negligence means someone failed to use reasonable care, and you were injured as a result. An injured person was not afforded the care they could reasonably expect, and an injury or harm resulted. It can also mean someone had a duty to act in preventing or remedying the situation in which the injury occurred and they did not execute their duty sufficiently or at all.

Proving Negligence

Proving negligence is the hard part. It is up to the plaintiff to prove negligence occurred. Short of eyewitnesses or video surveillance this can be quite difficult. There may be a dispute as to who is at fault because of different versions of what caused the injury. Three conditions in Pennsylvania law constitute proof of negligence, and to prove negligence, a plaintiff must provide proof to meet one of the conditions:

The person in charge of the property caused the condition that led to an injury;

The person in charge of the property knew of the condition that led to the injury and failed to correct it;

or

The person in charge of the property should have known about the condition, based on what a “reasonable” person would be expected to do in that same situation.

Establishing Comparative Negligence

This simply means a lawyer or lawyers help determine how much fault lies with each party. Did you, the injured party, contribute to the injury in any way? If so, how much? Pennsylvania law follows the doctrine of comparative negligence, which means any damages awarded will be reduced in proportion to the level (percentage) of responsibility.

Hire Experienced Lawyers

Each case is different, and determining whether an injury entitles someone to damages, and how much their level of suffering demands compensation. Hiring the best in the area will maximize your injury compensation should damages be awarded.