When It Wasn’t Just An Accident
After a bad fall, people tend to blame themselves first. “I should have been paying attention.” “I should have seen it.” “It was just a stupid accident.” And the property owner where you fell, along with their insurance company, is more than happy to let you believe exactly that. The less you question it, the less likely you are to discover that you may have had a real case all along.
Here is the truth: many serious falls are not just accidents. They are the direct result of a dangerous condition a property owner should have fixed, a spill left too long, a broken stair, an unlit walkway, an unmarked wet floor. When that is what happened, and you were seriously hurt, you may have a legitimate claim, no matter how much you have been made to feel it was your own fault.
This article explains the signs that your slip and fall is a real case, not just an accident. It explains how fault actually works in Pennsylvania. And it explains what to do next. If any of this sounds like your situation, Lupetin & Unatin is here to help.
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Article written by Brendan Lupetin, Esq. Brendan is a managing partner in the law firm of Lupetin & Unatin, a medical malpractice law firm located in Pittsburgh and serving Western Pennsylvania.
Our practice is limited to high-value catastrophic cases because that is where we can do the most for our clients.
A Quick Word on How These Cases Work
To understand whether your fall is a real case, it helps to understand how these claims work. We have written a full, plain-language guide: slip, trip, and fall injury claims explained, which explains the notice requirement, Pennsylvania’s snow-and-ice rule, and how fault is decided. This article focuses on recognizing a real case. For the background, we will point you to that companion guide.
The single most important thing to know is this. Whether you have a case does not turn on whether you feel embarrassed or partly responsible. It turns on whether the property owner failed a legal duty, by allowing a dangerous condition they knew about, or should have known about, to exist, and whether that failure caused your injury. Feeling like it was “your fault” is often just the story the property owner wants you to accept.
Signs Your Fall May Be a Real Case
Below are the signs that separate a genuine claim from a simple accident. If several of these fit your situation, it is worth having a lawyer review your fall.
A Real Hazard Caused Your Fall
If you fell because of an actual dangerous condition, a spill, a wet floor, a broken or uneven step, torn carpet, a pothole, ice from a leaking gutter, that is the foundation of a case. A fall caused by a genuine hazard is very different from simply losing your footing.
The Hazard Had Been There for a While
Time is one of the most important factors. If the spill, broken step, or other hazard had existed long enough that the owner should have found and fixed it, that points to liability. A puddle that sat for an hour, or a step that had been cracked for months, suggests the owner failed to inspect and maintain the property.
There Was No Warning Sign
Property owners are supposed to warn about hazards. If there was no wet floor sign, no cone, no barrier, and no warning of a danger the owner knew about, that missing warning is a strong sign of negligence.
The Owner or an Employee Caused the Hazard
If an employee mopped without a sign, overwaxed a floor, left something in a walkway, or created the danger in some other way, liability is often clearer, because the owner plainly knew about the condition they created.
A Code or Safety Violation Was Involved
If your fall involved a building code violation, a stairway with no required handrail, steps of the wrong height, inadequate lighting, that violation can be strong evidence that the owner failed their duty.
You Were a Customer or Invited Guest
If you fell while shopping, dining, staying at a hotel, or otherwise on a property open for business, you were owed the highest duty of care. Owners must inspect for and fix hazards to protect customers, which makes these among the strongest fall cases.
You Suffered a Serious Injury
The falls worth pursuing are the ones that cause serious, lasting harm, a brain injury, a broken hip, a spinal injury, an injury requiring surgery. If your fall left you with a significant injury, it warrants a real investigation into whether the owner was at fault.
“But It Was My Fault for Not Watching Where I Was Going”
This is the single most common reason people talk themselves out of a real case. So let us address it head-on.
Pennsylvania follows a rule called modified comparative negligence. Under it, you can still recover money even if you were partly at fault. Your recovery is simply reduced by your share of the blame. You are only completely barred from recovering if you are found more than 50 percent at fault, meaning more to blame than the property owner.
So the fact that you maybe could have avoided the hazard does not defeat your case. What matters is the comparison: was the property owner more responsible than you were? A store that let a spill sit unmarked for an hour is far more at fault than a shopper who simply did not see it. “You should have watched where you were going” is not the end of your case. It is the argument a good lawyer overcomes with evidence of the owner’s greater fault. Do not let it stop you from finding out whether you have a claim.
The Serious Harm These Falls Cause
The fall cases that matter most involve serious, lasting injuries, including:
- Traumatic brain injuries, from striking the head, causing lasting cognitive and physical problems. Falls are the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Hip fractures, which can permanently affect mobility and independence, especially for older adults.
- Spinal cord injuries, including paralysis.
- Broken bones and shoulder injuries, often requiring surgery.
- Back and neck injuries, including herniated discs.
- Chronic pain, that can last for years.
- Death, in the most tragic cases, which may give rise to a wrongful death claim.
What You Should Do Now
If you think your fall may be a real case, here is what to do.
- Report the fall and get an incident report. If it happened at a business, make sure a report is created and ask for a copy. Get the names of any witnesses.
- Preserve the evidence. Photograph the hazard and the scene right away, before it is cleaned or repaired. Surveillance video is often critical, and it can be erased within days, so acting quickly matters a great deal.
- Get medical care and follow through with it. Your health comes first, and your records document the seriousness of your injuries.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the property owner’s insurer before talking to a lawyer. Adjusters are trained to ask questions in ways designed to shift blame onto you and minimize the claim.
- Act within the deadlines. Pennsylvania generally gives you two years to file, but some situations, such as a fall on government property, can require notice much sooner.
- Talk to a lawyer who handles serious fall cases. These claims turn on evidence and on overcoming the owner’s blame-shifting. An experienced premises lawyer will know how to build the case.
How Lupetin & Unatin Can Help
We are Lupetin & Unatin, a Pittsburgh law firm, and we are among the most accomplished slip-and-fall trial lawyers in Pennsylvania. We believe our results are among the best in the Commonwealth. Our firm won what are believed to be the two largest slip-and-fall verdicts in Erie County history, a $7.25 million verdict against UPMC Hamot and a $3.2 million verdict against Saint Vincent Surgery Center, plus a $2.1 million jury verdict against Target Corporation, in a case Target had offered just $85,000 to settle. Several of these were cases other firms had turned down because the facts looked hard.
We see these cases differently than the average firm. We know that property owners win by blaming the injured person, and we know how to beat that. We move fast to preserve the video and records that prove the owner’s fault, we work with leading experts to prove the full extent of an injury, and when insurers will not be fair, we take these cases to juries.
We take a limited number of cases so we can give each one real attention. We work on a contingency fee, which means you pay nothing up front. You pay nothing unless we win. We advance the costs of building your case, and if we do not recover for you, you owe us nothing.
Do not talk yourself out of a case you may well have. A short conversation can tell you a lot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Possibly, yes. Pennsylvania lets you recover even if you were partly at fault, as long as you were not more than 50 percent to blame. Feeling partly responsible is normal, and it is exactly what property owners want you to feel, but it does not decide whether you have a case. What matters is comparing the owner’s fault to yours, which is what we evaluate.
Not necessarily. Whether a warning was adequate, whether it was actually visible and in the right place, and whether the hazard should have been eliminated rather than just marked, are all real questions. A sign does not automatically defeat a claim, and the evidence, including video, often tells a different story than the store’s account.
In most cases, the deadline is two years from the date of the fall, though some situations, such as a fall on government-owned property, can require notice much sooner. Because evidence like video can be erased quickly, it is best to call as soon as possible.
Nothing up front. We work on a contingency fee, which means we only get paid if we win money for you. There is no fee to talk with us and no fee to review your case. We advance the costs of building the case, and if we do not recover for you, you owe us nothing.
Reach Out Today
If any part of this article sounds like your situation, please contact Lupetin & Unatin. Tell us what happened. We will listen. We will review your fall. We will tell you honestly whether we think you have a case, and what we think it may be worth.
A serious fall is not always just an accident, and you should not let anyone talk you out of the truth. If you were seriously injured, you have the right to find out whether a property owner is responsible. Let us help you find out.
Call Lupetin & Unatin today for a free, no-pressure review of your case.