(300+)Getting hurt on someone else’s property can turn your life upside down in an instant. Maybe you slipped on an unmarked wet floor at a Philadelphia grocery store, tripped on a broken step at an apartment building in Kensington, or were assaulted in a parking lot that lacked adequate lighting or security. Whatever happened, you may be wondering whether you have a right to compensation, and if so, where to begin.
At Gibbons Legal, Personal Injury and Accident Lawyer, our Philadelphia premises liability lawyers represent people injured on dangerous properties throughout the city and surrounding counties. We know Pennsylvania premises liability law inside and out, and we fight hard to make sure our clients are not left holding the bill for someone else’s negligence.
What Is Premises Liability Under Pennsylvania Law?
Premises liability is the legal principle that property owners and occupiers have a duty to maintain reasonably safe conditions for people on their property. When they fail to do that, and someone is hurt as a result, the injured person may have the right to pursue financial compensation.
In Pennsylvania, premises liability claims are governed by common law negligence principles and interpreted through decades of case law. The duty a property owner owes depends on why the visitor is on the property. Pennsylvania recognizes three main categories of visitors: invitees, licensees, and trespassers, each carrying a different standard of care under the law.
An invitee is someone invited onto the property for a business purpose, such as a customer at a retail store, a tenant at an apartment complex, or a patient at a medical facility. Property owners owe invitees the highest duty of care, which includes actively inspecting for hazards and correcting or warning of dangerous conditions. A licensee is a social guest or someone permitted to enter for non-business purposes; owners must warn of known dangers that the licensee is unlikely to discover on their own. Trespassers generally receive minimal protection, though intentional harm is always prohibited, and Pennsylvania courts extend additional protections to children under the attractive nuisance doctrine, codified in the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 339, which Pennsylvania courts have consistently recognized.
To succeed in a premises liability claim, you must establish four things: the property owner owed you a duty of care; they breached that duty by allowing a dangerous condition to exist; that breach caused your accident; and you suffered damages as a result. Our Philadelphia premises liability attorneys evaluate each of these elements from the moment we take your case.
Common Premises Liability Cases in Philadelphia
Philadelphia is a dense city with aging infrastructure, high-traffic commercial corridors, and a mix of residential and commercial properties that vary enormously in how well they are maintained. The result is a steady stream of preventable injuries that never should have happened.
Some of the most common types of premises liability cases we handle include slip and fall accidents caused by wet floors, uneven pavement, broken sidewalks, or icy walkways that were not treated. Philadelphia property owners have a duty under Philadelphia Code § 10-720 to clear snow and ice from sidewalks adjacent to their property within a reasonable time after a storm ends. Failure to do so can form the basis of a premises liability claim.
We also handle cases involving negligent security, which is especially relevant in commercial properties, apartment buildings, parking garages, and entertainment venues. Under Pennsylvania law, a property owner can be held liable for foreseeable criminal acts when they fail to provide adequate security measures. If crimes had occurred on or near the property before your injury, that prior notice is often critical to establishing the owner’s responsibility.
Other common cases involve defective stairs or railings, elevator and escalator malfunctions, inadequate lighting, dog bites on private property (governed by 3 Pa.C.S. § 459-502, Pennsylvania’s dog law), fire hazards, toxic or chemical exposure, and injuries at recreational facilities or amusement venues.
Does your situation fit neatly into one of those categories? It does not have to. If you were hurt on someone else’s property and believe the owner’s negligence played a role, reach out to us. We will tell you honestly what we think your options are.
What Damages Can a Philadelphia Premises Liability Attorney Recover?
Victims of premises liability accidents in Philadelphia may be entitled to compensation for both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages cover your measurable financial losses, including medical bills, future medical expenses, lost wages, and reduced earning capacity. Non-economic damages address the less tangible but equally real ways your injury has affected your life, including pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of daily activities.
Pennsylvania follows a modified comparative negligence rule under 42 Pa.C.S. § 7102. This means that if you are found partially at fault for your own accident, your compensation will be reduced by your percentage of fault. As long as you are not more than 50% responsible, you can still recover. Insurance companies often try to assign blame to the injured person as a tactic to minimize or deny claims. Our attorneys push back on those tactics aggressively.
Keep in mind that the statute of limitations for premises liability claims in Pennsylvania is two years from the date of the injury, under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524. Missing that deadline means losing your right to pursue compensation entirely, so it is important to speak with a Philadelphia premises liability attorney as soon as possible after your injury.
Philadelphia Neighborhoods and Communities We Serve
Gibbons Legal, Personal Injury and Accident Lawyer, represents premises liability victims throughout all of Philadelphia, including zip codes 19106 and 19107, among others.
If your injury occurred on a city-owned property or a Philadelphia Housing Authority property, different notice requirements may apply. Claims against government entities in Pennsylvania may be subject to 42 Pa.C.S. § 8541 et seq., the Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act, which imposes strict notice deadlines and limited exceptions to governmental immunity. These cases require experienced counsel from the start.
Why Choose Gibbons Legal, Personal Injury and Accident Lawyer, as Your Philadelphia Premises Liability Attorney?
Tom Gibbons and the team at Gibbons Legal, Personal Injury and Accident Lawyer, have recovered more than $100 million for injured clients across Pennsylvania. We know how insurance companies handle these claims. We know the arguments they make, the tactics they use, and the numbers they start with before a trained attorney gets involved. We work to change those numbers, building your case from the evidence up, documenting your damages thoroughly, and negotiating from a position of strength.
You pay nothing unless we win. Consultations are free, confidential, and available 24/7.
If you or someone you love was hurt on a dangerous property in Philadelphia, contact Gibbons Legal, Personal Injury and Accident Lawyer today. Our Philadelphia premises liability attorneys are ready to review your case and fight for the compensation you deserve.
