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SLIP AND FALL FAQs

Pennsylvania Slip and Fall Attorney links

S/F LEGAL REPRESENTATION 

S/F MEDICAL BILLS 

HILLS AND RIDGES 

HILLS & RIDGES EXCEPTIONS 

DEALING w/ INSURANCE CO. 

SLIP & FALL CONSULT

SLIP AND FALL SETTLEMENTS
 
S/F LEGAL REPRESENTATION

Why is it important to hire a Pennsylvania slip and fall attorney to represent me?

  • The property owner's insurance company pays their adjusters to settle PA slip and fall cases as quickly as possible and for the LOWEST possible settlement amount.
  • Isn't your PA trip and fall case important enough to have an experienced Pennsylvania trip and fall lawyer represent you?

Why should I consider hiring Attorney Newell to serve as my PA slip and fall lawyer?

  • EXCLUSIVITY:          Attorney Newell ONLY represents Pennsylvania personal
                                   injury victims.
  • EXPERIENCE:           He has been fighting for injured victims in PA since 1981.
  • SERVICE:                Visit CLIENT REVIEWS to read how his Pennsylvania
                                   personal injury clients describe his commitment to
                                   personal service.
  • KNOWLEDGE:           Three times EACH day Attorney Newell receives email
                                   updates to keep up-to-date on PA legal issues which 
                                   may affect his Pennsylvania slip and fall/trip and fall cases

How soon after my trip & fall should I hire a Pennsylvania trip and fall attorney?

  • The sooner he/she is hired, the sooner your lawyer can:
    • obtain the necessary photographs, measurements & evidence regarding the conditions at the scene of your fall
    • keep the defendant's insurance company from bothering you with harassing phone calls
    • handle all the insurance paperwork.

How much is my PA slip & fall case worth?

  • Among the most significant factors analyzed by the defense adjusters are:
    • the personal injury litigation experience of your Pennsylvania slip and fall lawyer
    • proof of the negligent condition of the site of the fall via photographs and/or video
    • extent of medical care for objective injuries sustained including fractures, surgery, herniated/bulging discs and/or permanent scarring.

Please CONTACT ME to have a Pennsylvania slip and fall lawyer with 28 years of experience review your Pennsylvania slip & fall claim.

S/F MEDICAL BILLS

I had a slip and fall on snow and ice in the Lehigh Valley.  Will the Defendant's homeowner's insurance company pay for my medical bills?

  • Some, but not all of Pennsylvania homeowners insurance policies and business commercial policies have a contract provision that pays medical bills up to a set amount without regard to who was at fault for the PA slip and fall/trip and fall accident.

My private health insurance carrier paid for my medical bills after a Pennsylvania trip and fall accident due to an uneven sidewalk.  Do I have to pay them back if I get a settlement from my case?

  • Nearly all private health insurance plans have a "subrogation" clause which requires them to be reimbursed for the medical expenses they have paid.
  • Your PA trip & fall attorney should be able to negotiate on your behalf and reduce the amount owed on this subrogation lien.

I had a slip and fall accident due to black ice in Allentown PA.  I am receiving cash assistance from DPW and my medical bills are being paid with my Access Card.  How does that affect my Pennsylvania slip and fall case?

  • Under PA law, the Department of Public Welfare has a lien on your case.
  • Your Pennsylvania slip & fall attorney will include the amount of your medical bills in the settlement demand package.
  • Your lawyer will then have to repay DPW 75% of your medical expenses they paid and 75% of the cash assistance you received from the date of your slip and fall until the case is settled.

My wife's medical bills from her Stroudsburg PA slip & fall were paid by Medicare.  She may need future medical care.  What impact will that have on her slip and fall case?

  • Medicare is required to be reimbursed for its payments of her medical bills.
  • Your Pennsylvania slip & fall attorney will review the facts to see if a Medicare Set Aside account needs to be funded from the settlement proceeds.

Please visit SLIP AND FALL SETTLEMENTS to read case summaries of a number of Attorney Newell's Pennsylvania slip and fall/trip and fall cases.

HILLS AND RIDGES

What is the Pennsylvania slip and fall legal doctrine that is referred to as "hills and ridges"?

  • The hills and ridges principle can protect an owner or occupier of land from liability in a PA slip and fall accident when:
    • There are GENERAL slippery conditions due to an ice/snow storm and...
    • The owner has not unreasonably delayed the snow removal to permit the ice and snow to be trampled into an unsafe situation of hills and ridges.
  • In other words, a Pennsylvania slip and fall victim who fell on a sidewalk during or right after a snow/ice storm would have difficulty proving that the property owner was liable for his/her injuries.

HILLS & RIDGES EXCEPTIONS

I slipped on an icy sidewalk on Broad Street in Bethlehem PA that had been cleared after a snow storm several days earlier.  Do I have a PA slip and fall case?

  • Dangerous ice/snow conditions that are not directly caused by nature are NOT protected by the hills and ridges doctrine.
  • If the icy sidewalk was caused by a thaw/freeze situation from snow piled up on either side of the sidewalk, your Pennsylvania slip and fall lawyer should argue that the property owner was negligent for not putting down salt or cinders to prevent the icy condition from occurring.  

I was walking on Main St. in Stroudsburg PA when I slipped on ice.  A drain pipe from a rain gutter dumped water from the roof of a building across the sidewalk and the water froze.  Can I make a Pennsylvania slip and fall claim?

  • Absolutely!  Neither the property owner nor the tenant can hide behind the hills and ridges defense.
  • Your PA slip and fall attorney should strongly argue that the defendants created the dangerous slippery condition and are 100% responsible for your injuries.
  • The landlord should have extended the drain pipe to go under the sidewalk to prevent a thaw/freeze situation from occurring.

I was walking on the sidewalk to go to a Quakertown PA grocery store when I slipped on black ice.  It was an isolated patch of ice that I couldn't see at night.  Do I have a case?

  • Your Pennsylvania slip & fall lawyer should be able to make a convincing case that the store/landlord was negligent in not having proper lighting.
  • Since you describe an isolated patch of black ice, general slippery conditions did not exist and, therefore, I would argue that the negligent defendant(s) is not able to use the hills & ridges defense.

Please see HOME for information regarding Attorney Newell's experience and qualifications to serve as your Pennsylvania slip and fall attorney.

DEALING w/ INSURANCE CO.


After I tripped and fell due to a raised sidewalk in Doylestown PA, their homeowner's insurance company told me that I had to give a recorded statement.  Am I required to give them one?

  • No.  Pennsylvania law does not require you to give a statement or deposition before litigation.  The defense adjuster is only looking out for the property owners' legal interests.
  • Your Pennsylvania trip and fall attorney can give them all the necessary info while also protecting your legal rights.

I was shopping at a grocery store in Lansdale PA when I slipped on water that had been dropped on the floor by an employee.  Should I sign a medical release for their insurance company?

  • No.  The insurance adjuster will tell you that they will only get your medical records from your slip & fall accident.
  • Don't trust him.  Many times these release forms have fine print language which allows them to get all of your records without any limitations.
  • Attorney Newell never permits his Pennsylvania slip and fall clients to sign insurance company medical release forms.

The homeowner's insurance co. representative tells me I'm better off not hiring a slip & fall lawyer.  Why is he wrong?

  • He wants to pay you as little as possible.
  • With whom would he want to negotiate - a Pennsylvania slip and fall attorney who has represented injured victims since 1981 or an unrepresented non-lawyer?
  • With my litigation experience, the defense adjuster knows that it is in the best interests of the homeowner's insurance company to make a fair settlement offer now - before I file a lawsuit.

SLIP & FALL CONSULT


Will Attorney Newell come to my home to review with me my Pennsylvania slip & fall case?

  • Yes.  Slip and fall victims in the Lehigh Valley, Poconos, Bucks County PA and Montgomery County PA have relied upon Attorney Newell's experience to best represent their interests.
  • Attorney Newell will provide you with a free HOME consultation whether you live in Allentown or Bethlehem, Lehighton or Easton, Stroudsburg or Bushkill, Quakertown or Lansdale, Doylestown or Perkasie, or anywhere else in Eastern Pennsylvania.

How critical is it to have photographs of the scene of my PA slip and fall or trip & fall accident?

  • Given the fact that the conditions of the scene at the time of your fall will likely determine whether or not you have a valid personal injury claim, photographs are essential.
  • Attorney Newell would like you to email the photographs to him as soon as possible so that he might provide you with an experienced and accurate analysis of your slip & fall case.

Disclaimer

Attorney Thomas Newell provides the content of this website for informational purposes only. Nothing provided in this website should be interpreted as being legal advice. The laws regarding Pennsylvania slip and fall legal issues are constantly evolving and changing. You are strongly advised to hire a slip and fall lawyer licensed to practice law in PA.
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PA Slip and Fall
Legal Decisions

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Hills & Ridges Jury Verdict 

A Lackawanna County PA slip and fall victim fell while exiting a VFW Post in Moscow Pennsylvania during a snowstorm.  He allegedly sustained some physical injuries and lost time from work.  A settlement could not be reached and the Pennsylvania slip & fall attorney filed a lawsuit.  At the conclusion of the trial, the jury found the Defendant to be 55% at fault and the Plaintiff 45% comparatively negligent.

Lawyers for both parties filed post-trial motions.  The Lackawanna County Trial Judge denied the Defendant's Motion to Reject the jury's decision on liability.  The Court found that there was sufficient testimony for the jury to conclude that snow had accumulated in ridges or elevations that unreasonably obstructed travel and was a danger to persons traveling on the walkway.  Shebaugh v. Michaels Memorial Post 5207, Lackawanna County, 05CV243 (Aug. 4, 2009)

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Trip & Fall Recovery
for Business Invitee 

A 2009 PA Superior Court decision upheld a Philadelphia County decision in favor of a Pennsylvania trip and fall victim.  As a man was unloading a delivery truck he tripped and fell over an elevated bumper on the loading dock.  The injuries included a right knee meniscus tear and lumbar radiculopathy.

The Pennsylvania trip & fall attorney filed a lawsuit against the property owner.  The Trial Court ruled that the victim was a business invitee and was not required to be on alert to discover defects which were not obvious.  The property owner had a duty to keep its premises safe for business invitees and to warn them of potential hidden perils which it knew or should have known of in the exercise of reasonable care.

A jury heard the evidence and found that the property owner permitted an unreasonably dangerous condition to exist and that it failed to replace, fix or lower the bumpers.  The property owner was found to be 70% at fault for the trip and fall, and comparative negligence of 30% was assessed to the victim.  Motions filed by the defense lawyers were dismissed by the Trial Judge and the Pennsylvania Superior Court.  Walker v. Drexel University, 971 A.2d 521 (PA Super. 2009)