Bethlehem Slip & Fall Lawyer
- 30+ Years of Experience Helping Victims Across Pennsylvania
- We Will Never Stop Fighting For You
This page has been written and edited by a team of experienced legal writers . This page was approved by Managing Partner, Michael Saile who has more than 20 years of legal experience as a personal injury attorney.
This page has been written and edited by a team of experienced legal writers . This page was approved by Managing Partner, Michael Saile who has more than 20 years of legal experience as a personal injury attorney.
- Last Modified:
- October 14, 2024
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are more than three million slip and fall accidents reported by elderly individuals in the United States every year. These accidents cause over $50 billion in damages and more than 95 percent of all hip fractures. One in five slip and fall cases leads to serious head injuries or broken bones, and suffering a slip and fall at any time doubles the risk of suffering another slip and fall in the future.
If you or a loved one suffered a slip and fall injury, our slip & fall lawyer in Bethlehem can assist you. Please contact Cordisco & Saile LLC at 215-642-2335 for a free, confidential, and no-obligation case evaluation. We charge no fees and only collect if you win, so do not hesitate and call today.
- Why Should You Work With Our Bethlehem Slip and Fall Attorneys?
- Understanding Slip and Fall Accidents
- What Compensation Can You Receive for a Slip and Fall Accident?
- Who Is Liable in a Slip and Fall Accident?
- How to Prove Liability in a Bethlehem Slip and Fall Accident
- Should You Accept the Insurance Company’s Settlement Offer?
- Common Slip and Fall Injuries
- How Long Do I Have to File a Slip and Fall Lawsuit in Bethlehem?
- Schedule a Free Consultation Today for Your Slip and Fall Claim
Key Takeaways
- Slip and fall accidents are common. Over three million cases are reported yearly in the US among elderly individuals, causing over $50 billion in damages and 95 percent of all hip fractures. The risk of having a second fall doubles after the first incident.
- Proving fault in a Bethlehem slip and fall case can be challenging because it often involves multiple parties and considers factors such as the concept of the duty of care. The property owner, operator, or proprietor is generally expected to maintain a safe environment, and failure to do so can lead to a slip and fall lawsuit.
- There are time restrictions or “statutes of limitations” on filing slip and fall cases, making it crucial to file a claim for damages as soon as possible after the incident.
Why Should You Work With Our Bethlehem Slip and Fall Attorneys?
For over 30 years, the award-winning team of personal injury lawyers at Cordisco & Saile has been fighting for the rights of those injured by someone else’s negligence. We have recovered over $100 million for injury victims, including those hurt in slip and fall accidents in Bethlehem and all over Pennsylvania.
Our success, whether with insurance companies or in the courtroom, comes from a shared passion for helping our clients get their lives back on track. Our motto is “People Come First,” meaning that when you hire us, we treat you as a person first and an accident victim second.
We have won recognition for our exemplary representation and client service from numerous, including the following honors:
- 2024 Super Lawyers Rising Stars
- Top 40 under 40 – National Trial Lawyers
- Top One Percent Of Lawyers – National Association of Distinguished Counsel
- Top 100 Lawyers – American Trial Lawyers Association
Our slip and fall accident lawyers have a proven track record of success fighting against large corporations, business owners, and property owners. For instance, we recently recovered $700,000 for a client who sustained debilitating pain and later developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome in her left ankle after rolling her ankle in an neglected pothole in a shopping center.
What Our Attorneys Can Do for You
If you choose us to fight for you, we will not take that lightly. We never stop fighting and try to remove as much stress from the process as possible.
When you work with us for your slip and fall claim, our lawyers will do the following:
- Identify who was at fault for your slip and fall injury.
- Determine the damages for which you can pursue compensation.
- Calculate the value of your damages.
- Gather evidence, including camera footage of your accident, if available.
- Obtain service and maintenance logs of machinery, physical fixtures, or other equipment that caused or could have prevented a slip and fall.
- Negotiate with the at-fault parties, their representatives, and insurance companies for a fair settlement.
- Protect you from harassment and lowball settlement offers from the at-fault parties and handle all case-related communications on your behalf.
Represent you in court if we can’t obtain a fair and just slip and fall settlement offer.
Understanding Slip and Fall Accidents
A slip and fall accident can happen at any time and any location. It happens when someone loses traction or balance and falls. There are many ways this can happen, and the circumstances surrounding how it happened and who was involved will play an important role in determining fault for the accident as well as the damages you can claim.
Common causes of fall accidents include:
- Liquid spills, rain, ice, and snow, as well as naturally smooth surfaces such as stone or glass, can lead to a slip and fall.
- People can trip or stumble over objects lying in cluttered hallways, walkways, and aisles.
- Uneven surfaces.
- Poorly maintained staircases, ramps, or sidewalks.
- A lack of safety equipment such as handrails or handles.
- Unstable or loose surfaces.
- Poor lighting.
- Potholes and road cracks.
- Unsecured ladders, scaffolding, or other equipment.
You are most likely to see these hazards in the following places:
- Business and commercial zones
- Sidewalks and parking lots
- Recreational areas
- Theaters and restaurants
- Schools and parks
- Nursing homes
- Construction sites
- Private properties
What Compensation Can You Receive for a Slip and Fall Accident?
Compensation amounts for slip and fall cases can vary from one claim to another depending on the damages suffered and how they’ve affected the victim. A slip and fall accident may be so severe that it doesn’t just affect you now but also significantly alters and reduces the quality of your life in the future.
A Bethlehem slip and fall attorney from Cordisco & Saile can determine the value of your case and pursue the full compensation you’re owed for damages such as the following:
- Current and future medical bills related to the injury
- Lost wages
- Lost earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Physical therapy
- Property damage
- Emotional distress and psychological trauma
- Inability to enjoy life activities as before
Cordisco & Saile Case Study: Serious Injury and Surgery From Parking Lot Pothole Fall
Our client sprained her ankle in a deep, neglected pothole in a shopping center parking lot owned by a large real estate corporation. She suffered debilitating pain that required extensive orthopedic surgery and left her with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, or CRPS, a condition characterized by long-lasting pain. Despite the defense team’s medical experts contesting the cause of injury, our attorneys managed to maximize her compensation and recover $700,000 worth of damages for her.
Who Is Liable in a Slip and Fall Accident?
Property owners, managers, and businesses have a legal duty to maintain their premises and keep them free from hazards for those legally on the property. Therefore, they must take reasonable steps to address dangerous conditions or post warnings about them. Injury victims generally must prove a hazardous condition caused the fall and that the owner had reasonable time to fix it but failed to do so.
However, some cases may have multiple liability parties. For example, consider a grocery store customer who slips and falls on a puddle of water spilling from a malfunctioning refrigerator with soft drinks. The manufacturing company may be liable for a defective product, while the store owner could also be liable for not addressing the puddle, depending on how long it has been there. In these instances, each defendant may share a portion of liability.
The victim may also be partially to blame for their injuries. For example, they may not have paid enough attention when walking. Pennsylvania’s comparative negligence law allows accident victims to seek compensation even when they are partially liable. However, victims cannot recover compensation if they are more than 50 percent at fault for the accident. If the victim is 50 percent or less at fault, they can pursue compensation. However, their recovery will be reduced in proportion to their share of the blame.
We’re ready to fight for you. Take the first step towards getting the compensation you deserve.
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How to Prove Liability in a Bethlehem Slip and Fall Accident
It can be difficult to prove fault for a slip and fall accident because so many different parties may cause or contribute to it.
Consider an amusement park in which someone slips and falls. The owner of the park may be different from the park operator. Furthermore, the owner or operator may contract service and maintenance tasks to an external vendor. If you slip and fall on park property and suffer a fracture or other bodily injuries, whom should you seek damages from?
Further complicating the issue is that you must prove that the at-fault party should have been able to fix or address the factors that caused your slip and fall. For example, a parking lot pothole that has existed for some time is something that conceivably could have been addressed had the property owner or possessor regularly maintained the property. The same may not apply to rain or ice, especially if caution signs were posted, but you slipped and fell anyway.
Proving fault usually comes down to the concept of the duty of care. This means that guests, visitors, patrons, and workers at a property should be able to expect that the property owner, possessor, or operator will maintain the premises safe and hazard-free for everyone on the property. If the property owner, possessor, operator, or maintenance crew has failed to meet the applicable duty, anyone injured may be able to sue for negligence.
Should You Accept the Insurance Company's Settlement Offer?
Most property owners rely on business liability or homeowners insurance to protect them in case someone gets injured on their premises. However, the settlement amount these insurers offer after a slip and fall injury is often lower than most victims deserve and doesn’t include all damages.
Don’t accept a settlement offer from an insurance company, take money from a property owner, or sign any documents before consulting a slip and fall lawyer in Bethlehem. We can handle all communication with the insurance company and negotiate a fair settlement on your behalf so you don’t have to.
“The life of a claim takes some time. For a section, it would be that we send out letters of representation. So we send out a letter and say, ‘Hey, we represent this person, leave them alone. If you want to talk to them, you got to talk to us.’ The insurance company then typically assigns a claim's handler. Usually, the claims handler will let us know at the outset if they're going to reject your claim for whatever reason. If they accept the claim, we continue with the procedure of sending them medical records and updating them about your care. Usually at the year mark, we're sending over a demand package. This demand package has your non-economic damages. All of these things come into play and we present them to the claims handler. And the claims handler ultimately will give us an initial offer. Never accept the first offer.”
Common Slip and Fall Injuries
Depending on how severe your slip and fall accident is, as well as how susceptible you are to bodily harm, you may suffer one or more of the following injuries after a slip and fall accident:
- Head trauma or brain injuries
- Broken bones or bone fractures, especially hip fractures
- Sprains, strains, or pulled muscles
- Stretched, pinched, or torn nerves
- Ligament damage
- Spinal cord damage
- Internal bleeding if you fall on an object
- Neck injuries
- Death
This list is not exhaustive, and you could suffer any type of injury in a slip and fall accident. Elderly citizens are more susceptible to broken bones than other demographics, while other age groups are more susceptible to falls in settings such as construction sites, offices, and factory work floors.
Whatever damages you suffer and irrespective of where your slip and fall accident occurred, our personal injury attorneys in Bethlehem, PA, may be able to help with your case. We help the victims of slip and fall accidents seek the fair compensation that the law entitles them to pursue.
“What sets us apart from other lawyers is the way we present slip and fall injuries. We know the injuries. We know the effects of the injuries, and we will fight for the best outcome for you and your case.”
How Long Do I Have to File a Slip and Fall Lawsuit in Bethlehem?
The personal injury statute of limitations imposes the deadline for filing a slip and lawsuit. In Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, you have only two years from the accident date to file suit. While there are some rare exceptions, your case will likely be barred from pursuing compensation for your injuries. Therefore, it’s crucial to reach out to an attorney as soon as possible after a slip and fall so they can have sufficient time to prepare a strong case.
Schedule a Free Consultation Today for Your Slip and Fall Claim
You only get one shot to bring your slip and fall claim. At Cordisco & Saile, our Bethlehem slip and fall lawyers have a passion for helping injured clients, no matter how much effort it takes. Insurance companies know our clients mean business when they turn to our injury attorneys.
Contact us for a free case evaluation today by calling us at 215-642-2335 or filling out our online form.
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