Slip and fall accidents typically occur because a property owner is negligent when it comes to maintaining their property. If a person becomes a victim of a slip and fall accident, they can suffer a wide range of injuries from sprained ankles to broken bones. Fortunately, a negligent property owner may be held liable for injuries caused by a slip and fall accident. If you or a family member was injured during a slip and fall accident at the University of Pennsylvania campus, contact an experienced Philadelphia slip and fall accident lawyer.
The Reiff Law Firm acknowledges a quick slip and fall accident can affect your life on a long-term scale. You may need to take significant time off from work to recover, and you may even have to deal with unbelievable medical bills and other expenses. That is why the Reiff Law Firm is prepared to help you pursue the legal compensation that you deserve. To schedule a free legal consultation to discuss your legal options, contact the Reiff Law Firm at (215) 709-6940, or contact us online.
Common Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents on College Campuses
Slip and fall accidents can be the result of a variety of circumstances. In some cases, a person may simply trip and fall due to sheer clumsiness. However, in a large number of cases, people fall because a property owner was negligent regarding dangerous conditions on their property. The following is a list of common causes of slip and fall accidents.
Unstable Stairways and Walkways
A large campus with 299 acres like the University of Pennsylvania will have a large number of stairways necessary to reach all areas of the campus. As UPenn also has thousands of students that attend every year, it is easy to see how stairways can become run down and dangerous if frequent maintenance is not performed.
If a student or a visitor at the school are unaware that a certain portion of a stairway is cracked or broken, they can easily stumble and seriously hurt themselves. In other circumstances, a person may use a handrail to get up or down a set of stairs, unaware that it has become loose or unstable, which can also lead to a slip and fall.
Falling while on a staircase is especially dangerous because if a person cannot properly break their fall, they can suffer bone fractures, back injuries, and even spinal cord injuries.
Unplowed Snow and Ice
As UPenn is an urban campus, it is crucial that they ensure that snow and ice are properly plowed from their 299-acre campus. An unreasonable accumulation of snow and ice would make it difficult not only for students that need to walk across campus to attend class but any other person that needs to traverse the campus.
Slipping and falling on a hard surface like ice could also result in a serious injury like a concussion or a traumatic brain injury if the victim hits their head.
Insufficient Lighting
The lack of adequate lighting is another common cause of trip and fall accidents. It is expected that an institution would ensure that all lights on their property are operational to avoid the possibility of a serious accident.
Inadequate lighting can mean that a student could miss a dangerous condition that they would have otherwise noticed.
There are several other causes of slip and fall accidents that are not listed above. For example, a slip and fall accident may occur because a property owner failed to clean up a spill on their property.
Property owners have a duty to correct any hazardous conditions on their property that could cause a visitor to suffer a serious injury. If a property owner could not repair the property defect in a timely manner, they at least have a duty to warn visitors of the property defect.
Under certain circumstances, a property owner may even owe a duty of care to an individual that was trespassing on the property. For example, if a property owner acts recklessly with regard to a hazardous condition that could severely injure a person, they may be held liable for injuries to a trespasser.
Additionally, if you wish to file a personal injury lawsuit, you should not delay. The filing deadline for personal injury cases in Pennsylvania is two years from the date of the injury.
UPenn Premises Liability Attorneys You Can Trust
If you suffered a serious injury due to a slip and fall on the UPenn campus, contact an experienced Philadelphia premises liability attorney today. The injury attorneys at the Reiff Law Firm have decades of experience handling a variety of personal injury claims, and we would be proud to represent you. To schedule a free legal consultation, contact the Reiff Law Firm at (215) 709-6940.
