When you are invited to enter upon someone else's property by either implied or express consent, the owner of that property has the legal obligation to maintain reasonably safe conditions and to warn you of any potential hazards. When a property owner fails to fulfill this responsibility and an injury results, he or she can be held liable for damages under the law of premises liability. This law extends to both commercial and private properties, allowing victims to seek compensation for pain, suffering, and other losses.

         Not everyone who suffers an injury on someone else's property will necessarily be eligible for compensation. In order to file a successful premises liability claim, you must be able to demonstrate negligence on the part of the property owner or the party commissioned to act on behalf of the property owner. For example, a patron of a grocery store who slips and falls on a wet floor will have a difficult time showing negligence if he or she ignored clearly posted warning signs. Likewise, if that patron slips and falls immediately after another patron spills some liquid, leaving no opportunity for the store's employees to attend to the spill, the owners of the property will most likely not share liability. However, if the slip and fall occurs due to a spill that the store's employees knew about but failed to respond to, there may be grounds for a strong premises liability case.

         Often, premises liability cases depend heavily on the circumstances surrounding the accident. For example, a business owner who does not provide proper security despite knowing that he or she is doing business in a community with a high crime rate may be held liable if a customer falls victim to a violent act. Likewise, a landlord can be held responsible for damages that occur to tenants of an apartment building if he or she has neglected to provide adequate locks and other security equipment.

         At the Osborne & Associates, our personal injury attorneys have extensive experience handling the full range of premises liability cases, including slip and fall accidents, falling merchandise accidents, and other accidents resulting from unsafe conditions on public and private property. If you or someone you love has suffered a serious injury due to the negligence of a property owner, please contact our experienced, aggressive personal injury attorneys in Northeastern Pennsylvania today for an explanation of your rights and legal options.