Pennsylvania and New Jersey Personal Injury Lawyer
Do I have a right to recover for my injuries?
Under Pennsylvania Law you have the burden of proving that the person who injured you is at least 50% responsible for your injury. You also need to prove that their negligence caused your injuries. The nature of your injury determines exactly what you have to prove. The defendant will try to show that the injuries you sustained were caused by your own negligence or were not a result of the accident but were pre-existing. The attorneys at Avallone Law Associates will investigate your accident and do everything to present your case as effectively as possible.
All cases are different and there are many different issues to consider. In Pennsylvania you can recover for past and future medical bills, lost wages, lost or lowered earning capacity and pain and suffering. You can also receive a separate recovery for your spouse, called loss of consortium. Our attorneys will evaluate your case and work hard to make sure you receive every penny you are entitled to.
Call us now at 215-253-3855 or toll free at 877-223-0579 for a free, initial phone consultation.
How long will my case take?
Since every case is different, it is impossible to predict accurately how long an individual case will take. If you settle a case, the time between your accident and the day you receive money will naturally be shorter because you will not have to go through the often lengthy trial process.
How much will I have to pay the attorney?
Nothing. We don't receive any money until we win your case. If we settle your case or if we win an award or a verdict in court we will take a percentage of your recovery for our fee. We will also take any out of pocket costs we advanced in representing you. Our firm will evaluate your case prior to accepting it and we take all the risk.
If you would like more information you can ask to speak to one of the personal injury attorneys at Avallone Law Associates. Contact us online or call 1-877-223-0579 to schedule and appointment.
SLIP AND FALL
What is a property owner's responsibility?
A property owner must keep his or her property in a safe condition for persons who are on the property lawfully. However, you are not always entitled to recover for an injury you suffer while on another person's property. In a premises liability case, you have the obligation of establishing that the condition of the property upon which you fell or were injured was a dangerous condition. Your legal status (were you on the property legally or were you a trespasser) and whether or not you were aware of the dangerous condition are also important factors in determining whether or not you will recover for an injury.
A property owner can raise defenses to your claim for compensation. One common defense is that the owner was not even aware that you were injured because you may not have reported the injury for a long time after it occurred. Therefore, you should always report an injury as soon as possible after it occurs.
Notice
Merely proving that a property was dangerous does not necessarily entitle you to recover for your injury. You must also prove that the property owner knew or should have known about the condition. For example, if you slip on water or another substance in a grocery store, the store can argue that the water or other substance was spilled by another customer only a minute before you slipped. Therefore you should always report the injury immediately. You should also let a skilled attorney determine if this defense is adequate.
The owner's duty to you depends on why you are on the property.
An owner's obligation to keep a property safe varies depending on the status of the person who is on the property. There are three categories of people who enter a person's property:
- Business Invitee: This is a person who goes to a property for a business purpose, and t is not necessary that they actually purchase something. Simply being on the premises looking at an automobile in a showroom or a book in a bookstore for example, qualifies a person as an invitee. The business property owner owes patrons the highest standard of care, which is the duty to inspect the property and make repairs to eliminate any dangerous condition.
- Licensee: A person entering the property as a guest and not for a business purpose is referred to as a licensee. The type of individual must be on the property with the owner's express or implied permission. The property owner's duty of care is slightly lower, however they do a duty to repair or warn about a dangerous condition, but not to inspect.
- Trespasser: A trespasser is a person who in on the property without the owner's permission. Property owners owe trespassers the least amount of care. The owner's only restriction is to refrain from intentionally or recklessly causing the trespasser harm.
Contact a Pennsylvania personal injury attorney at our firm to discuss your situation.
Landlord Negligence
A landlord's duty of care is normally determined by the language of the lease. Typically, the landlord is responsible for structural repairs and the tenant is responsible for general maintenance of the property. A landlord is only required to make repairs if advised of a dangerous condition. If you live in a rented property with a dangerous condition you should tell the landlord in writing. If you are in possession of the entire property and the landlord is not in possession of the property the landlord is not responsible for injury with some exceptions. For example, in an apartment building the landlord is responsible to maintain common areas such as sidewalks, hallways, stairwells, lobbies, and parking lots.
Sidewalks
A landowner is primarily responsible to maintain a sidewalk in a safe condition and the city or township has a secondary responsibility. In order to make a claim against a city or township you must prove that the city or township knew or should have known about a dangerous condition. For example, a sidewalk may be considered dangerous if the concrete slabs are off level by a couple of inches.
Stairs
City building codes set forth safety requirements for stairs such as height and width requirements and railing and other requirements.
AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS
Who was at Fault?
There are automobile collisions where the liability is clear. For example, if you are stopped at a red light and the car behind you rear-ends you, the car behind you is clearly liable. However, most collisions are not so clear cut and both drivers will usually blame each other. Police reports are frequently useful in determining who was at fault but these reports are not always accurate and the police officer's determination regarding fault isn't usually allowed to be introduced at trial. Therefore it is important that you perform an independent investigation of the circumstances of a car accident. The attorneys at Avallone Law Associates are qualified to perform such investigations and will employ investigators and accident reconstruction experts when appropriate. Contact us for help today.
How do you receive money to pay your medical bills?
In Pennsylvania there are first party benefits and third party benefits. Your insurance company pays first party benefits for medical treatment and lost wages, and your insurance carrier pays them regardless of who was at fault. The defendant's insurance company pays third party benefits (if the defendant was the driver who caused the collision) and these payments pay for pain and suffering.
Full Tort and Limited Tort
When you purchase automobile insurance you can choose between "full tort" and "limited tort". If you choose limited tort you have a more difficult time recovering for pain and suffering. Unlike those people who elect full tort, if you elect limited tort you must prove not only that you were injured, but that your injury was serious and could result in death, disfigurement, or impairment of a bodily function that is permanent in nature. The standard is not a clear cut one but muscle strains and sprains, for which you can recover if you have full tort, are not covered if you have limited tort.
There are other exceptions which allow a person who has elected limited tort to sue for pain and suffering, as follows: if the other driver was driving under the influence or was operating a vehicle that was registered outside Pennsylvania.
Uninsured Motorist (UM) and Under-Insured motorist UIM) Coverage
Despite the existence of laws that require all motorists to maintain insurance coverage, there are many motorists who do not. The legislature has provided for this problem by creating Uninsured Motorist and Under-Insured Motorist coverage. You should always have both these types of coverage, as well as full tort coverage. Uninsured Motorist coverage also applies to situations where the injury was caused by a hit and run (or phantom) driver.
What if no one has insurance coverage?
If you are a passenger in a car that is uninsured and the other car is also uninsured you can recover through your own uninsured motorist coverage. If you do not have coverage you can sometimes recover through a fund provided by the Commonwealth. However the amount you can recover is limited to maximum of $15,000.00. We will help you understand your claim in a car accident and help protect your rights.
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Contact a Personal Injury attorney today by e-mail to schedule and appointment, or call our office at 215-253-3855, or toll free at 877-223-0579 for your free, initial consultation.
