Tim Rayne

Pennsylvania Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyer

Tim Rayne

Pennsylvania Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyer

Slip and Fall Accident

The Hills and Ridges Rule

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Pennsylvania Slip and Fall Lawyer Tim Rayne explains the Hills and Ridges Rule that applies to falls on snow and ice in Pennsylvnia.

The Hills and Ridges Rule recognizes that it is impossible for property owners to keep their properties free from snow and ice at all times and especially during storms.  Because of this fact of life, property owners are protected from liability from naturally falling precipitation as long as they make a reasonable effort to plow, shovel and salt promptly after a storm.  If they do not and allow snow and ice to form Hills and Ridges that cause a slip and fall injury, then the property owner is legally liable.

Here is a photo of Hills and Ridges conditions:

Hills and Ridges
Hills and Ridges

As you can see, snow was left on the sidewalk and allowed to ice up forming slippery and dangerous Hills and Ridges.  If someone were to slip and fall on that sidewalk, they would have a strong case against the property owner and would be entitiled to compensation to try to make up for any injuries and losses.

For more information on Pennsylvania Slip and Fall Accidents, contact Chester County Slip and Fall Lawyer Tim Rayne at 6108400124 and trayne@macelree.com.  For over 20 years, Tim has been helping injured victims of accidents in Pennsylvania receive fair treatment from insurance companies.  

Car Accident Lawyer Tim Rayne
Slip and Fall Lawyer Tim Rayne

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What Happens If You Slip and Fall During a Snow Storm?

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Pennsylvania Slip and Fall Lawyer Tim Rayne explains the legal implication of a Slip and Fall Accident that occurs during a snow storm.

A property owner is not automatically liable for every slip and fall injury on its property.  Instead, a property owner is only liable if it is negligent, that is if it fails to use due care to protect the safety of visitors.

In a snow or ice storm, the property owner cannot be expected to keep the property constantly shoveled and free from slippery conditions during the storm.  Rather, reasonable care requires that the property owner make prompt efforts after the end of the storm to clear the property by shoveling and salting in order to make it safe for visitors.

So, usually if someone falls on a sidewalk or parking lot during the actual storm, the property owner will not be held liable for negligence.

For more information on Pennsylvania Slip and Fall on Snow or Ices cases, contact Tim Rayne at 6108400124 or trayne@macelree.com.  Check out Tim’s website for more information on Slip and Fall cases.

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Do You Have a Legal Claim if You Slip and Fall on Snow or Ice in Pennsylvania?

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Hills and Ridges
Hills and Ridges

As a Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawyer, I get a lot of calls from people in Wintertime who have fallen on snow or ice and have been injured.  They want to know their legal rights and whether or not they can make a claim for compensation.  Whether they have a viable legal claim depends on the circumstances and a rule unique to Pennsylvania called The Hills and Ridges Rule.  It also depends on whether there are any defenses that can be asserted by the property owner including Assumption of the Risk or Comparative Negligence.

The Hills and Ridges Rule

Under Pennsylvania Slip and Fall law, a property owner is obligated to use reasonable care to make its property safe for visitors.  When it snows or ice develops due to a storm, the property owner must make a reasonable effort to clear the property and make parking lots and sidewalks where visitors are expected to walk reasonably safe.  If the property owner makes a reasonable effort, then it is protected from liability.

However, if the property owner does not make a reasonable effort and allows Hills and Ridges (see photo above) to form on the walking surfaces that are dangerous to pedestrians and someone falls and gets hurt, then the property owner is liable.

The Hills and Ridges Rule provides some protection to property owners by recognizing that it is not possible for property owners to keep their properties safe at all times, especially during and immediately after snow or ice storms.  So, the Rule gives them protection if they make reasonable clean up efforts.  However, if the property owner ignores its duties and allows the property to remain unsafe for an unreasonable time, then it is liable for any injury that results.

Limitations of the Hills and Ridges Rule

The Hills and Ridges Rule only applies to falls resulting from naturally falling precipitation.  It does not apply to slippery conditions resulting from artificial conditions like melting and refreezing snow piles or defectively designed gutters or downspouts.

For example, I recently had a case where my client fell on an icy sidewalk and the ice originated from snow melt from a roof that was piped onto the sidewalk from a dangerously designed downspout.

Defective and Dangerous Downspout

In that case, we were able to argue that The Hills and Ridges Rule did not apply because the slippery condition was created by an artificial condition, namely the dangerous downspout that directed water onto the sidewalk where it refroze.

Defenses to Slip and Fall Cases

Even though someone slips and falls on Hills and Ridges after a snow storm or on an artificial condition like ice from water melting from an artificial condition like a snow pile in a parking lot, that does not mean that the property owner is automatically liable.  Instead, the property owner can still try to assert defenses like assumption of the risk or comparative negligence.

Assumption of the Risk

Assumption of the Risk is a defense that can be asserted if the injured person saw that there was a risky condition and yet voluntarily chose to confront the risk anyway.  In a slip and fall on ice case, assumption of the risk could be argued if the injured person admits that they saw the ice, knew that it could be dangerous, could have chosen another route and yet voluntarily chose to walk on the ice.  If proven, Assumption of the Risk is an absolute defense which eliminates any liability of the property owner.

Comparative Negligence

Comparative Negligence is a little different and is not an absolute defense to liability.  Comparative Negligence is a defense that the injured person was careless by failing to spot the dangerous condition and avoid falling.  The property owner can allege this defense in any slip and fall case.

If the case goes to a trial, then the jury has to decide the issue of whether the injured person was negligent and, if so, how negligent in comparison to the negligence of the property owner.  If the injured person was more than 50% negligent then the injured person cannot recover any compensation from the property owner.  If the injured person was less that 50% negligent, then the injured person can recover compensation.  However, the compensation must be reduced by the percentage of responsibility of the injured person.  So, if a slip and fall occurs and the jury determines that both the injured person and the property owner were negligent, with the property owner 70% and the injured person 30%, then the compensation would be reduced by 30%.

If you have any questions regarding a Slip and Fall on Snow or Ice in Pennsylvnia, feel free to contact Tim Rayne at 6108400124 or trayne@macelree.com.

Lawyer Tim Rayne
Lawyer Tim Rayne

Tim Rayne is a Personal Injury Lawyer with the Law Firm of MacElree Harvey, Ltd.  Tim has offices in Kennett Square and West Chester.  Tim handles Car Accident and Slip and Fall cases including Slip and Falls on Snow and Ice.  Contact Tim for a Free Consultation at 6108400124 or trayne@macelree.com.  

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A Personal Injury Lawyer’s Guide to Avoiding Liability for Falls on Snow and Ice

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Pennsylvania injury snow and ice

It’s snowing for the first time this year.  Time for fun with sledding and snowmen, but also time for dangerously slippery sidewalks and parking lots where Slip and Fall injuries are common.  As a Pennsylvania Slip and Fall Lawyer, I get calls after almost every snowfall regarding someone suffering an injury after a Slip and Fall on snow or ice.  Slip and Fall injuries can be significant, including leg or ankle fractures, knee injuries, hip fractures, neck and back injuries, or even serious head injuries including concussions.  These injuries often give rise to insurance claims and litigation.

The following are some tips for property owners to avoid costly and time consuming Slip and Fall claims:

  • Plan for bad weather in advance making sure you have snow plow and shoveling services lined up or plenty of labor, shovels and salt on hand
  • Hire a reputable snow plow and shoveling service and insist on proof of insurance
  • Have the contract with your vendor state that the vendor must carry at least $1 Million of Liability Insurance and must defend and indemnify you for any Slip and Fall accident
  • Make sure that you have adequate Liability insurance limits in the event of an injury (at least $1 Million)
  • Shovel and salt promptly after a storm
  • Be mindful of where you pile snow because it will melt, run downhill and refreeze
  • Watch where your gutters and downspouts discharge water because snow melting from your roof will run out of your downspouts and refreeze
  • Salt patches of melted and refrozen snow and ice
  • Sweep away excess salt when your parking lot and sidewalks dry out because excess salt can also be a Slip and Fall hazard

Following these tips will help protect you from Slip and Fall claims and make sure that, in the event of an accident, you will have defenses to assert in the claim or lawsuit and adequate insurance to protect your assets.

Pennsylvania Slip and Fall Lawyer
Pennsylvania Slip and Fall Lawyer

Tim Rayne is a Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawyer who helps injured victims of accidents including Pennsylvania Slip and Falls on snow and ice.  For over 20 years, Tim has been helping injured victims receive fair treatment from insurance companies.  Tim has offices in Kennett Square and West Chester Pennsylvania.  For questions about Slip and Fall or other Personal Injury cases, contact Tim at 6108400124 or trayne@macelree.com.  

 

When Can a Business Owner Get Sued for a Pennsylvania Slip and Fall Accident?

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Slip and Fall Lawsuits in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Slip and Fall laws are designed to protect customers from danger, including Slip and Fall hazards.  Pennsylvania business owners are responsible to inspect their properties and eliminate any hazards or warn their customers of any danger.

Despite these legal protections for customers, it often seems like there is a tendency for people to blame the injured fall victim rather than the property owner when a Slip and Fall accident occurs.  This is not consistent with the law of Pennsylvania, which clearly and logically requires the business owner to protect its customers from unnecceary harm.

Duties of a Pennsylvania Business Owner to Prevent Slip and Fall Accidents

Pennsylvania business owners are obligated to look out for the safety of their customers.  Customers are owed the highest duty of care for business owners to protect them from harm.  The law recognizes that customers who visit a business have a right to assume that the property will be reasonably safe.  Since a customer may be visiting the property for the first time and may be distracted by shopping or other business activities, it makes sense for the owner of the business, who is familiar with the property and making money from the customer, to have a responsibility to keep the customer safe.

Under Pennsylvania Slip and Fall laws, the owner of the business has a responsibility to make a reasonable inspection of the property to uncover any dangers that its customers might not notice.  Then, the business owner must either correct the danger to make the property safe or warn its customers of the danger so that they can protect themselves.

This is a common sense safety rule designed to keep everyone in Pennsylvania safe.

Slip and Fall hazards can exist becuse of negligent design or construction, like faulty stairs, railings or flooring.  In addition a property can be dangerous due to improper maintenance, like a failure to clean floors or properly shovel or treat ice or snow.

If a customer is injured in a Slip and Fall accident then the customer has a legal claim for compensation for all resulting harm including medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering and any disability.

 

Pennsylvania Slip and Fall Lawyer - Tim Rayne
Pennsylvania Slip and Fall Lawyer – Tim Rayne

 

For more information on Pennsylvania Slip and Fall cases contact Personal Injury Lawyer Tim Rayne of the law firm of MacElree Harvey.  Tim has offices in Kennett Square and West Chester Pennsylvania and regularly helps victims of slip and fall accidents receive fair treatment from insurance companies.  For help with your Slip and Fall accident case contact Tim at 6108400124 or trayne@macelree.com.  

 

 

A Parking Lot Slip and Fall Hazard You Might Not Recognize – Parking Lot Paint

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image

It’s a danger that probably no one expects, yet it can cause unnecessarily injury to anyone – parking lot paint.

Parking lots, concrete or asphalt, are usually thought to be safe to walk on except during winter when snow or ice is present.  Usually the rough surface of concrete or asphalt makes a parking lot a relatively safe walking surface.

However, the mixture of improperly applied parking lot paint and rain can quickly transform a usually safe parking lot into a slip and fall hazard.

The reason is that the parking lot paint fills in the rough spots on the asphalt or concrete and rain can make the painted areas nearly as slippery as ice.

The property owner is able to prevent this hazard by adding sand to the paint which will keep the surface rough and safer, but it’s common for property owners to forgoe adding sand because it costs more money and involves higher labor costs.

The result is that there is a hidden slip and fall danger present in countless parking lots throughout Pennsylvania.  Be careful and be safe!

Tim Rayne is a Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawyer who helps victims of Slip and Falls and other accidents receive fair compensation from insurance companies.  Tim has been helping injured clients for over 20 years and has experience settling and trying Slip and Fall cases.  For a Free Review of your Pennsylvania Slip and Fall case, contact Tim at 610 840 0124 or trayne@macelree.com or check out his website.