Premises Liability Cases

If you believe you have suffered personal injuries due to a dangerous condition that exists on another’s property, we will be happy to discuss this with you.  Please call us for an appointment.  It would be appreciated if you would fill in the “Initial Interview Form” attached and bring it with you to the meeting.  Please also bring with your health insurance information, the address of the defective premises, photographs of the condition (if possible) and names and contact information of all witnesses.  Please save all evidence such as the clothing and shoes you were wearing, any items of personal property damaged, etc.

As a person harmed by a defective condition on another’s property, you may be entitled to damages for loss of wages, lost earning capacity, scarring and disfigurement, loss of the pleasures and enjoyment of life, past and future medical costs, and past and future pain and suffering.

In order to recover these damages, you must prove the following elements:

  1. That the owner or the property owed a duty of care to the person injured;
  2. That a defective condition existed on the property;
  3. That the owner of the property knew or should have known about the condition but failed to take steps to warn of it or fix it;
  4. That you have suffered personal injury and/or other damages.

At Baratta, Russell and Baratta we have successfully handled numerous premises liability claims.  The most notable may be the case of William Allbrook, a telephone service man, who slipped down the slate stairwell of a Montgomery County Company called the PQ Corporation.  We argued that the slate stairwell was dangerously slippery when wet, with the coefficient of friction equal to being on ice, and that PQ had a duty to make the stairs less slippery by installing some traction tape on the steps to prevent falls like Mr. Allbrook’s.  Prior to trial, PQ offered $50,000 to settle Mr. Allbrook’s case.  The jury awarded $1,600,000.00 and, after appeals, settled for $2,400,000.00 (adding post judgment interest and pre-trial delay damages). View Article