Premises Liability

Hazardous conditions, lack of security, or neglected maintenance may result in people having an accident or becoming injured. Property owners are responsible for maintaining premises that are safe. The types of injuries that occur on premises run the gamut from simple fractures due to a slip and fall, to catastrophic injuries such as spinal cord or traumatic brain injuries, severe burns, and also death.

Workers operating machinery, such as amusement park rides, as well as factory facilities and companies in many professional areas are held responsible for the safety of those in their care. Our attorneys handled a case where a young boy was injured in a fire at a school, obtaining a settlement of $2.3 million.

One of Philadelphia’s most well known cases for premises liability is the Hall v. SEPTA case which involved neglected maintenance and ignored safety upgrade of escalators on the part of SEPTA, a Philadelphia mass transit system. On Thanksgiving Day in 1996, four-year old Shareif Hall got his foot caught and torn off by a step that malfunctioned on a SEPTA escalator. The jury awarded a verdict of $51 million, and the court additionally fined SEPTA for concealing documents before trial that revealed knowledge of both the hazardous conditions and their negligence in properly maintaining their escalators.

Another noteworthy Philadelphia premises liability lawsuit was the Pier 34 case where nightclub owners ignored warnings that the pier holding up their nightclub was unsafe and might collapse.

The collapse in May 2000 resulted in the death of three women and dozens of people being injured. The case was settled for $29.6 million in 2004.

A $5.5 million settlement for the family of a 15 year-old boy who drowned in a hotel swimming pool, not only proved that the single lifeguard was inattentive but that the hotel’s policy of having one lifeguard observe the pool and perform other tasks at and away from the pool was dangerous. Discovery and work with expert witnesses demonstrated that the 15 year-old boy went unnoticed at the bottom of the pool by the on-duty lifeguard for 10 minutes. He suffered fatal brain damage. After the filing of this lawsuit, the hotel policy regarding positioning and duties of lifeguards was changed.

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of the negligent maintenance of premises, one of our attorneys can assist you in determining if you have a case. At Ross Feller Casey we offer a free case evaluation to discuss your concerns. Contact us and we will be glad to arrange a free case evaluation.