To win a premises liability lawsuit in Pennsylvania, you must prove that your injuries caused you actual damage, meaning, because of your injuries, you had to pay medical bills or you lost wages or future earning capacity, or you had pain and suffering, loss of life’s pleasures, embarrassment, humiliation, mental distress or physical impairment.
Let’s look at a few examples to understand what type of injury might qualify for a premises liability claim.
Slipping on a Banana Peel
Charlie Chaplin, in “By the Sea,” is standing in front of a store or restaurant, eating a banana. He throws the peel on the ground and a moment later, slips on it. He seems slightly disoriented, stands up, puts a hand to his forehead.
Was the character injured? Although he gets up right away after slipping, he does seem disoriented, and puts a hand to his head. Sometimes injuries are apparent right away, but sometimes they aren’t felt until hours, or even days, after the fact. If the character feels disoriented over the next several days, or if he develops symptoms that cause him to see a doctor and/or miss work, he could very well have actual damages caused by his injury. As long as a doctor relates your injuries to the initial incident, you may be able to pursue a claim, even if you don’t start experiencing symptoms until days later.
Bat Bite at Work
“Business School” is the episode of The Office where Dwight traps Meredith inside a garbage bag with a bat.
After discovering a bat in the office, the staff manage to trap the bat in the break room. Dwight, unwilling to wait for animal control, puts on a helmet, kicks open the break room door, and startles the bat who starts flying around, landing on Meredith’s head.
Dwight: Magic time. Gyeeeaahhh! [puts bag over Meredith’s head, trapping her and the bat inside]
Meredith: Ahh! Ahh! Ahh! Get off! Get off me! Get off me!
Dwight: Hold still, woman!
Meredith: Get off me! Get it off! Ahhhh!
Dwight: You’re welcome.
We don’t see in that episode if Meredith was injured. Maybe she could claim mental distress, embarrassment. In a later episode, we find out that Meredith has rabies. If the rabies was caused by being bitten by the bat, Meredith would have actual damages in the form of medical bills and lost wages if she missed any work time due to the rabies. She may also have other damages like pain and suffering, loss of life’s pleasures, embarrassment, humiliation, mental distress or physical impairment.
Breaking a Leg
Finally, in the Frasier episode discussed in a recent post, Frasier invites an insurance agent to his house, where she slips and falls on some mayonnaise in his kitchen. She breaks her leg. Then we find out that she can’t return to her home to recuperate because she lives in a fourth floor walk-up. Her injury is serious, and her actual damages could include her lost wages if she is unable to conduct business and suffers a loss because of that. If because of the injuries she needs medical assistance devices like a bar in her shower, or modification to her home like a chair lift, that could be considered actual damages. If she were unable to drive and needed to use an Uber or taxi or driver, she may be able claim those expenses as actual damages.
How to Prove Actual Damage
Medical records and bills related to the injury demonstrate that you suffered physical and monetary damage due to the incident. A doctor has to relate the injury to the issues you’re having for it to be deemed actual damages.
Contact Aversa & Linn for help in evaluating your possible premises liability claim.
