Sporting event injuries are just like any other premises liability claims in how the rules of liability are applied. Typically, you would begin with understanding which party owed you a duty of care to act reasonably under the circumstances. If someone owed you a duty of care, and they failed to uphold it, they would be legally liable to pay you compensation. You would be able to sue everyone who has breached the duty that they owe you.
When Someone Owes You Compensation in a Slip and Fall Case
Usually, the party who owns the premises is the one who owes you the duty of care. They assume this duty because they have held their premises open to you. Here, you would be an invitee, who is owed the highest duty of care. The property owner must keep their property reasonably safe and alert you to any dangers that you would not be able to see. The property owner would be liable for your slip and fall accident injuries when they have done one of the following:
- Created the hazard that injured you themselves through their own actions.
- Failed to fix a danger that someone else created or warn you of it within a reasonable amount of time after they knew or should have known of it.
You May Be Able to Sue Someone Other Than the Property Owner
While the property owner is the most likely defendant in a slip and fall case, there may be other parties whom you can sue. In a sporting event context, the property owner is not always the one who has control of the premises and could have prevented your injuries.
For example, a sports team that sold tickets to an event may have been renting the venue from someone else. Here, the owner of the venue may have had little involvement in the conditions that caused your injury as they occurred. The team would have been the one that could have averted any danger that you would face, and the property owner may have had no way of knowing it. In this event, the sports team would be the proper defendant in your case.
However, there may be other complex circumstances that could impact who you are able to sue. For example, a team could be renting a venue, but they are not the ones who had control over the particular condition that caused your injury. For example, you could have been injured while descending a staircase that either did not have the proper lighting or was missing a handrail. Then, the owner of the venue would be the one who was to blame because the team may not have had the ability to fix the dangerous conditions themselves. In some cases, you may be able to sue both the actual owner and the party who was leasing the premises if they both played a role in your injuries.
As you can see, the determination of the proper defendant in any type of slip and fall case is a matter of the facts and circumstances of the situation. When you hire an experienced slip and fall accident lawyer, they will conduct a complete investigation of the facts to help you learn who may owe you compensation for your injuries. Then, you may be facing a difficult legal process in which you are forced to deal with a recalcitrant insurance company that either does not want to pay for your injuries or is trying to minimize the amount they offer you. The good news is that when you have been injured at a sporting event, you can expect that there is a large insurance policy that is available to pay for your damages.
Contact the Philadelphia Slip and Fall Lawyers at McCann Dillon Jaffe & Lamb, LLC if You Have Suffered Injuries
If you have been injured at a sporting event, the Philadelphia slip and fall lawyers at McCann Dillon Jaffe & Lamb, LLC can help. For a free consultation, call today at 215-569-8488 or contact us online. With office locations in Philadelphia and Abington, Pennsylvania and Wilmington, Delaware, we proudly serve clients in the surrounding areas.