Picture this: Brad rents a second-story apartment accessed via wooden stairs. One day as he’s coming home, he notices the top stairs are detaching from the frame. Brad sends multiple text messages with pictures of the stairs to his landlord, requesting his landlord to make the needed repairs. But months pass and no repairs are made.
Then one day, as he climbs the stairs after a run to the grocery store, the stairs give way. And Brad falls two stories to the concrete below, shattering his feet. Falls like this are often described as “accidents.” But in many cases, the unsafe conditions that caused the injuries were preventable— especially in apartment complexes and corporate-managed properties.
If you were hurt in a fall on someone else’s property, you may be wondering when and if the property owner is liable for your injuries. This guide will explain premises liability law and the rules that determine when and how landlords, businesses, and property owners must inspect, maintain and repair dangerous conditions before someone gets hurt. The information is generally applicable to all states, but we include specific premises liability information for Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Connecticut and New York.
What is Premises Liability Law?
Premises liability is the area of personal injury law that holds property owners responsible when unsafe conditions on their property cause injuries. Premises liability law requires landlords to act reasonably to inspect, maintain, and fix hazards before someone gets hurt. It does not require property owners to guarantee perfect safety.
In Plain English: A property owner may be legally responsible for a fall when
- A dangerous condition existed
- The owner knew or should have known about it
- The condition was not reasonably repaired or addressed
- That failure caused injury
These four conditions determine legal responsibility and are the foundation of a premises liability claim.
What Must Be Proven to win a Premises Liability Claim for a Fall?
To win a premises liability lawsuit, you must prove that the property owner failed to use reasonable care when: a dangerous condition existed, the property owner knew or should have known the dangerous condition existed, the property owner failed to fix or warn others of the dangerous condition, and the dangerous condition caused an injury.
What is considered a dangerous condition?
In terms of premises liability law, a dangerous condition means there was physical hazard present on the property.
For both residential and commercial properties, common hazards include:
- Broken or uneven stairs
- Loose or missing handrails
- Poor lighting in stairwells or parking areas
- Cracked sidewalks
- Worn flooring in high-traffic areas
- Ice accumulation near building entrances
- Recurring slippery surfaces caused by drainage issues
Pro Tip: You can sue your landlord for falling down the stairs if there was something about the stairs that was likely to cause an injury. For example, if you fell because a handrail failed, a loose brick dislodged, or ice had built up on the stairs, your landlord might be responsible for your injuries.
What Does “Actual or Constructive Notice” Mean?
Constructive notice is often most applicable for slip and falls.
In most premises liability cases, the central issue is notice. Did someone notify the property owner about the issue? Or had the dangerous condition been present long enough that the property owner should have known about it?
These two questions represent the two types of notice applicable to premises liability cases:
- Actual notice: when the owner directly knew about the condition; or
- Constructive notice: when the condition existed long enough that a reasonable property inspection would have discovered it.
Remember when Brad, the tenant who fell through his stairs, texted pictures of the dangerous looking staircase to his landlord? That was him giving the landlord actual notice. Constructive notice comes into play when there’s a lingering issue or something that the landlord could reasonably forecast like cracked concrete after the normal freezing and thawing cycle of winter.
Pro Tip: Property owners are required to regularly inspect their properties, actively looking for hazards that need to be fixed. If you see something that looks dangerous, you should absolutely take a picture or a video and send it to your landlord. But the responsibility for maintaining the property rests on the property owner’s shoulders.
How do the courts decide if my landlord had constructive notice?
To determine whether constructive notice is applicable in a premises liability case, courts often examine:
- Inspection schedules
- Maintenance logs
- Prior complaints
- Repair histories
- Corporate safety policies
In addition to actual notice and constructive notice, there’s a third way your landlord can be held liable for your injuries: if they caused the hazard by making negligent repairs or maintenance. If this was the cause of your injury, separate proof of notice may not be required.
When Does a Property Owner Have a Duty to Fix or Warn?
If a landlord knows about a hazard and fails to act, they can be liable for injuries.
As soon as the property owner receives active notice of, or discovers a hazard during an inspection, they’re required by law to take reasonable steps to warn people about it, then correct it.
Reasonable actions may include:
- Prompt repairs
- Temporary barriers
- Clear warning signage
- Adjustments to maintenance procedures
Pro Tip: Property owners aren’t required to fix things immediately as there can be external factors like materials shortages or shipping delays that make immediate repairs difficult. For example, if the sidewalk in your apartment complex is cracked to the point it’s a tripping hazard, the landlord should provide a clear barrier around the area so that people can avoid it.
How do you prove the property hazard caused your injury?
To win a premises liability claim, there must be a direct connection between the unsafe condition and the injury sustained. Medical documentation like x-rays and incident reports are often key pieces of evidence that help prove this connection.
Common injuries from falls in apartment complexes and commercial properties include:
- Hip fractures
- Wrist and shoulder fractures
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Back injuries
- Surgery and extended rehabilitation
Pro Tip: Keep everything related to your injury. Every receipt for every additional cost that you incur can be considered when the court is awarding damages in your case. This includes services like grocery delivery, for example, if you sprained your wrist when you slipped and fell on ice and can no longer lift the grocery bags.
Real Life Example: When Can I Sue My Landlord For Falling Down Stairs?
You can apply this test to any slip and fall on someone else’s property.
You can use these questions to determine if a property owner is liable for your injuries from the fall.
- Was there a hazard on the staircase that posed an unreasonable risk of harm? This could be poor lighting, a loose handrail, damaged steps, or something else related to the staircase.
AND,
- Did the owner know about the hazard, or did the landlord create the hazard through poor maintenance practices, or should they have known about the hazard because it had existed for a long period of time?
AND,
- Did the landlord fail to fix or warn others about the hazard in a timely manner?
AND,
- Did this hazard directly cause your injuries?
If the answers to all of these questions were “yes,” you may have a valid claim against the landlord for the injuries you suffered in the fall.
When are Landlords Responsible for Slip and Falls in Apartment Complexes?
Even though tenants live at apartment complexes and multi-unit residential properties, they are different from private homes. Landlords are responsible for maintaining the condition and safety of the inside of the residential units as well as the common areas of the property.
When it comes to the inside of an apartment, it is often up to the tenant to alert the landlord to issues that need fixing. But the landlord has control over the common areas and has a duty to monitor and maintain them in a reasonably safe condition.
Common areas for apartment complexes and multi-unit residential properties include:
- Stairwells
- Hallways
- Entryways
- Parking lots
- Shared sidewalks
- Shared amenities like laundry facilities, pools, and gardens
These are areas tenants use every day, and a portion of tenants’ rents are supposed to go toward maintaining the property to reasonable safety standards. When landlords fail to monitor and maintain common areas, hazards can linger for months, creating dangerous conditions. This kind of negligence can result in a slip and fall claim.
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What are common causes of slips and falls in apartment complexes?
Apartment complexes have common areas that are heavily trafficked and need constant maintenance. When property owners fall behind or are otherwise negligent in their responsibility to their tenants, these are some of the hazards we see:
- A loose handrail that jiggled for months
- Cracked concrete steps
- Lighting that repeatedly failed
- Ice that accumulated every winter near a main entrance
How do courts decide if a landlord is liable in slip and falls at apartment complexes?
To determine if your landlord is responsible for your injuries, courts will review maintenance practices like:
- How often inspections were performed
- Whether complaints were documented
- How quickly repairs were scheduled
- How long the hazard existed
- Whether temporary fixes were used instead of permanent solutions
How do courts decide if a landlord is liable in slip and falls at apartment complexes?
To determine if your landlord is responsible for your injuries, courts will review maintenance practices like:
- How often inspections were performed
- Whether complaints were documented
- How quickly repairs were scheduled
- How long the hazard existed
- Whether temporary fixes were used instead of permanent solutions
Pro Tip: Premises liability law requires your landlord to constantly monitor the condition of your apartment complex. They must use a reasonable maintenance system to ensure they perform timely inspections and complete routine maintenance before minor issues develop into major hazards. When any part of the system fails, or if they fail to have an adequate system at all, they can be held liable for your fall.
When Can a Business Be Held Liable for a Slip and Fall?
Commercial properties like retail stores, grocery chains, hotels, and office buildings operate more formally than residential properties. Especially if they’re run by corporate entities.
How do corporate properties handle maintenance?
Large corporations own or manage hundreds of corporate properties, so they must have formal systems and protocols to ensure they stay on top of maintenance needs. These systems and protocols can include:
- Written safety policies
- Regional or national management oversight
- Formal inspection protocols
- Vendor maintenance contracts
- Risk management departments
But even with more professional standards and formal protocols, things can slip through the cracks and dangerous conditions can develop.
What if I slipped and fell at Walmart?
If you slip and fall at a major retailer like Walmart, the court will look at the safety procedures for both the retailer and the property owner and manager if the retailer doesn’t own their building. If you slipped and fell due to a hazard, and the retailer, property owner or manager either failed to follow protocol or didn’t have adequate protocols in place, they could be liable for your injuries.
In some states, if the company’s normal operating procedures consistently create dangerous conditions, the business can be held liable even without the traditional proof of notice. The injured party doesn’t need to prove the business meant to do harm.
What are common hazards at commercial properties?
On commercial properties, we see the most slip, trip and fall accidents around a few areas:
- At grocery stores: recurring puddles near produce displays, leaking refrigeration units, or spilled liquids that are not cleaned up promptly
- At store entrances: worn flooring, bunched or curled floor mats, piled up snow, pooled rain, or water tracked in by customers
- In parking garages: poor lighting, cracked concrete, oil or fluid spills from vehicles
- Walkways: painted lines and symbols that become slippery when wet, transitions between surfaces like concrete sidewalk to tile, cracked or uneven pavement
Pro Tip: Any lingering hazard can cause a slip and fall. If you believe your injuries were caused by a preventable condition at a commercial property, take photos or videos of the hazard and save all documentation of your injuries and the costs you incur.
When is a property owner not liable for a fall?
Not every fall leads to a valid premises liability claim. Sometimes there wasn’t enough time for the property owner to fix the hazard, sometimes the injured person was in a place they weren’t supposed to be.
A property owner may not be legally responsible if:
- The hazard appeared moments before the incident
- There was no reasonable opportunity to discover it
- The area was outside the owner’s control (e.g. another tenant’s space, public the sidewalk)
- The injured person was in a restricted area
- The condition was open and obvious, and the injured person chose to encounter it when they had a safe alternative
Premises liability law balances accountability with fairness, asking whether reasonable care was exercised under the circumstances. It doesn’t require property owners to guarantee absolute safety.
Can You Still Recover Compensation If You Were Partly at Fault?
Many injured people hesitate to pursue a premises liability claim because they believe they may share some blame. But even if that’s the case, the property owner may still be held liable for negligence. That’s because most states apply comparative negligence principles.
Comparative negligence means that each party maintains responsibility for the degree they were at fault. It can affect the compensation that injured parties receive but it doesn’t automatically prevent them from recovering damages completely. The following states apply comparative negligence principles.
- In Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Connecticut, injured parties are allowed to recover damages as long as the injured person is not 50% or more responsible. Damages are reduced by the person’s percentage of fault.
- In New York, injured parties are allowed to recover damages even if they were mostly at fault, though these damages are reduced proportionally.
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What Is the Statute of Limitations for a Slip and Fall Claim?
The deadline to file a lawsuit is referred to as the statute of limitations. Each state sets their own statute of limitations for different lawsuits. The following are the statute of limitations for premises liability claims in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Connecticut and New York:
- Pennsylvania: generally 2 years
- West Virginia: generally 2 years
- Connecticut: generally 2 years
- New York: generally 3 years
If you’ve been injured on someone’s property and believe you have a premises liability claim, timing is critical. Missing your state’s filing deadline can permanently prevent you from recovering damages.
How Premises Liability Law Differs by State
While there are nuances to premises liability law that differ by state, each state determines a landlord’s duty of care (i.e. their responsibility to the visitor to property) based on who the visitor is. There are three types of visitors: invitees, licensees and trespassers. Invitees are customers and tenants, licensees are social guests, and trespassers are people on the property without permission. Generally speaking, invitees receive the highest protection under the law, licensees receive less protection, and trespassers have very limited rights when it comes to property hazards.
Pennsylvania Premises Liability Law
In Pennsylvania, a property owner has a higher duty of care for invitees to the property. They must actively inspect their properties for hidden dangers and warn of and fix hazards. They have a lower duty of care for licensees. In this state, property owners must warn of and fix hazards that are known to them but are not required to actively look for hidden dangers.
A successful premises liability claim in Pennsylvania requires proof of either actual or constructive notice unless the owner created the hazard. If comparative negligence is applicable, the injured party must be less than 50% responsible to receive damages.
Pennsylvania has a two-year statute of limitations for premises liability claims.
West Virginia Premises Liability Law
West Virginia premises liability law applies a general reasonable care standard to lawful visitors. That means property owners are required to actively inspect and maintain their property in a reasonably safe condition for permitted visitors.
A successful premises liability claim in this state requires actual or constructive notice unless the hazard was created by the owner. If comparative negligence is applicable, the injured party must be less than 50% responsible to receive damages.
West Virginia has a two-year statute of limitations for premises liability claims.
Connecticut Premises Liability Law
Connecticut property owners have a higher duty of care for invitees and are required to actively inspect their properties for hazards, to warn of said hazards and to fix them. They have a lesser duty of care to licensees and are required to warn them of known hazards.
A successful premises liability claim in Connecticut must prove either active or constructive notice. In some commercial settings, the “mode of operation” rule may apply. The “mode of operation” rule states that people injured in self-serve establishments like restaurants and grocery stores may receive damages even if the store wasn’t notified of the hazard.
If comparative negligence is applicable, the injured party must be less than 50% responsible to receive damages.
Connecticut has a two-year statute of limitations on premises liability cases.
New York Premises Liability Law
New York property owners have a high duty of care for invitees and must take proactive steps to ensure safety including inspection for, and warning and fixing of hazards. Property owners have a lesser duty of care for licensees and must warn them of known, non-obvious dangers. But they aren’t required to actively inspect for them.
A successful premises liability claim in New York requires proof of actual or constructive notice. If comparative negligence applies, the injured party is allowed to recover damages based on the percentage of fault. There is no limit to fault percentages in this state.
New York as a three-year statute of limitations on premises liability claims.
Do You Need a Premises Liability Lawyer?
An experienced premises liability lawyer can help determine if your landlord is responsible for your injuries.
Whether you had notified your landlord of the hazard months in advance, you slipped and fell in a grocery store, or you suffered an injury due to another dangerous condition at a property, you’ll want a lawyer with experience in this specific legal area.
Premises liability cases involving apartment complexes and corporate properties often require careful review of:
- Maintenance records
- Inspection procedures
- Property management contracts
- Internal corporate safety policies
Not every personal injury case involves this level of investigation, so choosing a lawyer with experience in apartment and corporate property premises liability law can be helpful. If you were injured in a multi-unit residential property or commercial business, you may want to speak with a lawyer who:
- Regularly handles premises liability claims
- Understands landlord and corporate property responsibilities
- Is familiar with comparative negligence laws in your state
- Has experience evaluating maintenance systems and inspection protocols
Choosing an attorney with the right experience can help ensure your claim is evaluated thoroughly and improve the outcome of your case.
What Should You Do After a Slip and Fall Injury?
There is a statute of limitations for slip and fall claims, so the sooner you hire a lawyer, the better.
If you believe unsafe conditions caused your fall, these are five things you can do to protect your claim:
- Photograph the hazard
- Report the condition in writing
- Preserve any communication with management
- Seek medical care promptly
- Avoid giving recorded insurance statements without advice
Keep everything related to your case, even if you think it’s not important. Success in premises liability cases often depends on the quality of available documentation.
When property owners fail to adhere to best practices, premises liability claims provide a way for injured parties to hold property owners accountable and recover damages. If you have questions about whether a property owner may be responsible for your injury, speaking with an attorney experienced in premises liability claims can help you understand your options.