If you experienced a slip and fall accident involving the shared stairs, hallways, or entryway of an Overbrook, Philadelphia, apartment building, the company in control of the building may be responsible. Pennsylvania law requires that parties keep common areas reasonably safe. A loose handrail, an uneven step, or a dark landing that causes a fall can be the basis of a claim for your injuries.
At Rand Spear – The Accident Lawyer, our Overbrook, Philadelphia, slip and fall accident lawyers handle common-area and structural fall cases in the neighborhood’s older apartment buildings. We know how deferred maintenance turns an everyday trip up the stairs into a serious injury. These falls are rarely the resident’s fault. They happen because someone in charge of the building let a known hazard go unfixed.
The Older Apartment Buildings of Overbrook, Philadelphia
Walk the interior blocks of Overbrook, and the housing tells its age. Much of the neighborhood was built between 1915 and 1930. Overbrook Tower, near City Line Avenue, went up in 1930. These three- and four-story buildings hold the same common stairwells, landings, and entry steps they had a century ago.
Residents use those shared spaces every day. They climb the stairs to their units, and they cross worn lobby floors on the way to corner stops such as Lipkin’s Deli & Bakery on Haverford Avenue. Many pass the long frontage of the Overbrook School for the Blind on their daily routes. The buildings have aged, and so have the surfaces inside them.
That age is the problem. Stairs and landings built for a different era often sit under decades of patchwork repair. The Overbrook Farms Club, the area’s long-running neighborhood association, has watched this housing stock grow old block by block. When a building owner lets that maintenance slide, the common areas become the place where falls happen.
How Stairwells and Steps Cause Falls in Overbrook, Philadelphia
Stairs are where many of these injuries start. A handrail that is loose or broken gives way when a resident reaches for it. There is nothing to catch a stumble, so a small slip becomes a hard fall down a full flight.
The steps themselves change over time. Treads wear down in the middle from years of use. The metal edge on the front of a step, called the nosing, works loose and catches a shoe.
Landings settle unevenly, so the height between steps shifts. A person expects each step to feel the same, and one that does not throws off their footing.
Entry steps and thresholds add another risk. The raised lip at a doorway, the threshold, can deteriorate or rise higher than a foot. A worn stoop or a sunken entry step does the same thing. These transitions are small, but at a doorway, people are moving and not looking down.
Lighting, Flooring, and Water Hazards in Overbrook, Philadelphia
Light matters as much as the surface. Many older hallways and stairwells are dim. Poor lighting hides a worn tread, a loose nosing, or a step that sits lower than the rest. A resident cannot avoid a hazard they cannot see, and a single dark landing is enough to cause a fall.
The flooring in shared areas wears out, too. Old tile and vinyl lift at the seams and curl at the edges. A lifted corner is an easy thing to trip on, especially with hands full of groceries or mail. Loose carpet on a stair tread does the same thing under a moving foot.
Water is a year-round danger inside these buildings. Rain gets tracked into lobbies and onto stair treads. Deferred maintenance lets water leak in from old pipes and worn roofs, and it pools on hard floors. A wet surface in a poorly lit common area is one of the most common ways residents get hurt.
Filing a Slip and Fall Claim in Overbrook, Philadelphia
A common-area fall claim rests on premises liability, the rule that a property owner must keep their property reasonably safe. The injured person usually must show that the owner knew or should have known about the hazard and did not fix it. A handrail that was loose for months is strong proof of that.
According to the CDC, about 27.5% of adults age 65 and older reported falling at least once in 2018. Those falls led to 8.4 million injuries that year. Older residents of these aging buildings use the shared stairs, landings, and halls every day. A poorly maintained common area is exactly where such a fall can happen.
Evidence fades fast, so act early. Photograph the broken handrail, the worn step, or the wet floor before it is repaired. Get the names of anyone who saw the fall. Save any maintenance requests you sent to the building, since it can show the owner had notice.
There is also a deadline to act. Pennsylvania sets a statute of limitations, the legal time limit to bring a personal injury lawsuit. For a fall, you generally have 2 years from the date you were hurt to file a claim. Waiting too long can cost you the right to recover anything at all.
Frequently Asked Questions About Apartment Falls in Overbrook, Philadelphia
- Who Is Responsible if I Fall on a Broken Stairwell in an Overbrook, Philadelphia, Apartment Building?
The landlord, the property-management company, or the owner in control of the building is usually responsible for keeping shared stairwells, landings, and entryways reasonably safe. The landlord owns or rents out the building, the management company runs the day-to-day upkeep, and the owner holds the title. Whichever party controlled and was supposed to maintain that common area may owe you money after an apartment slip and fall.
- How Do I Show the Building Owner Was at Fault for My Fall in Overbrook, Philadelphia?
You usually must show the owner knew or should have known about the hazard and failed to fix it. A handrail that was loose for weeks, or a leak that was reported and ignored, helps prove the owner had time to act and did not.
- Can I Still Recover if I Was Partly at Fault for My Fall in Overbrook, Philadelphia?
Often yes. Pennsylvania applies comparative negligence, which means a share of the blame does not bar your case, so long as you are not more than half responsible. If you can recover, the amount is cut by the percentage of fault assigned to you.
Did You Fall in an Apartment Building? Our Overbrook, Philadelphia Slip and Fall Accident Lawyers at Rand Spear – The Accident Lawyer Are Ready to Help
If you were hurt in a common-area fall in an Overbrook apartment building, Rand Spear – The Accident Lawyer can help you understand your options. Our Overbrook, Philadelphia slip and fall accident lawyers will review how the hazard caused your injury and who was responsible for the space. Call us at 215-985-0138 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation. Located in Philadelphia, as well as Cherry Hill and Marlton, NJ, we assist clients throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
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