Is Your Landlord Responsible for Your Slip & Fall Accident?

You and your loved ones rely on your landlord to provide a safe place to live, and landlords must understand that they have to consistently maintain and repair their properties. If you have been injured due to a slip and fall accident, you may have serious injuries that require a long recovery time and accumulating medical bills.

After a slip and fall accident, a Chicago premises liability lawyer can help you determine who is liable for your injuries and pain and suffering. Don’t delay in seeking experienced legal help if you have been hurt due to the negligence of another.

Contact Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C. today to speak with a skilled attorney about your case and how we can help you seek the damages to which you may be entitled to. Call us today at (312) 236-2900 to set up a free consultation.

Proving Liability In a Slip and Fall Case

A person is liable to pay you damages for your injury if they are found to have been negligent in a specific situation, and it can be shown that their negligence directly resulted in your injury. Winning damages against a responsible party for a slip and fall requires demonstrating that the other party failed to fulfill their duty to keep you safe. If you want to recover damages from your landlord, you’ll have to show that they knew or reasonably should have known that the premises were dangerous, and they failed to repair the dangerous situation.

When we are handling personal injury cases, such as slip and falls, we seek to clearly demonstrate that the other party was negligent. There is a lot of valuable evidence that can show why you should recover compensation. Types of evidence that could help make your case successful include:

• Photographs detailing the accident and your injuries. Sometimes, a photo can make clear to a third party how your landlord failed to keep a safe residence, and images of your injuries can highlight how your life has been seriously altered after your fall.
• Witness testimony or correspondence with your landlord. Others who may have seen your accident could possibly attest to how your landlord failed to keep the property safe. It’s possible that you, or your neighbors, had repeatedly requested that your landlord make the residence safer, but these requests were ignored.

Examples of Landlord Liability in a Slip and Fall Accident

There are almost a limitless number of scenarios where you can find yourself injured after falling. Examples of the most common slip and fall accidents include:

• Slipping on ice that has accumulated in your rental property. Winter can make sidewalks and driveways dangerous, but if your lease requires you to do the shoveling, you might not win a lawsuit against your landlord if you fell. However, many times the landlord is required to clean the premises, and if this is not done in a reasonable time then they might be held liable if you sustain a fall. A landlord must be sure to quickly clear common areas that can be dangerous if covered in ice, such as stairs or ramps.
• You slipped on an object that was either inside or outside of your rented home. It’s often impossible to recover damages from a landlord if you slipped and fell on something that someone else dropped or left in a dangerous spot. It’s not reasonable to expect your landlord to be available to pick up things the moment after they fall and become a risk. However, if your landlord’s belongings or tools, or those of a maintenance contractor, are left in a dangerous spot and cause you to fall, you may be able to recover damages.
• You fell inside your unit due to slipping on a leak or a damaged floor. You are generally responsible for what happens in your private residence. However, you may be able to seek compensation if you are hurt by something that your landlord knew was damaged or should have known, and ignored to fix for an unreasonable amount of time.

Injured in a Slip and Fall Accident? Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C. Can Help

Simply being hurt in a slip and fall on your landlord’s property is not enough to recover compensation for your injuries. You must show that your landlord was liable due to negligence in maintaining a safe residence, and you will need an experienced Chicago premises liability lawyer to help you through this process. We have helped many people seek compensation from those responsible for their injuries, and we can help you during a difficult and painful recovery.

Call Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C. today at (312) 236-2900 to schedule your free case evaluation.