Chicago Premises Liability Lawyers

Chicago Premises Liability Accidents, Injuries & Damages

‘If it can happen, it will’ – And pretty much any place where people go, a premises liability case is just waiting to happen. For example, on private property, business & government property, parking lots, worksites, apartments, daycares, grocery stores, public pools, and on someone else’s property – just to name a few.

Whether it involves a slip and fall, negligent maintenance, or some other premises accident, these incidents are common and often result in severe injuries. Sometimes establishing responsibility is obvious. Other times, it takes an investigation to determine if a property owner neglected their duty to you.

We Handle a Wide Range of Premises Liability Cases

The Chicago premises liability attorneys at Staver have been helping people recover physically and financially for over 20 years. In that time, we’ve secured millions and gained incredible insight into how to handle virtually any property accident scenario.

If you or a loved one have been injured by of the following, contact us.

• Slip and Fall
• Daycare & Child Care Incidents
• Elevator & Escalator Accidents
• Food Poisoning
• Carbon Monoxide
• Defective Structures
• Falling Objects
• Defective Floors & Stairways
• Hidden Defects
• Outdoor Environments
• Places of Recreation
• Apartments
• Negligent Security
• Snow and Ice Injuries
• Swimming Pool Injuries

Slip & Fall and Other Property Injuries

The severity of your injuries significantly impacts the value of your premises liability claim. it’s important to keep up with medical treatment and document your recovery. This includes medical bills, treatment documents, and insurance info.

Here are some of the most common injuries we see after Chicago property accidents:

• Head and Brain Injuries —concussions or other traumatic brain injuries, internal bleeding, skull fractures, or lacerations that require plastic surgery.
• Neck and Back Injuries — Herniated discs, spinal cord damage, sprains, or strains.
• Burn Injuries — Burns can run the spectrum from minor to fatal. Serious burns may require skin grafts and result in scarring.
• Soft Tissue Injuries — When muscles, tendons, or ligaments are stretched or torn in an accident, the pain can be significant and lingering.
• Broken Bones — Broken bones can be extremely painful, may require surgery to fix, and can take a very long time to heal.
• Spinal Injuries – When the spinal cord is damaged, and the severity of the injury, a loss of movement or sensation in the lower extremities may result.

Premesis Liability: Damages & Losses

When someone else is responsible for your injuries, you have the right to be compensated. A full property accident insurance settlement should consider how your life has been affected. It should include both your economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages after a premesis accident can easily be proven with documentation such as pay stubs, bank statements, and other financial records. Economic damages include:

• Lost wages
• Diminished earning capacity
• Childcare expenses
• Household maintenance fees
• Medical expenses

Non-economic damages are harder to value, but should also be considered, especially after a serious fall or the injury on someone else’s property.

• Loss of consortium
• Diminished quality of life
• Physical pain and suffering
• Mental anguish
• Reputational damage
• Disfigurement and scarring

Punitive damages are also available in property accident cases, but only is egregious situations.

Property Owner Negligence & Proving Fault

Chicago premises liability claims are usually based on negligence. This means that a property owner, manager, or some other party acted unreasonably or failed to act and caused you else harm.

Premises Liability: Evidence & Documentation

While proving someone’s negligence caused your fall or injury sounds easy, especially if you believe a property owner didn’t clean up a spill, failed to do repairs, or ignored their responsibility, the reality is much different.

The burden of proof is based on a preponderance of the evidence, which means you need enough evidence to demonstrate that the other party is more than likely responsible. This includes photos, medical records, and other documentation.

Proving Fault for a Premises Accident

An injury alone isn’t enough. Someone needs to be held responsible for the harm you suffered. This means physical and financial harm. In legal terms, this is what’s referred to as ‘liability.’ To determine liability, you must identify who’s responsible for the property accident and how they ignored their duty to act responsibly, thereby causing your injury and various losses.

Illinois follows the traditional at-fault approach to liability. In most cases, you will file a third-party claim with the responsible home or property owner’s insurance company. But because insurers are businesses, they are reluctant to pay when their policyholders cause accidents. Thus, it’s wise to retain a lawyer to represent your interests.

The Illinois Premises Liability Act

One of the most critical parts of a premises liability case is proving that the property owner was liable. This is largely defined by the Premises Liability Act.

Duties of Landowners

These are a landowner’s obligations to visitors.

• An invitee is someone who is on the property because of an invitation from the owner.
• A licensee is someone who is on the property with the permission of the owner.

A landowner is obligated to take reasonable steps to protect these visitors from harm. A landowner is not obligated to protect a trespasser from harm. However, they may not intentionally cause harm to a trespasser.

There is one exception: children. Even if a child is on the property uninvited, the owner must take steps to protect them from foreseeable harm. This is why pools and trampolines are so expensive for homeowners to insure. If a child enters the property and hurts themselves while swimming or playing, the homeowner could be liable.

Duties of Landlords and Tenants

A landlord may have an obligation to their residents and their residents’ guests if they are harmed on the landlord’s property. The injured party must prove that their injury was caused by landlord negligence and that there was no reasonable care taken.

For example, if the handrails of stairs were not maintained, the icy sidewalk was not salted in an appropriate timeframe, or the landlord obstructed walkways, they may be liable for unsafe conditions.

If there is a hidden defect in the property, the landlord is responsible for telling the tenant about it before leasing.

Time Limits, Insurance & Defenses to Premises Liability Claims

A property accident claim can get complicated fast. Insurance companies and their lawyers will be quick to diminish your injuries, suggest that you’re to blame, and use stall tactics so you accept less than you deserve.

Illinois Statute of Limitations in Premises Liability Cases

You need to act quickly if you or a loved one were hurt on someone else’s property or business in Chicago. In Illinois, you generally have two years to file a premises liability lawsuit.

This sounds like plenty of time, but memories and evidence fade quickly after an accident. An employee will likely clean up the spill or fix the damages. The longer you wait, the harder it’ll be to recover compensation.

Premises Liability Insurance: Coverage & Policies

Determining insurance coverage could slow down your claim. While most homeowners and business property owners are forthcoming with their insurance information after someone is injured, some people refuse to provide this information, hoping that the victim will give up. When this happens, it may take longer to track down the insurance company, figure out how much coverage the other party has, and begin the claims process.

Communicating with insurance carriers poses another challenge. Insurance companies may delay their responses, either unintentionally or intentionally, making it difficult to move through negotiations quickly.

There are two main factors that complicate the processing of insurance claims. The first is the time limit imposed by Illinois law. If you wait longer than two years to file your claim, the insurance company will typically deny it outright.

Coverage Limits for Premises Injuries

Coverage limits impact how much compensation you may be owed. Regardless of how much your injury is worth, you are unlikely to recover more than the responsible party’s insurance policy permits.

How Premises Liability Claims Are Disputed

Those named in injury cases can use several defenses to avoid liability. Options include:

• Open and Obvious Property Hazards: When an obstruction or dangerous condition is out in the open, and an entrant could reasonably be expected to see it, the property owner may not be liable for damage caused.
• Signs and Warnings: Signs alerting entrants to potentially hazardous conditions, such as wet floor signs or employee-only areas, may protect the property owner from a premises liability claim.
• Assumption of Risk: If someone has knowledge of dangerous conditions and still decides to proceed, the court may determine that they assumed the risk of injury.
• Release from Liability: If the individual or the guardian of a minor signs a waiver releasing the establishment from liability, the property owner may not be held liable.