Illinois Premises Liability Lawyer

When you suffer injuries on another party’s property, the property owner might have a legal obligation to compensate you for your injuries. Accidents can happen anywhere—private property, commercial businesses, public streets, and more. These injury claims fall under the area of practice called premises liability. Pursuing a premises liability claim is complicated. Speaking with an experienced Illinois premises liability lawyer who can help is essential.

What Is Premises Liability?

Premises liability cases involve accidents where a property owner fails to prevent avoidable accidents by not fixing a hazardous condition. Owners must clean, correct dangerous situations, and keep the property safe. Most premises liability accidents are avoidable if the property owner has taken appropriate action or at least put up a warning sign.

Some of the most common premises liability cases involve:

• Slip and fall accidents,
• Swimming pool accidents,
• Dog bites and animal attacks,
• Negligent security,
• Negligent maintenance,
• Hotel accidents,
• Amusement park accidents, and
• Exposure to toxic or hazardous substances.

Owners must inspect properties regularly. The owner can’t argue they checked conditions a year ago and assumed that suffices.

Who Is Liable for a Premises Liability Accident?

The Illinois Premises Liability Act holds commercial and residential property owners responsible when they knew or should have known about the dangerous condition. Property owners, property managers, landlords, homeowners, and renters can be held liable in premises liability cases.

It is important to point out that property owners have different liability standards depending on the victim’s relationship with the property owner.

• Invitees. These are people who have express or implied permission to be there, such as a business opening a store for customers. Invitees are owed the highest standard of care.
• Licensees. A licensee enters the property for their own purposes, such as a friend coming over or dinner. Property owners in many states owe licensees a lower standard of care than they owe invitees, but in Illinois, the same standard applies to both.
• Trespassers. Trespassers are those who enter the premises unlawfully and without permission. When it comes to trespassers, property owners are required only to refrain from wilfully causing them injury.

The other element of this is foreseeability. Your injuries need to be foreseeable. That means the defendants might not be liable if your injuries are entirely unanticipated in this type of accident.

Slip and Fall Accidents

Slip and fall accidents are among the most common premises liability cases. They are also some of the most contested by insurance companies. Consider an example of a victim who slipped on spilled liquids in a grocery store aisle. Is the store liable for a customer injury like this? The answer is, it depends. If the store can prove the spill happened only a minute before the customer fell, probably not. However, if camera footage shows the spill sat unattended for hours, then there’s negligence on the part of the store.

A favorable slip-and-fall settlement typically requires representation from a strong negotiator. Insurance companies deny many of these claims because of the associated fraud. Unfortunately, many slips and falls are staged, hurting our clients who suffered injuries in an actual fall. That is why filing a slip-and-fall lawsuit might be necessary before the defendant’s insurance company takes your claim seriously.

Contact an Illinois Premises Liability Lawyer

Premises liability claims are complicated. You need an experienced lawyer who understands the nuances of the laws and what evidence is necessary to prevail on liability. Attorney John Polivick is passionate about helping people who were genuinely injured in a slip and fall, or other property accident. His prior experience handling complex tech-focused cases has proven helpful in building solid premises liability cases.

If you sustained injuries on another party’s property due to a dangerous condition or hazard, Polivick Law Firm stands ready to help. Contact our office today to schedule an initial consultation.