When a victim is hurt in an accident, he or she is vulnerable to financial hardship and life-altering injuries. When that accident results from the negligence of another party, the victim can file a personal injury lawsuit to recover damages for the impact on his or her life. Damages include compensatory damages, or those meant to compensate and reimburse the victim for the hardship injury, and punitive damages, or those meant to punish a defendant in the event of gross negligence.
When an accident occurs on the premises of a negligent property owner’s home or business, he or she can be held liable for damages by the victim. This is because property owners have a duty to warn guests and patrons about possible hazards, resolve hazardous conditions that could result in a foreseeable injury, and maintain a safe property free of injury-inducing hazards.
Premises liability is a legal theory that applies to personal injury accidents that occur on the property of another. Often referred to as slip and fall accidents, premises liability typically applies to accidents in which a person is injured by slipping, tripping, or falling due to a dangerous condition on the premises, but it also applies to other hazardous situations, including negligent security and dog bites/animal attacks.
If you have been in a slip and fall accident or other accident on the property of a negligent party, contact a Chicago premises liability lawyer at the Law Office of Kenneth A. Fishman, P.C. at (312) 346-8990 to schedule a free consultation and learn more about filing a premises liability lawsuit.
Property owners and managers have an obligation to take the appropriate steps to keep their property safe and free from hazards. The applicable “duty of care” varies depending on whether the person entering the property is an invited guest, a customer, or a trespasser. In most cases, however, property owners and managers are required to ensure that the property has no structural defects – such as loose flooring, hazards on the floor, poorly lit stairways, cracks in the sidewalk, and potholes that could cause a personal injury accident.
A plaintiff has a duty to exercise reasonable care. Accordingly, under Illinois’s modified comparative negligence model, if the victim contributed to the accident or exacerbated the injury, the amount of recoverable personal injury damages may be reduced in proportion to the victim’s responsibility.
Premises liability applies to any personal injury accident in which the victim is injured on the property of another. Some of the most common types of premises liability accidents involve:
If you have been the victim of a slip and fall accident, or other accident on the property of someone else, it is important to act quickly to protect your rights. Statutes of limitations limit the time during which a premises liability lawsuit can be filed, and a comprehensive investigation and legal analysis should begin as quickly as possible.
At the Law Office of Kenneth A. Fishman, P.C., our Chicago premises liability attorneys understand the complex legal issues that are involved with slip and fall and other premises liability accidents. We are committed to getting our clients full and fair recovery and clients don’t pay legal fees unless they obtain financial compensation.