Woman called me couple weeks back. Slipped at a Jewel-Osco in Lincoln Park. Right near the produce section. Wet floor. No sign. No employee anywhere near it.
Tore her ACL. Surgery. Three months off work. Bills piling up.
Store manager told her it wasn't their fault. Said she should've watched where she was walking.
Thing is, the water had been there long enough that you could see where people tracked through it. Security footage showed employees walked past it at least twice without doing anything about it.
When I was nine, my dad got hurt at work. Truck driver. That injury messed up our whole family. The legal nightmare that followed—seventeen years of getting pushed around by insurance companies and lawyers who didn't care—showed me exactly what kind of lawyer I didn't want to be.
Stores have responsibilities. You walk in as a customer, they owe you a safe place to shop. When they fail at that and you get hurt, someone needs to answer for it.
If you fell at a store in Chicago and got injured, call me. No money out of pocket. No fee unless I win. Call anytime. 24/7/365.
I'm Scott DeSalvo. Been handling these cases in Chicago for years.
Stores get busy. Staff get stretched thin. Management cuts corners. That's when customers get hurt.
Most common reasons:
Wet floors - Spills. Leaks. Produce that got dropped. Tracked-in rain or snow. If nobody's cleaning it up or putting out a sign, that's negligence.
Produce on the floor - Grapes. Lettuce leaves. Tomatoes that rolled off displays. This stuff is slippery as hell.
Cluttered aisles - Boxes blocking walkways. Stock carts left in the middle of aisles. Merchandise on the floor. Creates trip hazards everywhere.
Poor lighting - Can't see hazards if the lights are dim or burned out. Especially bad in storage areas customers can access.
Floor mats that bunch up - Entrance mats that aren't secured. They're supposed to prevent slips but when they curl up or slide around, they become trip hazards.
Uneven flooring - Transitions between different surfaces. Raised thresholds. Cracked tiles. Parking lot potholes.
Recently mopped floors - Nothing wrong with cleaning. But if there's no warning sign or wet floor barrier, that's a problem.
Broken shelving - Merchandise falls. Creates obstacles on the floor.
Extension cords across walkways - Temporary setups for holiday displays or whatever. People trip over them.
Checkout area hazards - Spilled drinks near registers. Shopping bags on the floor. Crowded spaces.
Store floors are hard. Concrete. Tile. You go down, you hit hard.
Injuries I see most:
Broken bones - Wrists, arms, ankles, hips. You fall, instinct makes you put your hands out. Bones break.
Knee injuries - Torn ACL. Torn MCL. Meniscus tears. These usually need surgery. Long recovery.
Head injuries - Hit your head on the floor or a shelf on the way down. Concussions. Brain injuries. Serious stuff.
Back and spine injuries - Herniated discs. Compressed vertebrae. Chronic pain that doesn't go away.
Shoulder injuries - Rotator cuff tears. Dislocated shoulders. Can need surgery and months of rehab.
Hip fractures - Especially dangerous for older people. A broken hip can completely change someone's life.
Some injuries don't feel that bad right after. Adrenaline. Embarrassment. You just want to leave. But next day you realize you're hurt worse than you thought.
Always get medical attention after a fall. Even if you think you're fine.
Illinois Premises Liability Act says stores owe customers a duty of care. They need to keep their property reasonably safe.
What that means:
Regular inspections - They need to check for hazards regularly. Not once a week. Regularly.
Fix hazards promptly - When they find something dangerous, fix it. Or at minimum, warn customers.
Adequate staffing - Need enough employees to maintain the store properly.
Proper lighting - All customer areas well-lit.
Clear walkways - Aisles free of obstacles.
Warning signs - If they can't fix a hazard immediately, warn people. Wet floor signs. Caution tape. Something.
Safe parking lots - Maintain pavement. Fix potholes. Ensure drainage.
Train staff - Employees should know safety procedures. How to respond to spills. How to spot hazards.
When stores don't do these things and someone gets hurt, that's negligence.
I've handled fall cases at all kinds of Chicago retail locations.
Grocery stores - Jewel-Osco, Mariano's, Whole Foods, Aldi, Trader Joe's. Produce sections are the worst. Also deli areas. Anywhere with food or liquid.
Big box retailers - Walmart, Target, Costco, Sam's Club, Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards. Huge stores with tons of merchandise and heavy customer traffic.
Shopping malls - Water Tower Place, Woodfield Mall, any of the Chicago-area malls. Common areas, food courts, individual stores.
Convenience stores - 7-Eleven, Circle K. Quick stops where spills don't always get cleaned up fast.
Department stores - Macy's, Nordstrom, Kohl's. Clothing stores where people are distracted looking at merchandise.
Pharmacies - Walgreens, CVS. Lots of foot traffic, sometimes understaffed.
Dollar stores - Dollar Tree, Family Dollar. Often have merchandise stacked everywhere.
Gas stations - Both inside the store and outside around the pumps.
No matter what type of store, if they were negligent and you got hurt, you have rights.
To win in Illinois, I need to prove certain things:
Store owed you a duty - If you were a customer, they owed you this duty.
They breached it - They either created the hazard, knew about it and didn't fix it, or should have known about it.
It caused your injury - Direct connection between the hazard and your fall.
You have damages - Medical bills. Lost wages. Pain. Suffering.
The tricky part? Proving the store knew or should have known about the hazard.
How long was that water there? Were there other complaints? What do inspection logs show? Do they even have inspection logs? Is there surveillance footage?
That's why investigation matters. And why you should call me fast.
Find Out What YOUR Case Might Be Worth...for free.
If you fall and get hurt:
Report it immediately - Tell a manager or employee. Make sure they document it. Get a copy of the incident report if you can.
Take photos - Document what caused your fall. Multiple angles. Also photograph visible injuries.
Get witness info - Anyone see you fall? Get their names and phone numbers.
Don't give long statements - Report what happened but don't speculate. Stick to facts.
Keep your clothes and shoes - Don't wash them. They're evidence.
See a doctor - Even if you think you're okay. Some injuries take time to show up.
Save all paperwork - Incident reports. Medical records. Bills. Receipts. Everything.
Don't sign anything - Store or their insurance might want you to sign something. Don't. Call me first.
Call me - Sooner the better. Surveillance footage gets erased. Witnesses forget. Evidence disappears.
They'll do everything to avoid paying.
"The hazard was obvious" - They'll say you should've seen it. But stores are busy, distracting places. Some hazards aren't obvious.
"We didn't know about it" - They'll claim the spill just happened. But if they should have known through reasonable inspections, they're still liable.
"You were distracted" - They'll blame you for looking at your phone or talking to someone. Rarely works.
"Your shoes were wrong" - They'll try to blame your footwear. Doesn't usually hold up.
"You have a pre-existing condition" - If you had prior injuries, they'll claim your current injury isn't from the fall. But even if you had something before, if the fall made it worse, they're liable.
I know how to counter all of these. Done it plenty of times.
Illinois uses comparative negligence. Means even if you were partly at fault, you can still recover as long as you're less than 51% at fault.
Your recovery just gets reduced by your percentage of fault.
Example: Your damages are $100,000. Jury says you were 20% at fault for not paying attention. You'd get $80,000.
This is why documentation matters. Photos. Witnesses. Medical records. All of it helps show you weren't at fault.
Illinois gives you two years from the date of your fall to file a lawsuit.
Two years sounds like a lot. It's not.
You're recovering. Dealing with medical stuff. Insurance companies drag things out. Time passes faster than you think.
Don't wait. Call me now.
Every case is different. Depends on your injuries and how they impact your life.
You can recover:
Medical expenses - ER. Hospital. Surgery. Physical therapy. Medications. Future medical care if you need ongoing treatment.
Lost wages - Time off work while recovering.
Lost earning capacity - If your injuries affect your ability to work going forward.
Pain and suffering - Physical pain. Emotional distress.
Loss of quality of life - Can't do things you used to enjoy.
Permanent disability - If you have lasting limitations.
I've seen store fall cases settle for $15,000. I've seen them settle for $150,000 or more. Depends on how badly you're hurt and strength of the case.
Hiring Scott was one of the best moves I have made in my life. Scott is a down to earth person and attorney. Scott is a 5 star first class act who really knows his stuff. The Judge said his presentation was one of if not the best he had ever seen. Take my advice, hire Scott I’m sure you’ll be 200% satisfied I was.
Scott not only cares about the case, but he truly cares about his clients and that makes him the best lawyer I have ever met and hired! He won my case! He is thorough in everything he does. I highly recommend Scott, and will always refer him to family and friends.
I hired Scott DeSalvo upon a friend’s recommendation. His office kept me informed of developments as they happened, and I felt the settlement reached was fair considering my injuries. I would highly recommend Scott DeSalvo to represent your personal injury case.
When you call me:
Free. No charge. No obligation.
You tell me what happened. I ask questions. Give you my honest opinion about whether you have a case.
If you hire me, I move quick. Surveillance footage at stores gets erased after 30-90 days usually.
I send preservation letter to the store. Demand they keep the footage. Visit the store. Document conditions. Interview witnesses. Get incident reports. Obtain store policies.
Stores have insurance. Insurance companies exist to minimize payouts.
They'll try everything. Lowball offers. Blame you. Claim the store did nothing wrong.
I know their tricks. Know what your case is worth. Won't accept less.
Sometimes insurance makes reasonable offers. Sometimes they don't.
If they won't offer fair compensation, I file a lawsuit. Not scared of court. I've spent over $100,000 on trial training. Graduate of Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyer's College.
I work on contingency. No money out of pocket from you. I advance all costs.
Only get paid if I win. If I don't win, you owe me nothing.
Zero financial risk to you.
Different stores have different problems.
Grocery stores - Produce sections are the worst. Grapes, lettuce, anything that falls creates slippery mess. Deli areas. Frozen food sections where condensation drips. Checkout areas where drinks spill.
Big box stores - Merchandise everywhere. Pallets blocking aisles. Forklifts moving around. Garden centers with water and dirt tracked inside.
Malls - Food court spills. Wet entrances when it rains or snows. Escalators. Common area maintenance issues.
Convenience stores - Spills near fountain drinks. Wet floors from cooler condensation. Small crowded spaces.
Pharmacies - High foot traffic. Often understaffed. Spills don't get noticed or cleaned up fast enough.
Each type of store has patterns. I know what to look for.
I don't just do store falls. I'm a personal injury lawyer serving Chicago and surrounding areas.
If you got hurt because of someone else's negligence, call me.
Find out if you have a good case, or a tough one...for free!
Makes the case harder. Not impossible. Call me anyway. We might find witnesses or surveillance footage.
Illinois comparative negligence. You can still recover as long as you're less than 51% at fault. Recovery gets reduced by your percentage.
Happens all the time. Stores "lose" incident reports. That's why your own documentation matters. Photos. Witnesses. Medical records showing when you got hurt.
Call me. I know how to handle this.
Different rules. You'd probably be covered by workers' comp. But you might also have a claim against a third party depending on what caused the fall.
Call me. We'll figure it out.
Depends. Some settle in months. Others take longer if we file a lawsuit.
Can't control the timeline. But I'll work as efficiently as possible.
Let them claim whatever they want. If you have a legitimate injury from a legitimate fall, the evidence will show it. Medical records. Photos. Witnesses. Surveillance footage.
That's why documentation matters so much.
Surveillance footage gets erased. Usually after 30-90 days.
Witnesses forget details. Move away. Become hard to find.
Physical evidence disappears. Stores fix hazards. Conditions change.
Your memory fades. Details you'd remember today might be fuzzy in six months.
Illinois gives you two years. But the sooner you start, the stronger your case.
Call me now.
Store falls are different from other premises liability cases.
High customer traffic - Lots of people means lots of potential witnesses. But also means conditions change fast.
Security cameras - Most stores have them. Can be great evidence. But footage gets erased fast.
Corporate defendants - Big chains have legal teams and insurance companies ready to fight. You need a lawyer who knows how to handle them.
Multiple responsible parties - Sometimes it's the store owner. Sometimes the property management company. Sometimes a cleaning company. Sometimes multiple parties.
Store policies - Every chain has policies for inspections, cleaning, incident reporting. Getting those policies can be crucial.
I've handled enough of these to know what works.
If you fell at a store in Chicago and got hurt, you're dealing with pain, medical bills, time off work. Maybe the store is denying responsibility. Maybe their insurance offered way less than you deserve.
You don't have to handle this alone.
Call me now. Any time. Day. Night. Weekend. Holiday.
Free consultation. We'll talk about what happened. I'll answer your questions. Tell you honestly if I think you have a case.
Don't pay me unless I recover compensation. I advance all costs. Zero out of pocket.
Surveillance footage gets erased. Evidence disappears. Witnesses forget. Deadlines exist.
Sooner you call, better.
Call Scott DeSalvo now at (312) 500-4500.
Your fight is my fight.
Main Office:
1000 Jorie Blvd Ste 204
Oak Brook, IL 60523
New Cases: 312-500-4500
Office: 1 312-895-0545
Fax: 1 866-629-1817
service@desalvolaw.com
Chicago and Other Suburban Offices
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