Maywood Slip and Fall Lawyer Asks:

Maywood Slip and Fall Lawyer

In a dense town like Maywood, a great many serious falls happen not in stores but in the shared spaces of apartment buildings and rental housing. An unlit stairwell where you cannot see the worn edge of a step. A handrail that is loose or missing when you reach for it. Ice left to sit on a common walkway because no one cleared it. A broken step in a back stairway that the landlord has known about for months. Maywood has a lot of multi-unit housing and a lot of tenants, and the common areas of those buildings — the stairs, halls, entryways, walks, and parking areas the landlord controls — are where a large share of the falls I handle actually occur.

I am Scott DeSalvo, and for nearly 30 years I have held property owners accountable when their neglect injures the people who live in or visit their buildings. Illinois law places real duties on landlords and building owners, and when a fall happens because those duties were ignored, the owner and their insurer can be responsible for the harm. This page explains what those duties are, how these cases are proven, and what to do if you were hurt in a fall in a Maywood building.

A Landlord's Duty Over Common Areas

Under Illinois law, a landlord who retains control over the common areas of a building has a duty to keep them reasonably safe. The stairwells, hallways, entryways, shared walks, and parking areas are not the tenant's responsibility — they are the owner's, and the owner is obligated to maintain them with reasonable care. That means adequate lighting in stairwells, handrails that are secure, steps and walkways kept in reasonable repair, and hazards addressed within a reasonable time once the owner knows or should know about them. When an owner fails at this and someone is hurt, the failure can support a claim.

Local building codes and ordinances add concrete standards on top of that general duty. Requirements for stair construction, handrail height and strength, lighting, and maintenance give a fall case a measurable benchmark: not just that the condition was unsafe, but that it violated a specific code the owner was bound to follow. Knowing to look for those violations is part of building the case.

Unlit Stairwells and Broken Handrails

A poorly lit stairwell and a failed handrail are a dangerous combination, and they cause some of the worst injuries I see. When a tenant or visitor cannot see the steps and cannot catch themselves because the rail is loose or absent, a stumble becomes a fall down a full flight. These are not freak accidents — they are the predictable result of maintenance an owner let slide. Proving the case usually means showing what the owner knew, how long the condition existed, and why a reasonable owner would have fixed it.

Evidence in these cases fades quickly, which makes early action important. A burned-out bulb gets replaced, a broken rail gets repaired, and suddenly the very condition that caused the fall is gone. Documenting the hazard — photographs, witnesses, maintenance requests, prior complaints — before it is corrected is often decisive, and it is one of the first things I move to do.

Ice and Snow on Shared Walks

Falls on ice are common in a Chicago winter, but whether you have a case turns on a specific and technical distinction in Illinois law. As a rule, Illinois does not hold a property owner responsible for a fall on a natural accumulation of ice or snow. But an unnatural accumulation — one the owner created or worsened — is different. Refrozen piles from plowing, water draining from a downspout and freezing across a walk, ice forming because of defective pavement or poor grading: these are man-made hazards, and they can support a claim. The line between natural and unnatural is exactly where insurers fight, and proving an unnatural accumulation takes someone who knows how.

In an apartment setting, snow-removal practices matter a great deal to that analysis. How and where the landlord piled plowed snow, whether a downspout drains onto a walkway, and whether the owner undertook to clear the area and did so carelessly can all turn a "natural ice" defense into a winnable case.

What to Do After a Fall in Maywood

What you do in the hours and days after a fall can decide whether you have a provable claim. If you can, report the fall to the property manager or landlord and ask for a written report. Photograph what caused the fall — the dark stairwell, the broken rail, the ice — and the surrounding area before anyone fixes it. Get the names of any witnesses. And see a doctor promptly even if you only feel sore, because a gap in treatment is the first thing an insurer will use to argue you were not really hurt.

Then call a lawyer quickly, because some of the best evidence disappears fast. Many buildings and nearby businesses have security cameras, and that footage is often overwritten within days. Getting a preservation demand out early can save the recording that shows exactly what happened.

When You Are Partly Blamed

Property owners and their insurers almost always argue the fall was your own fault, and it helps to understand why that rarely ends a case. Illinois follows modified comparative negligence: being partly at fault reduces your recovery by your share, but it does not bar your claim unless you were more than half responsible. Insurers push hard to shove you past that line — arguing you should have seen the hazard, worn different shoes, or taken another route. Countering those arguments with the facts of what the owner did wrong is a central part of what I do.

These arguments are especially common in apartment falls, where owners try to shift responsibility onto the tenant. But the duty to maintain safe common areas belongs to the owner, and a genuine hazard the owner ignored does not become the tenant's fault simply because the tenant lived there.

Proving the Owner Knew

A fall case often rises or falls on notice — whether the owner knew or should have known about the hazard. That is why prior complaints, maintenance records, work orders, and the history of a condition matter so much. A handrail that was reported loose weeks earlier, a stairwell light that had been out for a month, a downspout that iced the same walk every winter — this is the evidence that shows the owner had the chance to fix the danger and did not. Gathering it takes prompt, deliberate investigation, and I front those costs so the work gets done.

Speak With a Maywood Personal Injury Attorney

If you were hurt in a fall in a Maywood building or on someone's property, a Maywood Personal Injury Attorney can review what happened, move to preserve the evidence, and tell you honestly whether you have a claim. The call is free, and you pay nothing unless I win.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do right after a fall?

If you can, report it to the store or property manager and ask for a written incident report. Photograph what caused the fall and the area around it before anyone cleans up. Get the names of any witnesses, and see a doctor promptly even if you only feel sore. Then call me quickly, so I can preserve the surveillance video before it's gone.

How long do I have to file a fall claim in Illinois?

Generally two years from the date of your fall against a private owner. But a fall on public or government property — a village sidewalk, a park district lot, a public building — can carry special notice rules and much shorter deadlines, sometimes about a year. Those government deadlines are easy to miss, so reach out as soon as you can.

I fell on ice. Do I have a case?

It depends on whether the ice was natural or man-made. Illinois usually doesn't hold owners responsible for naturally accumulated ice, but if they created the hazard — refrozen plow piles, a draining downspout, or defective pavement — you may have a strong claim. It's a technical line and the one insurers fight on, so it helps to have someone who can prove an unnatural accumulation.

The store says the fall was my own fault. Does that end it?

Not necessarily. Illinois uses modified comparative negligence, so being partly at fault doesn't end your claim unless you were more than half responsible — your recovery is just reduced by your share. Insurers always push to get you past that line, and countering it is a central part of what I do.

What does a slip and fall lawyer cost?

Nothing out of pocket. I take these on contingency — my fee comes only from what I recover for you, and if there's no recovery, you owe nothing. I also front the investigation costs, like securing camera footage and expert analysis. You never pay me to get started.

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