If you fell on someone else's property in Streamwood, the first question is whether the property owner did what they were legally required to do. Illinois premises liability law creates specific duties depending on the type of property and your reason for being there. Let me break it down.
If you were a customer in a store, a guest in a restaurant, or a visitor in an apartment building's common area, you are what the law calls an invitee. Property owners owe invitees the highest duty of care. They must regularly inspect the premises for hazards, fix dangerous conditions within a reasonable time, and warn visitors about hazards they know about or should know about through reasonable inspection. If a grocery store has a policy of inspecting aisles every thirty minutes and they skip the inspection, and you slip on a spill that has been sitting there for an hour, they breached their duty.
Landlords have a specific obligation to maintain common areas in residential properties. If you rent an apartment in Streamwood and you fall on a broken staircase, a cracked sidewalk, or an unsalted walkway in the winter, the landlord is responsible. Common areas include hallways, stairwells, parking lots, sidewalks, laundry rooms, and any shared space. The landlord cannot pass this responsibility to the tenant. It does not matter what the lease says about tenant responsibility for snow removal in some cases, the landlord still has a duty to ensure the property is reasonably safe.
Commercial property owners in Streamwood, the strip malls along Schaumburg Road, the shopping centers, the office parks, all have a duty to maintain their premises. This includes adequate lighting in parking lots, level walkways, properly maintained entrances, and snow and ice removal within a reasonable time after a storm. When they hire a snow removal contractor, they are still responsible if the contractor does a negligent job.
Now here is the part that trips people up. Illinois comparative negligence. Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1116, Illinois follows a modified comparative negligence rule with a fifty percent bar. That means if you were partially at fault for your fall, your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault. But you can still recover as long as your fault does not exceed fifty percent. The insurance company will always try to blame you. You were on your phone. You were wearing the wrong shoes. You were not paying attention. My job is to show that the property owner's negligence was the primary cause, not your behavior.
One more thing. Illinois does not have a specific time limit for how quickly a property owner must fix a hazard. The standard is reasonable under the circumstances. What is reasonable depends on the nature of the hazard, whether the property owner knew or should have known about it, and how much time they had to address it. A puddle that formed five minutes ago is different from a leaking pipe that has been creating a wet floor for three weeks. This is where the evidence, the maintenance records, the inspection logs, the incident history, tells the story.
If you fell on someone's property in Streamwood and you want to know if the owner was negligent, call me at 312-500-4500. I will look at the facts and tell you where you stand.
Injured individuals have concerns after any sort of injury. Can I win this case? Will the case take permanently? What do I need to prove in order to get my doctor bills paid? Will my wage loss be paid? Do I actually require to speak to a lawyer? How much does a great Streamwood, IL Slip and Fall Lawyer expense to work with?
In this article, I will attempt to respond to most or all of these questions for you.
Among the important things that surprises my slip and fall injury clients the most is the detail that the insurance company and the insurance company defense lawyer requires of them. When they give a deposition or a declaration, the insurance company lawyer will use every technique in the book to attempt and trick my customer. That's why I tell my clients do not provide a recorded statement unless they are represented by a lawyer.
It is not an over statement or exaggeration to say that giving a recorded statement to an insurance company in a slip and fall case is an extremely bad concept. They will lay a trap, and try to claim your case will be worth less money or maybe no compensation at all. Because insurance company lawyers and insurance adjusters deceive you throughout these declarations.
They might tell you that they just need to discover what occurred. Their real goal is to beat your claim and pay you no money for your injuries.
That's the main reason you need a free consultation with a Streamwood, IL slip and fall lawyer. You can call my workplace anytime day or night at 312-500-4500. The consultation is free.
The first thing you need to know is that when you have a slip and fall, there is rational as to why a good lawyer wants to collect a lots of info right out of the gate. Here is what we require to understand:
These are the sorts of concerns I ask people when they call my office concerning a Streamwood slip and fall case or when they need a Streamwood, IL slip and fall lawyer to tell them whether they have an excellent case or not.
These are the standard realities that any excellent lawyer requires to evaluate a drop injury case.
If you're thinking about seeking advice from a slip and fall lawyer in Streamwood, IL, I would motivate you to get this get this info together. It will make your consultation a lot more important to you. It will allow the slip and fall injury lawyer to give you the best information about your case.
Slip and fall cases are often stealthily complicated. That's due to the fact that slip and fall injury cases are more difficult to show than a work injury or a car accident.
In a vehicle accident case, you only have to show three things. That is, who caused the crash, what the injury is, and whether the injury was brought on by the crash.
Fall down cases are far more complicated. Of note, we have to prove that the thing that made you fall was an unreasonably unsafe condition. We also should prove that the landlord or manager of residential or commercial property developed the issue or that the issue or danger existed for so long that they ought to have thrown down the gauntlet.
Landlords, residential/commercial property managers ,and shop owners are extremely crafty when it comes to making properties liability case is tough to show for individuals who were hurt in a fall in Streamwood, IL. That's why talking to a lawyer is a great concept.
We are pleased to take slip and fall cases in Streamwood, IL due to the fact that we have a lot of experience doing them. Numerous of our cases settle in less than a year from the date of the injury.
The answer is that a lot of cases settle rather rapidly. It is our goal not to trouble a slip and fall client.
Nevertheless, if we must file a lawsuit, a case can take anywhere in between two and four years before we are able to get to trial.
Considering that most cases settle, it is most likely that your case could be solved much more quickly if you had a slip and fall in Streamwood, IL
How much a case deserves is a very common question I get no matter what type of injury case we are discussing. Individuals who have been injured in a fall frequently would like to know how much money they might get.
All injury cases are assessed based on how much medical care the hurt individual got. Did the injured person who got harmed in a fall fully recover?
Undoubtedly, the larger the injuries and the larger the medical bills, it is typically true that the case is bigger.
But in drop cases, we likewise should examine how strong the case is on liability. That's lawyer talk for "can we prove that the issue that triggered you to fall was created by the proprietor or that it existed for so long that the proprietor should've found it and repaired it"?
If a case includes a new problem which developed on home, a Jury and Judge might decide that the property manager did not have enough time to attend to the issue and fix it. In that case, you have a difficult case. On the other hand, if the problem was developed by the landlord and after that ignored, you may have an extremely strong case for a Streamwood, IL slip and fall lawyer to evaluate and work on for you.
The bottom line is that with a strong liability case and serious injuries, your only limitations are what a Judge and Jury will value your case at. There are no limits on Streamwood, IL Slip and Fall Cases.
More lawyers should describe the case procedure to clients. Here is my effort to explain it to you:
The Investigation Phase
Unlike many lawyers, my best experience in fall down cases in Streamwood, IL has taught me to gather an optimum amount of details early on. I desire photographs and I want to meet with the customer face-to-face, if possible. However, I do offer zoom consultations which work just as well.
The point is in a fall down case, I need to look into the truths in excellent information. We also need to get the medical records and have a strong idea of what kind of injuries you got in your slip and fall case.
The Settlement Phase
In my office, our demand letters are frequently longer and 14 pages. We break down every ounce of information of the case for the insurance company.
Demand letters of this high quality communicate extremely plainly to the insurance company that we suggest company. It has actually likewise resulted in much bigger settlements for my clients who had a slip and fall in Streamwood, IL and need a Streamwood, IL slip and fall lawyer to help them.
Litigation
I would state that conservatively, over 70% of my slip and fall injury cases settle prior to filing a lawsuit. Some cases should be put into suit. Since the insurance company refuses to make a reasonable deal, that is.
Sometimes, the property manager and homeowner will not tell us their insurance info. They make us submit a lawsuit to discover the insurance details. In circumstances like that, we are required to submit a lawsuit and get the court involved.
The lawsuits phase consists of both parties exchanging all written materials and answering questions. We continue to depositions. This phase of discovery is referred to as "discovery".
As soon as discovery is finalized, offenders in drop cases will file a motion to dismiss your case. They will argue that you don't have enough evidence.They are attempting to get out of paying you. Any slip and fall lawyer in Streamwood, IL will tell you that this prevails practice. My workplace almost always wins these movements.
Trial
The next phase of litigation is trial. The courts are congested. It frequently takes a long time to get a case to trial. Frequently, the insurance company will try to settle the case right before trial or perhaps during trial. Having a Streamwood slip and fall lawyer you trust is key. You desire your lawyer to advise you at these times about whether accepting the settlement is a great concept. Or, whether you ought to take the case to trial.
This provides you a basic understanding of how a case continues through the system in a Streamwood, IL slip and fall case.
No — what matters is experience with premises liability law and the Cook and DuPage County court systems. My office is in Oak Brook, a short drive away, and I handle cases throughout the Chicago suburbs including Streamwood. Free consultation by phone or in person — call 312-500-4500 any time.
Lack of witnesses hurts but doesn't kill your case. What matters is documenting the hazard — photographs, an incident report, surveillance footage. Many retailers have cameras that automatically overwrite footage within 30 to 72 hours. I send immediate preservation requests as soon as I'm retained. If you fell, call me the same day.
The most common injuries are wrist and arm fractures, hip fractures particularly in older adults, knee injuries, tailbone fractures, head injuries, and shoulder injuries. Back and neck injuries are also extremely common. Hip fractures in elderly victims can be life-altering. The severity of your injury affects the value of your case significantly.
That depends on your injuries, medical bills, lost income, and the strength of the liability case. I will give you an honest assessment — not a fantasy number. I have handled thousands of personal injury cases over almost 30 years and know what these cases are worth. Call 312-500-4500.
Scott DeSalvo founded DeSalvo Law to help injured people throughout Chicago and surrounding suburbs. Licensed to practice law in Illinois since 1998, IARDC #6244452, Scott has represented over 3,000 clients in personal injury, workers compensation, and accident cases.
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Main Office:
1000 Jorie Blvd Ste 204
Oak Brook, IL 60523
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