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Illinois Premises Liability Law
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A person who owns land or premises is responsible for certain injuries of people who are on the property. Owners of stores, hotels, parking lots, or other buildings or property have a duty to provide a safe environment for clients and visitors.
Property owners are liable for injuries because of hazards on their property. In order to have a successful case, it is not enough that you get hurt on someone’s property; you must also show negligence. For example, if you fall on somebody’s stairs and break your ankle because you missed a step, the owner is not automatically liable for your injury. You also have to show that the owner was negligent, i.e. that she had a duty and she breached that duty. Generally, an owner has a duty to keep stairs from falling into disrepair, creating a hazard for guests. If the owner let the stairs fall apart and they broke when you stepped on them, causing your injury, then the owner is likely liable.
Sometimes laws and statutes specifically require safety measures, such as railings on decks, so if an owner puts up a deficient railing or none at all, and you fall off and injure yourself, the owner is liable to you because he violated a specific statute. Other times, a court may find an owner negligent even though he didn’t violate any statute because courts have created duties in a wide variety of situations. If a property owner knows about anything at all on his property that is hazardous, he has a duty to inform you of it. If he fails to inform you, and you injure yourself, he is likely liable to you. Roofs and walkways must be properly maintained; children may leave toys out that you slip on. Property owners may be liable to you for creating, or simply not fixing, any number of hazards. Some other examples include:
- Electric shock from exposed wiring
- Falling debris or products
- Slippery floors
- Dog or animal bites
- Exposure to dangerous chemicals or asbestos
- Poor security measures that allow criminals to attack you
- Poorly lit stairs
Slipping and falling on snow or ice may give rise to liability. In general, if you get hurt because you fell on snow or ice that has naturally accumulated, the owner is not liable because the owner has no duty to remove these naturally occurring incidents of weather. On the other hand, if snow or ice is unnatural, the owner is liable. Ice may be unnatural, for instance, when it forms because a defective gutter has a leak and is dripping water onto the frozen ground – the ice would not be on the ground if the owner had repaired the gutter. Snow may be shoveled somewhere in a dangerous or ineffective way, causing you to slip on it. In most cases, the owner is liable if you slip and fall on snow or ice that the owner created or placed in an unnatural location through negligence.
Is any of this confusing? It can be. The good news is that if you have any questions or need to talk to an attorney we will talk to you for free and if needed, point you to an experienced attorney that fits your needs. If you want our help please contact us at any time. Every attorney that we recommend works on a contingency basis which means that there is no fee unless they win the case.
Since 2001 findgreatlawyers.com has been the leading resource for Illinois premises liability lawyers. From Chicago falls on stairs, to accidents in hotels or buildings in other parts of Illinois and any other injuries related to negligence of another we are like having a lawyer in the family.