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Legally Reviewed by:

Jonathan Rosenfeld
J.D

March 2, 2023

Over $400 Million worth of case results

Awarded The Best Lawyer in 2024 by U.S. News

Nationally Recognized in Legal Community

Have you or a loved one been injured on someone’s property in Chicago? If so, then you might need an attorney to fight for your legal rights and secure adequate compensation for you.

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC has a demonstrated track record of success in premises liability claims. We have recovered over $400 million for our clients, and our lawyers will go to work for you. Our nationally recognized law firm is known for providing outstanding client service while we fight for your legal rights.

Our law firm recently obtained a $500,000 recovery for a 43-year-old woman who slipped and fell in a stairwell while at the home of a relative in the South Shore area of the city.. The fall resulted in a spiral fracture of her tibia that required orthopedic surgery and physical therapy. Our Chicago premises liability lawyers were able to establish that the homeowner failed to maintain the stairs and that the stairs were constructed improperly without adhering to the Chicago Building Code [1]. This settlement represents the full amount of the homeowner’s insurance coverage.

Contact An Experienced Chicago Premises Liability Lawyer

A Chicago premises liability attorney at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers will evaluate your case. The attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC can help you determine your legal options and file a claim against the negligent property owner. Filing liability claims could compensate you for lost wages, pain and suffering, and other losses you incur due to your injury.

Contact us at (888) 424-5757 for a free consultation.

Chicago Premises Liability Lawyer Involving a Property Owner's Negligence

How Our Lawyers Can Help You in a Premises Liability Claim

You should never try to be your lawyer in a premises liability case involving serious injuries. You will end up costing yourself a considerable amount of money if you are even able to get a settlement check at all. After your injury, one of your first calls should be to an experienced premises liability lawyer, who will represent you during your case.

We Will Learn the Facts of Your Case

Our attorneys will speak to you, both during the initial consultation and after you hire us. We will take the time to listen to you able what happened, asking questions to learn what we should know. Then, we will conduct a full and immediate investigation into your accident to help determine the cause.

We Will Gather Evidence to Help Prove Your Case

You must meet your burden of proof to show that the property owner did not uphold the duty of care that they owed you. You can’t compile this evidence on your own to the satisfaction of the insurance company or a jury, especially when you are dealing with physical injuries.

Your attorney will speak with witnesses and gather documentary evidence that demonstrates that someone else should be held legally responsible for your injuries.

We Will Estimate the Value of Your Case

Before you can file a claim, you need to know how much your case may be worth. You cannot get a fair settlement if you do not know how much you deserve.

Our attorneys will review your situation to help determine how much you may be due in a settlement or jury award.

We Will File Your Claim or Lawsuit

Your claim or lawsuit needs to contain information that supports your entitlement to monetary damages and the specific damages that you claim. Your claim or lawsuit complaint is your first step to persuading an insurance company or jury that you deserve money and how much you should get. Our attorneys will draft your claim or complaint, including the necessary evidence to make it as strong as possible.

We Will Fight for Full and Fair Compensation for Your Injuries

The insurance carriers do not want to pay you anywhere close to what you may deserve in a premises liability claim if they are even willing to pay you at all. We will fight on your behalf, whether it is through negotiating with the insurance company or by trying your case in front of a jury.

premises liability claims

Common Premises Liability Cases

Based on our attorneys’ experience, the following premises liability accidents occur most frequently:

Slip and Fall Accidents

A slip-and-fall accident occurs when someone falls or trips on someone’s property. It can happen anywhere, including stores, restaurants, hotels, residences, and public areas. The following are some of the most common causes of slip and fall accidents:

  • Wet or slippery floors, lack of ‘wet floor signs,’ spilled liquids
  • Cracked or uneven pavement
  • Broken staircases
  • Damaged carpeting
  • Tripping hazards,
  • Inadequate lighting
  • Icy surfaces

Animal Attacks

Dog bites and other animal attacks are common causes of liability. If an animal injures someone, the owner is responsible for the victim’s injuries as long as:

  • The injury victim did not provoke the animal in any way
  • The attack occurred in a place where the victim was legally allowed to be (i.e., the victim was not trespassing)

The Property Owner’s Duty of Care in a Premises Liability Case

In a premises liability lawsuit, the success of your case depends on proving that the property owner breached the duty of care that they owe you.

The duty of care depends on the circumstances. In any situation, one is required to do what is reasonable under the circumstances.

According to the Illinois Supreme Court (which adopted the test in the Restatement of Torts), a landowner is liable [2] when they:

(1) Know or in the exercise of reasonable care would discover the condition and should realize that the condition involves an unreasonable risk of harm to those on the land, and

(2) Should expect that such persons will not discover or realize the danger, or will fail to protect themselves against it, or

(3) Fails to exercise reasonable care to protect those lawfully on this land see, Genaust v. Ill. Power Co., 62 Ill.2d 456, 343 N.E.2d 465 (1976)

Common Premises Liability Claims

In reality, premises liability law encompasses a wide variety of different cases. Premises liability refers to an injury that you may suffer in many different contexts. Regardless of the type of injury, you may be able to take legal action against the property owner.

Common types of premises liability cases include:

No matter what type of case is involved, the legal inquiry is always going to be the same. You would need to prove that the defendant did something (or did not do something) that would be considered unreasonable under the circumstances.

Who Is a Defendant in Premises Liability Claims?

Generally, you would sue the owner of the property in premises liability cases. They are the ones who would usually have the obligation to maintain the property and warn you of any dangers. The property owner would know to warn you of any types of dangers.

In some cases, the property owner may have leased out the property to others. A common example is a retail store. The store owner is the tenant, and they have control of the property on a day-to-day basis. Commercial property owners do not always have access to the property and the ability to make the necessary repairs.

Common defendants in a premises liability claim include:

  • Stores
  • Landlords
  • Educational institutions
  • Restaurants and bars
  • Governmental entities
  • Commercial property owners
  • Amusement parks
file a personal injury claim with a Chicago Premises Liability Lawyer

How Long Do I Have to File a Premises Liability Lawsuit Under Illinois Law?

Illinois law imposes a statute of limitations that gives you a deadline for filing a lawsuit. Under 735 ILCS 5/ [3], there is a two-year deadline from the time that you were injured, or should have known that you were injured, to file a lawsuit in your case.

During this two-year period, you may need to take time to negotiate with the insurance company. You should never wait until the time is running out to contact a premises liability attorney to begin the legal process. If you miss the statute of limitations by even a day, it means the end of your legal right to recover financial compensation.

Premises Liability Injuries

You may have suffered a serious injury in a premises liability accident or incident. Even a slip-and-fall accident can leave you with injuries that can change the course of your life in both the short and long run.

Many premises cases involve serious injuries that can include:

You must see a doctor right after you have been hurt. First, you need to get yourself on the path to recovery. You cannot even file a claim until you have reached the point of maximum medical improvement. This point is defined as when further medical treatment would not do anything to improve your condition.

In addition, you need to understand your exact medical condition before you can estimate the value of your case. Your physical injuries will dictate every element of your personal injury compensation. The medical treatment would give you the documentation that you need to file your claim.

If you wait too long for medical treatment, it may be harder to connect your injuries to what happened. The insurance company may claim that you were partly to blame for the extent of your condition because you did not seek medical care in time.

Damages in a Premises Liability Claim

If you win your premises liability case, you will be entitled to be paid for the entire extent of your damages. These payments would include both economic and non-economic damages.

Each experienced premises liability attorney at our firm concentrates in recovering compensation for:

  • The complete costs of your medical bills
  • Lost wages for the time that you missed from work
  • Pain and suffering for the physical and emotional discomfort that you are enduring after your injury
  • Loss of enjoyment of the life that you had before the injury
  • Embarrassment and humiliation

Punitive Damages in a Wrongful Death Case

Although punitive damages are rare in a personal injury case, it is possible to persuade a jury to award them to you in a premises liability lawsuit.

Illinois law allows for punitive damages in cases where the defendant’s conduct is reprehensible, and a monetary punishment would dissuade them from such conduct in the future. They are meant to be both a punishment and to make the defendant an example. See, Kelsay v. Motorola, Inc., 74 Ill.2d 172, 186, 23 Ill.Dec. 559, 384 N.E.2d 353 (1978)

Your attorney could gather evidence that may show that the defendant acted with recklessness or knowledge that could make them liable for punitive damages.

What if the Insurance Company Is Trying to Blame Me for What Happened?

Illinois uses the principle of modified comparative negligence (735 ILCS 5/2-1116) [4] in all personal injury cases. According to the law, you can only recover financial compensation if you were less than 50% to blame for your accident. Your compensation would be reduced by the percentage that you were to blame for the accident.

Accordingly, one of the favorite tactics that insurance companies like to use is to blame the victim for what happened. For example, in a slip and fall case, the insurance company may argue that you were careless by running through an area or not looking where you were going. If you were the victim of an assault, the insurance company may claim that you did not take adequate precautions on your own.

Your attorney’s job may be every bit as much to defend you as it is to prove that someone else was to blame for the accident. You may need to present evidence of your own that shows that you did nothing wrong so you can be in line for full and fair financial compensation.

Hire Chicago Premises Liability Attorneys For Your Case

The last thing you expect is to get hurt when you visit someone else’s property. Unfortunately, many fail to maintain their facilities properly.

If you or a loved one were injured due to an owner’s negligence, Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC can help. Our Chicago premises liability attorneys help injured parties recover compensation through out-of-court settlements and litigation.

Contact a premises liability attorney at (888) 424-5757 for a consultation, free of charge, to discuss your legal options. We keep all confidential information private between you and our team. If we handle your claim, we only charge a fee if we win the case, making it worry-free for you.

Resources: [1] chicago.gov, [2] llinoiscourts.gov, [3] Ilga.gov, [4] IDOI

Client Reviews

Jonathan Rosenfeld was professionally objective, timely, and knowledgeable. Also, his advice was extremely effective regarding my case. In addition, Jonathan was understanding and patient pertaining to any of my questions or concerns. I was very happy with the end result and I highly recommend Jonathan Rosenfeld.

- Michonne Proulx

Extremely impressed with this law firm. They took control of a bad motorcycle crash that left my uncle seriously injured. Without any guarantee of a financial recovery, they went out and hired accident investigators and engineers to help prove how the accident happened. I am grateful that they worked on a contingency fee basis as there was no way we could have paid for these services on our own.

- Ethan Armstrong

Jonathan helped my family heal and get compensation after our child was suffered a life threatening injury at daycare. He was sympathetic and in constant contact with us letting us know all he knew every step of the way. We were so blessed to find Jonathan!

- Giulia

This lawyer really helped me get compensation for my motorcycle accident case. I know there is no way that I could have gotten anywhere near the amount that Mr. Rosenfeld was able to get to settle my case. Thank you.

- Daniel Kaim

Jonathan did a great job helping my family navigate through a lengthy lawsuit involving my grandmother's death in a nursing home. Through every step of the case, Jonathan kept my family informed of the progression of the case. Although our case eventually settled at a mediation, I really was impressed at how well prepared Jonathan was to take the case to trial.

- Lisa
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