Chicago Snow and Ice Slip and Fall Lawyer

If you were injured by slipping on ice or snow in Chicago, what you do next will help determine how long it will take to heal physically and financially.

• Seek immediate medical attention even if you believe your injuries are minor. Only a doctor with the best diagnostic tools can evaluate the extent of your medical condition
• Report what happened to the business or property owner
• Get contact information of all eyewitnesses, including the name, address, and phone number
• Capture photographic evidence of the accident scene and highlight hazards in the area that led to you falling
• Preserve the clothing and shoes you were wearing that will provide evidence when negotiating a settlement or presenting your case at trial
• Consider hiring an attorney to handle your personal injury case

Did you fall while at another person’s home, office building, or business in Chicago, Illinois? You likely have the right to file a civil lawsuit seeking compensation.

The property owner may be legally responsible for all slip and falls on their property, mostly if the accident resulted from an unnatural accumulation of snow and ice.

However, you must prove that the owner failed in their duty of care to provide a safe environment for people by not removing snow, ice, or other freezing liquids. Also, you must show that their negligence resulted in your injuries.

You might not have a case if your injuries were caused by slippery surfaces of natural accumulations of snow on the sidewalk, parking lot, or walkway. The property owner might not be held liable for any natural accumulation of ice in the hours after an ice storm.

Statistics maintained by the National Safety Council reveal that almost 9 million injured victims receive treatment in emergency rooms after a slip, trip and fall. These outdoor accidents involve the property owner’s negligence in clearing debris, snow, or ice in a reasonable time from pathways or parking lots used by visitors and others.

Indoor slipping, tripping, and falling often involve slippery floor surfaces, crowded aisleways, broken stairways, and hazardous unmarked areas.

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) revealed the average hospital expenses involved in slipping and falling accidents totaling over $30,000 per incident.

• However, there are other costs associated with falling injuries that include:
• Lost time away from work during the healing
• Lost future earnings due to a temporary/permanent disability caused by the accident
• Future costs associated with ongoing rehabilitation, treatments, and physical/occupational therapy
• Non-tangible damages including pain, suffering, mental anguish, and emotional distress

The length of time it takes to resolve a slip, trip, and fall incident depends on the case’s unique circumstances and the extent of the victim’s injuries. The victim, or their attorney, will need to determine liability and all parties responsible for causing damages.

Next, the lawyer will need to evaluate the case and determine its value based on hospitalization and medical costs, time away from work (past and future), the extent of temporary/permanent disability, pain, suffering, and mental anguish.

A city or county municipality might be civilly liable for a fall accident occurring on the sidewalk, alley, road, or side street if the town's maintenance crews were negligent in maintaining a safe environment.

Simply falling on a sidewalk or street does not prove the city’s negligence in providing reasonable care to streets and sidewalks.

Many cases involving slipping and tripping in cities and towns occur on poorly maintained public sidewalks and streets. However, the municipality is not responsible for removing snow and ice in the front of a private home or commercial building.