When Is a Store Responsible for Your Slip and Fall?

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Slip and Fall Accidents

In our firm’s 10 years of representing clients, one misconception that comes up regularly is that if you fall on someone else’s property, you have a viable lawsuit against them. This is not the law in Illinois, and slip and fall accidents can be much more difficult to prove.

The Deciding Factor on If You Can Recover Damages

Often the fact that determines if you have a case is if you can prove if the condition that caused your fall was known or should have been known to the property owner/occupier. In some cases, you can prove that the property owner knew about the dangerous condition and did not fix it. For example, you may be able to get video surveillance footage of a store employee mopping and not putting out warning signs.

More common, however, is that you can prove that a reasonable property owner should have been aware of the dangerous condition. For example, you may be able to secure the testimony of another customer who can testify to the fact that the dangerous condition had been present for weeks before your fall.

Liability Could Be Split Between Property Owner and Fall Victim

Sometimes a judge or jury may determine that the property owner and the person who fell are both at fault. For example, if it was shown that the staircase railing had been in disrepair for weeks and that you were looking at your cell phone while walking, it is possible both of you could be at fault.

In such a case, the judge or jury will assign each party a percentage of fault. If your percentage of fault is less than the property owner’s, you will receive compensation reduced by your fault percentage.

For example, if you are found to be 20 percent at fault and the property owner is found to be 80 percent of fault, and you proved $100,000 in damages, you would receive $80,000.

Call an Orland Park, IL Slip and Fall Lawyer

While it is true that slip and fall cases can be difficult to pursue, if you are injured through no fault of your own, you should contact a qualified Illinois slip and fall attorney to evaluate your case. These types of cases are fact-based, and the lawyers at Issa Law, LLC have the experience required to determine if your case has merit.

Our firm typically takes on slip and fall cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning that we do not get paid unless you recover damages. With slip and fall cases, it is important that you act fast. In Illinois, you must bring slip and fall cases within two years of the accident. Perhaps more importantly, video footage, which is very helpful in these cases, must be retrieved as quickly as possible because it is frequently erased if it is not requested.

Call our firm today at 708-966-2408.

Sources:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?DocName=073500050HArt%2E+XIII+Pt%2E+2&ActID=2017&ChapterID=56&SeqStart=102300000&SeqEnd=105700000

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=2048&ChapterID=57