Chicago Premises Liability Lawyer
Anyone who is hurt while on someone else’s property, at a public place, or in a business may have a claim to recover medical and other resulting expenses, which could be substantial depending upon the seriousness of the injury.
Our Chicago premises liability lawyer, well-versed in this area of law, will help.
Illinois Premises Law
Property owners and controllers, people who live on or manage the property, have a legal duty to keep their premises in a safe condition under Illinois’ premises liability law. If they know about an unsafe condition and do not correct it they are, under law, responsible for compensating someone injured because of their failure to correct the condition. This is called “constructive knowledge.”
However, if the property owner or controller did not know about the condition and did not have any reason to know it existed they are not liable because they could not foresee any harm coming.
But not just anyone can make a claim.
Legal Right to Receive Compensation
For a legal right to sue, the person injured needs permission to be on the property. Achieving permission can happen in several ways under what the law calls “licensees,” which are invited guests and visitors:
- Public invitee. Anyone who enters a place open to the public for a specific purpose.
- Business invitee. People buying or selling on a property, or workers who are there to perform a task.
- Licensee by invitation. This is a friend, neighbor, or other guest who is there for a social reason.
- Lastly, uninvited licensee. People who step onto a property for their own reasons without the owner’s or operator’s permission.
How to Prove Premises Liability
Liability hinges on someone behaving carelessly or negligently; fails to act in a manner that a reasonable person would act in a similar situation.
In premises liability litigation five elements comprise the law. The plaintiff must prove each of them by a preponderance of the evidence:
- Injured persons had authorization to be on the property when the injury happened;
- Property owner or controller had constructive knowledge of the unsafe condition;
- Unsafe conditions caused the injury;
- Property owner or controller did not repair, remove, or also give warning about the unsafe condition;
- Lastly, monetary damages resulted.
Legal Exceptions
When a trespasser comes onto a property any injury that happens is not the responsibility of the owner or controller because trespassing is a crime.
School children who take shortcuts across property on the way to and from school considered “known trespassers.”
If the owner or controller knows the children use the shortcut, then liability for their safety while on the property may form because of the constructive knowledge.
Attractive Nuisance
Illinois law recognizes that children are attracted to things that can be dangerous, such as a construction site with heavy equipment parked there secured but unattended, called in the law an “attractive nuisance.”
The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled a property owner or controller owes a duty of care to children for latent harms, but not for obvious harms.
Legal Action Your Chicago Premises Liability Lawyer Can Take
A lawyer will develop evidence to prove liability and document the injury’s medical and other expenses.
Free Consultation
To find out if a case is valid, contact a Chicago premises liability lawyer for a free, no obligation consultation. The attorney can explain the applicable law, the legal system’s processes, and evaluate the strength of the case. Contact us today!
Our firm offers free consults and also takes no fee unless you win.
Our office hours range from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and we answer our phones at 708-222-2222 24/7. If you prefer, we have an online form you can use or you can utilize our LiveChat service as well.