Should I Get a Lawyer for a Slip and Fall?

A slip and fall accident, such as falling on ice near Navy Pier, can result in significant medical expenses and lost wages. If you’re wondering, “should i get a lawyer for a slip and fall” case in Chicago, the answer depends on the severity of your injuries, the strength of your claim, and how the insurance company responds. A personal injury attorney can guide you through your legal options, investigate how the accident occurred, and effectively negotiate with insurance companies. In more serious cases, legal representation can help protect your right to pursue compensation under Illinois premises liability law. Contact us today for a free consultation about your legal rights.

Not every slip and fall requires an attorney. If you have minor injuries, no lost income, clear evidence of who was responsible, and an insurer is already offering to cover your documented medical expenses, you may be able to handle the claim yourself. You can also review how to negotiate a settlement yourself before deciding whether you need representation. However, if your injuries are serious, liability is disputed, your losses extend beyond medical bills, or an insurer is pressuring you to accept a settlement, speaking with a Chicago slip and fall lawyer can help you understand your options.

Proving Property Owner’s Negligence

To prove the property owner’s negligence, we must establish four key elements: duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and resulting damages.

Duty of Care: Under the Illinois Premises Liability Act (740 ILCS 130/2), a property owner or occupier generally owes covered entrants a duty of reasonable care regarding the condition of the premises and activities conducted there. As such, the property owner had a responsibility to take reasonable precautions that would prevent slip and fall accidents.

Breach of Duty: The property owner failed to uphold their duty of care. This could include failing to maintain stairways in a safe and sound condition, as required by the Chicago Municipal Code (13-196-570). Other dangerous conditions may include accumulated ice, wet floors, broken pavement, inadequate lighting, or unsafe handrails.

Causation: The property owner’s negligence or another responsible party’s conduct must have been a proximate cause of your slip and fall accident, such as the property owner’s refusal to repair broken banisters.

Damages: You suffered financial losses as a result of the dangerous conditions, such as medical costs and lost income. Depending on the circumstances, recoverable damages may also include pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, and other losses.

Limiting Your Liability

Illinois uses modified comparative negligence (735 ILCS 5/2-1116). This means that every party in a personal injury claim is assigned a portion of the blame. Under Illinois law, you are not barred from recovering damages if your contributory fault is not more than 50% of the proximate cause of the injury, although your damages may be reduced in proportion to your share of fault. When proving negligence, we will also establish that someone else’s actions or inactions were the primary cause of the accident. 

Slip and Fall Accidents on Government Property

The Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act imposes additional restrictions for suing a municipality or government agency, including a one-year statute of limitations and stricter proof of negligence (745 ILCS 10/).  If your Chicago slip and fall occurred on government property, additional rules and deadlines may apply. A slip-and-fall accident lawyer will use local laws to demonstrate the government’s liability while ensuring all motions are filed in a timely manner.  

Seeking Compensation Beyond Medical Bills

Slip-and-fall damages can encompass a broad range of expenses, including medical bills, lost income, property damage, and wrongful death damages. You can also demand compensation for transportation, out-of-pocket medical needs, long-term care, and future loss of income. Understanding what your claim may be worth can help you evaluate a settlement offer and determine whether legal representation may be appropriate.

However, non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering or emotional distress, can be more challenging to prove. Some of these non-economic damages include:

• Physical pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of companionship
• Disfigurement and disability
• Inconvenience

We will use a variety of evidence to demonstrate these intangible damages, such as testimony from your loved ones, expert testimony from doctors and other professionals, and your personal narrative. Through this evidence, we will construct a compelling narrative that demonstrates why you are entitled to fair compensation for your injuries.

Insurance Company Negotiations

An experienced slip and fall accident attorney can counter common defenses in slip and fall accident cases to protect your interests. Some of these include delaying investigations, denying your claim without a proper investigation, and arguing that your injuries were due to a pre-existing condition.

Through evidence collection and settlement negotiations, we counter these tactics while pushing for a faster resolution. We are familiar with Chicago’s largest insurance companies, including their standard claims process, and will ensure that they follow all applicable Illinois insurance regulations. If you are unsure whether to accept an insurer’s offer or continue pursuing your slip and fall claim, legal guidance may help you assess the offer and your potential damages.

Filing Your Slip and Fall Claim on Time

There is a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims in Illinois (735 ILCS 5/13-202). This two-year deadline applies under Illinois law, although different rules may apply to claims involving governmental entities or other specific circumstances. Failing to file your claim in time can mean you cannot secure any compensation. Through our streamlined legal process, we ensure that all paperwork is filed in a timely manner and you have the best possible chance of recovering damages for your slip-and-fall accident. Learn more about the two-year deadline for Illinois personal injury claims.

Evidence Collection

The evidence needed to support a slip and fall accident claim can be challenging for the average person to secure. Testimony from the property owner, expert testimony, medical records, and accident reports are all crucial elements of a strong claim. Through our resources, we can secure this vital evidence so that you have a strong argument.

Evidence we can gather for you includes:

• Medical records
• Police or accident reports
• Building maintenance records
• Surveillance footage
• Expert witness statements
• Depositions with the property owner
• Accident reconstruction with experts
• Doctor’s notes and test results

Court Representation

Many personal injury suits are settled out of court, as the trial process is long and expensive. However, sometimes the insurance agency and property owner will refuse to negotiate or will continue to lowball you. 

In these cases, we can file a lawsuit and prepare for trial. This process includes filing a complaint with the Circuit Court of Cook County and sharing the evidence we’ve gathered with the other parties, called discovery. This court serves Cook County, including Chicago, for applicable civil matters.

We will also use case law to support your claim. For example, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in Murphy-Hylton v. Lieberman Management Services that a property management company can be held liable for a person slipping on an icy sidewalk because insufficient maintenance led to unnatural snow accumulation. 

If the jury decides in your favor, they will determine what damages you can receive. Our attorney’s fees are deducted from your settlement, meaning that you owe us nothing unless we secure you compensation. For information about what a slip and fall lawyer does, see what a slip and fall lawyer does.

Expert Legal Counsel for Your Slip and Fall Case

A Chicago slip and fall attorney can help evaluate the facts of your case, identify potentially responsible parties, preserve evidence, and handle negotiations or litigation when appropriate. As a member of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and a Million Dollar Advocates Forum firm, the firm reports that it has garnered over $490 million in settlements for its clients. Any recovery figure should be verified against the firm’s current approved marketing figure before publication. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning there’s no risk to requesting a free consultation. Contact us today to learn more about your legal rights and whether you should get a lawyer for a slip and fall. You can also speak with our Chicago attorneys about your potential claim.

Legally Reviewed By
Attorney Jonathan Rosenfeld

The information on this page has been legally reviewed by Attorney Jonathan Rosenfeld, founder and managing partner of Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC, a Chicago-based personal injury law firm. With decades of experience representing individuals injured in slip and fall accidents and other premises liability cases throughout Chicago, Mr. Rosenfeld is dedicated to protecting the rights of injury victims and helping them pursue the maximum compensation available under the law. His extensive legal knowledge and commitment to client advocacy ensure that the information provided is accurate, reliable, and aligned with current legal standards.

Full Biography | LinkedIn |Avvo | Justia |Super Lawyers