Understanding Premises Liability and Property Owner Duties
The Premises Liability Act of Illinois establishes that property owners must exercise reasonable care to maintain safe conditions for visitors. Property owners in Illinois, whether managing a business or a home, must keep their property safe for visitors. This duty involves repairing or removing hazards, warning of dangers that cannot be fixed, and regularly inspecting the property.
The duty of care varies based on the visitor’s classification: invitees, licensees, or trespassers.
If you’ve been injured due to unsafe conditions on someone else’s property in Chicago, you may have a premises liability claim. If a property owner is found to have neglected their duty of care, they may be required to cover the costs of your injuries
What is Premises Liability?
Premises liability refers to the legal responsibility of property owners to maintain a safe environment, ensuring visitors are not exposed to harm. A property owner may be held accountable for injury or death that occurs on their property due to negligence or unsafe conditions. However, whether a premises liability claim is eligible for compensation will depend on a number of factors such as who the claimant was that entered the property and the property owner’s duty to that person.
What are Invitees, Licensees and Trespassers?
Illinois premises liability law varies depending on three main groups of people entering a property – Invitees, Licensees, and Trespassers:
Invitees: Invitees are individuals who enter the premises with the property owner’s knowledge and for mutual benefit, usually a business purpose. Examples – Customers in a store, clients in an office, or patrons at a restaurant.
Licensees: Licensees are individuals who enter the premises for their own purpose or benefit, with the property owner’s permission, but not for a business purpose. Examples – Social guests, family members visiting a private home, or someone entering a property to ask for directions.
Trespassers: Trespassers are individuals who enter the premises without the property owner’s permission or any legal right to be there. Examples – Burglars, vandals, or individuals cutting through a property without permission.
Duties of Property Owners:
A property owner owes differing levels of care to each category of individuals entering the property:
Duty Of Care For Invitees: Property owners owe the highest duty of care to invitees. They must ensure the premises are reasonably safe, regularly inspect for hazards, and take appropriate measures to prevent injuries.
Duty Of Care For Licensees: Property owners owe a moderate duty of care to licensees. They must warn licensees of any known dangers that are not obvious. However, there is no obligation to inspect the property for hazards or to make the premises safer than they are.
Duty of Care For Trespassers: Property owners owe the lowest duty of care to trespassers. Generally, they must refrain from willfully or wantonly causing harm to trespassers. For known trespassers, there may be a minimal duty to warn of dangers if the owner is aware of their presence.
Understanding these distinctions helps determine the extent of premises liability and the appropriate legal obligations of property owners in different situations.
What If a Child Was Injured?
In Illinois, children and minors are protected by the Premises Liability Act, even if they are trespassing. Under the Attractive Nuisance Doctrine, a property owner may be held liable if a minor is injured and the owner knew or should have known that a section of the property posed a risk of injury to children.
According to the doctrine, a landowner will be held liable for injuries to children trespassing on the land if the injury is caused by any hazardous condition or object on the land (even if private property) that is attractive to curious children who are unable to understand the risk involved in such condition or object. Examples include swimming pools, hot tubs, abandoned cars, open pits, ponds, power tools, and machinery. If the owner or occupier fails to maintain these enticing hazards properly and a trespassing minor is injured, the owner can be liable for the damages. Failure to exercise reasonable care to safeguard children from dangerous conditions may make a property owner liable.
Therefore, while property owners only need to refrain from injuring a trespasser by willful or wanton conduct, for a trespassing child, the property owner owes an additional duty to exercise reasonable care to avoid conduct considered ordinary negligence.
What If the Injury Happened at a Friend or Neighbor’s Property?
We often hear from clients who were injured or whose child was injured at a loved one’s home. These clients are usually dealing with medical bills but don’t want to blame their loved one or damage their relationship.
It’s completely understandable to feel this way. However, it’s important to get the care you need without bearing the cost for something that wasn’t your fault.
Fortunately, you don’t have to accuse your friend of anything. When you file a claim, it’s between you and the insurance company. Your friend doesn’t have to pay anything out of pocket and doesn’t need to know the details of the claim.
What If You Were Injured at Your Workplace?
If you were injured at work in Chicago, you have the same rights there as anywhere else. In fact, if you get hurt on the job, you might have a worker’s compensation claim. Worker’s compensation is insurance your employer pays for, covering 100% of the costs of any on-the-job injury.
Our Chicago premises liability attorneys can help you figure out whether you have a worker’s comp claim or a regular premises liability claim, and make sure you get the full amount you deserve.
Proving Premises Liability in Illinois
Merely getting hurt on someone’s property is not enough to establish liability. Specific elements must be proven for a property owner to be held responsible for your injuries:
Duty of Care: The property owner owed a duty to ensure the property was reasonably safe.
Existence of a Dangerous Condition: There was a hazardous condition on the property.
Knowledge of the Hazard: The manager or property owner knew or should have reasonably known about the dangerous condition.
Failure to Address the Hazard: The property owner failed to fix the unsafe condition or warn you about its existence.
Injury: You were injured.
Causation: The unsafe condition contributed to your personal injury.
Types of Premises Liability Claims:
Premises liability accidents can occur in many different situations, such as:
Slip and Fall Accidents
Ceiling Collapse
Stairway Accidents
Supermarket Accident
Inadequate Lighting
Negligent Security
Dog Bites
Swimming Pool Accidents
Elevator and Escalator Accidents
Amusement Park Accidents
If you have been injured on someone else’s property in a premises liability accident, you may be able to receive compensation for your injuries. Speak with an experienced Chicago premises liability attorney at Skiba Injury Law, who can review your premises liability case, lay out your options for how to proceed, and answer any questions you may have.
How a Chicago Premises Liability Lawyer Can Help?
Premises liability attorneys can really boost premises liability cases. They know how to gather hard-to-find evidence and get people to hand over crucial information that can make all the difference in proving fault. Plus, they know which experts to hire to testify about your injuries and how the other party’s negligence caused them. You can also read about Slip & Fall.
You have nothing to lose by hiring a premises liability lawyer. Our lawyers work on a contingency basis, meaning they only get paid if you win your case. Schedule a free initial consultation to discuss your case without any obligation. You won’t have to worry about attorney fees until we secure a successful outcome for you. Reach out to Skiba Injury Law today and take the first step towards getting the compensation you deserve!
