Fair Compensation for Slip-and-Fall Injuries

When you visit a store, hotel, restaurant, amusement park, business, or home, you expect the premises to be consistently maintained in a reasonably safe manner. Residents of apartments, condominiums, or hotels should expect safe elevators, stairways, balconies, and porches to prevent crush, slip, trip, and fall injuries or death. Residents should also expect working smoke detectors and sprinkler systems to prevent injury or death caused by smoke inhalation and burn injuries. If there are any dangerous conditions, property owners must correct the unsafe conditions or provide signs, notices, or other types of visible warnings to alert you to the potential danger so that you can protect yourself and your family.

What Is Premises Liability?

Premises liability refers to accidents that injure a person on another’s property. The law requires that property owners keep their premises in a reasonably safe condition. In these types of cases, liability will be decided by such factors as what caused the unsafe condition, how long the unsafe condition existed, whether the property owner knew or should have known of its existence, and whether the property owner warned of the unsafe condition. If you or your loved one has been injured in a case involving premises liability, contact Martin Law, LLC.

Two of Chicago’s Leading Premises Liability Lawyers

Attorneys Jeffrey E. Martin and Shauna M. Martin are among the most respected and experienced in the Chicagoland area when it comes to premises liability and personal injury law. In total, we have secured millions of dollars in settlements and jury verdicts on behalf of our clients.

How Is a Premises Liability Claim Against a Governmental Entity Unique?

Generally, establishing liability and meeting statute of limitations deadlines is more complex for cases against governmental agencies and institutions. A case against a governmental entity can result from a person tripping and falling on a municipality-owned section of deteriorated sidewalk or street or an unnatural accumulation of ice. As pedestrians, we should expect municipalities to maintain their property in a safe condition. The Illinois legislature has given local governmental entities immunity from certain types of claims. To prevail, it is often necessary to show the entity’s employees’ “willful and wanton misconduct” has proximately caused the injury.

For claims against local public entities, such as municipalities or public transportation authorities, a person may have only one year to file a lawsuit and may need to provide notice within six months after the injury. Due to these times limits, known as the statute of limitations and the deadline to file a Notice of Claim, we recommend you contact us as soon as possible after an injury occurs so that you do not waive any of your rights. Call 847-261-4995 to reach our Main Office in Arlington Heights, Illinois, and schedule a free consultation with one of our lawyers about personal injury law and government entities.

Injury Claims Against Schools

Injuries at schools can occur from a variety of causes. While you can typically sue a private school for negligence, a lawsuit against a public school generally needs to show that the defendant committed willful and wanton misconduct.

Common contributing factors to school injuries include:  

• Environment hazards.
• Improper equipment maintenance. 
• Negligent supervision during school hours, sports, and extracurricular activities.
• Bullying or physical assault. 
• Transportation accidents.

There are many important steps to take after a child suffers a school injury, such as:

• Ensure the child receives medical treatment.
• Report the incident to school administration to create a record of the incident.
• If negligence is suspected, call Martin Law, LLC, to map out the next steps.

Let Us Get Started Asserting Your Right to Recovery

For a free consultation, call Martin Law, LLC, at 847-261-4995. Generally, for claims against local public entities, such as school districts or municipalities, a person has only one year to file a lawsuit, and may have to give notice within just six months of the injury.