Slip and Fall Injury: Do I Have a Case?

 Posted on July 24, 2014 in Personal Injury

If you are injured in a slip and fall accident on someone's property in Illinois, it is wise to speak to a lawyer as soon as possible. An experienced lawyer will help you determine whether you can collect from the landowner for your injuries and medical bills.

As personal injury lawyers, we at Martoccio & Martoccio know there's a lot of laws out there that may help you collect what you are entitled to. Compensation can cover not only your expenses, but for the pain and suffering you had to go through. Our attorneys at Martoccio & Martoccio have consistently recovered for our clients for more than 40 years.

Legal Basics of Slip and Fall

You should know, landowners are under a duty to use "reasonable care" in maintaining their property so as to avoid injuries to other people. So, what does that mean?

You can collect from a home owner, a shopping mall or another property owner if they allow a defective condition to exist as long as that the landowner could reasonably have discovered the defect and failed to fix it.

There are three key components to any slip and fall case. First, you must know what caused your slip and fall.

1. There must be a defect where you fell. A broken step, a hole in the concrete, torn carpeting, hidden depression, or something unexpected such as water or spilled liquid can cause you to fall. Finding that defect and identifying it to your attorney is important in determining whether you have a case. Take pictures, use your cell phone or have someone come back to the scene and do it for you.
2. Find out how long defect was there. For example, if you fell on a broken stairway, do your best to determine how the stair was broken
3. Determine the cause of the defect. In the previous example, you'll need to figure out what caused the broken stair.

The answers to these questions are the proof you and your attorney will need to win your case.

Slip and Fall Cases

We once represented a client who was leaving their friend's condo building. The well kept building was along Lake Shore Drive and had recently completed the installation of a gray brick paver driveway. Unfortunately, the pavers were installed in such a way that the pavers abutting the sidewalk were level with the sidewalk, but the rest of the driveway was lower, by about three-quarters of an inch. Our client walked across the driveway in bright sunlight, not realizing there was a height difference in the pavers, and tripped and fell, sustaining major injuries.

We won his case on the basis that the condo association did not properly maintain or fix the driveway when they knew, or reasonably should have known, of the danger presented by the height difference of the pavers.

A careful, detailed investigation of a slip and fall incident is essential to the winning your case. Our attorneys as Martoccio & Martoccio have spent many years assisting those injured from slip and fall accidents. We win cases through hard work. That work can start as soon as you call the Hindsale personal injury lawyers at Marticcio & Martoccio at 630-920-8855.

Look for our upcoming blog where we will examine slip and falls as a result of snow and ice.