A slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall accident can result in serious injuries that leave you with a stack of medical bills, time away from work and other problems that you never anticipated. Most families cannot afford these kinds of injuries interrupting their lives. When you are injured in one of these accidents, you need to talk to a Chicago premises liability lawyer that will aggressively be by your side throughout your accident case.
At Mark L. Karno & Associates, LLC, our law firm can help you recover with the compensation you need to get back to life as you once knew it, before you were injured. We have successfully handled several slip-and-fall accident claims as well as many other types of premises liability matters at businesses and properties throughout Chicago.
Contact us to schedule a free case evaluation.
Meet Chicago Slip And Fall Accident Attorney Mark L. Karno
Mark L. Karno is the founder of Mark L. Karno & Associates, LLC and an experienced trial attorney dedicated to representing accident victims throughout Illinois and Florida. For more than 40 years, he has helped injured individuals and their families seek compensation after serious accidents caused by negligence.
Based in Chicago, Mark handles a wide range of personal injury matters, including car accidents, truck accidents, and premises liability claims. Known for his commitment to client advocacy and courtroom experience, he works to help victims recover the financial support they need to move forward. Contact the firm today for a free consultation.
Injured in a Slip And Fall Accident?
Contact an Attorney at Mark L. Karno & Associates, LLC Today
Why Choose A Slip And Fall Attorney at Mark L. Karno & Associates, LLC?
- Our Chicago slip-and-fall attorneys have over 40 years of experience standing up to insurance companies and helping injury victims recover maximum compensation for their damages.
- We take the time to get to know and befriend each client so we can understand their situation and priorities and tailor a legal strategy to the specific facts of their case.
- We offer free consultations to evaluate your case, answer your questions, and explain your rights. We will handle your case on a contingency basis, so you pay nothing until we recover compensation for you.
- We will take your case only if we believe it has merit and that we can help you secure the maximum compensation for your damages.
What To Do and Not Do After a Slip and Fall Accident In Chicago
The actions you take immediately after a slip and fall accident can significantly impact your health and your ability to recover compensation. Following these steps can help protect you and your damages claim:
- Report the accident immediately. Whether you fell in a store, restaurant, office building, apartment complex, or other property, notify the property owner or manager right away. Insist that an incident report be prepared and request a copy for your records.
- Document the scene thoroughly. If you are physically able, take photographs of the exact location where you fell. Capture the dangerous condition from multiple angles and distances. Photograph any warning signs or the absence of warnings. Document lighting conditions, weather conditions, if applicable, and any other factors that contributed to your fall. Take photos of your injuries as soon as possible and continue documenting them as they develop.
- Obtain contact information from witnesses. Get names, phone numbers, and email addresses of anyone who witnessed your fall or saw the dangerous condition before your accident. Ask witnesses if they would be willing to provide brief written statements while events are fresh in their memory. Independent witness testimony can be extremely valuable when property owners deny that hazards existed or claim they were apparent.
- Preserve evidence. If your clothing or shoes were damaged or soiled in the fall, preserve them in their current condition. Do not clean or repair them. These items may contain evidence about the hazard or conditions that caused your fall.
- Seek immediate medical attention. Even if your injuries seem minor, see a doctor as soon as possible. Some serious injuries, including traumatic brain injuries and internal injuries, may not produce immediate symptoms. A prompt medical examination creates documentation linking your injuries to your fall. Delaying medical treatment allows insurance companies to argue that your injuries were not caused by the accident or are not as serious as you claim.
- Do not give recorded statements. Property owners and insurance companies may contact you asking for recorded statements about your accident. Decline their request and refer them to your attorney. Anything you say can be used against you to minimize or deny your claim. Insurance adjusters are trained to ask questions designed to get you to make damaging admissions.
- Do not sign any waivers, agreements, or other documents without consulting your attorney.
- Do not accept a settlement offer until you know the full value of your claim. Once you accept an offer, you cannot go back and ask for more money if you later discover that your damages are greater than you initially believed. Insurance companies hope you will accept a low offer before you consult an attorney and have accurately valued your damages.
- Contact an experienced slip-and-fall attorney immediately. The sooner you have legal representation, the better protected your rights will be. The attorneys at Mark L. Karno & Associates, LLC can take immediate action to preserve evidence, investigate your accident, and handle all communications with property owners and insurance companies on your behalf.
If there is a possibility of a claim, photos memorializing the condition at the time of injury can help protect your rights.
How the Illinois Modified Comparative Negligence Rule May Impact Your Claim
Illinois follows a modified comparative negligence rule that can significantly impact your slip and fall case. Understanding how this rule works is essential to protecting your right to compensation.
Under Illinois law, you can still recover damages even if you were partially at fault for your slip and fall accident, as long as you were less than 51 percent responsible. However, your compensation will be reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if your total damages are $100,000 but you are found to be 20 percent at fault, your recovery would be reduced to $80,000.
If you are found to be 51 percent or more at fault, you cannot recover any compensation at all.
Property owners and their insurers aggressively assert comparative negligence to reduce their liability. They will claim you were not paying attention to where you were walking, were looking at your phone, were wearing inappropriate footwear, failed to use handrails, or ignored warning signs. Insurance companies employ investigators who review surveillance footage for evidence that you contributed to your accident and will use anything they can find to deny, delay, and devalue your claim.
Our Chicago slip and fall attorneys know how to combat the unfair tactics used by insurance companies and hold them accountable for paying the full value of your claim.
Common Slip-And-Fall Injuries in Chicago, IL
As attorneys, we see a variety of serious injuries that come from slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall accidents. These include:
- Traumatic brain injury resulting from head trauma
- Broken hips, ankles and other broken bones
- Neck and back injuries, including spinal cord injuries, such as paralysis
- Torn tendons and ligaments
- Complex orthopedic injuries like joint fractures
These injuries can cause severe pain and lead to medical expenses that you can’t pay without assistance. Our premises liability attorneys can help you hold the owners responsible for their negligence so you can pay your bills and cover your losses.
Understanding Illinois Visitor Status In Slip and Fall Claims
The level of care a property owner owes you depends on your legal status when you entered the property. Visitors are generally classified as invitees, licensees, or trespassers.
An invitee is a visitor who has entered the property to conduct business or for mutual benefit. Store customers, restaurant patrons, and hotel guests are examples of invitees. Property owners owe invitees the highest duty of care and must routinely inspect their property for hazards, promptly remedy dangerous conditions, and warn invitees about hidden dangers.
A licensee is someone who enters property for their own purposes with the owner’s permission. Social guests, door-to-door salespeople, and individuals using a shortcut across private property with permission are licensees. Property owners owe licensees a duty to warn about known dangers, but generally do not have a duty to inspect the property for hazards or make it safe for licensees.
A trespasser is someone who enters property without permission. Property owners generally owe no duty of care to trespassers except to refrain from willfully or wantonly injuring them. However, there are exceptions to this general rule. If the property contains an “attractive nuisance” that could attract children to a dangerous condition, property owners may be liable.
At Mark L. Karno & Associates, LLC, our Chicago slip-and-fall accident attorneys will analyze the facts of your accident to determine your legal classification and the duty owed to you by the property owner so that we can build your strongest case.
Frequently Ask Questions about Slip and Falls
Why Hire a Lawyer for a Slip-and-Fall Accident?
While such incidents are common, many people don’t appreciate the serious injuries that can accommodate slip-and-fall accidents. A broken hip, concussion, or injury to the neck or back often lead to a lifetime of medical issues. Some victims suffer paralysis or brain injuries.
Slip-and-fall accidents happen outdoors, in apartment buildings, and places of business, including nursing homes. As is often the case, these accidents occur because of a failure of owners to make their property safe. Such accidents often result in injuries to older adults or young children. Nursing home residents, for example, are often victims of slip-and-fall injuries because the staff fails to take into account the safety of its residents. Victims of such injuries often suffer enormous medical costs and loss of wages due to the inability to return to work.
Because slip-and-fall accidents continue to occur, premises liability lawsuits are in place. A premises liability case is one where injured parties hold property owners accountable for their negligence. These sorts of lawsuits allow for injury victims to pay their bills and take care of their families while injured.
What Are Some Common Causes Of A Slip-And-Fall Accident That May Lead To A Lawsuit?
Common defects would include:
- Cracked or crumbling pavement
- Ice on the sidewalk caused by unnatural conditions
- Defective carpeting leading to a fall
- Broken handrails or railings in hallways
- Slippery surfaces possibly caused by water or fluids on floors
- The failure to warn of a danger on the property that could lead to a fall
- Inadequate lighting
- A failure to warn visitors of dangers on the property
There may be other causes as well. Any defect in the property that led to an injury on the property and that the owner was aware of could be the basis for a lawsuit — contact a Chicago defective stairway accident attorney today to pursue financial compensation today.
How Do I Find Out Who Is At Fault if I Slipped On Someone Else’s Property?
Discovering who is at fault is often difficult. You may fall on a neighbor’s sidewalk, but where the injury occurs may be on rental property. Or a slip-and-fall accident may come about because a snow removal company failed to remove the snow, or downspouts have redirected water from the roof onto the sidewalk.
Slip-and-fall lawsuits often involve multiple parties. It is important to name all parties at fault in a lawsuit or risk not receiving full compensation. An attorney can make certain that you name all of the responsible parties in the suit and do not miss out on compensation payments.
How Can I Recover Compensation Following A Slip-And-Fall Accident?
Recovering compensation following a slip-and-fall accident is not easy. While you may understand that the person who owned the property was responsible for the accident, establishing liability is challenging. What if they deny liability? How do you prove they are responsible? What if they do not have enough money to pay your medical costs and other expenses?
A skilled Chicago personal injury attorney understands what steps to take to ensure you receive full and fair compensation for your injury claim. Attorneys have as resources investigators who can prove that a homeowner or business owner was negligent in the upkeep of their property. They can speak to medical experts who can determine the severity of your injuries.
What If I Don’t Want To Sue A Neighbor Or A Friend After Falling On Their Property?
Where there is property, there is a requirement to own property insurance. It is the insurer rather than the property owner who would ultimately take care of your medical costs and lost wages, pain and suffering, disability and disfigurement damages.
Can I Negotiate A Settlement With Insurance Companies And Negligent Property Owners?
Homeowners and business owners often do not have the financial resources to help slip-and-fall accident victims out. However, they should have property insurance. A personal injury attorney can locate applicable insurance coverage that can help cover medical costs, lost wages, and other expenses that are the result of injuries suffered in a slip-and-fall accident.
Insurance companies and property owners often contest personal injury and premises liability claims. In other instances, they may provide a settlement offer that will not in any way meet your short- and long-term needs. Attorneys can negotiate for a better settlement offer. If no offer is forthcoming, they can take insurance companies and negligent property owners to court.
What Will It Cost To Hire An Attorney In A Slip And Fall Case?
Just like any personal injury case, Illinois lawyers charge fees for premises liability cases on a contingency fee basis. You will not have to pay any upfront legal fees or out-of-pocket expenses. You will not have to pay anything unless the lawyer locates compensation for you.
While this does mean that you will have to give up part of your compensation for the services of an attorney, please understand that the services of a skilled premises liability attorney are invaluable. Even after considering legal fees, those with attorney representation generally receive much more compensation than those without representation at all.
How Much Is A Slip-And-Fall Accident Injury Worth?
It is difficult to calculate how much such a case is worth. Every case is different. Recovery may depend upon the severity of the injuries, the age of the person injured, the wage loss, how the accident occurred, and a variety of other factors.
An injury lawyer from our firm can speak to you and sort out the issues you face during a free initial consultation. We offer representation to individuals in Chicago and throughout the state of Illinois. Due to our experience in trying such cases, we can help you understand all of your legal options. When necessary, we can negotiate for the best settlement offer or file a lawsuit to try your case in court in order to help you obtain fair compensation.
How A Chicago Slip And Fall Accident Attorney Can Help
An important goal of a premises liability case is to hold the property owner or business owner responsible for your injuries because of negligent property maintenance or an unsafe condition that exists on the premises.
At our law firm, our attorneys have more than 40 years of experience representing personal injury clients. We know how to combat the arguments of the property owner or their insurance company to get our clients the compensation they deserve.
It is not uncommon for a premises liability claim to become extremely complicated. It is often difficult to establish liability on the part of the negligent parties, and this is where we come in. We use our skill and knowledge to thoroughly investigate your case, and help show that the owners were aware of the dangers that led to your injury.
Were You Hurt In An Accident On Someone Else’s Property in Chicago, Il?
Contact the law offices of Mark L. Karno & Associates, LLC to talk with to an experienced Chicago slip-and-fall accident lawyer about your case in a free initial consultation. We take all personal injury claims, including slip-and-fall cases, on a contingency fee basis. We don’t charge you fees until we win or settle or your case.
Call our firm at (312) 701-0090 today.
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This page has been researched, written, edited, and reviewed by our legal content team in accordance with our editorial standards. It has been reviewed and approved by attorney Mark L. Karno, founder of Mark L. Karno & Associates, LLC, who brings more than 40 years of experience representing injury victims in Illinois and Florida.