Slip and Fall Cases: Landlord Responsibility to Their Tenants

 Posted on July 18, 2017 in Personal Injury

More than 930,000 residents call DuPage County home, and anyone who has lived here for over a year understands the significance in fluctuation of weather patterns. Everything from sunshine to snow causes damage to buildings and other structures.Therefore, it is especially important that landlords repair damages as soon as possible to precent tenants from being injured, or even killed, in slip and fall accidents.

Potential Damage From a Slip and Fall

Slip and fall accidents occur when a person trips, slips, loses balance, or otherwise falls and an an injury results. Causes of slip and fall accidents may be due to any number of outside forces. Perhaps the paint on the concrete was wet with rain and therefore caused loss of traction. The sidewalk may have been cracked and caused one's foot to catch. Or, an object may have been in the walkway that was not appropriately flagged or otherwise signaled and caused tripping.

No matter the cause, significant damage is possible in any slip and fall accident, including:

• Pulled muscles;
• Stretched tendons;
• Sprains;
• Ruined knees;
• Broken wrists and ankles;
• Shattered collarbones;
• Tailbone bruises and fractures;
• Spinal cord injuries;
• Skull fractures; and
• Traumatic brain injuries.

Landlord Responsibility

Landlords and property owners have the responsibility and duty to properly maintain common areas such as pool areas, gardens, sidewalks, and stairwells. If there are dangers present—wet floors, cracked sidewalks, etc.—proper precautions should be taken to ensure that everyone is aware of the potential risks.

A landlord is directly responsible if he or she behaved negligently and did not err on the side of caution to prevent possible injury. The owner or landlord must have:

• Created the unsafe condition;
• Known the hazard existed and failed to correct it; or
• Known disrepair went on for an extended period of time and ignored it.

An Injury is an Injury, No Matter How Small

If you slip, trip, or fall, then your first course of action should be to seek immediate medical treatment. Moreover, if you experience mobility difficulties, go to an emergency room if necessary. Our first concern is your health and safety. Second, if the incident occurred on someone else’s property due to the negligence of the owner or property manager, contact a knowledgeable DuPage County, IL slip and fall personal injury attorney. The attorneys at Mevorah & Giglio Law Offices are available to take your case and would love to sit down and answer your questions. To schedule your free and confidential initial consultation, call 630-932-9100 today. We have 3 convenient locations to better serve you, including Lombard, Bloomingdale, and Naperville.

Source:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=2048&ChapterID=57