Understanding Illinois Slip-and-Fall Claims

 Posted on August 09, 2025 in Personal Injury

There are very few certainties in life aside from death and taxes, but slip-and-fall accidents are certainly among them. Therefore, being involved in a slip-and-fall accident may seem relatively insignificant. However, slip-and-fall cases may not be as cut and dry as they appear, depending on the details of your injury.

Regardless of the circumstances surrounding your accident, you may be entitled to financial compensation if you were injured in a slip-and-fall accident. Firstly, consider consulting with an experienced Joliet, IL slip-and-fall attorney who will work with you to ensure you understand your rights and that a favorable outcome is pursued in your case.

Important Criteria for Slip-and-Fall Accidents

To have a valid slip-and-fall claim, your situation must meet specific criteria. You must have fallen, either by slipping or tripping on another person’s property or public property. The injuries you sustained from the slip-and-fall accident must have been severe enough to warrant medical treatment.

The cause of your accident must have centered around the failure of the property owner (or the person in control of the property) to act reasonably to remedy an unsafe condition that led to your accident. Gathering facts and evidence is crucial in supporting a slip-and-fall claim. This is the foundation of premises liability claims, including slip-and-fall accidents.

Property owners owe a duty of reasonable care to those on their premises, although the scope of that duty of care may vary depending on the type of visitor. This duty of care extends to maintaining safe conditions and warning visitors of any known hazards. Different standards apply for trespassers, social guests, and business visitors.

While there is no duty of care owed to trespassers, property owners are not permitted to create hazards on their property to deliberately injure a trespasser. There is a higher duty of care owed to customers, business visitors, and tenants (known as invitees) than to social guests in your home. A knowledgeable slip-and-fall attorney will investigate the particulars of your case to determine whether negligence was the direct cause of your slip-and-fall accident.

Locations Where Slip-and-Fall Accidents Often Occur

People are eligible to file slip-and-fall claims on essentially any sort of property, including but not limited to: 

• Apartment buildings and complexes
• Healthcare centers like hospitals or health clinics
• Hotels
• Restaurants
• Bars
• Office buildings
• Recreation centers, such as a pool or theme park
• Carwash
• Hair salons 
• Stores
• Private properties 
• Government buildings
• Public buildings

What is crucial in any slip-and-fall case is whether the property owner's carelessness caused your accident. This means they knew or should have known that unsafe conditions existed on their premises and failed to remedy the hazardous situation promptly.

Examples of Unsafe Conditions That May Lead to a Slip-and-Fall

Unsafe conditions may include the following: 

• Loose hoses or cords that create a tripping hazard.
• Cluttered walkways or obstructions left in walkways
• Damaged or missing guardrails on stairs 
• Broken stairs
• Loose or torn carpeting
• Weather-related hazards
• Uneven flooring heights
• Damaged flooring
• Spilled liquids, cleaning products, or melted ice that creates slick surfaces.
• Recently mopped floors with no warning signs
• Poor lighting, especially in stairwells, parking lots, and hallways
• Cracked sidewalks
• Failing to designate unsafe areas, like the area around a construction site 

It is essential to note that the legal standard is "reasonable" rather than "perfect." For instance, in Illinois, property owners cannot be held liable for ordinary snow and ice accumulations or deficiencies in their elimination.  

What is the "Open and Obvious" Defense in Illinois?

In the state of Illinois, the "open and obvious" defense in premises liability claims argues that a property owner is not liable for injuries caused by a hazardous condition if that condition was easily observable and understood by a reasonable person. In short, property owners have no duty to warn or protect someone from a hazard they should have noticed on their own.

For example, a person injured by stepping into a large pothole in a parking lot may not be able to sue if the pothole was easily seen and avoidable. The "open and obvious" defense hinges on the reasonable person standard: would a reasonable person have observed the hazard and understood the danger?

What Compensation Can You Seek Following a Slip-and-Fall Accident?

While every accident and injury is different, generally speaking, you will be able to seek "special" damages, which are those that can be easily quantified – that is, there is a precise monetary amount attached. These damages include current and future medical expenses, lost wages, and future lost wages.

"General" damages are those that are not as easily quantified, like pain and suffering. Pain can include actual physical pain as well as mental pain and trauma resulting from the injuries. The loss of a normal life, or the inability to enjoy life, are general damages. Disfigurement and disability also fall under general, or non-economic damages. Non-economic damages are very subjective, therefore, require evaluation of personal testimony and expert opinions, and are also more challenging to calculate.  

What Should You Do After a Slip-and-Fall Injury?

Always, always seek immediate medical attention following a slip-and-fall accident. The rush of adrenaline your body experiences following an accident can often mask serious injuries. At the time of your fall, your only goal may be getting up and disappearing because you are embarrassed. If you later find you suffered serious injuries as a result of the slip-and-fall, it can be much more challenging to file a claim for damages.

Even if you think you are not seriously hurt, seek medical attention. Report the incident to the property owner or manager, and document everything by taking photos of the hazard that caused your slip-and-fall accident with your phone. Avoid giving a recorded statement to anyone until you have spoken to your own lawyer. The sooner you contact an experienced premises liability attorney, the better your outcome is likely to be.   

Contact a Will County, IL Personal Injury Attorney 

If you sustained a slip-and-fall injury and believe the negligence of another may be responsible, contact a knowledgeable Joliet, IL slip-and-fall lawyer from McNamara Phelan McSteen, LLC to pursue the compensation you may be entitled to. We are a midsize, aggressive law firm with specific experience in different fields; an attorney with appropriate experience in your area will handle your case. Call 815-727-0100 today to schedule your free, comprehensive consultation.