Illinois Premises Liability Lawyer

What duty does an Illinois property owner owe?

Illinois law generally requires owners and occupiers to use reasonable care toward anyone lawfully on the property. Illinois eliminated the old distinction between invitees and licensees, so a customer and a social guest are treated alike.

Reasonable care means keeping the property in a reasonably safe condition, inspecting for hazards, and fixing or warning about dangers the owner knew or should have known about. Trespassers are treated differently and receive far less protection.

Owners often argue that a hazard was open and obvious, such as a clearly visible curb or a large hole. Even then, an owner may still be responsible if it should have expected visitors to be distracted or to face the hazard anyway, such as a single entrance that everyone must use.

The key questions are usually what the owner knew, how long the hazard existed and what a reasonable owner would have done. Our general premises liability guide explains these questions in more detail.

Why are Illinois snow and ice falls so hard to win?

Because Illinois generally does not hold owners liable for natural accumulations of snow and ice. A fall on fresh snow that simply fell from the sky is usually not enough.

Claims become stronger when the ice was unnatural or made worse by the owner. Examples include:

• A downspout that dumps water onto a walkway, where it freezes overnight.
• Snow piled where melting runoff crosses a parking lot.
• A poorly designed entrance that collects water and refreezes.
• Snow removal that leaves a dangerous ridge or a slick patch.

Illinois also has a law that protects residential owners who clear snow from sidewalks in front of their homes, unless their conduct was willful or wanton. That protection does not generally extend to businesses.

How does fault sharing play out in an Illinois fall?

Your recovery is reduced by your share of fault, and it is barred if you are more than 50% at fault. Property owners often argue that the visitor should have seen the hazard.

Here is an example. A customer trips on a torn mat at the entrance of a Chicago store and breaks a wrist, with $70,000 in losses. The store says the customer was looking at a phone. If a jury finds the customer 30% at fault, the recovery is $49,000. At 50%, it is $35,000. At 51%, there is nothing.

Store video, inspection logs, prior complaints and photos of the mat often decide how fault is divided.

What about injuries at Illinois casinos, stadiums and hotels?

These businesses must keep their property reasonably safe for guests, just like any other owner. Illinois has seen a large expansion of casinos and gaming locations, and crowded gaming floors, parking garages and entrances are common settings for falls.

Hotels, stadiums, concert venues and shopping centers face the same duty. Spilled drinks, broken escalators, poorly lit stairwells and crowd control failures are common causes of claims. Video gaming terminals have also spread to bars, restaurants and truck stops across the state, and the same duty of care applies at those smaller locations.

When is an owner responsible for a crime on the property?

When the crime was foreseeable and the owner failed to take reasonable security steps. Apartment buildings, parking garages, bars, hotels and gas stations are common settings for negligent security claims.

Prior crimes on the property, broken locks and gates, poor lighting and missing security staff are key evidence. A landlord who ignored repeated reports of a broken entry door may be responsible for an assault by an intruder. Courts look closely at whether the specific type of crime was foreseeable, and a history of similar incidents at the same property usually carries more weight than general crime rates for the neighborhood.

How are claims against public property handled in Illinois?

Claims against Chicago and other local public entities generally must be filed in court within 1 year. Those entities also have immunities that do not apply to private owners, including protections for some weather-related conditions.

Public sidewalks, parks, schools, libraries and transit stations are common settings for these claims. Illinois also protects many landowners who open land to the public for recreation, which can limit claims on trails and open land. Our page on government and public property injury claims explains these rules.

If a fall led to a death, our Illinois wrongful death page explains the family's options. For deadlines and other claim types, see our main Illinois page. Our team offers a free case review, and there is no fee unless we win.