Premises Liability Lawyer in Grand Ridge, IL

Premises liability lawyer in Grand Ridge, IL. If you were seriously injured on someone else’s property, you are owed compensation under the law. Call the Grand Ridge, IL personal injury lawyers of Burger Law at (618) 500-HURT or contact us online for a no-risk, no-obligation consultation.

If you were injured through no fault of your own in Grand Ridge, IL, discover how much your injuries may be worth by using our free personal injury calculator.

If you were injured because of a property owner or manager’s negligence, get medical care as soon as possible. Then, contact Burger Law. Our attorneys have over 80 years of combined litigation experience holding negligent people in Grand Ridge, IL accountable. You did nothing to deserve being injured, but with our dedicated team and extraordinary level of legal advocacy, you can be made whole again. The decision to hire a premises liability lawyer is an important one; once you agree to a settlement or get a jury decision, you can never make a claim for the same injuries again. You are owed full compensation for all of your damages, and we will not stop fighting until you get it. To date, we have gotten more than $200 million in verdicts and settlements for the injured in a wide range of personal injury cases. Let us work for your financial recovery so you can focus on healing. Call a Burger Law Grand Ridge, IL premises liability lawyer immediately at (618) 500-HURT for a free case evaluation.

Award-Winning Premises Liability Lawyers That Deliver

Choosing the right personal injury lawyer for your claim is crucial. You want someone with a history of winning similar cases and who you know is not afraid to take the case to trial if they have to. In order to gauge the abilities of an injury law firm, you need to look at their previous victories, and their reputation among their clients and peers. The many awards, honors and accolades Burger Law has received from the Grand Ridge, IL legal community include:

• Martindale-Hubbell Award — AV Preeminent® Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® from NexisLexis® – a remarkable achievement awarded to less than 5 percent of all lawyers nationwide
• Million and Multi-Million Dollar Advocate Honor — Members of the Million and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, an honor only given to 1 percent of attorneys in the United States.
• Top 100 Trial Lawyers Honor — Selected to the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by The National Trial Lawyers, an invitation-only honor that is comprised of the most qualified attorneys in each state.
• Board Certified By the National Board of Trial Advocacy — Board certified in Civil Trial Advocacy and Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Fewer than 4 percent of all practicing lawyers are certified by an ABA accredited certification board.

A premises liability lawyer can say just about anything, but having a demonstrated track record of success is another matter entirely. Some of our recent premises liability case victories are:

• $1.435 Million Settlement After Extensive Litigation For Deck Collapse That Injured Couple
• Widow in ATV Accident Settles with Property Owner – $600,000 Settlement
• $400,000 Settlement in Employer Sexual Assault Case
• $350,000 Settlement in Ladder Case
• $300,000 Settlement for Slip and Fall Case
• $270,000 Settlement For Construction Site Bike Accident
• $250,000 Slip and Fall Settlement
• $250,000 Settlement in Icy Slip and Fall Suit
• $232,000 Workers’ Compensation Settlement
• $150,000 Settlement Days Before Trial
• $125,000 Slip and Fall Success
• $125,000 Settlement in Trip and Fall Case
• $125,000 Settlement in Auditorium Fall
• $120,000 Settlement For Gateway Arch Worker Injured on Tram
• $117,500 Slip and Fall Settlement
• $0 to $70,000 in Parking Lot Injury Case

Elements in an Illinois Premises Liability Claim

Under The Illinois Premises Liability Act, those in control of a property, meaning whoever owns it or is in control of it, generally have a duty of reasonable care to protect visitors from unreasonable harm because of dangerous conditions on the property, by either fixing the hazard or by warning guests that its there. That can mean dangerous conditions that they either had direct knowledge of or should have known about. If the hazard was “open and obvious,” for example, open flames, you may not be able to make a claim.

Examples of a dangerous condition can include:

• Wet spots on floors that are not cleaned up or are not warned against
• Broken pavement
• Loose railings
• Unsecured flooring
• Unsecured extension cords
• Broken stairs
• Faulty doors
• Slippery surfaces due to ice, snow, or water
• Uneven walking surfaces
• Poorly designed or repaired playground equipment
• Bad building craftsmanship
• Insufficient lighting
• Falling debris
• Broken locks or negligent security measures
• Pools without barriers or lifeguards on duty
• Vicious animals
• Poor electrical wiring

If you were misusing the property, for example, “goofing off” or being on a part of the property that was cordoned off, the property owner or manager generally does not has a responsibility to keep you from harm.

To prove a premises liability claim in Grand Ridge, IL, you must prove four conditions:

1. That the defendant owed you a duty of reasonable care
2. That there was a dangerous condition on the premises
3. That the party in possession of the property knew or should have known about it
4. That they did not use reasonable care to warn, fix or discover the dangerous condition
5. That the dangerous condition caused you injuries

Two Exceptions to “Open and Obvious” in Illinois Premises Liability Laws

There are two exceptions to the “open and obvious” doctrine:

1. The “Distraction” ExceptionIn Ward v. K Mart Corp (185 Ill. App. 3d 153 (Ill. App. Ct. 1989)), the Illinois Supreme Court adopted a “distraction exception.” If an owner should predict that you may not appreciate a hazard because you may be distracted by something else on the property, they still owe you a duty of reasonable care. For example, if a retail store has signs on the wall promoting their sales, and you tripped because you were not looking at the ground, the distraction exception may apply. The exception does not include self-created distractions, for example looking at your phone.
2. The “Deliberate Encounter” ExceptionThe second exception is when the hazard may be apparent, but the benefits to proceeding outweigh the risks. In LaFever v. Kemlite Company (185 Ill. 2d 380 (Ill. 1998) 706 N.E.2d 441), the Illinois Supreme Court found that the person in charge of a property owed a duty of care to a man who fell because of hazardous material near a dumpster. The hazard was easy to see, but as it was the man’s job to empty the dumpster, the owner should have expected that the man would encounter the material.

Types of Visitors in Grand Ridge, IL Premises Liability Claims

How much responsibility the property owner or manager owes you is based on what kind of visitor you are. In Illinois, there are three categories of visitors:

Invitees and Licensees

Invitees are people that enter the property for the property owners’s financial benefit, for example customers in a store or attendees of a sporting event. People on public land, such as libraries or parks, are also considered invitees.

A licensee is someone that is on the premises with the consent of the owner or manager, but not for business purposes. Common examples include social guests, a utility company working on your property, someone you let hunt on your land at no cost or someone stopping into a restaurant only to ask for directions.

Illinois law used to distinguish between invitees and licensees — and many states still do. However, since the current Illinois Premises Liability Act when into effect on September 12, 1984, the duty of care owed to invitees and licensees is the same.

Trespassers

A trespasser is someone who enters a property against a possessor’s wishes. Because the possessor did not invite them to the premises, the Illinois Pattern Jury Instructions states that owners owe no duty to a trespasser, with a few exceptions:

• If a property owner knows or should know that a trespasser is on the premises, they cannot injure the trespasser willfully or wantonly.
• If an owner knew there was an artificial structure that could seriously injure a trespasser, and the owner knew or had to reason to believe trespassers would be on the property, they have a duty to warn against the condition.
• If the owner is conducting activities, for example construction, and knows there is a trespasser who could become injured by the activity, they have a duty to try to avoid injuring the trespasser.
• According to the common law principle of attractive nuisance, in some states, property owners are strictly liable – or automatically liable – if a child comes onto the property because of a dangerous condition that might be attractive to a child and the child is hurt. Examples of an attractive nuisance include swimming pools, trampolines, abandoned wells or power tools. In Kahn v. James Burton Co. (5 Ill. 2d 614 (Ill. 1955) 126 N.E.2d 836), the Illinois Supreme Court deemed that strict liability does not apply to attractive nuisance cases. Instead, owners could be held liable based on standard negligence and the relative cost of fixing the issue. To make a premises liability claim for a child under attractive nuisance, you must show that:
  • The owner had reason to believe a child may come onto the property,
  • The nuisance could cause harm to a child
  • A child would likely not understand the risks, and
  • The cost of protecting the child from the danger was relatively low

If you are unsure about whether the possessor of the property owed you a duty of care and violated it, your experienced premises liability lawyer with Burger Law will help you make sense of your situation and get you the best possible legal outcome in your situation. Talk to a premises liability lawyer in Grand Ridge, IL about your injuries immediately at (618) 500-HURT or fill in online form.

Common Premises Liability Injuries in Grand Ridge, IL

We have gotten great results for our Grand Ridge, IL clients with a wide range of premises liability injuries, including:

• Fractures
• Back, neck and spine injuries
• Concussions and other traumatic brain injuries
• Burns
• Electric shocks
• Joint injuries

What Can a Premises Liability Lawyer in Grand Ridge, IL Do For My Claim?

Premises liability claims are zealously defended against by Grand Ridge, IL insurance companies. They may say that your injuries are your fault, or say that the possessor did not owe you a duty of care. An experienced premises liability lawyer in Grand Ridge, IL like those at Burger Law will not let that happen. A premises liability lawyer in Grand Ridge, IL can help level the playing field against a powerful insurance company. When you hire us, we will immediately get to work demanding full compensation. As part of our legal services we will:

• Perform a complete investigation into your accident and determine who is liable
• Obtain evidence such as depositions from witnesses and others who know of the dangerous condition, accident reports, pictures, security footage and expert testimony
• Determine how the person in control of the property neglected their duty of care
• Compute how much your claim is worth, including your medical bills, lost wages, lost earning potential, pain and suffering and mental anguish, to ensure you get the best compensation possible
• Resist dishonest tactics from the insurance adjuster attempting to avoid paying you
• Negotiate a settlement with the insurance company
• Answer any questions you may have at any any point in the process
• Take the case in front of a judge and jury if we cannot get you the fair financial recovery you deserve in negotiations

We have earned both our exceptional reputation and our clients’ compensation through hard work diligence and a “never back down” frame of mind. We do not stop fighting until there is nothing left to fight.

Resources to Help With Your Premises Liability Claim in Grand Ridge, IL

Most of our clients have never had to deal with making an injury claim before, and do not know how to proceed, or even how to know which lawyer to hire. Fortunately, we have literally written the book on essential questions to ask before picking a lawyer or settling your case, which you can download at no cost by providing your name and email below.

We also offer a number of other free resources on our website.

• Illinois Personal Injury Resources
• How a Lawsuit Works
• Legal Glossary for Personal Injury Claims
• Legal Podcasts
• Premises Liability Blog

What Are the Most Common Types of Grand Ridge, IL Premises Liability Claims?

What Are the Most Common Types of Grand Ridge, IL Premises Liability Claims?

At Burger Law, we have had success in a variety of premises liability claims in Grand Ridge, IL, including:

• Slip and falls
• Inadequate security
• Claims against restaurants
• Assault and sexual assault
• Elevator and escalator accidents
• Fire and smoke injuries
• Grocery or retail store injuries
• School and daycare accidents
• Claims against bars and restaurant
• Claims against landlords
• Claims against hotels
• Swimming pool accidents
• Amusement park accidents
• Exposure to toxic chemicals or substances
• Dog bites and other animal attacks

If you were injured on someone else’s property because of the possessor’s negligence, you deserve to be compensated, no matter where or how the accident happened. Never believe an insurance adjuster or property owner when they say they do not have to pay you.

Grand Ridge, IL Premises Liability Lawyer: Frequently Asked Questions

How Much Can I Receive in Compensation?

The true value of your claim depends on the specifics of your claim:

• How serious your injuries are and how much they have affected you financially, physically and mentally
• If your injuries led to long-lasting disability
• Whether you will need future medical treatment
• Whether or not you are partially to blame for your injuries
• The insurance coverage’s policy limits, and whether there is more insurance available

Your Grand Ridge, IL premises liability lawyer at Burger Law will not accept anything but full compensation when settling your claim.

Can I Still Receive Compensation if I Was Partially at Fault for My Accident?

You can still make a claim for compensation, although the amount will be less. Illinois is what is considered a modified contributory fault state, which means that you can recover for the portion of the fault you do not share.

Meaning, if your damages total $100,000 but you share 30 percent of the blame for your accident, you can recover $70,000. It is important to note that 735 ILCS 5/ §2-1116 states that:

The plaintiff shall be barred from recovering damages if the trier of fact finds that the contributory fault on the part of the plaintiff is more than 50 percent of the proximate cause of the injury or damage for which recovery is sought.

That means that if you are over half to blame for the accident, you cannot make a recovery in Grand Ridge, IL. Your Burger Law premises liability lawyer will know how to prove that you are not responsible for the harm someone else caused.

How Long Do I Have to File a Premises Liability Claim in Grand Ridge, IL?

In Illinois, the statute of limitations is shorter than most states at two years, according to 735 ILCS 5/. That means you must file a claim within two years of when the injury occurred. However, there are a couple of notable exceptions:

1. If you were a minor when the injury occurred, you have until your 20th birthday.
2. If you had a “legal disability” at the time of your injury, you have two years from the date the disability was “removed.”

Following an injury that happened because of somebody else’s negligence, there is no time to wait. You only have one opportunity to get a full financial recovery, and the clock is already ticking. Do not delay, call us as soon as possible at 312-500-HURT.

What if I Was Injured Because of a Dangerous Condition at a Friend or Family Member’s House?

If you were injured as a guest in somebody else’s home, you should still file a claim with their insurance company. While the notion of “suing” a family member or friend is awkward at best, the truth is you are merely insisting that their insurance cover the expenses related to your injuries as part of their contract with the homeowner. No good friend or family member would want to see you under financial hardships because of an injury.

Can I Sue the State of Illinois or Another Government Entity in Grand Ridge, IL for Premises Liability?

Generally, the Illinois State Lawsuit Immunity Act prohibits the state from being named the defendant in an injury claim. However, the Illinois Court of Claims Act allows you to make claims for injuries, assuming you could make a claim against a private person in a similar situation. So, the state has the same duty to warn against or fix dangerous conditions on public lands, such as roads or libraries, as any other property owner would be.

Instead of a two-year statute of limitation, claims against the government must be filed within one year of the injury. There are also unique rules for filing your claim with the State Attorney General and Clerk of the Court of Claims. By contacting a knowledgeable premises liability lawyer, you can ensure everything goes smoothly.

In addition to premises liability, other claims we take on in Grand Ridge, IL include:

• Truck Crash Lawyers in Illinois
• Wrongful Death Lawyers in Illinois
• Semi-Truck Accident Lawyer in Illinois
• Car Accident Attorney in Illinois

Hire Burger Law

Speak to a Premises Liability Lawyer in Grand Ridge, IL Today

Property owners and their insurance companies often do not want to take responsibility for their negligence. Burger Law knows how to fight back. We know you did not expect to be injured, but, with Burger Law, you can expect full compensation and the best possible results in your claim. We insist on nothing but the best possible compensation, and offer nothing but the highest standard of legal advocacy. Speak to a Burger Law Grand Ridge, IL premises liability attorney today at 312-500-HURT or fill out our online contact form for a free case review.

Client Reviews

What our clients are saying about us

Juanita Matthews

Year of 2023

This law firm is absolutely amazing. They took on my case, when nobody else would! They fought hard for me when it seemed there was no hope. They kept me informed and always asked for my input before making decisions on my case. Gary puts himself into every case unlike most law firm owners. Gary and his team really care about every one of their clients, and fights hard to get you a fair settlement. They actually won my case out of court, and then reduced my fees to make sure I could get my car fixed and be able to get back to some normality. I would recommend Burger Law over and above any other firm! If you go somewhere else you aren’t getting the best!

Shaunda S.

7 months ago

I am very happy with the staff at Burger Law. I mostly worked with Michael Sheldon, and he did an amazing job. I trusted him completely with my case, and he did not disappoint. I would definitely recommend this team if your ever in need of good attorneys.

Emelia M.

3 months ago

Burger Law Firm is fantastic. Laura and Genevieve were so amazing and helpful throughout the entire process. They helped me with my personal injury case every step of the way and succeeded at getting me the results I desired.

Helen L.

a year ago

We had a great experience with Burger Law for representing us after a serious car accident. Truly impressed by how professional and supportive the entire team is. And, many thanks to Genavieve and Laura – you are amazing!

Judy M.

a year ago

They did an amazing job on my case! Communication with them was great!!! Kept me informed and in the loop with everything that was going on!!! Will definitely be the 1st ones I’ll call if ever I’m in another accident!!! Thank you very much!!!

Chelsea C.

5 months ago

Let me tell you something about Burger Law.. they are so attentive and kind. Jennifer is my savior!! I love the whole team!!! They are truly a miracle team!! I appreciate their business and would recommend it to others.

David D.

2 months ago

Absolutely the best law firm in the St. Louis area. No matter the size of your case you are treated as if you are the only client on the roster. Will explain anything thoroughly and they work around your availability. Very impressed and appreciative of the service.

Lisa B.

11 months ago

Gary and Casey took great care of me for 2.5 years as my lawsuit was finally settled. I feel he helped me achieve justice for me and my 4 children after their father died from medical malpractice and neglect. Thanks to Gary, my kids now have a great start to their college and adult lives. Thank you Gary and Casey, for fighting for us so hard at our most trying and difficult time in our lives thus far. Love and God bless from my family to yours!

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