What if the Dangerous Condition That Caused My Injury in Chicago Was Temporary?

When you’re injured due to a temporary dangerous condition in Chicago, you may have a viable personal injury case. The key to a favorable outcome is establishing that the property owner, tenant, or legal occupier was aware or should have been aware of the temporary unsafe condition that caused your accident. Cases involving temporary conditions pose unique challenges, such as the likelihood of the temporary hazard being cleaned up or fixed right after the incident.

Call DePaolo & Zadeikis personal injury lawyers at 312-263-7560 for a free consultation about your situation.

Examples of Temporary Dangerous Conditions in Illinois

Illinois property owners, businesses, and other parties controlling a premises are legally required to ensure the property is reasonably safe. Unfortunately, lapses occur, leading to dangerous conditions that create a risk of injury to visitors.

A dangerous condition on private property or a public space can be temporary or permanent. Permanent conditions have existed over an extended period and often result from poor design, construction, or maintenance. Temporary dangerous conditions are hazards that arise unexpectedly due to factors that are transitory or temporary in nature.

Common temporary dangerous conditions include:

Wet and Slippery Walking Surfaces

Wet or slippery floors can result from temporary conditions like:

• Spills
• Wax
• Water tracked in by shoes during snowy or rainy weather
• Leaks
• Cleaning activities

Without adequate safety measures like proper signage and mats, these conditions leave people vulnerable to slip and fall accidents. Slips, trips, and falls are a leading cause of work-related injuries and deaths. They accounted for 13% of fatal work injuries in Illinois in 2022.

Loose Floor Coverings

Rugs, mats, and carpets can become loose, unsecured, or buckled unexpectedly. These can cause unsuspecting visitors to lose their footing.

Cluttered Pathways

Products and boxes left in aisles, cords, tools and equipment not stored safely when not in use, and other items and debris left in people’s paths can easily cause slips, trips, and falls. Construction sites usually have a wide range of temporary slipping and tripping hazards, such as loose cords and cables, dispersed equipment, poor weather conditions, and debris left on walkways and roadways. These also pose crash risks, such as when debris on the road causes accidents.

Ice or Snow Buildup

An accumulation of ice or snow during the harsh Illinois winters can make outdoor steps, walkways, sidewalks, entrances, and stairs slick. These can increase the risk of slips and falls if appropriate safety measures, such as prompt removal and salting, aren’t taken.

Is There Legal Recourse for Injuries Caused by Temporary Conditions?

If you suffer injuries caused by temporary dangerous conditions on someone else’s property, you can seek compensation for your injuries from the property owner, manager, or occupier by filing a slip and fall claim or lawsuit. The process of recovering damages begins with filing an insurance claim with the responsible party’s insurer. Most slip and fall claims are settled through out-of-court settlements. If a satisfactory settlement agreement can’t be reached, you may have to file a lawsuit in civil court.

What Must You Prove in a Slip and Fall Case Involving a Temporary Condition?

While strategizing on how to win a slip and fall case involving a temporary condition, you’ll need to know how to prove liability against the operator or owner of the place where you sustained injuries. Negligence is fundamental to establishing liability.

Proving negligence in slip and fall cases involving temporary dangerous conditions requires demonstrating that the property owner or tenant had actual or constructive knowledge of the hazardous condition.

Actual Knowledge

Actual knowledge means that the responsible party was directly aware of the dangerous condition. You can prove this by demonstrating that the party directly observed the hazard or was informed about it before your accident.

You can prove the property owner had actual knowledge of the temporary hazard if you can show the property owner or its agents, such as employees, created the condition. For example, a grocery store can be found to have created a hazardous condition and thus have actual knowledge if its employee spills water on the floor, and you later slip on the wet floor and injure yourself.

A property owner will also have knowledge of the hazardous condition if there’s evidence of dangerous condition complaints regarding the same condition that caused your injury. Statements from the witnesses who reported the hazard prior to your accident will be critical.

You could also prove actual notice through an employee’s statement. For example, after your accident, an employee could tell you or someone else that he or she had seen the hazard earlier or intended to clean it before the incident in question.

Constructive Knowledge

Constructive knowledge means the defendant should’ve known of the hazardous condition’s presence. You can prove the defendant had constructive knowledge of the hazard by showing that the condition had existed for long enough that the defendant should’ve known about it if ordinary care like regular inspections and maintenance had been exercised.

For example, suppose a box had been dropped in the aisle of a clothing store and was sitting there for more than 30 minutes before you tripped over it. The owner could be held liable for your accident, even if he or she didn’t know about the dropped box. You can assert that the owner should have taken reasonable steps to monitor the aisles for hazards and picked up the box before your accident. Long-standing conditions result in stronger claims.

Evidence like surveillance footage, eyewitness accounts, and even expert testimony can help show how long a hazard existed before your slip and fall incident. Dirt, mold, and track marks or footprints in a foreign substance on the floor can help show the hazard had existed long enough, and the property owner should’ve been aware of it.

You could also show constructive knowledge if there were employees close to where the hazard was, and the position of the employees was such that they could have easily seen and removed the hazard.

Causation

To be entitled to compensation, you’ll still need to establish the basic legal concept of causation. You’ll need to demonstrate that the temporary condition directly resulted in your slip and fall accident and injuries. Evidence like medical records, witness statements, and expert testimony can help prove causation.

Steps to Take When a Temporary Condition Leads to an Injury

When you’ve been injured on someone else’s property due to a temporary condition, you should act quickly to protect your legal rights.

• Gather evidence: Take photos of where your accident occurred, including the hazard, before it’s rectified. Record a video if you can. If you can’t take these steps due to your injuries, you can ask someone else, such as a family member or friend, to do it for you. A personal injury lawyer can also help you collect this evidence.
• Gather witness information: Identify witnesses and collect their contact information.
• Get medical treatment: Seek prompt medical attention, even if your injury seems minor. Save all bills and statements.
• Record everything: Write down all that you can remember about the incident as soon as possible. It’s also advisable to record how your injuries affect your daily life.
• Contact a lawyer: The earlier you engage an experienced personal injury lawyer, the better.

How a Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help in Chicago

A personal injury lawyer will play several roles as you navigate the legal process after your slip and fall accident in Chicago.

When you speak to a personal injury attorney, the attorney will evaluate the circumstances of your case to determine if you have a viable claim. When an attorney takes on your case, one of the first things the attorney will do is conduct thorough investigations to gather the facts of your slip and fall accident and identify the parties that may be liable and the available insurance coverage.

Your attorney will collect as much evidence as possible, including medical records, surveillance footage, photographs from the location, witness statements, and maintenance records, to support your case. He or she may send a spoliation letter to have surveillance footage preserved. Your attorney may also enlist experts to testify on your behalf and help build a strong case.

A personal injury lawyer will help with paperwork and ensure the timely filing of your injury claims. Insurance companies are notorious for maximizing a victim’s share of fault and undervaluing claims. Your lawyer will protect you from unfair accusations, advise you on the suitability of any settlement offer you receive, and negotiate aggressively with the opposing party and the insurance company to secure a fair settlement. If a fair settlement agreement can’t be reached, your personal injury lawyer will take your case to court and represent you at trial to ensure you get fair compensation.

With over 30 years of experience handling personal injury cases in Chicago, DePaolo & Zadeikis personal injury lawyers know how to build a strong case on your behalf and fight tirelessly to ensure you receive maximum compensation for your injuries. Contact us today so we can get started on your case.