The high foot traffic in retail stores means slip and fall accidents occur in these establishments regularly. However, when you’ve suffered a slip and fall at a store in Illinois, what rights do you have to seek financial compensation for losses stemming from your injuries?
Common Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents in Retail Stores
Some of the most frequent causes of slip and fall accidents in retail stores include:
- Spilled food or liquids
- Rainwater, snow, or ice tracked in from outside
- Recently mopped or waxed floors
- Cluttered walkways
- Uneven flooring
- Torn carpeting or broken floor tiles
- Inadequate lighting
- Leaky water pipes or refrigerated/frozen displays
Legal Responsibilities of Store Owners in Illinois
The law imposes various legal responsibilities and liability for store owners when patrons slip and fall on their premises. Under Illinois law, a store owner owes customers a duty of reasonable care under the circumstances. For retail stores, reasonable care requires owners to take diligent steps to maintain safe premises. For example, a store owner must undertake reasonable inspection efforts to discover hazards that may develop on the premises, such as spilled products or damaged flooring. When a store owner finds a hazard, they must fix or remove it within a reasonable time or warn customers of the hazard by placing noticeable warning signs or cordoning off the area. Store owners who do not implement reasonable inspection methods or do not remedy or block off hazardous conditions within a reasonable time after discovering them may become liable to customers who sustain injuries in slip and fall accidents.
Your Rights After a Slip and Fall Accident
After a slip and fall accident in a retail store in Illinois, you may have the right to seek compensation from the store owner if the store’s negligent maintenance of their premises led to the accident. In a slip and fall accident claim, you might obtain a financial recovery for your:
- Costs of medical treatment and rehabilitation
- Costs of long-term care if you develop severe permanent or prolonged disabilities
- Lost wages/income if you need to miss work due to your injuries
- Lost future earning capacity due to protracted/permanent disabilities that prevent you from returning to work
- Physical pain and anguish
- Emotional trauma or distress caused by disabilities or severe, visible scarring or disfigurement
Your financial compensation in a slip and fall accident claim may also depend on whether you share any responsibility for the accident, such as if you disregarded a warning sign or ran across an obvious slipping hazard.
You can best protect your right to financial recovery by thoroughly investigating your claim and securing critical evidence, such as:
- Accident scene photos or video
- Surveillance footage
- Eyewitness statements
- Accident/incident reports
- Accident reconstruction or engineering expert reports
What to Do After Suffering a Slip and Fall
Steps to take after a slip and fall at a store in Illinois include:
- Report the accident to the store owner or manager and request they preserve any surveillance footage. Ask for a copy of any accident or incident report they prepare.
- Take photos of the accident scene and your injuries.
- Seek prompt medical attention and follow your doctor’s treatment recommendations and recovery instructions.
- Keep all bills, invoices, or receipts for your medical treatment, and gather your pay stubs/income statements if you miss time from work.
- Contact a slip and fall accident attorney to discuss your rights to pursue an injury claim.
Contact a Slip and Fall Accident Attorney
After suffering a slip and fall accident in a retail store in Illinois, you need experienced legal advocacy to protect your rights and interests. Contact Saperstein Law Group today for a free, no-obligation consultation with a slip and fall accident lawyer to discuss your options for compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering from injuries you sustained in a fall.