Apartment living certainly has its advantages. However, one major disadvantage of living in an apartment or rental house is that the tenant has little control over the property’s upkeep. When a landlord fails to keep a rental property in a reasonably safe condition and a tenant is harmed as a result, the tenant may be able to sue the property owner for damages. The tenant may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages caused by missed work, pain and suffering, and more.

Injuries Caused by Negligent Landlords

Whether a landlord is an individual or a company, the landlord owes tenants a legal “duty of care.” The landlord has an obligation to keep the premises free of obvious hazards that could cause injury. If a landlord fails to uphold this duty and a tenant is injured or killed as a result, the landlord may be liable for damages. Some common examples of unsafe conditions include:

• Failing to install working smoke detectors or ensure the property has adequate fire escapes
• Inadequate security measures such as broken locks
• Poor lighting
• Broken stairs
• Missing handrails
• Broken or dangerous balconies
• Building code violations
• Not removing snow and ice from the property per the lease agreement
• Parking lot defects
• Electrical hazards
• Unsafe elevators or escalators
• Dangerous conditions in the swimming pool are
• Plumbing issues or leaks

When Is a Landlord Liable for a Tenant’s Injury in Illinois?

Obviously, landlords and apartment complexes cannot prevent every injury that occurs on the property. The four main components in a successful premises liability case include:

There are a variety of situations in which a person may be injured while on someone else’s property. If a person’s injuries occurred because of the property owner’s negligence, the victim may be able to recover financial compensation through a premises liability claim. These cases will often involve accidents that occur because a property owner failed to correct hazardous conditions or warn visitors about the risks of injury. However, victims may also be able to pursue compensation for injuries that occurred because a property owner was negligent in providing the proper security to protect the safety of guests.

Requirements for Adequate Security

Property owners or tenants in control of property have a duty to protect the safety of those who are allowed to enter and use the premises. This duty includes taking steps to prevent foreseeable events, such as assault, robbery, or theft. Adequate security must be provided at all times when visitors or guests are present.

Property owners may need to address multiple different forms of security, including:

Falling down after losing one’s footing on a sidewalk, floor, or walkway may seem like a minor incident, but in reality, slip, trip, and fall accidents can lead to a variety of serious injuries. The impact with the ground may lead to broken bones, including fractured wrists, hips, or kneecaps. Victims can also suffer dislocations of joints such as wrists, shoulders, knees, or ankles, or they may experience painful sprains and bruises. In especially dangerous cases, such as a fall from a higher level to a lower level, a person may suffer traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, or even wrongful death.

Victims of slip and fall accidents may be able to pursue compensation for their injuries and damages through a premises liability lawsuit. In these cases, a property owner or the tenant in control of a property may be held responsible for injuries that occurred because of their negligence.

Elements of a Premises Liability Case

To pursue compensation through a personal injury lawsuit, a plaintiff will need to demonstrate the following:

A premises accident can happen anywhere, and under the right circumstances, the property owner can be held responsible for injuries or damages. After being injured at someone’s home or business, a victim may not know where to turn or even know they are eligible for compensation. Like a car accident or medical malpractice, when negligence is involved, a person injured on the property of another may be able to get restitution for their pain and suffering.

What Is Negligence?

When a person does not act with reasonable care towards a situation and a person gets injured, they can be held responsible for being negligent. For any personal injury cases, such as a premises accident, negligence must be proved. To prove negligence, there must be a duty to establish for the property owner to maintain under law, refusing to provide maintain that standard, and an injury with damage caused by inaction. For example, if there is a wet spot in a grocery store and no effort was made to clean up the spill or warn patrons, the store owner may be held liable if someone slips and breaks a bone.

Not all unsafe properties, dog bites, or slippery surfaces are treated the same. The invitation status of a person on a property is another factor of whether someone can sue for personal injury. If a person is a licensee, such as a customer, or an invited party, then the property owner is expected to uphold reasonable safety accommodations. While this does that guarantee the absolute safety of invited parties, the property owner can be held responsible if they knew about an issue and refused to act.

When a person gets injured on the property of another person or company, the owners may be held liable for the accident. This type of personal injury case is often the result of poor maintenance or unsafe property. When going after a property owner after an injury on their premises, it is important to be able to prove that the owner was negligent. In regard to property, if a person does not reasonably maintain their home or land, or give proper warning, they can be found negligent and liable. The landowner also must have known about the hazard, and actively refused to take action.

In Illinois, there are laws that address people who visit a property and rights they are given. A person who is invited by the property owner, such as friends or family, are entitled to a safe environment when visiting the property. Landowners must keep their property reasonably safe for these guests. A person who has implied permission of entering a property, such as a salesman or delivery driver, has less protection because even if the owner is aware of a hazard, the licensee will likely not face it. If a person is trespassing, they have the least amount of protection if they are injured on a person’s premise. The only exception may be a child if, for example, if they wander onto a property that has a pool that is unsecured and gets injured or drowns.

There are a number of circumstances where a person could find them self victim to a poorly maintained property or incident involving negligence. You may have a personal injury case if you have experienced the following: