When you enter upon a person’s property in Chicago, and elsewhere in Illinois, you have the absolute right to be protected from injury caused by hazards on the property. The property owner, tenant, lessee, or occupant must protect you from harm. Unfortunately, many people suffer injuries in Chicago each year because of defective or harmful conditions on another’s property.
No particular age group is immune from harm. Any person of any age can slip and fall on a wet supermarket floor, become the victim of a crime, or be attacked by a dog. Hazards are all around Chicago. Buildings might have exposed wires, a floor might be weak, or the façade of an older building could fall. Similarly, construction sites are a hazardous situation as well. Objects can fall from scaffolding, tools can drop, or a pedestrian could trip and fall on construction materials left behind.
The most serious injury people frequently sustain giving rise to a premises liability case is a head injury. Head injuries could kill a person. Head injuries can lead to traumatic brain injury, which in turn leads to permanent brain damage. Any brain damage can irrevocably change the course of a person’s life, change his or her personality, deprive him or her of memories, alter speech, or render them entirely dependent upon another for personal care and subsistence.
A premises liability accident victim who touches an exposed wire can be electrocuted and die. Additionally, the person may receive severe burns from the electricity. Also, victims trapped in buildings that catch fire can suffer burns and smoke inhalation if the person survives the fire.
Perhaps the most common injury a premises liability victim experiences is a broken or fractured bone. Hip bones can easily break while tripping or when falling, especially among the older population. Similarly, falling victims can break wrists, arms, shoulders, and collar bones when falling. Victims tend to shoot their hands and arms straight out to protect their heads when falling. Landing wrong on the wrist not only can cause a broken wrist but can cause a dislocated shoulder or a broken clavicle.
