Hotel Slip and Fall Injury Claims, Lawsuits and Lawyers in Chicago, Illinois
Slip and Fall Injury Lawyer in Chicago Explains the Process of a Hotel Slip and Fall Injury Lawsuit Under Illinois Law
Chicago has numerous hotels that service the city’s thousands of annual tourists and business people. These hotels have an obligation to make certain their guests are safe. Accordingly, the hotels have a duty to prevent injuries such as slips and falls. The hotels have powerful insurance defense lawyers and insurance companies working for them. If you or a loved one suffered injuries in a fall at a Chicago-area hotel, you need slip and fall attorneys with results-based experience who are not afraid to take on the hotels and their lawyers to obtain the compensation you deserve for your injuries. The Chicago hotel slip and fall attorneys at Stein & Shulman, LLC have the experience and dedication you need on your side.
Just because you slip and fell in a hotel does not mean that you will automatically recover compensation for your injuries. That is why you need Stein & Shulman’s experienced personal injury lawyers to represent you. They know how to prove the case against the hotel. To hold the hotel liable for your injuries, you must prove that the hotel was negligent in causing you to fall. Negligence, in the case of slipping and falling in a hotel, is the hotel’s failure to keep you safe from danger.
Negligence is not an intentional act. What is negligence?
Negligence means that:
- a reasonable person in the position of the hotel would have or should have acted differently in those same or similar circumstances. The hotel does not have a duty to protect everyone, however.
- They have a duty to protect their guests from harm. That is called the duty of care.
- To prevail in your case, you must also show that the hotel breached the duty they owe you as a guest.
- Finally, you must prove that the hotel’s failure to protect you caused your injuries. Causation, as the concept is known in Illinois law, can be difficult to prove.
Causation may seem obvious, but each case is different and will turn on its own set of facts. On the one hand, causation cannot simply rest on surmise or conjecture that the hotel did something or failed to do something that caused your injuries. On the other hand, you do not need direct evidence that the hotel is at fault. You can use circumstantial evidence to prove your case in the event you do not have direct evidence. You look to the ordinary experience of people to fill in the blanks to figure what happened, as long as it does not amount to speculation.
A few examples may better illustrate the issue. Take, for instance, the plaintiff who fell while walking in a pool area of a hotel. This plaintiff was walking down a flight of stairs in the area of the hotel pool. She had almost reached the bottom of the staircase. The next thing she remembers is waking up with her sister standing over her. The plaintiff was holding her baby. The plaintiff had a cut on the back of her head. She went to the hospital for treatment. At the hospital, she noticed that her dress felt wet. In court, she told the jury she did not remember tripping on anything, and she did not know what caused her to fall. Her husband testified that he rushed to help her and he felt a wet substance on the tile floor in the area in which his wife fell.
She won her case because the jury believed that she fell because of water collecting at the bottom of the staircase. She was also able to show that the hotel should have known about the water and failed to do something to prevent her fall. So, even though she did not precisely know why she fell, the ordinary experience of human beings tells you that she fell because pool water collected on the tile floor at the foot of the stairs.
Our Chicago Hotel Slip and Fall Attorneys Are Ready To Fight For You
The Chicago personal injury law firm of Stein & Shulman, LLC is a group of dedicated, successful, and committed attorneys who devote their practice to winning compensation for their clients who were injured. Learn how you can protect your rights by making an appointment today by calling 312.422.0500 or complete our on-line contact form to schedule a free consultation. There is no fee unless they are successful on your behalf.
Source: Wiegman v. Hitch-Inn Post of Libertyville, 721 NE 2d 614 – Ill: Appellate Court, 2nd Dist. 1999
Stein & Shulman, LLC
134 N LaSalle St, #820
Chicago, IL 60602
312.422.0500
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