The Largest Personal Injury Verdict in Illinois History: $127,000,000

Chicago Slip and Fall Lawyer

Proving that someone else is legally responsible for your slip and fall injuries is rarely as simple as showing where you fell.

The question isn’t just whether a dangerous condition existed. It’s whether someone created it, knew about it, or should have discovered and corrected it before you were hurt. And the difference between a case that can be proven and one that can’t sometimes comes down to a single piece of evidence: a photograph, a maintenance log, a few minutes of surveillance video. Spills get cleaned up. Ice melts. Broken steps get repaired. Footage is overwritten.

Goldberg & Goldberg has been trying cases in Chicago since 1967. We examine what the property owner says happened, challenge the explanations that don’t hold up, and put in the work to establish who was responsible.

We won’t tell you that every fall is grounds for a lawsuit. We’ll tell you what the evidence supports, what obstacles we see, and whether we believe we can prove your case. If we take it, we’ll be ready to stand behind it in court.

The condition that caused a fall can disappear quickly. Our job is to find the evidence, understand what happened, and be prepared to prove it.

— Slip and fall lawyer, Ian Alexander

If you were hurt in a fall on someone else’s property in Chicago, call Goldberg & Goldberg at 312-368-0255. There is never a charge for your case evaluation.

A Slip and Fall Case Is About More Than the Fall

People fall every day, and not every fall creates a legal claim. Sometimes no one is legally responsible. Other times, a dangerous condition should have been discovered, corrected, or addressed before someone was hurt.

Illinois law requires owners and occupiers of property to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances regarding the condition of their premises. For a slip and fall claim, the circumstances matter: What created the dangerous condition? Who controlled the property? Did someone know about the danger, or should it reasonably have been discovered?

How did liquid get onto a grocery store floor, and how long was it there? When was the aisle last inspected? Had anyone complained about the broken stair before the fall? Who was responsible for maintaining the entrance where ice had formed?

At Goldberg & Goldberg, we prepare serious injury cases with trial in mind from the beginning. We are looking for the evidence we would need to explain what happened, establish responsibility, and prove the case to a jury.

Dangerous Property Conditions That Can Cause Serious Falls

There is no single hazard that creates a slip and fall claim. Dangerous conditions can develop in stores, restaurants, apartment buildings, hotels, offices, parking areas, sidewalks, and other properties throughout Chicago. A fall at a school may also raise questions about the condition of the property, supervision, and who was responsible for keeping students and visitors safe.

What matters is not simply where you fell. It is what caused the fall and what the evidence shows about responsibility.

Wet and Slippery Floors

Water, spilled food or drinks, grease, cleaning products, and other substances can make an otherwise ordinary walking surface dangerous. We want to know where the substance came from, how long it had been there, whether employees knew about it, and what procedures were in place to clean the area.

The details matter.

Snow and Ice

Chicago winters create plenty of opportunities to encounter snow and ice, but a fall during winter does not by itself establish that a property owner is responsible.

These cases require a careful look at the circumstances surrounding the condition. Photographs, weather information, maintenance records, contracts, and testimony may become important in determining how the dangerous condition developed and who may have been responsible for it.

Uneven or Damaged Walking Surfaces

Cracked concrete, potholes, loose flooring, broken pavement, damaged carpeting, raised edges, and unexpected changes in elevation can cause serious falls.

When a physical defect develops over time, maintenance records and earlier complaints may help show how long it existed. We also look at who was responsible for repairing the property and whether the condition had been addressed before.

Dangerous Stairs and Handrails

A damaged step, loose material, defective or missing handrail, or poorly maintained staircase can turn using the stairs into a serious injury.

We may also examine maintenance and repair records, previous complaints, photographs, and evidence showing who controlled the property.

Poor Lighting and Visibility

A hazard that might be easy to recognize in a well-lit area may be much harder to see in a dark hallway, stairwell, parking area, or building entrance.

We may examine the lighting system itself, maintenance records, prior reports of problems, and photographs showing what the area actually looked like.

Clutter and Obstructions

Boxes, cords, merchandise, equipment, debris, and other objects can create unexpected walking hazards. We may need to determine who placed the obstruction there, how long it remained, whether employees encountered it, and what inspection procedures were in effect.

Who May Be Responsible for a Slip and Fall?

The person or company whose name appears on the deed is not necessarily the only party responsible for maintaining a property. Commercial buildings, apartment complexes, stores, hotels, and other properties may involve several businesses with different responsibilities.

Part of our investigation is determining who actually controlled the area where you fell and who was responsible for keeping it reasonably safe.

Property Owners

A property owner may be responsible for conditions on the property it controls, but ownership alone does not answer every question. We examine who controlled or maintained the premises and the particular condition that caused the fall.

Businesses and Tenants

A store, restaurant, office, or other tenant may control the space where customers and visitors walk. The business’s inspection, cleaning, maintenance, and reporting procedures may become important evidence.

Property Management Companies

Property owners frequently hire management companies to oversee day-to-day operations. Those companies may handle inspections, maintenance requests, common areas, repairs, and other conditions relevant to a fall.

Maintenance and Other Contractors

Outside contractors may also have responsibilities. The contracts, work orders, maintenance records, and actual work performed can help establish what each company agreed to do and what happened before the injury.

Evidence in a Slip and Fall Case Can Disappear Quickly

One of the difficulties with slip and fall cases is that the injury may remain long after the condition that caused it is gone.

A fractured bone can still be seen on an X-ray weeks later. The puddle that caused the fall may have been mopped up within minutes. A floor mat can be moved. Ice can melt. Damaged flooring can be repaired. Surveillance systems may record over older footage.

Photographs and Video

Photographs taken near the time of the accident can document the condition before it changes. Surveillance video may show how the fall happened, how long a condition was present, or whether employees encountered the area beforehand.

A video does not have to capture the exact moment of the fall to be useful. What happened in the minutes or hours before it may be just as important.

Incident Reports and Property Records

Businesses and property managers may create records before and after an injury, including incident reports, previous complaints, and repair records.

Witnesses

Someone may have seen the condition before you fell, watched the accident happen, heard an employee discuss the problem, or complained about the same hazard earlier.

Memories fade and people become harder to locate. Identifying them early matters.

What If the Property Owner Says You Were Responsible for the Fall?

A property owner or insurance company may not dispute that you fell or that you were injured. Instead, they may argue that you should have seen the dangerous condition, avoided it, or taken greater care for your own safety.

That does not end the case. It raises another question: what responsibility, if any, did your own actions have in causing the fall?

Your Own Actions Can Become Part of the Case

Illinois uses a modified comparative-negligence rule: if the injured person is found more than 50% responsible for the injury, recovery is barred. If the person is 50% or less responsible, damages are reduced according to that percentage of fault.

We do not ignore those arguments. We investigate them.

A photograph taken afterward does not necessarily show what you could see as you approached the area. The position of the hazard, lighting, surrounding activity, and other circumstances can matter. Illinois courts also recognize the open-and-obvious doctrine, but how it applies depends on the facts.

Serious Falls Can Have Lasting Consequences

A slip and fall is sometimes treated as though it must be a minor accident. The injuries tell a different story.

Falls can result in fractures, head injuries, spinal injuries, torn ligaments, and serious damage to the knees, shoulders, hips, and other joints. Some people recover with treatment and time. Others require surgery, rehabilitation, extended time away from work, or ongoing medical care.

When we evaluate a serious injury case, we do not stop at the emergency room bill. We look at the medical evidence, the course of recovery, income lost because of the injury, future treatment needs, and the ways the injury has affected your ability to work and live your normal life.

Depending on the evidence, compensation in an Illinois injury case may include economic and noneconomic losses such as medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, disability, and other proven harm. Illinois law recognizes both economic and noneconomic forms of compensatory damages.

We do not put a number on a case before we understand it. The evidence has to come first.

Client Reviews

Rated 5 out of 5

You won't find a group of attorneys that will be more dedicated to your case, and doing all the research needed to effectively present it. I especially know the qualifications of Joseph Preiser, one of Goldberg's very successful attorneys. Highly recommend them to one and all.

- Gary Myers

Talk with Goldberg & Goldberg About Your Fall

You may know exactly what caused your fall. You have photographs and witnesses. Or you may only know that you were seriously hurt and have questions about what happened.

You do not need to solve the case before talking with us.

At Goldberg & Goldberg, we listen first. Then we investigate the property, the dangerous condition, the people and businesses responsible for it, and the evidence available to prove what happened. If we accept your case, we prepare it with trial in mind from the beginning.

If the evidence supports a claim, we will build the strongest case it allows. If we see problems, we will tell you that too.

Call 312-368-0255 to talk with Goldberg & Goldberg about your Chicago slip and fall case. There is never a charge for your case evaluation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I Have a Slip and Fall Case If I Was Injured on Someone Else’s Property?

Not necessarily. An injury on someone else’s property does not automatically make the owner or business legally responsible. A claim depends on facts such as what caused the fall, who controlled the property, what the responsible party knew or reasonably should have known about the condition, and whether reasonable care was taken under the circumstances. We investigate those questions before deciding how a case should proceed.

What If I Don’t Know How Long the Dangerous Condition Was There?

You do not need to know before contacting a lawyer. Surveillance footage, witness accounts, inspection and cleaning records, maintenance documents, employee testimony, and other evidence may help establish when a dangerous condition developed or how long it existed. Finding those answers is part of the investigation.

What If I Did Not Take Pictures After My Fall?

Photographs can be valuable, but not having them does not necessarily mean there is no case. Other evidence may still exist, including surveillance footage, incident reports, witnesses, maintenance records, inspection records, and testimony about the property. The important thing is to determine what evidence is still available and what it can establish.