Premises Liability
Property owners have a duty to keep people safe. When they fail, we hold them to account.
“Just an accident” is the defense’s phrase. Rarely the truth.
A fall on an icy stairwell, an unlit parking garage, a storefront with no security, premises injuries are routinely dismissed as “just accidents.” They rarely are. Behind most of them is a property owner who knew about a hazard, or should have, and chose not to fix it.
Tarpey, Jones & Schroeder represents people injured by dangerous conditions on residential, commercial, and public property throughout Illinois. Owners and their insurers defend these cases aggressively, and blaming the injured person is the usual defense. Our partners spent years on that side of the table before switching sides.
Common questions before you call.
Every question below is one we answer in consultations every week. Yours is free. Call (312) 782-6411.Possibly, yes. Many strong premises cases have no eyewitness. Camera footage, maintenance logs, prior complaints, and the condition itself often tell the story. What matters is preserving that evidence quickly.
Nothing upfront. We work on contingency, you owe attorney fees only if we recover compensation for you.
Photograph the hazard and your injuries as soon as possible, keep the shoes and clothing you were wearing, request a copy of any incident report, and write down what happened while it is fresh. Then call us, we will handle the rest.
A common defense, and a beatable one. Illinois recognizes exceptions, including where the owner should anticipate that people will encounter the hazard anyway. Do not accept a denial as the final word.
It depends on who controlled the area where you were hurt, landlords typically answer for common areas and known defects, tenants for the spaces they control. We sort out the responsible parties and their insurers.
It depends on the severity of your injuries, your medical costs and lost earnings, the strength of the notice evidence, and the coverage available. We will give you an honest assessment once we have investigated, not a number invented to get you in the door.