In restaurants, malls, stores, and other places of business, wet and slippery floors happen from time to time. Some are caused by spills, leaks, or moisture tracked in from outside, while others are the result of cleaning or floor treatments. In most cases, these conditions are resolved without incident, but sometimes an employee, customer, or visitor slips and falls, suffering serious injuries in the process. If you have been injured after slipping on a wet floor, it is important to understand whether the business owner may be liable.

What Protections Are Provided Under Illinois Premises Liability Law?

According to the Illinois Premises Liability Act, business and property owners owe a duty of “reasonable care under the circumstances” to lawful visitors to their place of business. In general, this means that they are responsible for keeping the premises reasonably safe, and that they may be held liable for injuries resulting from a breach in their duty of care. However, the specific details of what this duty of care includes are often left to the court’s interpretation, making it vitally important that injury victims are represented by an experienced attorney who can help them make a strong case.

Common Questions in Premises Liability Cases

In a premises liability case involving a wet or slippery floor, the court may seek to establish answers to some or all of the following questions in order to determine whether the property owner owes an injury victim compensation:

If you have been in a car accident, your physical injuries may be the most readily apparent, and you may assume that these are the only injuries for which you can recover compensation. However car crashes also often lead to mental and emotional injuries that may affect your life just as much, if not more so. Fortunately, Illinois law allows accident victims to recover both economic and non-economic damages related to mental injuries, and a skilled attorney can help you do so.

Common Mental and Emotional Injuries in Illinois Car Accidents

If you have been injured in a car crash, you may be coping with one or more of these effects on your mental and emotional well-being:

• Anxiety and depression, perhaps as a complication of a traumatic brain injury or as a result of stress related to financial struggles, changes in your appearance, or impairment of your physical abilities.
• Posttraumatic stress disorder, which may result in panic attacks and other reactions when you are faced with a situation similar to the one in which you were injured.
• Personality disorders related to traumatic brain injuries, which can affect your ability to regulate emotions and maintain relationships.
• Impaired cognitive abilities including memory loss and comprehension difficulties, also often the result of a traumatic brain injury.
• Grief related to the loss of a loved one or the loss of something you enjoyed in your own life.

Economic and Non-Economic Damages

Mental and emotional injuries can have tangible and intangible costs, both of which can be recovered through a personal injury lawsuit. Economic damages can include the costs of medication, therapy, and rehabilitation to treat mental health problems, as well as lost wages if a mental injury affects your ability to work. For example, if you were injured while driving for work, posttraumatic stress order could make it difficult for you to perform your job duties on a regular basis.

Motorcycle crashes are not especially common in Illinois, but they are especially fatal. In 2018, for example, less than 1 percent of all Illinois traffic accidents involved a motorcycle, but more than 12 percent of all fatal motor vehicle accidents included at least one motorcyclist. Injured motorcyclists who survive accidents, as well as family members of those who do not, should work with an experienced attorney to demonstrate negligence and recover fair compensation through a personal injury or wrongful death claim.

Motorcycle Crashes Caused by Unsafe Driving

Many Illinois motorcycle accidents are caused by the negligent behavior of a driver, which can take many different forms. Some common examples include:

• Speeding - Motorcyclists and drivers of passenger vehicles alike are often tempted to exceed the speed limit or travel at speeds that are unsafe for the conditions in which they are driving. Speeding makes it easier for drivers to lose control and more difficult to react in time to prevent a collision.
• Improperly sharing the road - Motorcycles are subject to the same traffic laws as cars and other motor vehicles, but all too often, drivers of different kinds of vehicles fail to understand and respect each other’s rights. Accidents between motorcycles and other vehicles often occur because of misjudging speeds, failing to yield the right of way, or attempting dangerous passing maneuvers.
• Driver distraction - Drivers who are preoccupied with cell phones and other distractions often lack the awareness and alertness necessary to notice a smaller motorcycle in the vicinity, and as a result may cause or fail to avoid a crash.
• Alcohol or drug impairment - When under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, a vehicle operator’s balance, coordination, vision, awareness, and judgment can all be severely impaired. This makes it much more difficult to drive safely and prevent accidents.

Recovering Compensation from a Motorcycle Accident

The most severely injured person in a motorcycle crash is often the motorcyclist, as their vehicle provides very little protection. Traumatic brain and spine injuries, broken bones, and disfiguring lacerations are all common outcomes, both from the force of a collision with another vehicle and the impact with the road surface and other stationary objects. When another driver is negligent, a motorcyclist can recover substantial compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost wages or earning capacity. When a motorcyclist suffers fatal injuries, family members may also be able to recover damages for funeral expenses and loss of support and companionship.

If you are injured through no fault of your own, you may be aware that in many cases, Illinois law allows you to pursue compensation from a person or party whose negligence is responsible for your injuries. However, questions of negligence can be complicated, and defendants in personal injury cases often attempt to argue that the plaintiff’s own negligence contributed to their injuries. If there is a possibility that you were partially at fault for the accident in which you were injured, you should work with an attorney to determine whether compensation is available.

Contributory Negligence in Illinois

While Illinois recognizes that an injury victim may have contributed to the circumstances causing their injuries, the state does not necessarily prevent them from recovering damages from other negligent parties in these cases. Rather, in determining the availability of compensation, the court will seek to establish the percentage of fault of each party who contributed to the accident. If an injury victim bears 50 percent of the fault or less, they can still recover compensation, but their damages will be reduced by their percentage of fault. On the other hand, if the injury victim bears more than 50 percent of the fault, they will be ineligible for compensation.

Preventing and Fighting Claims of Contributory Negligence

Even in cases in which recovery is not completely barred, contributory negligence can greatly reduce an injury victim’s compensation and make it more difficult for them to cover their expenses. Clearly, then, it is important to try to avoid situations in which contributory negligence can be claimed. In the case of a car accident, defendants may point to a number of factors as evidence of contributory negligence, including:

While some car accident injuries require minimal treatment and have a fairly short recovery time, in many cases the effects of an injury are long-lasting, or even permanent. This is especially true of injuries that limit mobility. Such injuries can influence all facets of a person’s life, and it is important for victims to know all of the possible damages for which they can pursue compensation when another driver is at fault.

Types of Car Crash Injuries That Limit Mobility

A car accident can cause a variety of serious or catastrophic injuries that temporarily or permanently prevent a victim from utilizing their full range of motion. Some common examples include:

• Neck and back injuries - Injuries to the soft tissue and vertebrae in the neck and back can cause significant pain, and an injured person may need to remain mostly immobile throughout recovery.
• Spinal cord injuries - When the spinal cord is damaged in an accident, injury victims may find that a significant portion of their body is fully or partially paralyzed, preventing them from ever regaining the mobility they had before the crash.
• Broken bones and amputated limbs - When a person’s arms or legs are crushed in a collision, they may need weeks or months for their bones to fully heal, along with extensive physical therapy. Especially severe injuries may require amputation, in which case the injured person may need to learn to adapt to a wheelchair or prosthetic limb.
• Severe burns - Third-degree burns suffered in a car accident can result in nerve damage, as well as permanent scarring and tightening of the skin, which may reduce a person’s range of motion around certain joints.

Recoverable Economic and Non-Economic Damages

If your mobility is limited after a car accident with a negligent driver, you may be entitled to compensation for all of your medical expenses, including not only your emergency care, but also any necessary surgery and ongoing treatment and therapy to aid in your recovery. Mobility limitations can also keep you away from work or prevent you from performing your previous job responsibilities, in which case you may be entitled to compensation for your loss of income.