This case we handled for a recent client might be similar to a fall you recently sustained on snow or ice.
In 2012 a client of our law firm was a tenant of an apartment building in Chicago and slipped and fell sustaining sustained serious personal injuries due to an unnatural accumulation of ice within the gangway (common area) of an apartment building. The gutter and drainage system located above the gangway location where our client fell would fail resulting in significant accumulations of ice to form. See the gutter and drainage system would always overflow when it filled up causing ice formations on the gangway and numerous tenants had complained to the landlord however the landlord did nothing to correct the problem.
The property owner owed our client a duty to prevent unnatural accumulations of ice and snow on the property, and he was legally responsible for injuries resulting from the unnatural accumulation because he knew or should have known of the ice accumulation and failed to take the proper steps to guard against it. Our firm took the deposition of the landlord and he confirmed that in the winter when the gutters freeze and the downspout freezes he has a water accumulation problem on the side of the building in the area of the Plaintiff’s fall! He also admitted that other tenants had complained to him about the ice in the gangway for some time before our client fell.
In addition to the facts regarding the ongoing problem with ice in the walkway and the landlord’s knowledge of the problem, Stein & Shulman retained an “expert” in the field of building and roof water leakage and drainage problems and he testified that the configuration of drainage system and gutter caused dangerous accumulations of ice to form on the sidewalk where our client fell. That the size of the gutter and downspout configuration were completely inadequate to accommodate the amounts of precipitation to be expected from a roof this size.
When a landlord or property owner causes an accumulation of ice or snow by the defendant’s use or maintenance of the area, and the accumulation exists on the premises long enough to charge the landlord or property owner with knowledge, he is under a duty to make the premises reasonably safe.
The settlement our firm obtained for this client paid for all of his past and future medical costs, his past and future pain and suffering. Our firm utilized investigators, photographers and leading expert witnesses to prove our client’s case. The property owner’s insurance company retained the services of a large and powerful defense firm and had Stein & Shulman not been experts in the field of slip and fall cases involving ice and snow we would not have prevailed in this case.
If you have fallen due to the presence of ice we will help you investigate the facts of your case to determine whether the property owners are legally responsible for your fall. The initial call and discussion about your case and hearing our opinions is 100% FREE. Further, we work on a contingency fee basis, meaning we take a small percentage of your settlement so you pay no money up front, you do not get any bills from us throughout your case and if we do not collect any money for you then you owe us nothing. We are in this together.
Call us today at 312.422.0500 and let us help you get the settlement you deserve.
