Anyone who owns or is in possession of premises is liable for any accidents and injuries that happen on the premises. The individual who suffered the injury has every right to engage a premises liability lawyer in Chicago and sue the possessor for damages. Although possessors are not liable for everything that happens, there are instances where they are responsible and should they fail in their responsibilities they are negligent and as a result may end up paying damages to compensate the injured party for the injury they sustained. Homeowners and business owners normally have liability insurance which will pay the damages in the event they are found liable.
An individual who has possession of a property is assumed liable for any and all injuries that may happen on the premises under their control and the accident happened due to negligence on the possessor’s part. If you are next door with your neighbor sitting around his pool and you get struck by lightning, your neighbor is not liable. If however you were walking up his sidewalk on your way to the pool party and you tripped over a broken section of walk, then your neighbor is considered liable because he was aware of the hazard, he did not rectify it nor did he warn you of it.
When a premises liability lawyer in Chicago takes the case it will eventually go to court, it is the court that determines whether the possessor was negligent by either doing or not doing something that caused a situation which posed a risk to another person. When the court is presented with all the supporting data and it believes that there was negligence on the part of the owner then damages will be awarded to the injured party or the surviving family members in the event of death. It is also possible for the parties to settle out of court which happens in many cases where negligence is evident.
There are three classes of people who can be on a property;
Invitees
Licensees
Trespassers
An invitee is an individual who enters a store or restaurant or other public building with the intention of conducting business. A licensee is an individual who is on the property as an invited guest but is not there to conduct business and of course trespassers are not supposed to be on the premises at all. Invitees and licensees can sue in the event of an injury; this is not necessarily the case with trespassers if the possessor was not aware of their presence.
