Premises Liability Standards
Both Wisconsin and Illinois hold property owners to a duty of reasonable care to keep their premises safe for lawful visitors. That duty isn’t absolute. A property owner isn’t liable for every hazard that exists — only for hazards they knew about, or should have discovered through reasonable inspection, and failed to fix or warn about. Proving what the owner knew, and when, is usually the entire case.
The People In Your Corner
Your Milwaukee Injury Team
Leadership that sets the standard, and a dedicated personal injury group that carries your case day to day.
Wisconsin’s Comparative Negligence Rule
Wisconsin bars recovery once you’re found more than 50% at fault, with your award reduced proportionally below that threshold. Property owners and their insurers routinely argue that the victim wasn’t paying attention, was wearing inappropriate footwear, or ignored a posted warning. Sometimes fairly. Often as a way to shift blame away from a hazard they failed to address.
Illinois’ Comparative Fault Standard
Illinois applies a comparable modified comparative fault rule with the same 50% bar. Illinois also maintains a specific statute addressing snow and ice removal that differs meaningfully from Wisconsin’s approach. That matters given how much winter weather drives claims in this region.
Notice and the “Reasonable Time” Standard
A hazard has to exist long enough that the property owner reasonably should have discovered and addressed it. This is often called constructive notice. A spill that occurred thirty seconds before you slipped creates a different case than one that had been on the floor for hours. Surveillance footage, maintenance logs, and employee schedules often settle this question. That’s exactly why we move fast to secure them before they’re deleted or “lost.”
Statute of Limitations
Both states generally allow three years from the date of the fall to file suit. Claims involving government-owned property — a municipal sidewalk, a public building — can carry notice deadlines as short as 120 days.
Common Slip and Fall Scenarios We Handle
Icy sidewalks and parking lots
a significant share of winter claims in the Milwaukee area
Wet or freshly mopped floors without warning
common in retail and grocery settings
Uneven or broken pavement
sidewalks, curbs, and parking lot surfaces that go unrepaired for months
Poor lighting on stairs
a factor in a disproportionate number of serious fall injuries
Loose flooring, rugs, or mats
often overlooked hazards in commercial and rental properties
Falls in retail and grocery stores
spills that go unaddressed during business hours are among the most common fall claims we see.
Each scenario points toward different evidence. A lighting issue calls for maintenance records. An ice claim calls for weather data and salting logs.
Recoverable Damages
Medical expenses
emergency treatment through long-term rehabilitation, particularly for hip and spinal injuries common in falls
Lost wages
time away from work, plus diminished earning capacity for lasting injuries
Pain and suffering
physical and emotional impact of the fall and recovery
Property damage
less common than in vehicle cases, but recoverable when applicable
Wrongful death
available to family when a fall proves fatal, which happens disproportionately among older victims.
How We Build Your Case
1
Securing surveillance footage and incident reports before a business or property manager can claim they’ve been deleted
2
Documenting the hazard itself — photographs of the spill, the ice, the broken stair, taken as close to the incident as possible
3
Obtaining maintenance logs and cleaning schedules to establish how long the hazard existed
4
Interviewing employees and witnesses while memories are still fresh
5
Consulting with safety experts on code violations where a hazard involves stairs, lighting, or building maintenance standards
6
Calculating the full medical picture, since fall injuries — especially hip fractures and head injuries — often carry long recovery timelines
7
Negotiating and, when necessary, litigating against property owners and their insurers who deny responsibility.
Why Choose Tabak Law Injury Attorneys?
We fight insurance companies — not you
Property owners’ insurers deny fall claims more readily than almost any other category.
Thorough case preparation from day one
Surveillance footage and maintenance records disappear fast without an immediate preservation demand.
Trial-ready representation
We prepare every case as if it’s going to court.
No fee unless we win
Free consultation, contingency-based representation.
Client Experiences
People we stood beside.
Behind every case is a real person facing a difficult moment. Here is how clients describe working with our team.
Frequently Asked Questions
Talk to a Milwaukee Slip and Fall Attorney
Property owners count on victims not fighting a fall claim. Our Milwaukee-based team moves quickly to preserve the evidence that proves what the owner knew and when, then builds the case to hold them accountable. No fee unless we win.