Poor lighting can play a role in various types of accidents. From slips, trips, and falls to collisions in private parking lots, inadequate lighting can put pedestrians, drivers, and patrons at risk of suffering injuries in a wide range of circumstances.
Is poor lighting grounds for accident victims to seek compensation?
In many cases, the answer is “Yes.” Just like other property hazards, property owners can be held liable for injuries caused by poor lighting, injuries that could—and should—have been prevented. Injury victims can file premises liability claims to hold property owners duly accountable, and they can seek compensation for their financial and non-financial losses.
At Coplan + Crane, we fight for the rights of the wrongfully injured. Whether it happened in a parking lot, a restaurant, or another property open to the public, you have a right to expect reasonable care. Our attorneys will look closely at what happened, determine whether poor lighting or other hazards were involved, and explain your rights and legal options.
While poor lighting won’t necessarily provide grounds for injury victims to seek compensation in all cases, there are various circumstances in which victims may be able to file premises liability claims to recover their injury-related losses. These include (but are not limited to) cases involving:
Inadequate indoor lighting can obscure risks for slips, trips, and falls. This includes slips on spills, recently cleaned floors, and slippery flooring materials; trips on objects left where people are likely to be walking; and falls resulting from the inability to see staircases and other potential hazards. While many restaurants, bars, and other businesses turn down the lights to set the mood, if an indoor space is too dark, this can potentially provide grounds to seek compensation for injuries caused by poor lighting.
Injuries caused by inadequate outdoor lighting can also provide grounds to hold property owners liable. If a parking lot, parking garage, sidewalk, or outdoor gathering space is not well lit, this can lead to a sudden and expected slip, trip, or fall. Curbs, parking blocks, roots, puddles, and other risks obscured by darkness can all lead to serious injuries that didn’t have to happen.
Along with slips, trips, and falls, collisions with stationary objects can also cause serious injuries. If an area is so dark that people cannot see what is in front of them, they can collide with anything that is in their path. Head injuries caused by poor lighting are a particular concern, though collisions with stationary objects can cause various other types of preventable injuries as well.
Vehicle collisions can also result from inadequate lighting in parking lots, in parking garages, and on private roads. While a driver’s headlights will illuminate what is directly in front of them, drivers often cannot see vehicles, people, and other objects to their sides at night. If a collision with another vehicle or a pedestrian could have been avoided with adequate lighting, then inadequate lighting can provide grounds to file a claim for liability.
Injuries caused by poor lighting can also involve inadequate security. Restaurants, bars, and other businesses in Illinois have a legal duty to provide adequate security for their patrons and customers. As a result, when they provide inadequate security, this can provide grounds to file a claim in the event of an assault or any other incident resulting in serious injuries.
Oftentimes, when injuries are caused by poor lighting, other factors will also be involved. For example, failing to remedy slip and trip hazards, failing to perform necessary maintenance, and failing to restrict access can also put pedestrians, drivers, and patrons at risk of suffering serious injuries.
When pursuing a premises liability claim, it is important to identify all grounds for seeking financial compensation. Property owners and their insurance companies will fight to avoid liability by all means available, so it is critical for injury victims to ensure that they have all of the evidence they need to assert their legal rights effectively.
Did you suffer an injury caused by poor lighting? Do you believe that poor lighting was a factor in the accident or incident that caused your injuries? If so, we encourage you to contact us promptly.
At Coplan + Crane, we take your case seriously. We look at the condition of the property, what the owner knew or should have known, and whether reasonable steps were taken to keep you safe. If the evidence shows that poor lighting caused your injury, we will help you pursue the maximum compensation to which you may be entitled under the law.
Contact Coplan + Crane today online or at (312) 982-0588 for a FREE case evaluation. We help clients across Illinois, including Chicago, Oak Park, Rockford, and other areas.
