Half the lights are out and nobody is at the gate when you walk back to your car with your bags. A lot that takes your money has to keep it reasonably safe — its own records show whether it did.

The last train, an empty platform, dim lights and nobody from the railroad in sight. The people who run the station answer for what they knew and what they did about it.

The door shut behind you and looked locked. It was not — one push was all it took. A lock reported broken and never fixed is the owner’s problem, not yours.

You did the careful thing and took a ride instead of walking home. When the driver turns off the route, the company that put him behind the wheel has to answer for what it knew.

The front desk is empty, the door does not latch and somebody who does not live there is standing at the glass. What the school knew is the whole case.

You paid to park there. Dim lights, dead cameras and nobody on the level are the operator’s choices — not your fault.

A door code nobody changed between guests, locks nobody checked. The owner and the manager owe paying guests reasonable care.

A stair runner does not wear through overnight. The question is how long the building knew — and why it waited.

A truck ran the light and failed to yield at a marked crossing. The driver answers — and so does the company behind him.

A travelling carnival sells admission, fills the midway with children and posts nobody in the aisles. When somebody is attacked in that gap it is not only a stranger’s crime — it is a question of who the operator hired and what it did once it knew.

A semi going too fast for a bridge deck that froze an hour ago jackknifes across every lane. The storm is not a defence — and the truck’s own black box says how fast it was going.

Someone waits for a resident with a key and walks in behind them. A lock reported broken for months, a dead camera and ignored complaints are the owner’s problem — not yours.

A store has to find and clean its own hazards. A spill left without a cone, an empty sweep log and prior complaints about that aisle are its problem — not yours.

A business that puts steel cellar doors in a public sidewalk has to keep them safe for everyone walking over them. A missing hinge and a month of ignored complaints are its problem — not yours.

A driver who follows too closely owns the hit — and the trucking company behind him answers for his hours, his logs and his brakes. Hurt while driving for a living? That is two claims, not one.

Struck by a cyclist while running the lakefront? A rider who passes too fast and too close is personally liable — and often has coverage you would never think to look for.

Brakes on an 80,000-pound truck do not fail without warning — they fail after inspections get skipped. The maintenance file and the black box show how long.

Sick for weeks after a restaurant meal? Cyclospora rides in on contaminated produce — and liability runs past the kitchen to the distributor and the grower.

A rotted board in a platform walkway does not fail overnight — it gets reported, and somebody decides the repair can wait. The maintenance records show how long.

Hurt waiting for a shuttle at a Highland Park venue? Property owners are responsible for safe conditions — even in transit areas.

Airport baggage handlers face serious injury risks every shift. If you were hurt on the job at O’Hare, you have rights beyond workers’ comp.

Unsafe ice conditions and loose rink boards injure young players every season. If your child was hurt at a Chicago-area rink, the facility may be liable.

Struck by a forklift in a suburban distribution center? Workers’ comp is only part of it — a contractor, staffing agency, or property owner may also be liable.

Hurt on shift when a spill was left through a dinner rush? Your benefits are supposed to be based on your tips — and the restaurant may not be the only one who owes you.

Illinois has no free first bite. The owner is responsible the very first time, you do not have to prove they knew the dog was dangerous, and it is usually their homeowner’s policy that pays.

Workers’ comp is not the end of the story. If another contractor on the site built the scaffold that failed, you can claim against them too — on top of your comp benefits.

A rideshare on an active trip carries a million dollars of coverage in Illinois — and the driver who hit you may carry the state minimum. Same crash, a very different recovery.

A driver turning left must yield — and “I never saw the motorcycle” is not a defense. It is an admission that they turned without looking.

Every Illinois auto policy must carry uninsured motorist coverage — and a hit-and-run driver who is never identified counts as uninsured. Your own policy is the one that pays.

In Illinois it is illegal to open a car door into traffic, and the duty to look belongs to whoever opens it — driver or passenger. Not to you.