Can I Sue for Being Shot or Stabbed in Chicago?

Can I sue for being shot or stabbed in Chicago?

Often, yes. If you were shot or stabbed on a Chicago property — an apartment complex, bar or nightclub, parking garage, store, hotel, or transit stop — and the owner failed to provide the reasonable security a foreseeable risk called for, Illinois law may let you hold that owner financially responsible through a negligent-security claim. You are not suing for the crime itself; you are suing the property owner for the security failures that made a foreseeable attack possible. This is separate from any criminal case against the attacker.

Chicago negligent-security law — the short version

Chicago cases are governed by Illinois law. Illinois weighs four duty factors — foreseeability, likelihood, burden, and consequences (Ward) — with prior similar incidents central. A negligent-security lawsuit here is generally filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Law Division (Cook County). For the full Illinois standard — deadlines, how fault is shared, and what you can recover — see our Illinois negligent security page.

Public safety in Chicago

Chicago has recorded a documented, multi-year decline in violent crime — the city ended 2025 with its fewest homicides since 1965, down roughly 29% from 2024, with shootings down about a third year over year. Violence is not evenly distributed; it stays concentrated in certain districts. For a negligent-security case, what matters is the crime history at or around the specific property — prior incidents, police reports, and complaints tied to that location — not the citywide trend.

Where these cases happen in Chicago

In Chicago, these claims commonly arise in nightlife and entertainment corridors such as River North and the Rush Street area, at CTA rail stations and platforms (where crime concentrates at a minority of stops), and in higher-crime South and West Side police districts such as Englewood and Harrison. Common property types are apartment and condo complexes and their common areas, bars and nightclubs, parking garages and lots, CTA stations, gas stations, and convenience and retail stores.

Good to know in Chicago

A Chicago negligent-security case is filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Law Division, at the Richard J. Daley Center downtown. Chicago also requires businesses with late-hour liquor licenses to maintain an exterior safety plan — security personnel, surveillance cameras, and exterior lighting — and requires packaged-goods stores to keep recording surveillance systems. A business’s failure to meet its own municipal security obligations can support a negligent-security claim.

Deadlines for a Chicago case

• Negligence / personal injury: generally two years from the date of the incident from the date of the incident.
• Wrongful death: generally two years from the date of death.

Surveillance footage and other evidence disappear quickly, so it is important to act fast.

Why Chicago victims choose The Haggard Law Firm

The firm has handled nearly 500 negligent-security cases nationwide and secured the largest negligent-security verdict in U.S. history ($102.7 million). We help Chicago crime victims and their families with no fee unless we win.

How we handle a Illinois case — working with local counsel

The Haggard Law Firm is based in Coral Gables, Florida, and Michael A. Haggard is licensed to practice law in Florida. Mr. Haggard is not licensed in Illinois. Negligent security and crime-victim litigation is the firm’s core focus, and because of the national reputation the firm has built in this specific area, Mr. Haggard regularly works on Illinois cases as co-counsel with a locally licensed Illinois attorney, seeking admission pro hac vice (for the individual case) where the court’s rules permit. Any Illinois matter would be handled together with local counsel admitted in Illinois.

If you were shot, stabbed, or lost a loved one to a preventable crime in Illinois, you can still reach out to us directly. We will review your case for free and, where appropriate, associate with a qualified Illinois attorney to pursue it.

This page is attorney advertising and general information only; it is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Michael A. Haggard is licensed in Florida. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.