Slip and Fall Accidents in Ohio: When Property Owners Are Legally Liable

A person who gets hurt when slipping and falling on someone else’s property may want to pursue a legal claim against the property owner. However, when does Ohio law make a property owner liable for a slip-and-fall accident suffered by a visitor to their premises? Knowing when a property owner may bear financial responsibility for another person’s injuries after they slip and fall on their property can help you recover compensation for injuries you sustain in a fall. 

Understanding Premises Liability in Ohio

Ohio’s premises liability law governs when a property owner may bear responsibility for a visitor’s slip-and-fall accident on their premises. Property owners may bear liability for a slip-and-fall caused by dangerous conditions on their property when those conditions arise due to the owner’s negligence. Premises liability law recognizes several categories of visitors to properties. A visitor’s status determines the duty of care that a property owner owes to the visitor:

• Invitees: Visitors who enter property at the owner’s invitation and for the owner’s benefit, such as business customers; owed the highest duty of care, including regularly inspecting premises for hazards and fixing them or warning invitees of their presence.
• Licensees: Visitors who enter property with the owner’s permission or under other lawful authority, such as social guests; owed a moderate duty of care that includes fixing known hazards and warning licensees of the presence of non-obvious dangers
• Trespassers: Visitors who enter property unlawfully or without the owner’s permission; owed no duty of care by a property owner, except that owners must refrain from intentionally harming trespassers, although owners may owe higher duties to young children 

Elements of a Slip and Fall Claim in Ohio

A slip and fall accident victim must establish several elements to assert an injury claim against a property owner in Ohio, including:

• The duty of care: The fall victim must establish the scope of the property owner’s duty of care, based on the victim’s visitor status
• Breach of the duty of care: The owner breached their duty of care by failing to inspect their property, fix known hazards, or warn visitors of their presence
• Notice of the hazard: The property owner must have notice of the hazard, which may involve actual notice (direct knowledge) or constructive notice (the hazard existed long enough that the owner should have discovered it through reasonable inspection)
• Causation: The hazardous condition must have caused the visitor’s fall
• Damages: A fall victim must show that they sustained injuries for which they require compensation

The Open and Obvious Doctrine

The open-and-obvious doctrine can provide a legal defense for property owners in slip-and-fall cases. Under the doctrine, an owner may not have liability for a slip-and-fall that occurred due to a hazard so evident that a reasonable person would notice and avoid it. The doctrine might not apply in cases where a visitor had no opportunity to avoid the hazard (e.g., a large patch of ice in front of the entrance) or where the hazard violated some law or regulation. 

Comparative Negligence in Slip and Fall Accidents

Ohio’s comparative negligence rules can also affect a property owner’s liability in a slip-and-fall claim. Comparative negligence may apply when a slip-and-fall victim’s negligence contributed to their fall, such as when a person runs across a patch of ice rather than walking carefully over it. The Ohio comparative negligence doctrine allows an accident victim to pursue a claim if they have an equal or lower share of fault than the property owner, but not if their share of fault exceeds that of the property owner. 

Contact Our Personal Injury Attorneys Today

Property owners may bear liability for slip-and-fall accidents that occur on their premises. Contact Kitrick, Lewis & Staley-Sladek Co., L.P.A. today for a free, no-obligation consultation with a slip-and-fall accident lawyer to learn when you may have a claim against a property owner if you injure yourself in a fall on their property.