Cincinnati Premises Liability Lawyer

If you were injured on a property that is not your own, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. The Cincinnati premises liability lawyers at the law firm of O’Connor, Acciani & Levy have many decades of experience fighting for the rights of our clients to the compensation they deserve for what they have suffered.

We have helped our clients obtain millions of dollars in compensation for their injuries. Our firm never charges upfront fees, and we offer a completely free and confidential consultation to discuss your claim. You pay us nothing unless we help you get compensation, so contact our trusted personal injury attorneys today to find out how we can help you.

Types Of Premises Liability Cases

Some of the most common types of premises liability cases are those involving slip-and-fall injuries. These and other premises liability incidents occur because of a variety of hazards and obstacles, including:

Some of the most common places where premises liability incidents tend to occur are:

Our Cincinnati lawyers are prepared to fight for the rights of clients who were injured on someone else’s property due to negligence. Our goal is to help you recover fair compensation for your injuries.

What is Premises Liability?

Premises liability cases arise when a person is injured because of a dangerous condition on another party’s property. The property owner could be held liable if the victim’s attorney can prove that the property owner did not fulfill a legal obligation to keep the property safe.

The property owner’s legal obligations to the victim depend on the victim’s legal classification. There are four main types of legal classifications for visitors to a property:

Invitee

Invitees are on the property by invitation, whether expressed or implied, for a purpose that benefits the owner. A common example of an invitee is a customer at a retail store. Property owners have a duty to invitees to exercise ordinary care by maintaining the premises in a safe condition. Invitees are often allowed access to only a limited part of the property, not the entire premises. If the invitee goes outside the bounds of the invited area, then he or she becomes a trespasser or a licensee – and the property owner no longer needs to exercise ordinary care. The duty of ordinary care depends on the situation, but it could include removing hazards like wet spots on the floor or repairing a damaged section of the floor or sidewalk.

The owner or manager of a property that is used by the public, including a business or governmental property, is responsible for taking all reasonable safety precautions, including making sure the property:

• Is free of slippery surfaces where people may walk
• Is properly marked with cones or signs if there are any dangerous areas
• Does not have accessible hazardous areas that could harm children
• Has firm hand rails along all stairwells
• Has elevators that do not create a “step” up or down when stopped at a floor
• Offers ramps or working elevators that allow access to anyone on all available floors

Social Guest

An example of a social guest is someone you invite to your house. The property owner must advise social guests of any known dangerous or unsafe conditions on the property. This includes hazards the property owner should know about.

Licensee

These visitors are on the property for their own benefit. A common example of a licensee is a salesperson. Property owners have a duty to avoid wantonly or willfully causing injury to the licensee. This means property owners cannot be held liable for simply being negligent about a hazard or obstacle on the property.

Trespasser

A trespasser is someone who enters a property with no invitation, authorization or inducement, but is there purely for his or her own purposes or convenience, according to Ohio Revised Code (ORC) 2305.402(A)(3). Property owners owe trespassers the same duty as licensees. They only need to refrain from willful, wanton or reckless conduct that is likely to cause injury. This means the property owner or manager must not purposely injure or trap a trespasser. According to state law, if the property owner should know or believe that the trespasser is in danger, then the owner must exercise ordinary care to avoid causing injury.

A notable exception to this rule is if the trespasser is a child. If the property owner is aware of any possible risk to children and does not exercise reasonable care to eliminate the danger, the owner may be liable (ORC 2305.402[D][1]).

Immunity For Recreational Users

In certain situations, Ohio gives property owners immunity from liability for injuries to recreational users of their property (ORC 1533.181).

A recreational user is someone who has been granted permission to engage in recreational activities on a certain property, like fishing, swimming, hiking or riding a snowmobile. However, the user had to have been granted permission without paying a fee or consideration to the property owner, other than a lease fee (ORC 1533.18[B]).

According to this statute, when property owners allow recreational use of their property:

• They are not guaranteeing the person’s safety.
• They assume no responsibility for liability.
• They have no duty to keep the premises safe.

Regardless of the visitor’s legal status, the property owner cannot be held liable for injuries caused by open and obvious dangers. Dangers are considered open and obvious if they would have been seen by someone exercising ordinary care. For example, if there is a dangerous section of sidewalk that is easy to see, it might be considered an open and obvious danger.

Your Cincinnati premises liability attorney can explain this statute in further detail and determine whether it applies to your case.

Liability for Use Of School Property

Ohio H.B. 290 § 1 (ORC 3313.791) provides immunity if a person is injured or killed on school property unless the injury, death, or loss to person or property results from willful or wanton misconduct by the school or school district, a member of the school district board of education, or an employee of the school district or of any school in the district.

However, the school or school district is not immune from liability if the injured person was part of a group that paid a large fee for using school property.

If you were injured as a guest on another party’s property, whether it was private, public, business or governmental, contact our law firm today. You may be entitled to compensation for what you have experienced as a result of your injuries.

Forms Of Compensation You May Be Entitled To

If you were injured on someone else’s property, you may be entitled to compensation for your:

The Cincinnati premises liability attorneys at O’Connor, Acciani & Levy know how to calculate the full value of the damages you have suffered, including physical and emotional pain and suffering, as well as future lost income if you suffered a permanent injury that affects your ability to continue working in your current job.

While many premises liability cases are resolved by filing a claim with the property owner’s insurance company, it may be possible to file a lawsuit directly against the at-fault party. Our experienced legal team can determine the best course of action in your situation.

How Can I Prove Premises Liability?

If you were injured due to a dangerous or hazardous condition on someone else’s property, our  attorneys will need to prove several things to demonstrate that the owner or manager is liable, such as:

• The property owner or manager created the unsafe condition on the property, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
• The property owner or manager had plenty of time to notice the problem, and so he or she should have corrected it before the problem caused harm to someone.
• The property owner or manager did not place appropriate warning signs, barriers or markings to warn visitors of the unsafe condition and prevent them from accessing the unsafe location.
• The injury was directly caused by the hazardous condition and because of the owner’s or manager’s negligence in correcting the hazard or preventing guests from being harmed.

Premises liability cases can be complicated, because these factors must be proven with solid evidence. Premises owners and managers often have teams of aggressive lawyers ready to fight against any claim of liability. However, our accomplished premises liability attorneys in Cincinnati know how to handle these types of cases and can negotiate on your behalf for the compensation that is owed to you.

Our legal team has many decades of successful experience fighting for our clients’ right to justice and maximum compensation. Our lawyers can review your claim, investigate what happened, and help you obtain the compensation you deserve for your injuries.

Contact us today to have a member of our team schedule a free and confidential consultation. There is no risk, because we charge no upfront fees and we only get paid if you do.

Statute Of Limitations for Premises Liability

You have a limited amount of time in which to file a claim of personal injury due to a slip-and-fall or other injury on someone else’s property, and that time limit is called a statute of limitations. The state of Ohio allows two years from the date of injury to file a case; after that deadline, you may lose your ability to claim compensation for your injuries.

You and your Cincinnati lawyer may decide to file a case against the property’s owner, builder, architect or engineer. However, if your case is against someone other than the owner, Ohio allows a 10-year statute of repose form the completion date of the faulty construction or property feature that caused your injuries (ORC 2305.131).

The attorneys at O’Connor, Acciani & Levy are well-versed in Ohio premises liability law, and we can evaluate your claim and determine whether you have a valid case against the property’s owner, manager or other party. Contact us today to see how we can help you.

Contact a Cincinnati Attorney for Your Premises Liability Claim

If you were injured while on public or private property, contact our Cincinnati premises liability lawyers today. We will review what happened to find out if we can help you pursue compensation for your damages.

We offer a free, confidential, no-risk consultation, and we do not charge upfront fees of any kind. You will only pay us if we are able to help you get compensation for what you have endured.

Contact us today and schedule a free consultation with a knowledgeable member of our legal team. There is no obligation on your part, so find out how we can help you get your life back to normal again.