Premises Liability

Cincinnati Premises Liability attorneys

Were You Injured on Someone Else’s Property in Ohio?

Premises liability claims are legal actions taken against property owners or lessees (or both) who have failed to maintain a safe environment, resulting in injuries. Common causes of unsafe conditions include poor maintenance, inattentiveness, shoddy construction or inadequate security measures. Common types of premises liability incidents include slip and fall accidents, dog bites, swimming pool accidents and injuries caused by falling objects.

Why You Might Benefit From Speaking with a Premises Liability Attorney in Cincinnati

Legal expertise: The average non-lawyer often rightfully assumes that the concepts of fault and culpability aren’t up for debate. If you’re injured because a business didn’t address a hazard on their property, they should be required to pay for your injuries – right? Unfortunately, Ohio has a long list of statutes pertaining to liability and the duties different parties owe each other at any given time or place. What may seem obvious to you might be cloudier in the eyes of the state. An experienced Ohio premises liability attorney can help you understand how the law impacts your case and navigate you through the entire claim and litigation process.

Proving negligence: To win a premises liability claim, the injured party must establish that the property owner or occupier was negligent in their duty to maintain a safe environment. A lawyer can help prove that the defendant knew or should have known about the hazardous condition and failed to take appropriate action to address it.

Establishing damages: A lawyer can help the injured party accurately calculate and present the damages they’ve incurred, which may include medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering and other losses.

Negotiating settlements: Many premises liability claims are resolved through settlement negotiations rather than going to trial. A lawyer can advocate for the injured party’s best interests and negotiate a fair settlement with the defendant’s insurance company or legal representation.

Litigation support: If a settlement cannot be reached, the case may proceed to trial. A lawyer can represent the injured party in court, presenting their case to a judge or jury and maximizing the chances of a favorable outcome.

Dealing directly with the property owner, business or their insurance company is technically possible, and in some cases they may even acknowledge the legitimacy of your claim and provide a settlement offer. Unfortunately, those scenarios are often the exceptions. People often suffer serious, life-changing injuries in these types of cases, and their claims often get significant pushback from the insurance company. Premises liability attorneys are in the business of making sure you’re not taken advantage of during this process. The team at the Buckeye Law Group will aggressively advocate for the fair and appropriate recovery you deserve.

The Vital Facts You Need to Prove in a Premises Liability Claim

Premises liability isn’t entirely different from all other types of personal injury claims, but it does pose some unique challenges that can be hurdles for plaintiffs. There are generally five major points of contention a claim filer must establish to justify and succeed in their case:

You were owed a duty of care: The property owner or business/person leasing the space owed you a duty of care. This duty varies depending on the injured person’s status on the property, such as invitee, licensee or trespasser. As long as you’re an invited guest or legally permitted to be in a place (meaning you’re not a trespasser), you should be entitled to safety. It’s the responsibility of the property owner to ensure you aren’t at risk for injury.

The owner breached their duty: The property owner or lessee breached their duty of care by failing to maintain a safe environment or adequately warn you of potential hazards. This could involve failing to repair or address dangerous conditions, not providing adequate security or not posting warning signs for known hazards (like a wet floor sign).

Foreseeability: Proving that there was a hazard that caused your injury isn’t enough – especially if the hazard was something the owner reasonably didn’t know about or couldn’t have known about prior to your injury. You and your legal team must demonstrate that the property owner or lessee could/should have reasonably foreseen the risk of injury. This means that the property owner should have been aware of the potential danger and taken appropriate measures to prevent it.

Causation: You must prove that the property owner or lessee’s negligence directly caused your injury. This involves showing that the dangerous condition or lack of adequate warning was the proximate cause of the injury and that the injury would not have occurred if the property owner had taken reasonable steps to maintain a safe environment.

Damages: Simply being injured because of a property owner’s negligence isn’t enough for a successful claim. You must establish that you suffered actual damages as a result of the property owner or occupier’s negligence. Damages can include medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering and other losses related to the injury.