Property owners and managers are generally responsible for keeping their premises safe for visitors. Accordingly, if someone is hurt while on their property, they might be responsible for paying damages. Damages could include payments for medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
Although it might seem straightforward, this area of law is surprisingly complicated. Bringing a successful claim for damages requires the assistance of a Dayton premises liability lawyer at O’Connor, Acciani & Levy. Our experienced attorneys can evaluate your situation and determine the best strategy for pursuing compensation.
Common Situations in Premises Liability Claims
There are a variety of hazards that can cause injuries on someone else’s property. Many premises liability claims arise out of the following types of incidents.
Falls
Falls are a major cause of spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries. Even less severe falls could create significant suffering and inconvenience. When a condition on a property causes someone to trip and fall, the victim should contact a skilled attorney for advice.
Animal Attacks
Owners and handlers of animals are responsible for ensuring that their pets do not cause anyone injury. Ohio has a strict liability statute that applies to injuries inflicted by
dogs, and our firm commonly handles these types of incidents in Dayton.
Swimming Pool Accidents
Swimming pools are a common site for many different types of injury. Besides drowning or near-drowning, pool users could slip on wet surfaces, suffer cuts on pool equipment, and get hurt using a diving board.
These are just a few of the most common triggers for premises liability. An
experienced lawyer could determine whether a Dayton property owner might be liable for a person’s injuries in a particular circumstance.
Types of Guests under Property Liability Laws
Usually, someone seeking damages for injuries sustained in an accident must prove someone else negligent. Negligence is a failure to take reasonable care to protect others from harm. However, premises liability law is complicated because the standard of care depends on the reason for the injured person’s presence on someone else’s property.
Invitees
Invitees enter a property with permission for a purpose that benefits both the invitee and the occupier. For instance, business customers are invitees. Property owners and occupiers owe ordinary care to invitees, including making reasonable efforts to discover hazards and provide warnings.
Licensees
Licensees have permission to be on property for their own purposes, such as social guests. Property occupiers must refrain from causing a licensee harm and must warn of hidden hazards they know about. However, occupiers have no duty to inspect their premises for the benefit of licensees.
Trespassers
Property owners and occupiers have no legal duty to protect trespassers from hazards on their premises. However, there is an exception called the Attractive Nuisance Doctrine that requires landowners and occupiers to protect trespassing children from conditions on the property that might be dangerous to them.
An attractive nuisance could be any feature that a child might find enticing. Swimming pools, playsets, treehouses, and trampolines are typical examples. However, other features like sheds, construction sites, abandoned cars, sandpits, and virtually anything that might lure a child onto property might be an attractive nuisance.
A landowner or occupier who knows children might trespass onto the land must take steps to prevent them from injuring themselves on an attractive nuisance. The steps that might be necessary vary depending on the circumstances. A skilled property accident attorney in the area could advise on whether a child’s injury might be compensable under the attractive nuisance doctrine.
Let a Dayton Premises Liability Attorney Handle Your Case
Many legal nuances may affect a premises liability case, so securing appropriate compensation for an injured person requires a thorough understanding of the law. It also requires swift action—
Ohio Revised Code §2305.10 gives an injured person only two years from the date of their accident to file a lawsuit seeking damages.
A Dayton premises liability lawyer can negotiate with responsible parties to secure an appropriate settlement while meeting all filing deadlines just in case the matter ends up in court.
Schedule a consultation with a knowledgeable legal professional at O’Connor, Acciani & Levy today to discuss your situation.
