Columbus, Ohio, Personal Injury Lawyer Discusses Slip and Fall Cases
Businesses and property owners have legal duties to protect the safety and health of customers and visitors. The legal term for this set of obligations to people (defined under law as invitees) is premises liability, and insurance claims and civil lawsuits that arise from injuries or deaths at places like stores, restaurants, hotels, and campgrounds are generally called slip and fall cases.
The duty to ensure people do not get hurt is not absolute, however, which leads to most slip and fall cases becoming very complicated and contentious. The defense team for a business or property owner will try almost anything to convince a judge or jury that a victim suffered no actual injury, showed up with a preexisting condition that the alleged incident did nothing to exacerbate, or inflicted the injury on themselves despite every effort to make getting hurt difficult.
All of this is to say that if you or a family member suffered an injury or lost their life as a direct result of building code violations, unsafe business practices, or negligent or reckless behavior by a company’s employees, you need a Columbus premises liability lawyer at Leist Warner who will fight for the compensation you deserve. You also need us because we know how to collect and present medical evidence, reconstruct accidents, and interpret the often-confusing laws and court decisions regarding premises liability.
When Can a Slip and Fall Claim Be Made?
Getting hurt outside your own home does not automatically entitle you to sue a company or another individual. To have a case, you must be able to show that something someone else did or did not do caused you to suffer harm, something referred to in law as a tort. In terms of premises liability, showing that a hotel failed to install balcony railings of sufficient strength and height could substantiate a tort claim. Wet floors in grocery stores that are not marked with proper signs are also dangers that can merit seeking compensation for medical bills and other injury-related damages.
Acts of negligence or recklessness that can justify pursing premises liability cases include stacking heavy inventory on overhead shelves, driving forklifts or motorized pallets unsafely, and burning a diner while mishandling a hot plate. If a box falls on your head while you shop and you suffer a concussion and neck injury, you may have a premises liability case. The same holds true if you get hit and hurt by an employee moving stock or need a skin graft after getting grazed by your entree.
You cannot intentionally do dangerous things, trespass, or commit crimes and then file a slip and fall claim. As noted, these facts will be challenged vigorously and at length during any insurance claims process or civil court case.
Also, owners of farmland and rural properties and the government enjoy broad exemptions from premises liability when people get hurt while hunting, fishing, hiking, and coming into contact with wildlife and livestock. Court decisions regarding such so-called recreational uses of both privately owned property and public lands like city and state parks tend to put the responsibility for ensuring one’s health squarely on the user/visitor.
Ask a Columbus Premises Liability Lawyer
Contact a Leist Warner personal injury attorney if you or a loved one has been hurt while shopping, dining out, or visiting a public place. You should not have to pay for the treatment of and recovery from injuries or deaths caused by someone else. Lawyers with Leist Warner have helped many slip and fall victims succeed in bringing premises liability claims against businesses and property owners who failed to keep customers and visitors safe. We cannot guarantee you will enjoy the same outcome, but we welcome questions from potential clients. The first consultation is free, so call (614) 222-1000 or use this form to contact us today.
