We hold property owners and businesses accountable when they fail to keep you safe.
100% FREE consultations. You pay nothing unless we WIN.
800-487-8669Everyone who worked on my case did a great job and fought hard to get my settlement done. Whenever I had a question, the team did their best to respond as quickly as possible.
On This Page
Legal Help for the Injured
Premises liability is the area of law determining when property owners or tenants are responsible for the injuries suffered on their property. In certain circumstances, when you are injured on the property of a person, business, or municipality, then the landowner or tenant may be responsible for compensating you for your injuries. This is usually true when you are a guest or customer and incur injuries due to a hidden defect.
After a dangerous property accident, call the Ohio premises liability attorneys at Kisling, Nestico & Redick right away. We will thoroughly investigate your situation to determine what happened and why you got hurt. We will analyze the evidence to find out whether the property owner or tenant is liable for your injuries. If so, we can guide you through a premises liability insurance claim or lawsuit.
Call us today at 1-800-HURT-NOW, or reach out via our online form to schedule a free consultation of your case with our Ohio personal injury attorneys.
We're Award-Winning & Highly-Skilled Attorneys
At Kisling, Nestico & Redick, our experienced lawyers have handled virtually every type of premises liability claim and can assist with every aspect of your case.
Dangerous property conditions take many forms, and our Ohio premises liability lawyers handle the full range of them, including:
When a dangerous property condition takes a life, surviving family members may also pursue wrongful death claims against the responsible owner.
If you’ve been hurt in a premises liability accident, your top priority should be receiving the medical treatment and emotional support you need to recover safely and efficiently. While you focus on recovering, a premises liability lawyer can assist you with the following:
Our statewide practice is designed to make going through an insurance claim or lawsuit more convenient and accessible for those hurt on someone’s property. With 12 Ohio locations, KNR is a call or click away.
*KNR also serves Ohio’s rural counties & conducts consultations via Zoom.
When you are hurt on another party’s property and you seek compensation, there may be premises liability coverage through the property owner or tenant’s insurance policy. If you were injured on another person’s property, you might be able to file a claim against their homeowners or renter’s insurance policy. If you were harmed on a business’s property, they almost certainly have an insurance policy that covers bodily injuries.
Though there may be insurance coverage, that does not mean you will automatically and quickly get a settlement. The insurer will investigate the accident to determine if their policyholder is liable and if you are really injured. During this process, you should have one of our Ohio premises liability attorneys handle the insurance company’s communications and provide evidence of fault and the harm you have suffered.
Then, if the insurer approves your claim, it will calculate a value for your injuries. This is another area in which having a lawyer is essential. The insurer will not want to pay out any more than it has to. Its initial settlement offer will be low. By working with an attorney, you have someone to negotiate an appropriate settlement on your behalf.
Every state’s premises liability law is different. If you were hurt on another party’s property in Ohio, you should speak with our Ohio premises liability attorneys about the law and your rights.
Overall, premises liability is based on a landowner or tenant having a duty of care toward guests or customers and failing to uphold that duty. In Ohio, the specific duty a landowner or tenant owes you depends on your status on the property. Establishing your status is usually the first question in any Ohio premises case, because duty, and therefore liability, flows from it. You may be an invitee, licensee, or trespasser.
You are an invitee if you are on another party’s property with explicit or implicit permission and for a purpose that benefits the property owner or tenant. Another way to think about it is that you are on the property for a business or commercial purpose. If you are at the grocery store, shopping for food, then you are an invitee.
A landowner owes invitees the duty to act with ordinary care for the invitee’s safety and protection. The owner or tenant must exercise reasonable care in discovering dangerous defects and either correcting those defects or warning invitees about them.
You are a licensee if you are on another person’s property, with implicit or explicit permission, for your own benefit or pleasure. Social guests are considered licensees. If you go to another person’s house for a party, you are a licensee.
When you are a licensee, the landowner or tenant owes you a duty of care, but it is lower than if you were an invitee. The owner must refrain from recklessly or willfully causing you harm. If the owner knows you are on their land, though, they must use ordinary care to avoid harming you, which includes warning you about hidden hazards they know about.
You are a trespasser when you enter or remain on another party’s property without permission. Landowners owe trespassers the same limited duty of care as they do to invitees. They only must refrain from willfully, wantonly, or recklessly harming you.
Ohio gives most premises liability injury victims two years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit under the statute of limitations on injury claims (ORC 2305.10). If you miss this deadline, you generally lose the right to recover compensation in court, no matter how strong your case is.
Shorter notice rules can also apply when a city, county, or other government entity owns or controls the property where you were hurt. Because those deadlines are tighter and easier to miss, you should speak with an Ohio premises liability attorney promptly so the right deadline is calculated and protected from the start.
When discussing premises liability claims, you have to mention the open and obvious doctrine. This rule states that everyone is responsible for noticing “open and obvious” hazards and then avoiding them. During a premises liability lawsuit, this doctrine is an objective test.
A judge or jury will determine whether the condition is one you could have discovered through ordinary care. In other words, if you were looking and walking around normally, you could have noticed the problem.
This doctrine is not about your specific actions. It does not matter what you were actually doing or thinking at the time. It does not matter whether you did or did not notice the hazard. If the court finds the hazard that caused you harm was open and obvious, then the landowner or tenant may not be liable for your injuries.
However, there are exceptions to the open and obvious doctrine in Ohio. This is a common defense and one you should prepare for. You should work with our Ohio premises liability attorneys to fight back against the owner’s open and obvious argument.
Fight for Everything You’re Owed
You shouldn’t be forced to pay for someone’s reckless or negligent behavior, especially if they are obligated to keep their property safe. Through a premises liability claim, you may be able to recover compensation to pay for your injury and damages.
The following types of damages in a personal injury case may be available to you during your premises liability claim:
If you were injured on another party’s property, then you need to talk with an attorney about when a property owner can be sued if negligence led to you suffering a personal injury. Just because you were harmed in an accident on another party’s property does not mean the owner or tenant is liable.
A good example is if you slipped on snow or ice. If you slipped on snow and ice on a business or person’s walkway, you probably could not sue. Ohio’s “Winter Rule” states that property owners and tenants are not required to remove natural accumulations of snow and ice.
However, if you were hurt in an accident resulting from the property owner or tenant’s negligence, you may be able to sue. You should speak to a premises liability lawyer as soon as possible after the accident. Our attorneys at Kisling, Nestico & Redick will independently investigate the incident. We will gather as much evidence as we can to determine what went wrong.
We also will review your status on the property to determine the landowner or tenant’s duty toward you. If you were an invitee, we will quickly review the evidence. If there is evidence that shows the owner or tenant failed to uphold an ordinary duty of care or the duty to warn toward you, then our Ohio premises liability attorneys will represent you in pursuing compensation.
If you were a licensee or trespasser, we will review the evidence to determine if the owner or tenant acted recklessly or with malice toward you.
Property owners often defend premises cases by arguing that the injured visitor was not watching where they were going, which ties directly into the open and obvious defense. Ohio answers that argument with a modified comparative negligence rule under ORC 2315.33.
Under this rule, you can still recover compensation if you are found to be 50 percent or less at fault for your own injury. Your award is then reduced by your share of the fault, so a person who is 20 percent at fault recovers 80 percent of their damages. If you are found to be 51 percent or more at fault, however, Ohio law bars you from recovering anything.
Because a small shift in the fault percentage can change the outcome of your claim, it is important to have an attorney push back when an owner tries to blame you for an injury their negligence caused.
Ohio Personal Injury
Our client was the victim of a trip and fall sidewalk case and suffered a torn meniscus. The…
Read More
What Makes KNR Special?
Since our inception in 2005, Kisling, Nestico & Redick has been dedicated to helping personal injury victims fight for the compensation they deserve after an accident affects their way of life. We have helped more than 10,000 people, and we’re ready to keep fighting for Ohioans and anyone who deserves compensation for their personal injury claims.
Free Consultations // Available 24/7 // No Recovery, No Fee
Contact KNRWhat Makes KNR Special?
Premises liability cases can be complicated, and you should not have to tackle this yourself. We can guide you through the insurance claim process, and when necessary, we will represent you during a personal injury lawsuit.
You generally have two years from the date of your injury to file a premises liability lawsuit in Ohio under ORC 2305.10. Missing that deadline usually ends your right to recover. Shorter notice rules can apply when a city, county, or other government entity owns the property, so it is best to speak with an attorney quickly.
If a hazard was open and obvious, a property owner may not be liable because visitors are expected to notice and avoid it. The test is objective and looks at whether an ordinary person would have spotted the danger. There are exceptions to this defense, and our Ohio premises liability attorneys know how to fight back against it.
Yes. Under Ohio’s modified comparative negligence rule (ORC 2315.33), you can still recover compensation if you are 50 percent or less at fault, with your award reduced by your share of the fault. If you are found to be 51 percent or more at fault, you are barred from recovering. An attorney can push back when an owner tries to shift blame onto you.
Depending on the situation, the property owner, a tenant, or a manager may be responsible, based on who controlled the area where you were hurt. Your status as an invitee, licensee, or trespasser also affects the duty that was owed to you. We investigate who had control of the property to identify every responsible party.
KNR handles premises liability cases on a contingency fee basis, which means there is no fee unless we win your case. Your consultation is always free. Call us at 1-800-HURT-NOW to discuss your claim with our team.
