Slipping, tripping and falling on broken concrete can incur some dangerous injuries. Who is responsible when you slip and fall on broken concrete sidewalks or other areas open to the public?
If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall accident, the Law Offices of Tim Misny can help. Read on, then call us for more information about your slip and fall accident options.
Premises liability in Ohio Personal Injury Law
Premises liability is a civil action. It’s a type of personal injury case in which the plaintiff must prove that:
- The defendant owed them a duty to keep up the premises;
- The defendant breached that duty;
- That breach hurt the plaintiff, and;
- The plaintiff suffered actual harm.
In other words, the defendant’s conduct (or failure to act) must specifically breach their duty as landlord, owner or caretaker, and that breach must have caused the plaintiff actual harm. You cannot file a personal injury suit unless you have suffered actual personal injury.
Who’s responsible?
To succeed in a slip and fall case, you must prove that the defendant (the owner or manager of the land) was negligent in their duty to keep the area safe. For public sidewalks, that usually involves proving that a municipality knew or should have known about the danger, and failed to fix the premises.
Private land open to public access, like parking lots and other facilities, the process is much the same. Plaintiffs must prove that the owner/caretaker knew or should have known that there was a danger to people lawfully present on the property. They failed to fix the premises, and as a result, the plaintiff suffered an actual injury.
What else do I need to know?
Unfortunately, you cannot file a suit against a source of potential harm. To successfully pursue a personal injury claim, you must have suffered actual injury yourselves. There are other legal options available if you would like to force a school or other organization to fix their hazardous property before someone gets hurt.
To learn more about slip and fall accidents, and how you can hold a municipality, individual, company or other entity responsible, call the Law Offices of Tim Misny today. We’ll listen to your case, review the evidence and let you know whether you have a good premises liability action. You may have other legal options, too: we’ll help you understand how you can recover compensation.
Call an Ohio personal injury lawyer today
The Law Offices of Tim Misny can represent your slip and fall case. When you’re the victim of negligence or recklessness, I’ll Make Them Pay!® Call my office at (800) 556-4769 so that I can evaluate your case right away.
