Wilmington Slip & Fall Attorneys - Wilmington Trip & Fall Attorneys

Wilmington slip and fall lawyers, Wilmington premises liability lawyers, and other Clinton County premises liability lawyers serve clients in all types of injury and accident cases across the Greater Wilmington area. These accidents can result from a variety of causes and conditions and a variety of factors will be involved in determining whether you are entitled to monetary recovery under the law.

What is Premises Liability and how can a Wilmington Slip & Fall accident affect you?

In layman’s terms, a “slip and fall” or “trip and fall” injury refers to an accident that results in personal injury on the property of another, usually due to some negligent maintenance or construction of the property or structures thereon. However, in a legal sense, these types of injuries fall under a broad body of law known as Premises Liability. Other common types of premises liability cases involve accidents such as falling merchandise not adequately secured by a store owner, or a dangerous condition on land, left open to children or to the public without an adequate warning. These types of accidents occur due to the negligence of Wilmington landowners, store owners, and businesses across Clinton County, Ohio. If you have been injured in a Wilmington Slip & Fall accident, contact an experienced Ohio premises liability lawyer today.

Why Should You Obtain a Wilmington Slip & Fall Attorney?

Wilmington personal injury lawyers cover slip and fall litigation because cases in this area center on the issue of negligence. There is no question that premises liability law has been the subject of more change in Ohio than any other body of law. The need to hire a knowledgeable Wilmington slip and fall personal injury attorney to get fair compensation in a Wilmington premises liability case is absolutely critical due to intricacies in this rapidly changing body of law. A well-qualified Wilmington or Clinton County premises liability lawyer will be experienced with this difficult area of law and know how best to navigate the legal system to your advantage.

How Long Do You Have To Contact a Wilmington Slip & Fall Attorney?

In Ohio, a “Statute of Limitations” sets a deadline for filing personal injury actions, such as premises liability claims, and you should contact a Wilmington premises liability lawyer well before the deadline. Under a Statute of Limitations, you must pursue your cause of action before the time limit has expired, or else you will most likely be legally barred from seeking recovery for your injuries. Regardless of whether the victim is an “invitee,” “licensee,” or “trespasser” on the property (see discussion below), Ohio’s Statute of Limitations provides that all premises liability claims must be brought within two (2) years. Similarly, under the Attractive Nuisance Doctrine, premises liability claims brought by children must be made within two years.

Contact a Wilmington premises liability attorney immediately to ensure that your personal injury claim is filed before time runs out!

Wilmington Premises Liability Law — The Basics

When someone slips and falls on someone else’s land and sustains a personal injury, they may be entitled to monetary compensation if a dangerous or preventable condition is to blame. Wilmington, OH landowners, store owners, and other individuals responsible for maintaining premises may have a duty to make that place safe, particularly if they invite customers in for business or if there is an “attractive nuisance” on the property that may lure children onto the land. If you or a loved one has been injured due to a slip and fall accident or another accident caused by a dangerous condition, a Wilmington premises liability attorney can help you get the compensation you deserve.

As noted, premises liability actions are based in negligence, or legal fault. The injury must be “caused” by a “condition” upon the land (or building located upon the land) at issue. To be liable for negligence under Ohio law, there must be:

1. a special duty of care existing between the injured party and the negligent party;
2. a breach of that duty; and
3. the negligence must be the “proximate cause,” or legal cause, of the victim’s injuries and damages.

Since there are a variety of ways that a person can enter upon the premises of another, the duty the property owner owes will vary according to the facts of each case. For example, when someone goes to a Wilmington area Speedway or Kroger to get their shopping done, they are clearly being “invited” upon the premises. This person is called a “business invitee,” and the duty owed by Wal-Mart, Speedway,  Newport on the Levee, or any other type of business that seeks walk-in customers is the duty owed to an invitee.

Compare those facts to the duty owed to someone that you do not want on your land, such as a trespasser. Obviously, Ohio landowners owe a lesser duty of care to trespassers than to business invitees. There is also a separate duty owed to a type of visitors known as licensees, who are usually guests that do not directly benefit the landowner. Social guests are probably the most common type of licensee you will encounter in a Wilmington premises liability case. Additionally, children may be owed a higher duty of care in some situations. You can readily see why the duty owed changes based upon each set of facts presented, and how complicated Wilmington, OH premises liability cases can become. This is just part of the reason why a Wilmington Premises Liability lawyer is essential to help you win your case. A summary of the duties in the State of Ohio, Clinton County, and Wilmington are as follows:

1. Invitee: An invitee is a person who is on the premises at the express or implied invitation of the possessor of the premises and who has entered thereon either as a member of the public, for a purpose for which the premises are held open to the public, or for a purpose connected with the business of the possessor that does or may result in their mutual economic benefit, e.g., a retail customer, a student at school, or a guest at your home.
2. Licensee: A licensee is a person who is on the premises with the permission of the possessor, but without an express or implied invitation. Such person is on the premises only because the possessor has allowed him to enter and not due to any business or contractual relationship.
3. Trespasser: A trespasser is a person who is on the property of another without any right, lawful authority, express or implied invitation, permission, license, or in the performance of any duty to the owner or person in charge, or on any business of such person, but merely for his own purpose, pleasure, convenience, or out of curiosity, and without enforcement, allurement, inducement, or express or implied assurance of safety from the owner or person in charge.

Not only must the Wilmington trip and fall lawyer determine the duty owed, but he or she must also prove that the defendant had control of the premises. For instance, although the owner of the land of Roberts Arena is clearly the landowner and may be deemed responsible for a slip and fall injury, another party may be liable in some cases instead of or in addition to the landowner. For example, if someone was injured while Roberts Arena was being constructed, its owner would have an excellent defense argument that they were not in control of the Stadium and that the liable party should be the construction contractor or one of the sub-contractors working on the property at the time.

If proving a premises liability case weren’t already challenging enough, the Wilmington slip and fall attorney must also distinguish between a “condition” and an “activity” upon the land. For example, a person might be shopping in a Wilmington area Aldi, Old Farm Market, or Wal-Mart store when a piece of merchandise falls on them, causing serious injury. It is an important distinction in the law whether the item that fell was being moved at the time or was stationary in its place when it fell. If it was being moved, it is considered an “activity” rather than a “condition” and a Wilmington slip and fall accident attorney would know that Ohio premises liability law is not controlling on this issue. Moreover, even if someone slips, trips, or falls due to a “condition,” the defendant-property owner might not necessarily be liable for their injuries. For liability to attach:

1. the condition must have been “unreasonably dangerous”; and
2. the owner / occupier must have had “actual knowledge” or “constructive knowledge” of the existence of the “unreasonably dangerous condition.”

Significantly, there have been Ohio Supreme Court cases where the defendant not only knew of, but actually created the condition themselves, and the court nonetheless held that it only created a “mere inference” and not an “unreasonable danger.” In such cases, the defendant will not be held legally accountable. For this reason, it is important that Wilmington premises liability accident victims retain the services of an experienced Ohio personal injury attorney who will zealously pursue their case. Money is the last thing you should be worrying about after a serious injury, and a Wilmington premises liability lawyer can help you get the maximum recovery possible under the law so that you can rest assured that your family will be provided for during your recovery.

Criminal Acts of Rape, Assault and Murder — Is the Land Owner or Occupier Liable?

As explained above, most premises liability cases are based in negligence. Sometimes, however, a different issue arises when it is the intentional acts of third parties that injure people on areas such as apartment properties, mall parking lots, drive-thru lanes at fast food restaurants, ATM machines, or the like. Unfortunately, intentional acts such as these occur in Wilmington and Clinton County, Ohio more often than many of us realize. In these cases, the legal issue turns upon whether the action that gave rise to the victim’s injury was foreseeable and whether reasonable steps could have been taken to prevent such activity on their property. Essentially, the relevant question is whether the Wilmington property owner could have done anything to make the area more safe that might have prevented the crime from occurring in the first place.

This is necessarily a fact-specific question that requires intensive fact-finding and research by the Wilmington premises liability attorney. Clinton County accident lawyers often need to research the criminal complaints or calls made to the Wilmington Police Department regarding the particular piece of property at issue. Also, there may have been a number of “property crimes” in an area, such as car break-ins, but no violent crime calls. Thus, if someone is raped or beaten for the first time in an area, it may be hard to hold the defendant-property owner liable despite the calls made to the police regarding car break-ins. A qualified Wilmington premises liability attorney or Wilmington slip and fall lawyer, however, will work hard to make the necessarily legal arguments on your behalf and get you the settlement you deserve.  

How Can You Obtain a Wilmington Personal Injury or Wilmington Premises Liability Lawyer?

All of the qualified Wilmington premises liability attorneys listed at the top of this page have experience dealing with “slip and fall” accidents as well as other types of premises liability lawsuits. These lawyers will zealously pursue your claim in Wilmington proper or in surrounding areas. Call now for a FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION.

Wilmington injury lawyers are experienced in handling slip & fall premises liability cases in both federal and state courts across the Greater Wilmington area. Just a few of the many courts in which Wilmington injury lawyers typically try cases are:

Hospitals in the Greater Wilmington Area

Personal Injury Attorneys Serve Wilmington and Surrounding Cities

Serving clients throughout Southwestern Ohio, including Beavercreek, Carlisle, Centerville, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Delhi, Fairborn, Fairfield, Florence, Forest Park, Gahanna, Goshen, Hamilton, Highland Heights, Hillsboro, Huber Heights, Independence, Kettering, London, Mason, Miami Heights, Middletown, Mount Orab, New Moorefield, Norwood, Pickerington, Piqua, Reynoldsburg, Springfield, Trotwood, Upper Arlington, Urbana, Westerville, Wilmington, Xenia, and other communities in Clinton County.

Clinton County slip and fall or trip and fall attorneys will zealously pursue your case through settlement negotiations or a trial. CALL NOW for an explanation of your legal rights and options.