What Premises Liability Covers
Premises liability is the body of law that holds property owners responsible for injuries caused by unsafe conditions on their property. It covers far more than slip-and-fall cases: inadequate security leading to assaults, swimming pool accidents, falling merchandise in stores, dog bites, elevator and escalator malfunctions, fires, and structural failures all fall under premises liability. Whether the property is a retail store, an apartment complex, a parking garage, or a private home, the owner's duty of reasonable care applies.
Ohio's Duty-of-Care Framework
Ohio law sets a property owner's duty according to the status of the visitor. Business invitees — customers and others on the property for the owner's benefit — are owed the highest duty of reasonable care, including inspection for hidden dangers. Licensees, such as social guests, are owed a duty to be warned of known hazards. Trespassers are generally owed only a duty not to cause willful or wanton harm, with special protections for children under the attractive-nuisance doctrine. These distinctions shape every premises case.
Negligent Security Claims
One important category of premises liability is negligent security. When a property owner fails to provide reasonable security — adequate lighting, functioning locks, security personnel where warranted — and a visitor is assaulted or robbed as a result, the owner may be liable for the resulting harm. These cases are common in apartment complexes, parking facilities, hotels, and bars, and they require showing that the harm was foreseeable and that reasonable measures would have prevented it.
Proving and Valuing Your Claim
Success in a premises case typically requires showing the owner knew or should have known of the dangerous condition and failed to address it. Evidence such as surveillance footage, maintenance and inspection records, prior incident reports, and photographs is often decisive and can disappear quickly. Our network attorneys move fast to preserve proof and build claims for the full value of a victim's medical costs, lost income, and pain and suffering.
Injured in Ohio? Get a free, confidential case review today. There's no obligation, and you pay no fee unless you win. Call 973-566-5599.
Frequently Asked Questions
Slip-and-fall is one type of premises liability. The broader category also includes negligent security, pool accidents, falling objects, and other injuries from unsafe property conditions.
Possibly, through a negligent security claim, if the complex failed to provide reasonable security and the assault was foreseeable. These cases are fact-specific.
Generally two years from the date of injury. Claims against government property owners may have shorter notice requirements.