The baseball season is upon us and most major cities in Ohio – Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, Toledo, Akron, Dayton, and Youngstown – have professional baseball teams that draw in several million spectators per year. Foul balls, homeruns, broken bats, and errant throws pose a risk of personal injury and harm to any spectator. However, recovering for such injury can prove difficult and is dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case.
In Ohio, to maintain an action for negligence a plaintiff has the burden of establishing that: (1) the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care; (2) the defendant breached that duty; and (3) the plaintiff suffered injury proximately caused by the breach. However, if a defendant shows that the plaintiff assumed the risk of injury through participating in an inherently dangerous activity; the defendant owes no duty and, therefore, the plaintiff cannot recover for his/her injuries.
Read moreI frequently get phone calls and emails concerning individuals who were injured as a result of a trip and fall or a slip and fall on someone’s property or at a place of business. Typical injuries range from a concussion to a broken leg or a dislocated shoulder. Some injuries are quite significant, requiring surgical repair and many months of rehabilitation. However, just because someone was injured as a result of a fall, does not necessarily mean that he or she has a viable claim for negligence. In my experience, these types of claims are most always contested and vigorously defended.
Premises liability – i.e. the liability of the landowner – is a fairly nuanced area of the law. The purpose of this article is not to delve into every aspect of premises liability (I’ll save some for later) but, rather, to give you a general overview of what is needed to bring (and prove) a viable claim.
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