You Slipped And Fell. Is Anyone Responsible?
by Kenneth J. Knabe

Broken or uneven sidewalks in front of homes or businesses, strawberries on the floor of a local grocer, snow failing gently on the ground -- all, and more, create hazardous walking conditions. If any of these conditions lead to a "slip and fall" injury, what is the responsibility of the owner of the property?

"Slip and fall" is a legal term that indicates injury caused by slippery conditions or defective walkway conditions. If the dangerous condition is not "open and obvious" to the person who falls, there may be liability. For sidewalks, Ohio generally (but not always) follows a "two inch" rule, which holds that if the uneven sidewalk is less than two inches, there probably is no liability. If a store created a hazardous condition or if there was (or should have been) knowledge of a dangerous condition, liability for injuries caused to a patron who slipped and fell is the legal responsibility of the store. For example: A store employee left a box or a carton in the aisle and a customer tripped over it and was injured; an unnecessarily tall pyramid of canned foods tumbled down onto a customer injuring him; squashed fruit or vegetables dropped onto the produce department floor is ignored by store employees and a customer subsequently slips and falls.

Regarding snow, there is no liability for natural accumulations, but there is liability for icy conditions created or exacerbated by the landowner's negligence -- for example, a faulty rain gutter that permits an unnatural accumulation of ice to go across the sidewalk.

We protect ourselves by purchasing insurance. To listen to insurance companies crying foul when they get sued 'you would think that they were not in the business of insuring against harm. But they are. The legal system is specifically designed to sue for injuries caused by someone's negligence. It is not wrong to seek compensatory damages from an insurance company that insured the wrongdoer. If no one were held liable for their actions, there would be no need for insurance., The only party that benefits if you fail to exercise your legal rights is -- you guessed it -- an insurance company.