Slip-and-Fall Accidents

Premises Liability Lawyers Serving Northeast Ohio

Slip-and-falls are one of the most common sources of injuries in Ohio. Many of these falls occur because property owners fail to maintain their property in a reasonably safe condition, or because the property contains hidden dangers that the victim did not know about.

At Lallo & Feldman Co., LPA, our Cleveland slip-and-fall injury lawyers represent people injured on dangerous property in Lake County, Cuyahoga County and throughout northeast Ohio. We have handled these types of claims since our firm was founded in 1979. We thoroughly understand the duties of landowners and how to hold them responsible when they put others in danger.

Lallo & Feldman Co., LPA handles all personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis. You owe no attorney’s fees unless we win compensation for you. Contact us today.

You Can Help Your Own Case

If you have been injured in a slip-and-fall accident in the Cleveland area, there are several things you can do to help strengthen your case. Get the names and numbers of anyone who witnessed the accident, as well as people who were there after the accident. It is also helpful to take photographs of the dangerous condition as soon as possible, before the property owner has a chance to fix it.

Dangerous Indoor Conditions

Our attorneys have helped many people who were injured in slip-and-falls indoors, mostly involving three things:

• Flooring: Problems with flooring can include an owner’s failure to provide adequate signs for wet spots, failure to provide proper barriers to closed-off areas, using excessive or uneven floor waxing, and allowing torn, uneven, or bulging carpet areas to go unrepaired.
• Stairs: Property owners are responsible for maintaining stairways. Edges can become rounded, the stairs’ non-stick surface (which is required in most states) can wear out, and a handrail can be broken or missing. Any of these factors can lead to a serious injury.
• Escalators and elevators: The devices are held to high standards under the law because they are designed to carry passengers. Property owners must fulfill these high standards or risk a lawsuit when users slip, trip or fall.

Dangerous Outdoor Conditions in Ohio

Dangerous property conditions can also appear in outdoor settings:

• Ice or snow buildup: Property owners are not required to remove snow and ice that accumulates as a result of normal winter weather. But, owners can be responsible if an “unnatural” accumulation of snow and/or ice builds up. An example of an unnatural accumulation might be a walkway that is perpetually shaded by a surrounding building or trees, and thus is covered in a thin sheet of ice while all other walkways are ice-free. Another example might be snow that accumulates on the roof of a building and then drips down via a defective gutter and downspout and refreezes as ice. Either of these situations could be interpreted as owner negligence.
• Inadequate outdoor lighting: Property owners can be held liable if they knew or should have known that their property was poorly lit and did not fix the situation.
• Sidewalks: Most sidewalks are owned and maintained by the city or county. However, if a public sidewalk is used exclusively by the property owner’s clientele, the owner can be held liable for the sidewalk’s dangerous conditions.
• Parking lots: Parking lot owners are legally responsible for maintaining the safety of their lots. This includes any protrusion in the surface of the parking lot that contributes to an injury.

Store Owner Liability

Store owners have a responsibility to keep their premises safe. Store owners must inspect their property for potential dangers and then either fix the problem in a reasonable amount of time or adequately warn the public of the dangers. If they do not, they can be liable for any injuries that results.

Contact a Lake County Premises Liability Lawyer for a Free Consultation

If you were injured in a trip-and-fall in Cleveland, Willoughby or anywhere in northeast Ohio, contact a personal injury lawyer at Lallo & Feldman Co., LPA to learn about your options. Call us at 440-220-5921 or toll free 866-605-0236 to schedule a free consultation. You can also email us and we will respond promptly.