On October 1st, 2020, the wheels of a shopping cart locked up and threw its user, Laura Cordasco, 66, over the cart. According to NJ.com, the plaintiff suffered severe injuries and faced daunting medical bills.
This incident occurred in New Jersey but could easily happen at your local supermarket. Premises liability means that property owners are responsible for their patrons’ safety. However, in this case, it might be challenging to prove the grocery store’s negligence caused the accident. Continue reading to learn how Ohio law might handle this scenario.
Comparative negligence
Ohio enacted a comparative negligence law in 1980, according to the Ohio Department of Insurance. Negligence is when a party does not exercise safe practices that a reasonable person would understand are necessary, resulting in the injury of someone. Comparative negligence means you must only prove 50 percent fault to recover damages. Before the law, any degree of negligence demonstrated by the injured party meant recovery was not possible.
Proving the case
Comparative negligence factors significantly into the situation of Laura Cordasco. If this happened in Ohio, the plaintiff only has to prove the guilt of the supermarket is at least 50 percent. To do so, the attorney might investigate the shopping carts’ state of disrepair and the maintenance of every shopping cart owned by the store. The exploratory period might reveal a consistent lack of care for their carts and gather several customer complaints to prove the grocery stores’ negligence.
Property owners have a duty of care toward their patrons. If their negligence contributes to 50 percent of an injury, you might have a premises liability case.