Just because an injury occurred on someone else’s land does not mean the owner or manager is automatically liable. Ohio state law divides visitors into categories based on their reasons for being on the premises and assigns property owners different duties of care for each type of visitor.
Landowners must provide invitees or people who visit for the financial benefit of the owner, such as retail shoppers, with ordinary care. This means owners must fix known dangers and warn invitees of hazards that a typical visitor might not notice. Conversely, landowners only owe licensees, or people who visit the property for their own benefit, and trespassers a duty of not knowingly inflicting harm on them.