Blog Post

3 Tips to Protect Yourself From a Personal Injury Lawsuit

  • By Admin
  • 25 Mar, 2019
If you've ever been injured on someone's property, you know it can lead to major medical expenses and even lawsuits. If you own your own home, however, you could be at risk of getting sued if someone is injured while on your property. To best protect yourself from financial hardships and avoidable injuries, check out these three tips you should follow.

1. Know Who's Entering Your Property

First, you need to know the various types of people who may end up on your property: invitees, licensees, and trespassers. An invitee is someone you've invited into your home, such as a friend you asked to visit or a plumber who is fixing your sink. Because you've invited them into your home, you usually have more responsibility to keep invitees safe and free from injury.

Licensees are people who visit your home for their own reasons. Again, it may be a social guest, but it may also be a salesperson trying to get a sale. With licensees, however, you simply need to warn them of any potential danger to protect yourself. For example, if your stairs are broken, tell them. Even if they get hurt, you may not be held responsible.

Last, trespassers are people who have no valid reason for being on your property, so you don't need to warn them of potential hazards. They may be there to break into your home, or they may just be cutting through your yard for a shortcut. Whatever the reason, however, you do have a responsibility to avoid activities that will purposely hurt trespassers, such as building a trap.


2. Fix or Draw Attention to Potential Hazards

The best way to prevent injuries is to fix any potential hazards, and that starts with properly maintaining your home. This is extremely important because claiming ignorance doesn't usually work. For example, if your basement stairs are missing a few steps but you claim you didn't know, the court will determine that a reasonable person would have noticed and fixed the problem, holding you responsible.

For many people who visit your home, a warning is enough, but you may also want to post signs or hazard tape to keep people from using the stairs. With invitees, however, a warning may not be enough. If they still get injured, the courts may hold you responsible because you didn't have the stairs fixed in a reasonable time.

Many potential hazards, of course, you won't need to mention to guests in order for them to protect themselves. These are usually common sense hazards, such as knowing that you may trip down darkly lit steps. Having steps missing, however, is not a reasonably anticipated hazard.

3. Keep Attractive Nuisances Hidden

One type of trespassers requires special attention: children. Depending on the age of the child, the court will determine if a child of the same age would reasonably know they were trespassing. If the child is young, you may be held responsible for their injuries.

The best way to protect yourself from child trespassers getting hurt is to hide any attractive nuisances. Attractive nuisances are anything that may tempt children to trespass and get hurt. This could include items designed for children, such as a small pool or treehouse, but it can also include dangerous equipment, like a saw, which may intrigue a young child.

If possible, get rid of as many attractive nuisances. For example, remove the old treehouse. If you can't or don't want to eliminate the nuisance, try to keep it out of sight, such as in your backyard or in the garage. If it's not possible to hide the attractive nuisance, secure it with a fence and a locked gate.

People get injured all the time, but when it happens on your property, you may be responsible. By maintaining your home, securing attractive nuisances, and warning visitors of potential hazards, you can better protect yourself. For more information, contact us at the Law Offices of Christopher Dionisio, Attorney at Law, today.

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Do you believe a divorce is looming in your future? Are you thinking about filing for divorce? Initiating divorce can be a difficult process, especially when you don't plan ahead. If you want to ensure you are prepared to dissolve your marriage, you need to take action now before you file.

With these steps in mind, you will be better prepared for the divorce and custody proceedings. Read on to learn more.

Understand Ohio's Divorce Laws

A divorce lawyer is a crucial source of information during your divorce, developing a wider understanding of Ohio’s divorce laws is certainly helpful. Your divorce lawyer can provide you with step by step instruction on how you should proceed.

Care for Children

Custody is not the only matter relevant to your children. Children undergo a difficult transition during divorce, and providing a sense of normalcy is critical. You might consider discussing therapy options for your children to allow them to cope with the changes ahead.

Avoid Social Media

Social media can hurt you during divorce, especially if you express your feelings a lot on the web. You are better off avoiding websites like Facebook and Instagram until after the divorce proceedings. Otherwise, you might reveal something unfavorable or make yourself look unstable, indiscrete, or irresponsible.

Take Hold of Your Finances

Are you unsure of your financial situation? Now is the time to initiate an understanding of your assets and debts, especially determining which are shared and which are individually owned.

Now is also a good time to inventory all household possessions, including anything of value. Keep track of the value of each item.

Keep Track of Important Events

Logging interactions you have with your future ex-spouse is important too. For example, you should log any instance of domestic violence or situations that might warrant your gaining sole or primary custody of your children. Document all such incidents and submit them to your attorney.

Retain a Divorce Attorney

A good divorce attorney is worth your while. An attorney not only provides you with options for discussing your legal situation but also presents a support system. You may need to rely on your attorney throughout the court proceedings, so it pays to choose an attorney you want to work with closely.

The Law Offices of Christopher Dionisio  is a respected and dedicated member of the community. We understand Ohio law, especially when it pertains to divorce. Call us today to set up a consultation.

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An accident can occur anywhere and anytime, but do you have any idea what to do if you received an injury at work? Many people don't know how to proceed. Some may not want to tell their employers out of concern that they could be terminated, and others may not want to tell because they cannot afford to take time off.

No matter the reason why your accident occurred or why you don't want to tell, you do have rights and deserve protection if you have been injured in an accident in the workplace.

Learn what steps to take if you've had an accident at work that resulted in an injury.

Get Medical Help

If you've been injured, you need to seek medical attention right away. Waiting for medical attention may result in your workplace claiming the injury occurred elsewhere. If you have first aid at your work, get to the first aid clinic for treatment. If your workplace has a clinic off-site that they normally use for injuries, go to that clinic.

If your workplace doesn't have a first-aid clinic or a designated outside clinic, visit a hospital or urgent care facility quickly to have them assess and treat your injuries and document your injury.

Inform Your Supervisor or Boss

Be sure you let your immediate supervisor or boss know that you received an injury. Your employer will have paperwork that they need to fill out in the event of an accident and steps they need to take on their end to document your injury.

Give them all of the information they need about the accident.

Follow Physician's Orders and Employer Restrictions

If your physician has you on restricted duty at work, or your employer placed you on light duty until you heal, follow these instructions. Don't attempt to do too much and injure yourself further. Stay on light or restricted duty until your physician releases you.

If your employer pushes you to do more, don't - not until you are fully released.

Keep Track of Paperwork

Keep track of all paperwork related to your work injury including medical bills, post-accident pay stubs, and information your physician or other medical facilities you visited provided to you. Also, keep track of all paperwork and documentation from your workplace and the insurance carrier involved.

If your employer or the worker's compensation insurance company refuses to pay for your accident, you will need all of this paperwork if you choose to take legal action.

Find a Personal Injury Attorney

If you decide you need to take action against your employer and the insurance company, you'll need to find the right attorney to help you fight for your rights and to give you compensation for your injuries, back pay from time lost, and other money that your company or the insurance company owes you.

Look for an attorney that specializes in workplace injuries and has won these types of cases in the past.

Take advice from your personal injury attorney such as using physician restrictions at home in addition to when at work. This can help prevent your employer from claiming that your injuries aren't as severe as was reported.

If you've been injured in a workplace accident, you should receive compensation for not only the medical bills from the accident but for back pay and other losses you suffered from the accident such as time lost with family or financial impacts the accident may have caused you and your family.

Call The Law Offices of Christopher Dionisio, Attorney At Law , for a consultation today to discuss your case and get you the compensation you deserve.


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