Anderson v. Dept. of Rehab. & Corr.

Citations

• 2019 Ohio 3266

Syllabus

Negligence personal injury reasonable care duty notice Civ.R. 53 magistrate. Plaintiff is an inmate in the custody and control of defendant. Plaintiff brought this action for negligence after slipping and falling on a sidewalk at a correctional institution. Following a trial, the magistrate recommended judgment in favor of the defendant. The magistrate found that defendant did not breach its duty of reasonable care to plaintiff. The evidence showed that defendant treated the sidewalk with salt during the early morning when there was precipitation and below-freezing temperatures. There was no evidence that the sidewalks were slippery or otherwise hazardous before plaintiff fell in the late afternoon. The magistrate found that, to the extent the sidewalk became slippery before plaintiff's fall, the slippery condition developed shortly before the fall and defendant did not have actual or constructive notice of the condition. To the extent plaintiff believed he received inadequate medical treatment after he fell, the magistrate found that plaintiff did not allege a medical negligence claim and did not present the expert testimony necessary to sustain such a claim.