If someone falls on your parking lot, the question a court asks is whether you took reasonable steps to address a hazard you knew about or should have known about. Ohio has historically recognized a natural accumulation defense, but it is narrower than most property owners assume, and it does not cover hazards your own maintenance created.
Where the Defense Breaks Down
The natural accumulation argument tends to fail in a few predictable situations. If your plow contractor stacked snow uphill of a walkway and the meltwater refroze across it, that is not natural. If a downspout drains onto a sidewalk and glazes it every night, that is not natural. If you salted part of a lot and left the rest untreated, you have arguably created an uneven expectation for pedestrians.
Documentation Is the Actual Defense
Claims are frequently filed weeks or months after the incident. By then, nobody remembers what the lot looked like on the night in question. What wins is a service record: the time the crew arrived, what they plowed, what material they applied, and time-stamped photos of the finished surface. Ask any commercial contractor whether they log this by default, because reconstructing it after the fact is impossible.
What to Require From a Contractor
- A certificate of insurance naming your property, issued before the season starts
- A written trigger depth for both plowing and salting
- Per-visit documentation with time stamps
- A defined stacking plan so meltwater does not run across pedestrian routes
- A stated response window, not a vague promise to get there
Zero-Tolerance Sites
Medical offices, senior living facilities, and daycare centers usually run a zero-tolerance plan, meaning service on any measurable accumulation rather than waiting for a trigger depth. It costs more per season. It also reflects the fact that the population walking across those lots is the population least able to absorb a fall.
