(a) A possessor of real property, including an owner, lessee or other lawful occupant, owes no duty of care to protect others against dangers that are open, obvious, reasonably apparent or as well known to the person injured as they are to the owner or occupant, and shall not be held liable for civil damages for any injuries sustained as a result of such dangers.
(b) Nothing in this section creates, recognizes or ratifies a claim or cause of action of any kind.
(c) It is the intent and policy of the Legislature that this section reinstates and codifies the open and obvious hazard doctrine in actions seeking to assert liability against an owner, lessee or other lawful occupant of real property to its status prior to the decision of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals in the matter of Hersh v. E-T Enterprises, Limited Partnership, 232 W. Va. 305 (2013). In its application of the doctrine, the court as a matter of law shall appropriately apply the doctrine considering the nature and severity, or lack thereof, of violations of any statute relating to a cause of action.
Structure West Virginia Code
Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale
Article 7. Actions for Injuries
§55-7-3. Unlawful Seizure or Attachment
§55-7-4. Action of Replevin Abolished
§55-7-5. Action for Death by Wrongful Act
§55-7-7. Compromise of Claim for Death by Wrongful Act
§55-7-8. Personal Injury Action Where Injuries Result in Death
§55-7-8a. Actions Which Survive; Limitations; Law Governing Such Actions
§55-7-9. Violation of Statutes
§55-7-10. Trespass Abolished; Trespass on the Case to Lie in Lieu Thereof
§55-7-11. Suits Against Unincorporated Common Carriers
§55-7-13a. Modified Comparative Fault Standard Established
§55-7-13c. Liability to Be Several; Amount of Judgment; Allocation of Fault
§55-7-14. Liability of Visual or Sound Broadcasting Stations for Defamatory Statements
§55-7-15. Aid to Victim of Accident and Victim of Crime; Immunity From Civil Liability
§55-7-16. Immunity From Liability for Ski Patrol Rendering Emergency Care
§55-7-18a. Employer Immunity From Liability; Disclosure of Information Regarding Former Employees
§55-7-20. Limiting Civil Liability of Nonprofits for Arranging Passage on Excursion Trains
§55-7-22. Civil Relief for Persons Resisting Certain Criminal Activities
§55-7-23. Prescription Drugs and Medical Devices; Limiting Health Care Providers' Liability Exposure
§55-7-27. Liability of Possessor of Real Property for Harm to a Trespasser
§55-7-29. Limitations on Punitive Damages
§55-7-31. Limitation on Products Liability Actions; Innocent Seller