Injured at an Ohio Campground? What the New Camping Immunity Law Does and Doesn't Cover

Published May 26, 2022 · New Laws

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of camping season in Ohio. Families from Dayton, Kettering, and Beavercreek will be loading tents and campers this week for state parks, lakeside RV parks, and private campgrounds across the state. On Monday, May 30, 2022, the same day as the holiday, a new Ohio law takes effect that changes the rules if someone gets hurt.

House Bill 229 gives campground operators a qualified immunity from lawsuits for injuries caused by the "risks inherent to camping." Like most immunity laws, its headline sounds broader than it is. Here is what it covers, what it does not, and what to do if your trip ends in an emergency room.

The bill

H.B. 229 was passed by the 134th General Assembly, sponsored by Representatives Shane Wilkin and D.J. Swearingen, and signed by the Governor on February 26, 2022. It takes effect May 30, 2022. It enacts a new section of the Revised Code, R.C. 3729.15, and also amends R.C. 3729.05, the campground licensing statute, to exempt sites hosting historical reenactor camps from the licensing requirements.

Who is protected

The immunity applies to a "camp operator," defined in R.C. 3729.15(A)(1) as a public or private operator of a recreational vehicle park, recreation camp, combined park-camp, or temporary park-camp. That reaches private campgrounds and RV parks, and public operators as well.

What the immunity blocks

Under R.C. 3729.15(B), a camp operator is immune from liability for harm to a camper or visitor that results from a "risk inherent to camping." The statute also says operators are not required to eliminate those risks.

The law defines "risk inherent to camping" as a danger or condition that is an integral part of camping, and lists examples, including:

• natural features such as trees, stumps, roots, brush, rocks, mud, sand, and soil;
• uneven or unpredictable terrain;
• a lake, pond, creek, or other body of water that is not operated as a regulated swimming pool;
• a lack of lighting, including at a campsite;
• campfires and weather;
• insects and wildlife not kept or controlled by the operator;
• other people's pets, if the campground has a leash or containment policy;
• the ordinary dangers of camping structures or equipment that the operator does not own or maintain; and
• the negligence of other campers or visitors, or of the injured person.

So, if you trip over a tree root on a trail at night, or a branch falls on your tent in a thunderstorm, the campground will likely argue it is immune.

What the immunity does not cover

The more important part of the law, for injured families, is what remains actionable.

Activities the operator controls. R.C. 3729.15(A)(3)(b) says a risk inherent to camping "does not include recreational activities within the control of the camp operator." Hayrides, zip lines, boat or kayak rentals, organized activities, and similar operations run by the campground fall outside the immunity.

Structures and equipment the operator owns or maintains. The listed inherent risk covers camping structures and equipment "not owned or maintained by the camp operator." A rotten deck on a rental cabin, a collapsing dock, a broken playground, a faulty electrical hookup at an RV site, or a bathhouse floor the operator failed to maintain is a different matter.

Swimming pools. Natural bodies of water are listed as inherent risks, but a swimming pool operated under Ohio's pool regulations is not.

Hidden dangers the operator knew about. Under R.C. 3729.15(C)(5), the immunity does not apply when the operator has, or should have, actual knowledge of a dangerous condition on the land, or in its facilities or equipment, that is not an inherent risk; fails to make it known to campers; and that condition causes harm.

Willful, wanton, purposeful, or criminal conduct. The immunity does not protect an operator who acts with willful or wanton disregard for camper safety, who purposely causes harm, or whose conduct is criminal. R.C. 3729.15(C)(1)-(3).

No sign, no immunity. R.C. 3729.15(D) requires the operator to post a clearly visible warning sign at or near each entrance, in language set by the statute, which begins: "WARNING: Under Ohio law, there is no liability for an injury to or death of a camper or visitor." An operator that fails to post and maintain that sign loses the immunity under R.C. 3729.15(C)(4).

How this fits with other recreation immunities

Ohio already limits claims by people who use certain land for recreation without paying, and those limits have often made park injuries hard to pursue; we wrote about how they work, and their limits, in our post on a state park injury case. H.B. 229 adds a separate protection aimed specifically at campgrounds. The practical effect is that more of a campground case will turn on facts: who owned the structure, who ran the activity, what the operator knew, and whether the sign was posted. Those are the same questions that drive any premises liability claim.

If you are hurt at a campground

The facts that decide whether the immunity applies disappear quickly. Campers check out, sites are cleaned, and broken equipment gets fixed or hauled away. If you or your child is hurt:

1. Get medical care first. Then follow the steps in our guide chapter on the first 72 hours after an injury.
2. Photograph the cause. The structure, the equipment, the step, the hookup, the area where it happened, and anything broken or worn.
3. Photograph the entrance signs, or note that there were none.
4. Get names and contact information of other campers who saw what happened or had complained about the same hazard.
5. Report it in writing to the campground office and keep a copy of any incident report.
6. Keep your reservation and rental paperwork, which can show what the operator provided and controlled.

Our guide chapter on gathering evidence while it still exists explains how to preserve maintenance records and other proof that the operator may hold.

What this means for you

The new law makes it harder to recover for injuries caused by nature, weather, terrain, and other campers. It does not give campgrounds a free pass for poorly maintained cabins, docks, and hookups, for activities they run, or for hazards they know about and keep quiet. Whether a claim survives will depend on the details, and those details must be documented right away.