Jennifer Sanchez and her three children lived in a two-story townhome operated by CAA (the Cincinnati Community Action Agency). CAA is a nonprofit entity that provides housing for single mothers in financial need. Sanchez requested maintenance on an area behind her toilet on the second floor of the townhome. Josh Hill, a maintenance employee for CAA, came to fix the area. Hill's plan was to simply plaster over the moist area. However, Ms. Sanchez's boyfriend and the father of her children, Ruben, was present and offered his expertise as someone who earned a living doing drywall work. He loaned Hill a box cutter to cut out the moist portion of the wall and Ruben walked Hill through the repair. As Hill finished the work, Ms. Sanchez called Ruben downstairs and Hill left.
The two- and four-year-olds ended up in the bathroom near the repair area and found the box cutter. In a fight over the box cutter, the four-year-old (V.R.) sliced her finger trying to seize it from the two-year-old. V.R. had to have several surgeries for nerve and tendon damage. Ms. Sanchez, Ruben, and V.R. sued CAA alleging that it had breached its duty as a landowner and caused the injury for their failure to maintain the premises. Can they recover? [In re V.R., 2014 WL 6090396 (Ohio App.)]