An Overview of Georgia Premises Liability
Premises Liability injuries can be described as injuries to patrons, visitors, tenants, employees and other individuals that occur as a result of a deliberate act or as the result of the negligence of a property owner or manager, which can include inadequate security to the premises, failure to warn of known or foreseeable dangers and many more. A thorough understanding of the ever-changing and fact-specific law regarding the various and numerous incidents that result in premises liability is essential to successful legal representation. If you have been seriously injured by an act of violence or as a result of someone else's negligence and would like to speak with one of our attorneys about your case, please contact us.
Premises Liability & Negligence
'Premises liability' claims result from injuries caused by a property owner's failure to warn, maintain and/or correct situations on public and/or on private property. Owners and occupiers of property have a duty to protect persons lawfully on their property from injuries resulting from hazardous conditions that the owner or occupier knew or should have known existed. When owners or occupiers of property act irresponsibly by failing to adequately protect persons from such hazards, they should be held accountable.Some typical conditions that can result in injuries include:
• Broken or cracked sidewalks
• Slippery or wet floors
• Falls on escalators and elevators
• Unprovoked dog bites and attacks
• Exposure to hazardous chemicals or toxic materials at work or in the home
• Injuries that result from the criminal acts of others
• "Failure to warn" of a property's hazardous, dangerous or unsafe condition, including acts of violence by third party strangers to the premises.
Victims of premises liability claims are entitled to file claims against businesses and individuals who are negligent in their legal duty to provide a reasonably safe condition of property or at a minimum provide an adequate warning that conditions may be unsafe. Negligent property owners can be responsible to pay the victim's damages that may include medical expenses including allowances for future medical expenses and care, pain and suffering, loss of current and future wages including claims of diminished capacity to work or labor, and many other damages suffered by the victim.
Generally, the law provides for compensation in cases where the injury was preventable. The law considers many factors in premises liability claims. Was the property satisfactorily maintained? Was the injured party (entrant) an invitee, licensee, or trespasser? Regardless of how or why a person enters a property, the owners may be held liable if an injury occurs.
Under Georgia law, merely owning or occupying land does not make that person liable for injuries sustained on the property. There must be some form of negligence on the part of the owner or occupier of property before there can be any liability. In order to understand the duty owed by an owner or occupier of land, it is necessary to understand the difference between the owner of the property and the occupier of the property and their relative liability.
Likewise, it is necessary to understand the three different types of people who may be on the property because the degree of responsibility owed by an owner or occupier varies according to the status of the person who is injured. These types include: invitees, licensees, and trespassers.
Generally, it is easy to determine who owns a particular piece of property. An occupier of the property is anyone who exercises some form of control over it. This form of control includes a tenant who leases the property but it may also include other, less traditional, forms of occupancy. For example, a contractor who comes onto the property for purposes of constructing a home, commercial building, or other structure, may become an occupier of the premises by exercising control over the property.
An invitee is someone who comes onto the property by the express or implied invitation of the owner or occupier of the property (such as a customer in a store). It is the duty of the owner or occupier to keep the premises in a safe condition. The liability of the owner or occupier to the invitee is based upon the duty of the owner to make a reasonable inspection of the premises for the protection of invited people. A social guest at a residence is generally a licensee.
Someone who is not an invitee is generally a licensee. An owner or occupier of property is liable to the licensee only for willful or wanton injury. The owner or occupier has a duty to warn the licensee of any known dangerous conditions on the premises that create an unreasonable risk of harm to the licensee, and where the owner or occupier knows the licensee is unaware of the condition and is unlikely to discover it. However, the owner or occupier has no duty to a licensee (unlike the invitee) to inspect for defects or to repair known defects. An owner or occupier simply has the obligation of not acting willfully or wantonly with regard to the licensee.
A trespasser is someone who comes on the premises without the permission of its owner or occupier. A trespasser may be on the property by mistake. The duty owed to a trespasser by an owner or occupier of property is less than that owed to an invitee or licensee. Kids will be kids. Sometimes they wonder off into dangerous place where they are not supposed to be. However, under certain circumstances owners and occupiers of land have a responsibility to anticipate a wondering child and must be held responsible if the child is injured on their property as a result of their negligence.
For example, if a child wondered onto the property because he or she was enticed by some inherently dangerous and attractive man-made thing on the premises, that thing may be considered an "attractive nuisance". By creating or being aware of the attractive nuisance, the owner or occupier should anticipate the presence of children on the premises and impliedly consent to the presence of a child on the property. This changes the child's presence from the status of trespasser to licensee, thus the owner or occupier of the property is obligated to maintain a greater level of responsibility.
Claimants and victims have to keep in mind that not everyone who is injured will be successful in their claim. The injured person must prove to the court that the property owner was negligent or failed in their duty to maintain reasonably safe premises, warn of dangers or dangerous conditions that they were aware existed, or that they should have known existed.
While many businesses and homeowners have premises liability insurance, it may be insufficient to cover the damages suffered by the victim. In these cases, the property owner may become personally responsible for additional compensation. If an insurance company does make a settlement offer, it is always prudent to consult with an attorney who routinely handles premises liability cases. Claimants and victims have to remember, insurance is a business, and like any business – insurance companies routinely protect their own interests and profitability. We advise personal injury victims who are approached by an insurance company representative to decline further discussion and not accept any offers until they have representation from a legal expert who will make the protection of the injured victim's rights the highest priority.
If you have been seriously injured on someone else's property, you may have a premises liability case, and should contact an experienced premises liability attorney.
Inadequate Security
Thousands are injured every year due to property owners and managers who fail to provide for them adequate security. In 1998, the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration made recommendations to protect the health and safety of employees and patrons. These recommendations included increasing staff during high-risk periods, reducing store hours, installing adequate lighting, drop safes and silent alarms, and creating bullet-resistant enclosures to protect store clerks. Unfortunately, many property owners and operators are not subject to OSHA regulations and standards and ignore these recommendations and their patrons and employees may suffer the consequences.
Building owners and management are responsible for providing adequate security to their visitors, customers, tenants and employees in:
• Retail stores
• Schools and universities
• Parking lots
• Businesses
• Hotels
• Clubs & Arenas
• Apartments
Catastrophic injury, assault, rape, murder and robbery are crimes against individuals, families and society. The criminal justice system calls for serious punishment of the perpetrator. Victims of crime can file personal injury lawsuits against their assailants and other responsible parties, including the proprietor of the property, through the civil justice system. While the criminal justice system seeks to deter and punish those found guilty of behavior against society, the aim of civil suits is to provide a system through which victims of intentional acts of violence or victims injured as a result of the negligence of a property owner can seek redress for their injuries. Once liability is established, not only can the offender who is directly responsible for a person's injuries be required to pay for the damages suffered by a victim, the landowner as well may be required to pay adequate compensation to these victims. Oftentimes, a civil suit helps victims and their families achieve closure by pursuing claims through the civil justice system not being addressed by the criminal justice system and these suits quite often generate additional leads and information which was not developed, for one reason or another, by law enforcement or prosecutors assigned to criminal cases.
If you have been seriously injured in a criminal act that may have occurred because of inadequate security, Speaker Law Firm can help you prove your premises liability claim and receive the compensation to which you are entitled. We have access to medical and security experts, legal knowledge and negotiating skills, and the compassion to help you. While compensation cannot erase the emotional and physical trauma of crime victims and their families, it may provide some financial relief and satisfaction in knowing that justice has been done.
Please take the time to review the free
special reports you can download off of our site. Whether you contact our firm or another attorney, we implore you to seek representation and speak with an attorney before discussing your case with the insurance companies. You can contact us today at 404-531-9868 for a free consultation or simply fill out the 100 percent confidential contact form to your left. We thank you for taking the time to visit our Web site and if we can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to
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