Atlanta Premises Liability Laws
When you enter someone else’s property, you have the right to a reasonable expectation of safety. Property owners in Atlanta and elsewhere in Georgia have a legal responsibility to provide basic maintenance and promptly repair safety hazards. Unfortunately, sometimes a property owner cuts corners, postpones repairs, and fails to adequately maintain their property, resulting in a serious injury.
Understanding Atlanta’s premises liability laws is crucial for both property owners and injury victims harmed through property owner negligence.
Duty of Care for Atlanta Property Owners and Occupiers
A private property owner in Atlanta should reasonably expect others to enter their property, including delivery people, repair workers, solicitors, or even friendly neighbors. For this reason, premises liability attorneys in Atlanta explain that Georgia law requires private property owners and homeowners to keep their premises reasonably safe for anyone who lawfully enters their property and isn’t trespassing or committing a crime.
A property owner must maintain their property by doing the following:
- Performing regular inspections
- Providing routine maintenance and upkeep
- Identifying safety hazards
- Promptly correcting safety hazards and posting warnings or blocking off unsafe areas until repairs are completed
- Keep dangerous dogs safely contained
It’s important to understand that a private property owner also has a duty of care to protect children from an “attractive nuisance” on their property, even when a child is trespassing on the property. For example, a pool or a treehouse might attract children who don’t have the same judgment as adults. Therefore, even when a child trespasses, the property owner may be liable for injury damages or wrongful death if they failed to prevent the child’s access to a danger on their property.
Atlanta Premises Liability Laws for Commercial Property Owners
Under Georgia § 51-3-1, the law states the following:
“Where an owner or occupier of land, by express or implied invitation, induces or leads others to come upon his premises for any lawful purpose, he is liable in damages to such persons for injuries caused by his failure to exercise ordinary care in keeping the premises and approaches safe.”
Under this law, commercial property owners have an enhanced duty of care to those they invite onto their property for business reasons. This applies to apartment complex and hotel owners, as well as the owners of stores, restaurants, bars, cafes, resorts, amusement parks, and all other commercial properties.
Under this enhanced duty of care, a property owner must take all reasonable precautions to prevent common maintenance problems such as slip-and-fall hazards, dangerous stairways, cracked or uneven pavement or flooring, loose carpets, and escalator and elevator dangers. In addition, a commercial property owner must install adequate lighting and implement appropriate security measures to prevent crime-related injuries and harm to those lawfully on the property.
Understanding Duty of Care In Atlanta Premises Liability Laws
Proving liability in an Atlanta premises liability case requires the injury victim to present evidence of the property owner’s negligence and liability. The evidence must show the following:
- The property owner owed a duty of care to the injury victim because they were lawfully on the property
- They breached their duty of care through negligence
- The negligent breach of duty caused injury to someone lawfully on the property
- The injury victim suffered damages from the injury
The evidence must also show that the property owner knew about the unsafe condition or should reasonably have known about it, but they failed to take action to correct the hazardous condition.
How Can an Atlanta Premises Liability Lawyer Help Me?
It takes a thorough independent investigation and clear evidence to recover the maximum compensation available through the property owner’s property liability insurance. An insurance company may try to blame the injury victim, undervalue a claim, or deny it completely when an injury victim doesn’t have assertive, proactive legal representation on their side. Call a personal injury lawyer at Piasta Walker Hagenbush LLC to learn more about your legal options for financial recovery under Atlanta’s premises liability laws.