Posted on Monday, February 5th, 2024 at 9:00 am
Do you know who is responsible if someone gets hurt on your property? Property owners have certain legal duties in Georgia, such as maintaining a safe environment for visitors and guests. However, other factors can influence liability in these circumstances. A property owner may or may not be automatically liable when someone is injured on the premises.
Have been hurt on someone else’s property due to their negligence? Contact us online or call Jonathan R. Brockman, P.C. at (770) 205-8827 to speak to a premises liability lawyer. Our personal injury lawyers can help you get the financial compensation that you deserve from the at-fault party or their insurer.
Who Is Responsible If Someone Gets Hurt on Your Property?
Premises liability laws generally require Georgia property owners to take reasonable steps to ensure guests are safe. These laws typically do not apply to trespassers.
Keeping a property safe involves monitoring it for hazards. A property owner should watch for risk factors that could result in injuries. They must address these hazards promptly whenever they discover them.
The Responsibility to Inform Guests of Hazards
Sometimes, eliminating a hazardous condition is impossible. For example, at a facility storing hazardous chemicals, a property owner can’t simply dispose of these materials. In these instances, property owners must ensure that guests are aware of hazards. They must warn guests about their presence and do their best to keep their guests or visitors out of harm’s way.
Is a Sign Enough to Protect a Property Owner?
Take as an example a property owner using signs to warn others of a dog on the premises. On the other hand, the dog owner can also try to use the sign to show that he took precautions to warn people about the dog, and should therefore not be held liable. However, a sign warning others of the possible danger a dog presents does not necessarily offer blanket immunity for a dog owner.
Responsibility of Property Owner’s Employees and Agents
A property owner may also fulfill their duties by training their agents to keep a property safe. For instance, maybe you own a store. Your duties include training employees to guard against hazardous conditions on the property. You may be liable if someone gets hurt on your property because you didn’t fulfill this duty or because your employees didn’t take the appropriate steps to keep visitors safe.
Can You Sue a Property Owner for Negligence?
If you sustain injuries in an incident on someone else’s property due to a hazardous condition on the property, you could be entitled to compensation. You could seek compensation for medical bills for the treatment of your injuries and other accident-related losses by filing a claim with the property owner’s insurance. Filing a lawsuit is an option when the insurance company won’t pay.
Determining Fault Factors
Whether you’re entitled to compensation depends on many factors. For example, maybe you hurt yourself by tripping over an obstruction in someone’s driveway or parking lot. Perhaps you were unable to see the obstruction because outdoor lighting was inadequate.
Is the property owner liable in this scenario? Potentially. They may be liable if you show they knew or should have known about the inadequate lighting before you got hurt. If you were hurt because they didn’t address the issue in a timely manner, you might be eligible for compensation.
However, maybe the lighting should have been adequate. Perhaps a storm or other such factor caused electrical issues that interfered with the lighting. In this case, the property owner may not be liable for your injuries. That’s because you didn’t sustain them as a result of a property owner’s carelessness or inaction.
Common Causes of Premises Liability Injuries
There are various ways in which visitors to a property can get hurt. Common causes of premises liability injuries can include:
- Lack of proper warning – Someone could get hurt if they are unaware of a hazard on a property.
- Lack of security – On some types of properties, adequate security is essential. Violent altercations or personal attacks could occur if security is inadequate.
- Lack of proper maintenance – People can sustain harm in many ways due to lack of property maintenance and upkeep. For instance, maybe a property owner fails to repair damaged handrails on a flight of stairs. This could result in someone falling.
- Slip and falls – Slip and fall incidents are particularly common in premises liability cases. A slip and fall occurs when someone slips or trips over a hazard. Property owners may be liable for slip and fall injuries if they fail to address spills, rumpled carpets, exposed electrical cords, or other hazards promptly.
What to Do If You Are Injured on Someone Else’s Property
Someone who is injured on someone else’s property should notify the property owner. They should also identify witnesses and seek medical treatment right away. Even if a victim doesn’t believe they’re injured, they might have injuries they don’t know about.
Seeing a doctor is key to getting any treatment that may be necessary. In addition, seeing a doctor will create a clear link between the incident and the injuries. This can help during settlement negotiations.
Contact a Georgia Premises Liability Lawyer
Have you been hurt on someone else’s property in Georgia? If so, you will need to gather evidence of negligence to show you deserve compensation. See our recent victories results page to see how Jonathan R. Brockman, P.C. has helped clients get awards from $18,000 to $1,000,000. And since we work on a contingency fee basis, you pay nothing unless you win your case.
Gathering such evidence is just one task a Georgia premises liability lawyer can assist you with. At Jonathan R. Brockman, P.C., we’re prepared to fight for what you deserve. Learn more about what our legal team can do for you by contacting us online today or calling us at (770) 205-8827 for a free case review.
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