What is premises liability?
Premises liability is the classification of cases including slips and falls, trips and falls, or other situations which occur as a result of a dangerous or hazardous condition on the premises of another. A claim for damages may be brought against the property owner, the renter, or both. These claims include injuries as a result of a body of water, oil, an abrupt change in elevation of flooring, poor lighting or other hidden dangers. Premises liability cases also cover injuries stemming from dangerous methods a land owner or renter operates a business on the premises.
This means accidents that happen due to negligent maintenance, or unsafe conditions on the property owned by someone other than the person injured. You must show how long the defect was there, how noticeable it was, and how much notice the owners had about the dangerous condition before the accident.
Many lawyers advertise that they handle “Premises Liability cases”, but most people don’t know exactly what that means. There are several different types of Premises Liability cases. The most common type involves an injury to a customer or guest of a business, due to a slip and fall, or trip and fall. The average person may think that a business is always responsible if they’re hurt at a business or store. However, the law in Georgia states that the owner is only responsible for injuries to customers when it can be shown that the owner or the employees knew about the hazard, or should have known of the hazard by exercising ordinary care. This can be challenging to the injured person because they have to prove that an employee actually knew of the hazard, or that the hazard was there long enough that they should have found it to avoid unreasonable danger to the public. For example, a person who slips on a spill, but has no evidence of where it came from or how long it was there may not
Premises liability is an area of law that establishes guidelines pertaining to a property owner’s or occupier’s duties regarding the protection of entrants from dangerous conditions or defects on the property. Premises liability cases are typically brought under a negligence theory. Cases that fall under this theory are such cases as slip and falls, retail store injury, amusement park injury, dog bites, and other types of claims where a dangerous or hazardous condition on the premises of another existed, resulting in an injury to visitor or guest. A claim for damages may be brought against the property owner, the lessee, or both. In order to prove negligence, an injured party must be able to establish that the property owner or lessee had a duty to conform to a specific standard of conduct, that he or she breached that duty, and that the breach was the actual and proximate cause which resulted in the injury.
