Understanding the Impact of Slip and Fall Accidents on Older Adults:

As we age, our bodies become more vulnerable to injuries. Slip and fall accidents pose a significant threat to older adults, often resulting in fractures, sprains, and other serious injuries. To protect yourself or your loved ones, it is crucial to implement fall prevention measures such as removing clutter, installing handrails, and ensuring proper lighting. Additionally, regular exercise and balance-enhancing activities can help reduce the risk of falls.

The Role of Negligence in Slip and Fall Accidents:

In many cases, slip and fall accidents occur due to the negligence of property owners. Whether it’s a wet floor without warning signs or a hazardous walkway, property owners have a responsibility to maintain safe premises for visitors. If you’ve been injured due to negligence, it’s essential to gather evidence such as photographs, witness statements, and incident reports. Seeking legal representation can help you navigate the complexities of personal injury claims and ensure you receive the compensation you deserve.

The Lingering Effects of Traumatic Brain Injuries from Slip and Fall Accidents:

While broken bones and sprains are often visible injuries resulting from slip and fall accidents, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) can have long-term effects that may go unnoticed initially. Symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, memory problems, and mood changes can manifest days or even weeks after the accident. If you or a loved one experiences any of these symptoms, seeking immediate medical attention is crucial. Proper diagnosis and treatment can significantly impact your recovery and overall quality of life.

Unseen Hazards: How Poorly Maintained Properties Contribute to Slip and Fall Accidents:

Many slip and fall accidents occur due to hazards that are not immediately visible. Uneven surfaces, inadequate lighting, and slippery floors are just a few examples of potential dangers. It’s important to be vigilant and identify these hazards in public spaces and private properties. Reporting unsafe conditions to the appropriate authorities not only helps prevent future accidents but also strengthens your case if you decide to seek legal action.

The Importance of Seeking Immediate Medical Attention After a Slip and Fall Accident:

Even if you feel fine after a slip and fall accident, it’s crucial to seek immediate medical attention. Some injuries may not be immediately apparent, and delayed symptoms can arise days or weeks later. By documenting your injuries and receiving proper medical treatment, you not only prioritize your well-being but also establish a crucial link between the accident and your injuries, which is vital when pursuing a personal injury claim.

At Davis Injury Firm, we are here to support you through every step of the process. If you or a loved one has been injured in a slip and fall accident, don’t hesitate to reach out for a consultation. Together, we can fight for the justice and compensation you deserve.

1. Seek Medical Attention

The first and most crucial step is to seek medical attention, even if you feel fine. Some injuries, such as concussions may not show symptoms right away. A medical professional can assess your condition, diagnose any underlying injuries, and provide the necessary treatment.

2. Report the Accident

Report the accident to the property owner or manager as soon as possible. Ask them to make a written report and request a copy for your records. If possible, take photos of the accident scene, including the hazard that caused your fall.

3. Collect Evidence

Collect as much evidence as possible, including witness statements, surveillance footage, and any other relevant information. This evidence can help support your case if you decide to file a personal injury claim.

4. Don’t Sign Anything

Avoid signing any documents or accepting any settlements from the property owner or their insurance company without consulting with a personal injury attorney first. They may try to offer you a low settlement or ask you to sign a release of liability, which can limit your legal options.

5. Consult with a Personal Injury Attorney

A personal injury attorney can help you understand your legal rights, assess your case, and negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf. They can also help you file a personal injury claim and represent you in court if necessary.

By following these steps, you can protect your health and legal rights and increase your chances of receiving fair compensation for your injuries.

If you need legal assistance after a slip and fall accident, contact Davis Injury Firm today for a consultation.

1. Lack of Training

One of the most common causes of forklift accidents is a lack of training. Operators who are not properly trained may not know how to safely operate the forklift, leading to accidents. Make sure all operators are properly trained and certified before allowing them to operate a forklift.

2. Overloading

Overloading a forklift can cause it to tip over, leading to serious injuries. Make sure operators know the weight capacity of the forklift and never exceed it. Use scales to weigh loads and ensure they are within the forklift’s capacity.

3. Poor Maintenance

Forklifts that are not properly maintained can malfunction, causing accidents. Make sure all forklifts are regularly inspected and maintained according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. Any issues should be immediately addressed and repaired.

4. Lack of Communication

Communication is key when operating a forklift. Operators should communicate with each other and with other employees in the area. Make sure all employees in the area are aware of the forklift’s movements and keep a safe distance from it.

5. Reckless Driving

Reckless driving is a leading cause of forklift accidents. Operators should always follow proper safety precautions and drive at a safe speed. They should also avoid sharp turns and sudden stops, which can cause the forklift to tip over.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a forklift accident, contact Davis Injury Firm. Our experienced personal injury attorneys can help you get the compensation you deserve. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.

In this blog post, we will discuss what constitutes rape and sexual assault in an apartment complex setting and how a property owner or operator can be held liable for not preventing such heinous acts from happening on their watch.

Apartment Complex Rape and Sexual Assault

There are certain security measures that property owners can take to prevent heinous crimes such as the rape and sexual assault of tenants and visitors. Unfortunately, apartment complex owners can sometimes value profit over safety, and crimes usually occur on properties where the owners have failed to implement proper security measures in order to save money. A lot of times, you see big corporations or private equity firms owning and operating apartment complexes without any true regard for tenant safety. Normally, these types of apartment complexes are not only dangerous but are also often accompanied by generally poor living conditions that landlords refuse to fix. This lack of care includes failing to protect tenants and visitors from violent crimes.

In unsafe apartment complexes that have known violent criminal activity, property owners can do many things to prevent crimes from occurring. Some safety and security measures include:

• Adequate lighting
• Fencing
• Gated entry
• Security patrol
• Warning signs are posted for residents and visitors
• Criminal background checks for residents, employees, and others
• Installing proper locks for doors and windows
• Surveillance cameras

Where apartment complex owners know that there are past violent crimes and fail to take reasonable measures to protect people from those crimes, they can be responsible to crime victims for the injuries and pain and suffering that result.

The Property Owner or Operator May Be Liable

If you or someone you know has been the victim of rape or sexual assault in an apartment complex, you may be able to bring a civil claim against the property owner for failing to protect you from being a victim of crime.

In order to prove liability, it must be shown that the property owner or operator knew or should have known that there was a risk of rape or sexual assault and failed to take reasonable steps to prevent it from happening.

Sadly, people who do not have the ability to fight these powerful property owners are disproportionately victims of crime, and these property owners know that they can often get away with doing the bare minimum. That is where we come in to fight for what is fair and force apartment complex owners to think twice about allowing people to be hurt on their property. If you have been the victim of rape or sexual assault in an apartment complex, contact our experienced personal injury attorney at Davis Injury Firm today to discuss your legal options. You may be entitled to compensation for your injuries, pain and suffering, and more.

Contact the skilled team at Davis Injury Firm right away by calling (404) 593-2620. If you prefer, you can also fill out the online contact form, and someone from our team will reach out to you right away.

Airport Injuries

Airport injuries can happen anywhere, including in the terminals, on airplanes, on boarding entry ramps, in bathrooms, restaurants, or parking lots. Any number of companies can be responsible for an injury that occurs in the airport.

The City of Atlanta owns and operates the airport, and is responsible for its safety. However, the City hires other companies for maintenance, cleaning, and management of the airport, and those companies also have a responsibility for keeping travelers safe. Additionally, many vendors, such as restaurants and shops could be responsible for dangerous conditions in areas that they control. In other words, anyone could be responsible for an injury, depending on where and how the injury happens.

Just as in any other premises liability case, someone who suffers an airport injury must show there is a responsible party whose carelessness or “negligence” caused the injury to happen.

In one airport injury case we handled, there was water leaking from a restaurant out into the terminal. One of the biggest questions in that case was who was responsible—the restaurant or the airport maintenance people? Another issue was how long had the water been there? Did the restaurant know that there was water leaking from its business? Did the airport and its maintenance company know that there was water leaking into the terminal? Did anyone regularly inspect the area for spills?

Some steps the airport or other businesses inside of the airport can take to prevent falls or other injuries include:

• Regular inspection for dangerous conditions, such as spills or objects in aisles or walkways.
• Regular maintenance and inspection of escalators, elevators, trains, & moving walkways.
• Posting warning signs regarding any dangerous conditions.

Airport injury cases, like most premises liability cases, are complicated. They can involve multiple responsible parties, and 99% of the time a lawsuit has to be filed in order to resolve an airport injury case.

We Can Help With Your Airport Injury Case

If you’ve suffered an injury at the airport through no fault of your own, you may be able to recover compensation for your losses. Don’t hesitate to reach out to our firm right away with your questions.

Contact the skilled team at Davis Injury Firm right away by calling (404) 593-2620. If you prefer, you can also fill out the online contact form and someone from our team will reach out to you right away.

Hotel owners are property owners that can be held liable for failure to keep the property safe, and that can include failing to act to protect individuals from sexual assault or rape. Read on to learn more.

Georgia’s Laws Regarding Sexual Assault on Hotel Property

Under Georgia law, business owners are responsible for the safety of their property. That means the owners of hotels have a duty of care to protect people from known dangers, including criminal activity.

For example, hotels can be held liable for allowing the use of their property for sex trafficking or for turning a blind eye to the illicit uses of their space. There are several ongoing lawsuits involving sex trafficking rings and hotels. People can be raped or assaulted on hotel properties where security was inadequate.

Although hotels and other business owners are not always responsible for your safety or for other people’s criminal acts, they are expected to act in a reasonable way to protect guests from known criminal activity.

Some steps that hotel and other business owners can take to keep their guests safe include:

• Installing cameras;
• Conducting background and criminal checks on all employees;
• Making sure key cards are properly coded and can be traced;
• Checking identification;
• Having policies and procedures for disabling key cards that are lost;
• Installing chain locks;
• Requiring elevator key cards to get onto floors with rooms;
• Providing adequate lighting and security in parking lots and parking decks; and,
• Having security guards on the property.

We’re Here to Help

If you’ve been sexually assaulted on hotel premises, you may be able to recover compensation for your losses.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to our skilled team right away. We’re here to help you during this difficult time.

Contact the skilled team at Davis Injury Firm right away by calling (404) 593-2620. If you prefer, you can also fill out the online contact form and someone from our team will reach out to you right away.

This legal language generally means that a property owner has to act in a way that a reasonable person in the same position would act to keep the property safe for people who are invited onto the property or otherwise allowed to be on the property. The protection is not one that is all-encompassing, nor does it apply to people who are not supposed to be there. Ordinarily, a criminal act by someone that has nothing to do with the property is considered an “intervening act” for which the property owner cannot be held liable.

However, many Georgia cases have allowed victims of crimes occurring on properties where the owners should have reasonably foreseen the occurrence of the crimes. One way of showing foreseeability is using substantially similar previous criminal activities that occurred on or near the premises that would alert a reasonable person in the same position to take ordinary care to protect visitors and other people from the criminal activity. That is not the only way to show foreseeability but is one way to prove it.

By way of example, if multiple violent crimes, even if they were not the exact same crime, occur on an apartment complex’s property prior to shooting the death of a tenant, the prior violent crimes could show foreseeability. Some of the steps that an apartment complex owner could take to protect its tenants and other visitors allowed the property include adequate lighting, fencing, working gates, security patrol, and warnings about the past crimes to the tenants and visitors. If the apartment complex owner knew about previous violent crimes but did nothing to protect the tenants and visitors, then, under Georgia’s negligent security laws, the victim’s family would be allowed to seek recovery against the apartment complex owner.

The apartment complex owner would defend the case by alleging that the crime was committed by a criminal over which it had no control. Under the law of apportionment, a property owner defending a civil lawsuit for injuries could ask a jury to “apportion” fault to a criminal. That is, a jury could assign fault to the criminal, even if s/he were not a party to the case. But many Georgia courts and juries have rejected the argument that because a jury was allowed to apportion fault to the criminal that the property owner was off of the hook for keeping its premises safe. Therefore, a property owner can be held liable in a civil suit for injuries stemming from a criminal act of another person completely unrelated to the property owner.

The law surrounding these types of cases are complex. If you or a loved one has been a victim of a violent crime that could have been prevented if a property owner took simple safety measures to prevent the crime, the Davis Injury Firm is experienced with negligent security cases and offers no-obligation, free consultations with an attorney. Call us today at (404) 593-2620 to schedule a phone call directly with an attorney.

Negligent security is a type of premises liability claim. Premises liability cases in Georgia rest on the principle that a property owner has the legal duty to make sure that lawful visitors or “invitees” to its property are safe from dangerous conditions. An invitee of a hotel or motel includes guests, and dangerous conditions can include crimes that are committed by unrelated persons who come on to the property or even other motel or hotel guests.

Hotel and motel owners have the duty to protect its guests from “foreseeable” criminal acts, even if the crimes are committed by third parties. Thus, one of the factors that a victim of a crime on an unsafe property has to prove is that the crime was foreseeable. You may ask how anyone could predict the future to foresee the criminal act of a third party. Some factors that show that a property owner should have foreseen a criminal act are past crimes that occurred on the property or complaints about criminal behavior from customers, employees, or other guests.

Another requirement of proving a negligent security claim against an unsafe motel or hotel is that, despite knowing about the potential for crime, the property owner’s failure to act to protect against the criminal act caused its guest to be victimized by a criminal. For example, if a hotel or motel owner has warning about potential crimes and failed to take actions such as hiring private security guards, installing surveillance cameras, installing fences and gates around the property, or controlling access to the building, then the victim may argue that the motel or hotel owner foresaw the crime and its failure to take action caused the crime to occur.

Another factor that is important to winning a negligent security case against a hotel or motel is that the guest who is victimized could not have had more knowledge about the impending crime than the hotel or motel did. If the guest or victim knew about the risk of a criminal attack but failed to act reasonably to protect himself/herself, a jury could find that the victim’s behavior contributed to the crime. For example, the victim could have left the door to his or her motel room wide open without locking it. In court, if a jury finds that the victim was more than 49% negligent, then the victim cannot recover against the motel owner.

Additionally, one of the motel/hotel owner’s defenses in these negligent security cases is that they are not at fault for a criminal’s acts. Thus, they often defend themselves by placing the blame on the criminals themselves. Georgia law allows a jury to “apportion” or put some or all of the blame on the criminals themselves. Thus, an attorney handling a negligent security case must conduct a thorough investigation of the property owner’s knowledge about crime, warning signs, complaints, past incidents, policies and procedures regarding safety, and other factors that could show the hotel or motel owner knew about the potential for crime and failed to act to protect its guests. If you or a loved one has been a victim of a crime that occurred on an unsafe hotel or motel property, please call Betty Nguyen Davis (404) 593-2620, and we will help you evaluate your case.

Under Georgia law, property owners have the ultimate duty of care, or the responsibility to their customers, tenants, visitors, or other people who are lawfully on the property, to keep the property safe. This responsibility includes making sure that the security guard or security guard company is one that will properly ensure the safety of the people who are lawfully present on the property. Under some circumstances, a property owner can be held liable for the security guards intentionally bad acts, crimes, or unintentional acts/negligent acts. Examples of intentional bad acts include using excessive force, such as assaulting or shooting someone unnecessarily or wrongfully detaining or arresting someone. Examples of negligence include not being on the property when required or failing to follow certain safety protocols and procedures.

Many property owners hire private security companies to keep their properties safe. Thus, it is possible for a victim of a security guard’s bad or negligent acts to sue the security company that employed the guard. Under the Georgia law of respondeat superior or vicarious liability, an employer can be held responsible for an employee’s wrongful acts, if the employee was working within the course and scope of his or her employment. Secondly, an employer, such as a security company that employs a bad security guard, may be held responsible for the negligent hiring, retention, supervision, and training of a security guard who acts negligently or wrongfully. Thus, an attorney handling the case against the security company should investigate whether the employer checked the guard’s criminal history or work history before hiring him.

Recovering for a security guard’s or security officer’s wrongful arrest, assault, use of excessive force, or failure to follow policies and procedures for safety is difficult, but can be done. With the right representation, victims of such occurrences can recover monetary damages for pain and suffering, personal injuries, medical bills, and even punitive damages against the individual guard, his or her employer, and/or the property owner that the guard was supposed to be keeping safe. If you or a loved one has been harmed by a rogue security officer, either by his or her use of excessive force, or a wrongful arrest, the attorneys at Betty Davis Law are skilled and knowledgeable and can help you navigate the law on these issues. Please call us at (404) 593-2620 to speak to an attorney today.

Thus, if you were injured during a crime that occurred in an unsafe apartment complex in the Hapeville or Atlanta area, you may have a claim against the owner of the apartment complex, especially if you or your neighbors complained about criminal activity, broken security gates, holes in fences, bad lighting or any type of issues with the building that could allow criminals to access the property.

If an apartment owner knows, whether through past similar incidents or through reports by tenants or frequent calls to the police, that unsafe crimes are occurring on the property, it should take actions such as:

fencing or securing entry to the apartment complex;

increasing lighting in common areas and parking lots;

hiring security guards to patrol the property; and,

ensuring that copies of master keys are securely stored and not widely distributed.

If the apartment complex owner fails to take property safety measures and a tenant or visitor is injured due to a third-party crime, the apartment complex can be held responsible for their injuries in a negligent security lawsuit under Georgia law. Like any personal injury lawsuit, a victim of a crime caused by negligent and inadequate security in Georgia can recover costs of medical care and treatment, pain and suffering, and possibly even punitive damages from the property owner.

Proving liability against the apartment complex owner requires showing the following:

the owner’s knowledge that the property was susceptible to third party criminal acts;

the property owner’s failure to implement measures to keep the property safe;

the failure to keep the premises safe causes a crime to occur

and causes the victim’s injuries and damages.

If you are a victim of a crime that occurred on an unsafe property, you may be able to recover compensation. Call us today at (404) 593-2620 to discuss your case with a lawyer.

You may wonder how a property owner can be expected to control the actions of an unrelated third party. The duty does not require the property to absolutely ensure that all people on the property are safe at all times; the duty requires the property owner to do what it can to protect parties from known dangers. For example, an apartment owner who is aware of assaults on its tenants occurring on the property can take the following steps to protect tenants and visitors:

• Secure the premises with working fencing and gating;
• Provide security patrolling for the community;
• Install lighting in common areas and parking lots;
• Install working security cameras on the property.

The same duty of care is expected from property owners, such as retail shopping owners (malls, shopping centers, etc.), restaurants, amusement parks, or any public establishment that is aware of past or present criminal incidents on their properties. Thus, when a person is hurt or even killed on a property, a property owner could be held liable for personal injuries and wrongful death, if the evidence shows that the property owner knew about the potential harm and then failed to take preventative actions to protect patrons, tenants, visitors, or other people allowed on the property. Knowledge can be shown by:

• History of violent crimes on the property;
• Prior similar incidents on property;
• Failure to properly screen employees, contractors, or any other parties working on the property for past criminal history;
• Failure to implement policies and procedures to ensure security.

People to whom property owners owe a duty of care include those who are allowed to be on the property, such as customers of a retail establishment, tenants of an apartment complex, or visitors of tenants of an apartment complex. Those who have engaged in criminal behavior themselves and are injured or killed as a result are usually not viable plaintiffs, even if it happens as a result of negligent or inadequate security.

Some types of cases that involve negligent security include civil wrongful death shooting cases, rape cases, and assault cases against property owners who knew about dangerous risks and failed to act appropriately to protect tenants, visitors, and other patrons of the property.

If you or a family member is a victim of a violent crime that occurred as a result of inadequate security on a property, you should immediately report the crime to the police and to the owner of the property. To explore whether you have a case, please call The Davis Injury Firm at (404) 593-2620 to speak to an attorney today.

• Report the incident to the property owner.
• Take photographs.
• Obtain medical treatment as soon as possible.
• Talk to witnesses and get their contact information.
• Ask the business to preserve any videos or other items.

Report the Incident to the Property Owner

I have had clients fall at a store or other business and not report the incident at all because they were so embarrassed or were in so much pain when it happened. Reporting the fall or incident immediately at the scene is the best-case scenario for preserving your “slip & fall” or premises claim. Failing to report the claim does not completely eliminate it, but it does make it more difficult to prove that the fall or incident even happened. Reporting the incident usually causes the property owner to create an incident report that describes what happened; even if the property owner denies responsibility for the incident, an incident report is an evidence that it happened.

Take Photographs

Taking photographs of the scene of your fall or other injury immediately after it happens is ideal for the preservation of evidence of how the injury occurred. Important pieces of information such as what caused the fall or injury, whether there were warning signs, or who was present when it happened could be captured. Again, this is something that may be very difficult to do when you’ve just gotten hurt and are incapacitated at the time.

Talk to Witnesses and Get Their Contact Information

Independent witnesses, such as other customers or guests of a property, can be key to a premises liability or “slip & fall” case. Like photographs and incident reports, witnesses can do things such as confirm that the incident happen, identify what caused the incident, identify whether there were warning signs, or even reveal that the property owner already knew about the dangerous condition that caused the incident. Speaking to witnesses and obtaining their contact information on the scene early while their memories are fresh can be vital to a premises liability case.

Obtain Medical Care Immediately or As Soon As Possible

Medical treatment is an essential component of a claim for a “slip & fall” or any personal injury case for at least two reasons: (1) to treat your injuries and make you better; and, (2) to obtain written documentation of your injuries, diagnosis, treatment plan, and prognosis.

Timing of Medical Treatment

The timing of the treatment is extremely important because it shows that the “slip & fall” or other incident occurred and then actually caused your injury. When you go to a medical provider, the medical provider, whether it be a doctor, a nurse, or a physical therapist, writes medical notes about your complaints, your diagnosis, his/her physical examination, his/her treatment plans, and his/her orders and prescriptions. The closer the timing of the first medical visit is after the “slip & fall” or other incident, the stronger the evidence that it happened and that it caused your injuries. Ideally, in a slip & fall” case, calling the ambulance to the scene of the fall is the best-case scenario.

Frequency, Consistency & Duration of Medical Treatment

The frequency, consistency, and duration of the medical treatment are also very important elements of your case. Going to the doctor one time and complaining about your injuries is not normally sufficient to show the full picture of how you were injured and what needs to be done about it. While you do not have to go to the doctor every single day, you should follow the doctor’s orders about following up with any imaging, physical therapy, and future visits-medical notes also document “no shows,” which the defendant in your case will use to argue means you are not that injured or did not care enough to show up to your doctor’s appointment. The consistency of medical treatment matters, too. What that means is that you don’t want to go one time and wait 4 months before you go again because the defendant in your case loves to use gaps in treatment as a defense to say you were not really injured. Finally, the duration of medical treatment shows the extent of your injuries–in theory, the longer you treat, the more injured you are. Of course, with all of this being said, none of your medical treatment should be contrived for your case. Normally, if you simply follow the doctor’s orders and course of treatment all of the above will be satisfied.

Ask the Business to Preserve Any Videos or Other Items

Many businesses have surveillance cameras on their property that could capture any falls or incidents and what happened prior to the fall or incident. For example, if a customer slips and falls on water, there may be video footage that shows the water was spilled 2 hours prior and ignored by store employees 3 times before the customer fell. That would show evidence of negligence on the store owner’s part. Thus, after a “slip & fall” or other incident involving an injury on a property occurs, it is important to immediately notify the property owner that an incident occurred and ask it to preserve any video footage or other documents or items related to the incident. Many surveillance systems “write over” or purge videos after a certain time period, so putting the property on notice as quickly as possible is vital. If you have an attorney, the attorney normally sends a letter asking for the evidence to be preserved. If the property owner fails to comply, there are legal consequences to the owner when the case goes forward to trial.

You may wonder how a property owner can be expected to control the actions of an unrelated third party. The duty does not require the property to absolutely ensure that all people on the property are safe at all times; the duty requires the property owner to do what it can to protect parties from known dangers. For example, an apartment owner who is aware of assaults on its tenants occurring on the property can take the following steps to protect tenants and visitors:

• Secure the premises with working fencing and gating;
• Provide security patrolling for the community;
• Install lighting in common areas and parking lots;
• Install working security cameras on the property.

The same duty of care is expected from property owners, such as retail

shopping owners (malls, shopping centers, etc.), restaurants, amusement parks, or any public establishment that is aware of past or present criminal incidents on their properties. Thus, when a person is hurt or even killed on a property, a property owner could be held liable for personal injuries and wrongful death, if the evidence shows that the property owner knew about the potential harm and then failed to take preventative actions to protect patrons, tenants, visitors, or other people allowed on the property. Knowledge can be shown by:

• History of violent crimes on the property;
• Prior similar incidents on the property;
• Failure to properly screen employees, contractors, or any other parties working on the property for past criminal history;
• Failure to implement policies and procedures to ensure security.

People to whom property owners owe a duty of care include those who are allowed to be on the property, such as customers of a retail establishment, tenants of an apartment complex, or visitors of tenants of an apartment complex. Those who have engaged in criminal behavior themselves and are injured or killed as a result are usually not viable plaintiffs, even if it happens as a result of negligent or inadequate security.

Some types of cases that involve negligent security include civil wrongful death shooting cases, rape cases, and assault cases against property owners who knew about dangerous risks and failed to act appropriately to protect tenants, visitors, and other patrons of the property.

If you or a family member is a victim of a violent crime that occurred as a result of inadequate security on a property, you should immediately report the crime to the police and to the owner of the property. To explore whether you have a case, please call Betty Nguyen Davis today at (404) 593-2620.

In Georgia, the law requires property owners and operators to keep their property in a safe condition and to be responsible for the safety of invited guests and visitors who are injured due to dangerous conditions on their property. The most popular terminology for a premises liability claim is “slip and fall,” but a premises liability claim can arise from any dangerous condition that causes an injury to a guest or visitor. Dangerous conditions that could cause injuries to visitors and raise a claim for premises liability include:

• Lack of security at a place of business;
• Negligence in an apartment complex or hotel security resulting in assault, rape, or even death;
• Injuries to children due to dangerous conditions on any property.
• Dog bites by dogs known to be dangerous or have a propensity towards biting;
• Dangerous conditions, such as unstable decks.

Just because you were injured on someone’s property in Georgia does not mean you automatically have a claim for your injury. In Georgia, you have to prove that the owner of the property knew or should have known about the dangerous condition that caused your injury AND that there is no way you would have known about the danger by exercising reasonable care. That means you have the duty to be careful and watch where you’re going. Examples of the responsibilities of the property owner are outlined below.

What does the owner of a property need to do to protect its guests?

1. Regular inspections and maintenance . Let’s take a grocery store for example. If a patron slips and falls on some clear liquid and is injured in a Kroger, can s/he recover damages for injuries? That depends on whether Kroger knew or should have known about the liquid spill and cleaned it up before the customer fell. If Kroger implemented policies and procedures to inspect and monitor the floors and aisles to make sure there were no spills, then, in theory, an employee would have discovered the spill. However, Kroger’s responsibilities are not so intense that it needs to have someone hovering over each aisle at every second of the day. It is likely that if Kroger could prove that its employees walked and inspected the aisles every 15 minutes, then it would not be liable for the patron’s fall. On the other hand, if an employee saw the spill and just left it there, then Kroger knew about the spill and would be liable for the customer’s fall. Now, the customer would have to prove that Kroger knew about the spill in order to actually recover in Georgia court.

2. Remove known danger s. When a property owner in Georgia knows about danger and does not remove it, then the property owner can be held liable for injuries that occur on the premises (unless the person who is injured should not be there. For example, s/he was trespassing). Let’s use the owner of a dog who bites and injures a visitor. Let’s assume that the owner of the dog knew that the dog was dangerous because it had bitten others in the past. The owner had the obligation to keep the dog away from the visitor in order to avoid the bite and would be on the hook for the visitor’s injuries.

The rules of liability in Georgia seem fairly simple. However, proving that a property owner or a business owner knew or should have known about a dangerous condition is fairly complex. Investigating the events surrounding the injury is imperative and can be costly. Eyewitnesses, camera footage, property/business records, and employee testimony are just a few of the ways to discover whether a Georgia property owner is liable for a slip & fall on its premises. Filing a lawsuit is required to force property owners to provide video footage or for employees to testify.

Since proving premises liability in Georgia is fairly difficult and expensive, someone looking to make a claim must have a fairly bad injury, such as a broken bone or fracture in order to make it worth his/her time and money to bring and investigate a claim.

If you have been injured due to a dangerous condition and would like to determine whether you have a premises liability case in Georgia, please contact The Davis Injury Firm LLC for a consultation with a slip & fall attorney.

Like most other personal injury cases, a premises liability case usually rests on negligence—meaning that if you were injured on someone’s property and want to sue them, you have to prove that the owner was negligent.

What Are Some Examples of Premises Liability Cases?

A broad range of scenarios can fall under the category of a premises liability case. Some examples include:

• Slipping and falling on ice in someone’s yard
• Being injured or assaulted as a result of insufficient security
• Being injured in a broken elevator or escalator
• Being bitten by a dog on someone’s property
• Falling into a swimming pool and suffering injury or drowning
• Suffering an injury on a faulty amusement park ride
• Suffering harm due to fires, flooding, or toxic fumes

How Do I Win a Premises Liability Case?

The burden of proof rests on the injured party when it comes to premises liability cases. Just because you happened to be injured on someone else’s property doesn’t automatically make the owner liable.

You have to demonstrate that the owner was negligent about some aspect of maintaining their property, and that this led to the injury.

“Negligence” means that the property owner did not use reasonable care when maintaining their property. Even if the property was in disrepair when you were injured, this doesn’t automatically mean that the owner was negligent or that the injury was caused by those specific conditions.

You have to demonstrate that the property owner was aware of the unsafe conditions, did not take any steps to repair them or warn people and that this led to your injury.

What Do You Have to Prove To Win Your Premises Liability Case?

This depends on a lot of factors—including the type of injury you suffered, the conditions on the property, and how those conditions may have contributed to your injury. It’s difficult to give blanket advice that will cover all factors.

However, just as a very general guideline, let’s take a look at a few specific examples of premises liability cases.

Case 1: Home Invasion Injury

Let’s say you live in a large apartment building. One day, someone breaks into your apartment, and you are injured during the home invasion.

Building owners are required to put reasonable security measures in place to prevent this kind of thing from happening. This may include functioning locks on all doors, a security guard on the ground floor, and so on.

If the lock on the front door was broken, the security guard was on break and there was no one to relieve him, or other security measures either failed or were never installed in the first place, you may be able to sue the building owner for negligence.

Case 2: Swimming Pool Accident

Imagine you live in a gated community that has a pool accessible to its residents. One day your young child falls into the swimming pool and suffers injuries.

In Georgia, as in most other states, there are laws requiring that swimming pool owners put a barrier around their pools so this kind of thing doesn’t happen. If the pool wasn’t properly fenced, you may be able to show that the owner was negligent.

Case 3: Dog Bite

Imagine you are boarding your horse at a barn. One day while visiting your horse, the barn owner’s dog bites your hand. You suffer a serious injury and need to have hand surgery. You want to sue the barn owner for the medical costs.

To prove that the owner was liable, you have to demonstrate the following:

• The dog was dangerous, and the owner knew it
• The owner failed to properly restrain the dog
• You did nothing to provoke the dog

Under Georgia law, the owner may also be liable if the dog was off its leash in an area where there was a leash ordinance in place, even if they did not have reason to believe the dog was dangerous.

The Elements of a Premises Liability Case in Georgia

In Georgia, there are four basic components to a premises liability case. These are as follows:

A duty to conform to a certain safety standard, or “duty of care.” Property owners have a general responsibility to keep their properties safe.

However, “safe” may mean different things on different kinds of properties. Generally, there are laws and building codes regulating this at the state, local, and federal levels.

For instance, a landlord of residential property has to follow different requirements and standards than the owner of an automobile factory.

A breach of duty. The property owner knew about a hazard on their property, did not repair it, and did not warn others on the property about it.

A resulting injury. As the injured party, you (or your attorney) must demonstrate that your injury arose as a result of the responsible party’s negligence.

Resulting damages. Finally, you must also demonstrate that damages arose as a result of your injury—such as a significant injury, lasting chronic pain, loss of income, or medical expenses.

If there were no demonstrable damages and the injury is minor, there may be nothing to award.

The court will generally expect you to have exercised a reasonable amount of care as well. If a hazard was in plain sight and easy to avoid, the court may ask why you did not avoid the injury. It may decide you were engaging in reckless behavior yourself, and are at least partly responsible.

In Georgia, courts tend to weigh the negligence of those on all sides, including the person injured, to determine who was at fault. If you are found to be at least 50% culpable for the injury, you won’t be awarded damages.

What is “Duty of Care” and Who is Owed It?

Another factor in premises liability cases is whether the property owner owed you a duty of care.

“Duty of care” refers to the owner’s obligation to ensure the safety of their property. Depending on the type of property, the owner may have to follow specific rules, regulations, and code stipulations in order to do that.

Most building owners are also generally required to take reasonable care to protect people from criminal activity by ensuring proper security.

In Georgia, property owners owe duty of care to those implicitly or expressly invited onto the property. Depending on the type of property, this might include customers, lessees, patients, or ticket holders.

Property owners don’t owe the same level of care to those who are not expressly or implicitly invited, such as trespassers.

How Do I Prove the Property Owner Knew About the Hazard?

It’s not enough to prove that there was a hazard on a property that caused your injury. In order to prove negligence, you also have to demonstrate that the property owner knew about the hazard and did nothing to fix it or warn people.

In Georgia, property owners must have “actual or constructive knowledge” of a hazard in order to be proven negligent.

“Actual knowledge” refers to something the property owner consciously knew. “Constructive knowledge” refers to something that they reasonably should have known.

For instance, if it’s reasonable to expect the owner to perform regular inspections in the area where the hazard was found, the court may decide they had “constructive knowledge”—i.e. they should have known about the hazard because they should have been conducting inspections.

How to Win Your Premises Liability Case

All of this is very general guidance. Every premises liability case relies on very specific details about the property, the injury, and the circumstances surrounding it, and there are many subtleties in the law that can have an effect on the outcome.

If you have been injured on someone else’s property and believe you are liable for damages, you should seek out the help of a knowledgeable premises liability attorney.

We have helped hundreds of clients win their cases, and we can help you, too. Call us at (404) 593-2620 or send us an email to schedule your free, confidential consultation today.