In Georgia, owners and occupiers of land owe certain duties to those who enter their premises. Those duties vary according to the relationship between the owner and the person entering the land. The mere fact that one is injured on someone else's land does not necessarily make that owner or occupier liable to the injured party. Georgia law is well settled that the owner of land is not an insurer for that person's safety. If an individual is on someone's land for a business purpose, that person is classified as an invitee. An owner or occupier's duty to an invitee is to exercise ordinary care to make their premises and approaches safe, and free of hazardous or defective conditions.
There are several elements to a premises liability claim, which include slip and fall cases, dog bite cases, and negligent security cases. First, there is a duty owed by the owner. Georgia courts have for many years followed the "superior knowledge" rule in assessing an owner or occupier's liability. Generally, if an owner or occupier has superior knowledge of a dangerous or defective condition, that is, superior to the person entering the land, that owner is liable for any injuries that result from such conditions. Of course, there are additional components to this rule.
The next element to such claims is a breach of that duty. There are different theories used to demonstrate a breach of the duty owed, such as the distraction theory (the defendant distracted the plaintiff in slip and fall cases), or by showing there was a violation of a building code, which amounts to negligence per se.
The final element in premises liability cases is causation. A plaintiff must prove that the breach of the duty owed caused his or her injuries.
Premises liability cases, especially slip and fall cases, are notoriously difficult to win. Georgia courts are generally conservative, and the law, or precedents, in the slip and fall arena are especially confusing. In most of these cases, the property owner/defendant will file a motion for summary judgment, which is used to dismiss the plaintiff's case before it reaches a jury trial. If such a motion is granted, the case is over and the plaintiff recovers nothing.
The attorneys of Fried & Bonder are very experienced in handling premises liability cases, especially slip and fall cases. We have successfully settled and tried many slip and fall cases, and are very familiar with the pitfalls and complexities in this area of law.
