Vinings Premises Liability Lawyer
Premises liability injuries can occur when an individual is hurt by an unmaintained hazard on someone else’s property. Depending on the reason for the individual being on the land, he or she may be protected from almost any hazard or none at all. If you suffered an injury while on someone else’s land, a professional Vinings premises liability lawyer could work to establish your right to compensation, and to prove that the landowner’s negligence caused your injuries. Read on to learn more about how a skilled injury attorney could offer you their assistance today.
What is Premises Liability?
Premises liability denotes that landowners have a legal responsibility to protect visitors who come onto their land. According to O.C.G.A. § 51-3-1, all owners of land who invite others onto their property are liable for any damages caused to the visitor that result from a failure to keep their land safe through reasonable ordinary care. This is an expansive definition that covers a number of topics.
Permission to Enter Property
First, the injured individual must have been invited onto the land. This can be by an express invitation or an open-door policy. For example, if someone is invited over to another’s house to watch a football game, they are an invited guest. So too, however, is a shopper in a grocery store, since the store is open to anyone who wishes to come in to shop. These invited guests are considered invitees by the law. Anyone who is not expressly invited onto the land is offered far less protection. These are grouped into the categories of licensees—if they are performing a job or work-related function—and trespassers. The landowners’ duties to licensees and trespassers are different.
What Constitutes Reasonable Care?
Second, the landowner is responsible for keeping the land safe to a reasonable degree. Georgia’s view of this principle differs from many states’ definitions of negligence in that landowners are not explicitly required to know about a hazard prior to an accident to be held responsible for damages. For instance, it is common sense that a walkway may become icy on a winter night. If ice has accumulated on a driveway and a visitor slips and breaks her leg, the question of whether the landowner knew of the ice is irrelevant. It stands to reason that ice may have formed, and the landowner should have taken steps to preempt the problem. Reach out to a qualified injury attorney to learn more.
Examples of Premises Liability Cases
A premises liability case can arise out of any injury that happens on another’s land. The simplest example is that of a slip and fall. If someone is shopping in a grocery store and slips on a spill in an aisle, the store owner may be liable if the plaintiff can prove that the owner did not take reasonable steps to clean the spill. More complex but still valid examples can include:
- A failure to provide adequate security that allowed an assault to occur
- Failure to provide proper fire exits in an emergency
- Improper maintenance that led to an injury
- Injuries resulting from improperly stored or shelved merchandise
No matter the facts behind the injury, the legal basis for the claim is the same: if someone is invited onto land, its owner has a duty to protect them from all reasonably foreseeable harms. A weathered Vinings premises liability lawyer can assist those who have received these injuries through aggressive representation in court.
How a Vinings Premises Liability Lawyer Can Help
Georgia law is straightforward in guaranteeing protection for all invited visitors onto land. Still, questions often arise over what steps the landowner must take to fix a problem and to what extent the injured plaintiff is responsible for her own injuries. A Vinings premises liability lawyer could examine your case from every angle, working to investigate the incident, gather evidence, and file claims against insurance companies. Consider contacting a seasoned Vinings premises liability lawyer today to schedule a consultation and see what options for compensation may be available to you.