ATLANTA PREMISES LIABILITY LAWYERS

An Atlanta premises liability attorney will review the facts of your accident to determine if you have a viable claim for damages. In handling your claim, your attorney can:

• Collect evidence, such as photographs or video surveillance footage of the scene of the accident
• Interview any individuals who witnessed the accident
• Determine who may be held liable for the damages you have suffered
• Review all police reports that have been filed
• Gather and review all pertinent medical records to understand the extent of your injuries

In addition, your attorney may work alongside medical experts who may be used to explain to the jury how the premises liability accident caused your medical injuries. The medical expert can also explain any future medical care that you may require because of the accident.

The owner or operator of a property must exercise reasonable care to keep the property safe from dangerous conditions. Managers of a property, tenants, and contractors working on the premises may be held liable for unsafe conditions.

To have a valid claim for premises liability, an injured person generally must be able to prove the following four elements:

• The property contained a dangerous condition
• The owner or occupier of the property knew or, through the exercise of ordinary care should have known about the dangerous condition
• The property owner or occupier of the property failed to remove the dangerous condition or warn of its existence
• The dangerous condition caused an injury

Many premises liability cases in Atlanta arise out of accidents that occur in stores and shopping malls. In general, store owners and the corporations that own shopping malls are responsible for injuries caused by slippery floors, walkway obstructions, unmarked hazards, uneven walkways, and improperly maintained parking lots.

Georgia law recognizes that children are often attracted to dangerous conditions, such as unattended swimming pools or trampolines, and therefore imposes a duty on property owners to keep their premises free from hazards that might attract and injure trespassing children.

Under the doctrine of attractive nuisance, a property owner can be held liable for injuries to children if the following elements are satisfied:

• The owner of the property knows or should reasonably know that it is likely children will trespass on the property
• The owner knows or should reasonably know the existence of the hazard and that it is likely to cause serious injury or death to trespassing children
• The trespassing children are not aware of the dangerous condition or, because of their youth, the children do not understand the danger presented by the hazardous condition
• The burden of fixing the hazard is minor in comparison to the to the risk of injury that it presents
• The property owner does not exercise reasonable care in removing the dangerous condition

The attractive nuisance doctrine does not apply if the child is a guest on the owner’s property; it only applies to children who are trespassers. In general, it is easier to prove liability when the injured child is an invited guest on the property that contains the dangerous condition.

Our Atlanta attorneys have experience handling many different types of premises liability cases, including the following:

• Slip and fall
• Injuries from falling objects
• Escalator and elevator accidents
• Exposure to hazardous chemicals or toxic materials, including mold and lead paint
• Failure to warn a visitor of a hazardous condition
• Inadequately guarded swimming pools
• Structural defects
• Inadequate maintenance
• Dog bites
• Inadequate security
• Collapsed decks and balconies
• Injuries that result from an act of violence or other criminal act
• Defective stairs and railings
• Accidents caused by uneven terrain, unnoticeable steps, or slippery surfaces
• Being locked in or injured by a defective door
• Staircase injuries such as broken steps or damaged handrails

In addition, our Atlanta attorneys have experience handling claims involving negligent property conditions at worksites. In these types of cases, an injured employee may be able to seek damages through Georgia’s workers’ compensation system.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a premises liability accident, fill out our free case review formtoday to find out what you may be eligible to receive.