Premises Liability

Land owners are responsible for keeping their premises safe for the general public. A premises liability attorney lawyer is a professional with expertise in this very complex area of the law. The attorneys at Edwards & Bullard Law have specialized in premises liability cases for almost three decades. Our law firm has extensive experience in representing clients in the Dublin, Macon, Milledgeville and Middle GA area who have been injured due to defective conditions at retail stores or restaurants.

What Does Premises Liability Mean?

Premises liability deals with claims involving personal injury while on another person’s property. Common premises liability claims include slip and fall injuries, dog bites, criminal assaults, and unsafe buildings.

Premises liability is a legal principle which holds “landowners” liable to maintain their property in a safe condition for anyone who enters the property. The North Carolina Supreme Court decided a case called, Nelson v. Freeland, in 1998 which established the new standard for deciding premises liability cases. This ruling created two categories of visitors: lawful and unlawful. Landowners (property owner, manager, home owner) owe the same duty of reasonable care to all lawful visitors to their premises to act as any “reasonably prudent person” would act in maintaining the safety of their premises and to warn lawful visitors about hidden dangers.

For unlawful visitors, such as trespassers, or those entering the property to commit a crime, the landowners’ only duty is to not willfully cause harm to the trespasser.

A woman stops at a convenience store after working late one night and she is assaulted in the parking lot. She calls the police and reports the assault and tries to get on with her life as she recovers from her injuries. What this woman doesn’t realize is that she may have a premises liability case against the convenience store owner.

What Are Examples of a Property Owner’s Neglect or Lack of Security?

The attorney's at Edward & Bullard have handled many premises liability claims involving significant injury to their clients including, among others:

• The shooting of a client in the parking lot of a bank resulting in paraplegia.
• Wrongful death of a client who was stabbed while on the premises of a local cab company.
• The shooting of a client who resided in a trailer park where the landowner failed to evict a tenant who had previously threatened neighbors in the area.
• Rape and physical assault of a client who was a patron of a motel.
• Rape and physical assault of a client who was a tenant in an apartment building.
• Rape and physical assault of a client in a warehouse.
• Physical beating of client who was a guest of a motel.

Filing an injury claim for negligent security presupposes that the landowner was negligent because they did not reasonably foresee the potential for danger and take steps to protect patrons, customers, and visitors from it.

Does Inadequate Maintenance Count as Premises Liability?

Landowners are legally obligated to maintain their property in a safe condition, and to protect lawful visitors from preventable hazards. Here are some of the dangerous conditions that can cause injury because of inadequate maintenance:

• Improperly maintained trees and falling limbs
• Poorly maintained parking lots, including lack of adequate light
• Black ice on pathways, in parking lots, and in exposed parking garages
• Inadequate maintenance of floor surfaces
• Cracked or broken sidewalks, pathways, stairs
• Broken handrails
• Items falling off shelves

Georgia, like most states, does not follow the law of strict liability in premises liability cases. In other words, according to NC premises liability law, the fact that you may have been injured on someone else’s property does not automatically allow you to receive compensation for your injuries.

Rather, you need to establish that the property owner or property manager was aware of a hazardous condition, failed to take reasonable steps to remedy the hazardous condition, and the failure to do so resulted in your personal injury.

Why Experience Matters

Premises liability attorneys in our law firm focus on representing people or their loved ones who have been harmed due to defective conditions such as wet floors, uneven pavement, building code violations and areas with Disability Act defects.

If you have been injured due to a defective condition at a store, restaurant, hospital, or other place of business, contact the premises liability experts at Edwards & Bullard Law. We offer free consultations on all cases.