What Property Owners Must Do to Prevent Premises Liability Claims
A slip and fall, a poorly maintained structure, or a dog bite can all give way to a premise liability claim when they happen to someone else on your property. A court might put you on the hook for their medical bills, lost wages, and the pain and suffering they’ve sustained.
But before the accident there was a choice, many choices in fact. Steps that a property owner could take–steps some courts might say a property owner should take—but didn’t. Ultimately, it’s the failure to act or not act that creates a premises liability claim.
Premises liability claims can turn on several issues, but a lack of safety is often at the heart. At My 25% Lawyer, we’re well-versed with the varied forms premises liability claims can take and want to provide preventive measures for all.
What Is Premises Liability Law in Georgia
If you want to better understand how to prevent a premises liability claim, we have to first understand, “what is a premise liability claim?” Premises liability is the legal theory that holds property owners responsible for injuries that occur on their property. However, it’s not an automatic or “strict liability” standard. In other words, not every person injured on another’s property can file a premises liability lawsuit.
Courts Consider Who Was Injured
One of the first considerations for a premises liability claim is whether the person injured was an invitee, a licensee, or a trespasser. Why? The injured party’s status determines what the property owner’s duty of care was or should have been.
- Invitee: Property owners owe invitees the highest duty of care out of all three. Georgia law considers a person induced or invited onto land for the mutual benefit of the person and property owner to be an invitee. A textbook invitee is a customer at a store. Property owners must exercise ordinary care in keeping the premises and walkways leading to it safe.
- Licensee: A licensee is someone permitted to go on the premises, but not for the mutual benefit of both parties. A guest at your home is usually a licensee. Property owners owe licensees a duty not to willfully injure them and to warn them of dangers that exist and they may encounter while at the premises.
- Trespassers: A trespasser is someone who intentionally goes onto another’s property without permission or dire necessity to do so. Property owners owe a duty to not set up deliberate traps or pitfalls for trespassers to become injured in.
Five Steps Property Owners Can To Prevent Liability Claims
To prevent claims, property owners can start by thinking about the duty of care they owe to invitees first and foremost because that is the highest level of care the law requires. If you only do what’s necessary to protect trespassers from harm, it could still leave invitees and licensees with valid claims.
Here are some steps property owners must take to make their premises safe and prevent premises liability.
Consistent Inspections
Property owners must ensure that the premises are kept safe for invitees. There’s no way to know how safe the premises are without routine inspections throughout the property. Taking time at consistent intervals to walk through the property and inspect buildings will alert the property owner to any potential hazards. Property owners can use local building and zoning ordinances as a baseline, not the ceiling, to judge the apparent safety of a building or premises.
Visible Signage and Warnings
Once a property owner locates hazards or potential dangers on the property, they should immediately put up signage warning others to the nearby danger. When a property owner has superior knowledge of a danger than the invitee, they can be held liable if that danger injures the invitee. The signs then, should indicate what the danger is and where to put the invitee on an equal footing with the property owner.
Maintain the Property
While signage is a good first step, fixing the problem goes even further in preventing liability for a claim. Issues like loose guardrails or poorly light stairwells can give rise to premises liability claims when a simple lightbulb fix or tightening screws could prevent the injury entirely. Having electricians and other professionals fix hazards can also prevent injuries from arising in the first place.
Notify Employees or Co-owners of Dangers
In a commercial context, the failure of employees to keep the premises safe ultimately lies with the owner of the property. If the owner is not there to consistently maintain the property or clear hazards, they should instruct employees on how to clear these hazards or create signage to clearly warn others about the potential dangers. It can also help prevent injuries to employees themselves.
Take Extra Care Around “Attractive Nuisances”
There are certain features on properties that Georgia courts consider “attractive nuisances.” These are features like pools, that may bring children to the property to interact or play on and will hold property owners liable for injuries that occur on them. Property owners should take extra precaution to secure these “attractive nuisances” to prevent children from accessing these potentially dangerous areas.
What is Premises Liability Coverage?
Even with these tips, injuries can still occur. If they do, it helps to have premises liability coverage. The average liability claim for homeowners was over $26,000 according to the most recent available data. Without premises liability coverage, the property owner would be expected to pay these costs out of pocket. This is a type of insurance available to both homeowners and business owners that protects them in the event of a covered injury on their property.
My 25% Lawyer Protects Innocent Victims
If a property owner failed to maintain their premises in a safe condition and it caused you injuries, you may have a premises liability claim. We stand up for injured clients and fight to put more back in their pockets than the other firms will. Call us today to get started.
