When determining who is at fault for an injury that occurs on another person’s property Georgia, it is important to understand the status of the visitor. Unless someone is an invitee, the owner of a property may not be liable for anyone who gets hurt. In the case of a licensee or a trespasser, there is no implication that the property is safe to enter.
The second issue that must be addressed is whether the uniform standard of care was met. The standard says that a property owner must take care of any dangerous conditions on the property or warn invitees or licensees of these dangers. However, a court may rule in some cases that it may not have been possible for an owner to know of a danger or reasonably inform a guest of that danger.
In some cases, both the visitor and the property owner will be found partially at fault. This is handled under the doctrine of comparative fault, which suggests that the visitor must take some care while on a property. When a property is rented to a tenant, the property owner is generally not responsible for damage that occurs on that property. The reasoning is that the property owner is assumed to not have any control over what happens after agreeing to the lease.
When a person is injured on property owned by someone else, it does not necessarily mean that the property owner is at fault. A premises liability attorney may be able to help anyone who has been injured at another person’s home or retail establishment get the compensation for the damages stemming from the incident. It may be possible to win compensation for medical bills and money for lost wages.
Source: Findlaw, “Premises Liability: Who Is Responsible?“, September 24, 2014