When you hear the words premises liability, do you know exactly what that means? Most people don’t.
Premises liability is a critical area of personal injury law that holds property owners and occupiers responsible for injuries, assaults and crimes that occur on their premises due to unsafe and/or unsecure conditions. Property owners and managers are responsible for creating and maintaining a reasonably safe environment by taking reasonable and necessary precautions to prevent accidents, injuries and assaults. In this blog post, we’ll delve into the fundamentals of premises liability, discuss its application in serious crimes such as sexual assaults and batteries and explore specific elements of premises liability in Georgia.
What is Premises Liability?
The legal responsibility or duty of property owners and managers to create a secure and safe environment covers a wide range of situations, from simple slip and fall/trip and fall incidents to sexual assault and batteries. Injuries are one thing, but sexual assaults, shootings and kidnappings can occur as a result of negligent security measures. The key factor in premises liability cases is negligence. In order to have a successful claim, the injured party, claimant or plaintiff in a civil action must prove that the owner or manager of the property did not reasonably provide a safe environment, and as a result of that negligence, an injury or assault occurred. Property owners have what is called a non-delegable duty to keep their property reasonably safe. Reasonably safe does not however mean absolutely safe, but what it does mean is that the owner must take reasonable and appropriate measures in response to known circumstances or conditions on or affecting the property. This non-delegable duty cannot be avoided by ‘delegating’ that responsibility to property management, and property management must not be negligent in the performance of their duty to keep the property safe.
Faulty or negligent safety measures can include a wide variety of items including:
- Inadequately trained security personnel
- Broken gates at gated communities
- Broken or non-existent lighting, particularly in common areas
- Broken or non-existent locks on doors and windows
- Broken, non-existent or inadequate surveillance cameras
If a property owner or management knows safety measures are not up to standards and do nothing to fix or properly respond to the problems or issues on the premises, they may be determined to be negligent and can be held responsible if an injury or assault occurs on their property.
Premises Liability and Serious Crimes like Sexual Assault
Premises liability extends beyond simple accidents and includes serious crimes against persons, including batteries or any form of injury-producing assault, including, for example, a tenant or invitee to the premises being battered, shot or sexually assaulted.
To establish a premises liability claim for a serious, injury-producing crime on a property, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the crime was predictable or reasonably foreseeable based on the awareness of prior incidents on the property, a property being located in a high-crime area or perhaps allowing residents with serious criminal histories. If, having that knowledge (knowledge which oftentimes is denied by the property owner or manager and knowledge that must be proven by a claimant or plaintiff) that property owner or manager failed to take reasonable and necessary steps to cure or respond to that dangerous condition, that property owner or manager can be found liable and held financially responsible for any physical or emotional losses suffered by the claimant.
In these cases, the burden of proof always lies with the plaintiff to show that the property owner’s or manager’s negligence caused or contributed to a claimant’s injuries.
Some of the more frequent locations where property owners and managers owe residents or tenants and their visitors a secure and safe environment include:
- Apartment complexes
- Places of employment
- Schools and universities
- Night clubs and bars
- Entertainment facilities
- Amusement parks
- Museums
- Movie theaters
- Parking lots and garages
- Grocery stores
- Office buildings
- Retail stores
- Restaurants
- Hotels and resorts
- Public places
- Parking areas or lots
If a physical or sexual assault happens in a poorly lit parking lot and the owner was aware of the poor lighting conditions but did nothing about it, the owners and management could be held liable. If a physical or sexual assault happens in the common area of a multi-family apartment community, the owners and management could be held liable. If an employee with a prior history of injurious behavior that the employer knew or should have known about assaults a co-worker or invitee to the property, the owners and management could be held liable. If a resident or patient in a hospital, nursing home or behavioral institute is assaulted by an employee of that facility, or even a trespasser who gained access to the facility who should have been unable to do so, the owners and management of those facilities could be held liable. Generally speaking, landlords, business and property owners and managers are and can be held accountable if those individuals or entities were negligent in their duty to provide a reasonable response to a known, or should have known, unsafe condition on their premises.
In a recent Isenberg & Hewitt blog post titled Are Landlords Liable for Criminal Acts at Apartment Buildings, we discussed how, when renting or lawfully visiting an apartment building, there is a reasonable expectation that safety procedures and precautions are in place to protect residents and visitors. Providing a safe environment should be a top priority of the owner and managers of the apartment complex. If they neglect the safety measures and an injury or attack occurs, they can be held responsible.
This reasonable expectation of safety extends to other locations including schools and universities where students expect to be safe. The Isenberg & Hewitt team is currently working on several cases throughout the state of Georgia that involve incidents of hazing, physical abuse and sexual assault of students by school employees and other students. Our readers need to be aware that schools and universities as well as all government entities and their employees have what’s called sovereign and/or official immunity. These immunities go back to British common law based on the idea that ‘the king can do no wrong’ therefore you can’t sue the king. In truth, you can sue the king – but cases involving the government, government property and governmental entities present significant obstacles.
Employers are responsible for providing their employees with a safe workplace and hiring coworkers that are not a known danger or present a significant threat to their wellbeing. One way to do that is to conduct a background check, including a criminal history check of every prospective employee prior to that individual being hired. Last year, the Isenberg & Hewitt team brought a case to court against the McDonald’s organization for hiring an individual with a sexually violent criminal history and then placing that individual to work alongside a minor who was sexually assaulted by that coworker.
To establish premises liability in any physical assault case, plaintiffs must prove that the property owner and management owed a duty of care, breached that duty and that breach directly caused their injuries. That doesn’t mean it was the owner or manager who shot or assaulted the victim. It means that the owner and/or manager failed in their duty to take reasonable measures to keep the property safe. A property owner or manager is not an insurer of one’s safety, but is responsible for taking appropriate measures in response to known dangers conditions on their property. Oftentimes in presenting these cases, a claimant must present evidence such as prior similar crimes on and in the area of the property, witness testimony and expert analyses of security measures.
Understanding Premises Liability for Georgia Residents
Premises liability laws vary from state to state, and Georgia has specific elements that distinguish its approach to such cases. Understanding these nuances is crucial for anyone involved in a premises liability claim in Georgia.
- Georgia law classifies people on a property into three categories:
- Invitees: Individuals invited onto the property for business purposes.
- Licensees: Individuals who have permission to enter the property for non-business purposes.
- Trespassers: Individuals who enter the property without permission.
- According to Georgia Code § 9-3-33, the statute of limitations for filing a premises liability claim is typically two years from the date of the injury. This time limit emphasizes the importance of seeking legal advice promptly. The two-year statute can be extended in some situations. For example, an injury-producing event involving criminal activity can extend the two-year norms. Incidents involving minors also oftentimes extend the two-year statute.
- On the other hand, a claim involving the government must be presented in the form of what’s called an anti litem notice which provides that notice to a county or state entity must be presented within one year or a city within six months. Anyone being physically assaulted on a property needs to consult with a legal professional to ensure that their claim remains viable and actionable.
- In Georgia, property owners are not liable for injuries caused by hazards that are open and obvious to a reasonable person. This places some responsibility on visitors to exercise common sense.
- Georgia follows a modified comparative negligence rule which means that if the injured party is found to be partially at fault for their injury, their compensation will be reduced by their percentage of fault. However, if the plaintiff is found to be 50% or more at fault, they cannot recover more damages.
Premises liability is a critical area of law that ensures property owners are responsible to maintain reasonably safe environments for their residents, visitors and employees. Understanding the basics of premises liability, its application in serious crimes like sexual and other physical assaults and the specific elements of Georgia law can help individuals navigate potential claims and seek justice for their injuries.
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured or assaulted due to a property owner’s negligence, contact our office for a free consultation.