Georgia Premises Liability Claims and the Two-Year Deadline

## When a Property Owner May Be Liable

Georgia Code section 51-3-1 requires an owner or occupier who invites others onto property for a lawful purpose to exercise ordinary care in keeping the premises and approaches safe. The rule commonly applies to customers, tenants, delivery workers, and other invitees. Liability is not automatic whenever someone falls or is injured. The claimant generally must identify a hazardous condition and connect it to the injury.

Typical hazards include spilled liquids, deteriorated flooring, inadequate lighting, broken stairs, unsecured merchandise, concealed holes, and unsafe parking-lot conditions. Negligent-security cases may involve foreseeable criminal conduct, but they require a fact-specific examination of prior incidents, security measures, location, and notice.

## Actual or Constructive Knowledge

A premises claim often centers on whether the defendant had actual or constructive knowledge of the hazard. Actual knowledge may be shown when an employee created the condition, received a complaint, or personally observed it. Constructive knowledge may exist when an employee was close enough to see and remove the danger or when the condition lasted long enough that a reasonable inspection would have discovered it.

Inspection records therefore matter. A store may rely on a reasonable inspection procedure, while a claimant may show that the procedure was not followed or was inadequate under the circumstances. Surveillance footage, cleaning logs, employee schedules, incident reports, maintenance requests, and prior complaints can resolve questions that witness memory cannot.

The claimant's own knowledge is also important. Defendants frequently argue that the condition was open and obvious or that the injured person failed to exercise ordinary care. Distraction may be relevant, but Georgia law does not treat every failure to look continuously at the floor as negligence.

## Comparative Fault

Georgia uses a modified comparative-fault system under section 51-12-33. A claimant who is 50 percent or more responsible generally cannot recover. If the claimant is less than 50 percent responsible, damages are reduced in proportion to that responsibility. Fault may also be apportioned among multiple parties, including certain nonparties identified under applicable procedures.

The property owner, management company, tenant, janitorial contractor, security provider, or maintenance vendor may have different responsibilities. Contracts and control of the premises help determine which entities should be investigated.

## Filing Deadlines and Notice Issues

Georgia Code section 9-3-33 generally provides two years for personal-injury actions. Some related property-damage claims have a four-year limitations period, but relying on the longer period can forfeit bodily-injury rights. Tolling questions, renewal actions, and claims involving minors require individual analysis.

Claims against a city, county, or the state may require an ante-litem notice before suit. The deadline and required contents depend on the governmental entity and can be much shorter than two years. A claim involving public property should therefore be reviewed immediately.

## Steps After an Incident

Report the incident and request a copy of any report, but avoid signing an inaccurate statement. Photograph the precise condition from several distances, surrounding warning signs, footwear, lighting, and injuries. Identify witnesses and employees before they leave. Preserve the clothing or shoes worn without altering them.

A written preservation notice should identify relevant video, inspection records, work orders, photographs, and electronic communications. Many recording systems overwrite files within days or weeks. If the hazard is repaired, contemporaneous photographs may become the best proof of its condition.

Seek appropriate medical care and keep records of diagnoses, restrictions, expenses, missed work, and daily limitations. Damages can include medical costs, lost income, pain and suffering, and loss of normal functioning. Before settlement, address health-insurance reimbursement, medical liens, disputed causation, and future care. Because the owner controls much of the evidence, prompt, focused investigation is often decisive.