Atlanta premises liability attorney

Georgia property owners are responsible for keeping their premises well-maintained for the safety of others who lawfully enter their property. The property owner’s responsibility extends to customers, employees, delivery drivers, sales representatives, or social guests. An accident victim injured because of the property owner’s negligence may be entitled to compensation.

Work with a skilled attorney 

Unfortunately, a dangerous property case is one of the toughest personal injury cases to prove. You need a skilled Atlanta premises liability attorney to draw the connection between an irresponsible property owner and your painful injuries.

Get the full settlement you deserve after an accident – call Harrison Injury Law today for a free consultation with a premises liability lawyer in Atlanta.

You’re hurt, you’re receiving calls from the property owner’s insurance company, and worried about how long it will take to return to your job. What you say and do in the next few days and weeks makes a big difference in the results your Atlanta premises liability lawyer can achieve.  

1. Visit a doctor as soon as possible

Premises liability accidents cause soft tissue damage, head trauma, and many “hidden injuries” that don’t present symptoms right away. A medical professional trained in evaluating accident victims diagnoses injuries you may not realize you have.

The doctor documents the extent of your injuries and affirms the injuries happened because of your accident. Your premises liability attorney in Atlanta uses this information to prove how badly you were injured and that the injury happened at a specific place and time.

2. Take photographs and gather other types of evidence

Take a picture of the accident scene and your injuries, or make a video showing where you were hurt and how. Jot down the names of any witnesses and ask them if they’ll give a statement to your attorney.

3. File an incident or police report

Reporting the incident gets the ball rolling for your case. You may not need a police report if you slipped and fell on an icy sidewalk, but if you were on commercial property, you may need to file an incident report with the property manager or site foreman.

4. Hold on to your medical and expense records

Keep everything related to your case, from your copy of the incident report or police report to all your medical bills, invoices, and doctors’ records. If your property was damaged in the accident – perhaps you dropped your phone in the fall, and it broke – then keep receipts of the repairs and damage as well. Provide copies of everything to your Atlanta premises liability attorney. 

5. Speak with an Atlanta premises liability attorney

Call Harrison Injury Law right away after an accident. We guide you through the claims process from start to finish, advising you on what to say to the property owner’s insurance company and when to stay silent. Our experts accurately value your case to ensure you get the full compensation to cover your medical care and other losses.

Our skilled attorneys handle a wide range of preventable property incidents. Some of the most common types of premises liability claims include:

Slip-and-falls

A wet spill in a store or restaurant, uncleared ice or snow, or a slick walking surface cause slip-and-fall accidents that leave victims with broken wrists, cracked tailbones, or facial damage.

Industrial accidents

Atlanta is home to many major manufacturing centers, chemical plants, and other heavy industries. These facilities have multiple hazards for unwary visitors, including being struck by an object, falling from heights, or toxic exposure.

Forklift accidents

Forklift accidents cause more than 60,000 injuries annually. The equipment is used in a variety of industries, from retail to construction, meaning that injury is more common with a forklift than with other types of commercial machinery.

Companies that routinely operate forklifts on their property are required by federal law to follow a host of forklift (powered industrial truck) safety regulations. In our experience, it is very common for companies that use forklifts to be in violation of the vast majority of the powered industrial truck safety regulations.  Hiring an attorney who has experience with forklift cases is a must.  

Daycare Incidents 

Because the safety of your child is the most important thing, daycare operators are required to follow the rules of Georgia’s Bright From the Start.  It is not uncommon to hear from parents of children who are badly injured during the day at a child care learning center and the parents are not even told until they show up at normal time to pick up their child! Situations like this are in clear violation of the child care learning center rules and regulations.  If your child was injured due to the negligence of a child care worker please call us today to discuss your situation with an experienced attorney.

Premises liability accident victims must act fast – Georgia Code § 9-3-33 sets a statute of limitations (the deadline for filing a lawsuit for your injuries) – of just two years.

The term damages in a premises liability claim refers to the kind of compensation you’re eligible for. The intention is to return you to the financial state you were in before the accident – meaning that you didn’t have outstanding medical bills or lost wages because your injuries prevented you from working.

Economic damages

The calculable losses you suffer in a premises liability accident can include:

• Medical care, surgery, and medications
• Missed wages from work
• Property damage
• Loss of earning potential if you can no longer continue to work the job you had at the time of the accident

Non-economic damages

You can’t quantify the pain and suffering you feel after being hurt in an accident, but Georgia courts believe that victims deserve some consideration for their discomfort. Possible non-economic damages you can claim include:

• Interference with normal living 
• Interference with your enjoyment of life
• Loss of capacity to labor and earn money
• Physical impairment of bodily health and vigor
• Fear of extent of injury
• Shock of impact
• Actual pain and suffering, past and future
• Mental anguish, past and future
• Extent to which the plaintiff must limit activities 

Food Lion v. Williams, 219 Ga. App. 352, 464 S.E.2d 913 (1995). 

You may see a lot of bad advice on the internet suggesting there are pain and suffering calculators or methods to calculate your pain and suffering based on certain inputs, but all of these methods are false. The only way to determine the amount of a person’s total pain and suffering under Georgia law is the “enlightened conscience of fair and impartial jurors.” 

Ga. Pattern Jury Instructions for Civil Cases 66.501

It’s difficult to receive the full measure of noneconomic damages without the help of a skilled Atlanta premises liability lawyer.

The Harrison Injury Law team believes you deserve maximum compensation after an accident – especially if a negligent or malicious property owner’s actions make danger to others unavoidable. Our decades of combined experience mean that we can properly value your case, including estimating your future medical needs.

Premises liability refers to any type of accident sustained on property that’s not your own. The range of injuries is broad. Victims may experience:

• Traumatic brain injury or concussion
• Broken bones and fractures
• Strain, sprains, and torn muscles
• Back, neck, and spine injuries
• Crushing injuries, or internal organ damage

Unfortunately, many accident victims suffer multiple injuries and face weeks or months of painful recovery.

Your Atlanta premises liability attorney will thoroughly investigate your case to determine the right parties responsible for your accident and injuries.

Property or business owner

Property owners assume an obligation of care for persons visiting their property. Most premises liability accidents happen on commercial or business property, so the building or grounds owner may not be liable. However, a premises liability accident can also happen on private property; in these cases, the property owner is directly responsible.

Business manager

A commercial tenant, like a grocery store, restaurant, or retail business, is liable in premises liability cases because it’s that entity’s responsibility to keep the facility well-maintained and safe. In these cases, the business manager assumes the duty of care from the property owner.

Landlord

Just like a business manager is responsible for ensuring the safety of visitors to the business, so are landlords responsible for the safety of tenants and other visitors to the property. For example, if you’re injured falling down the steps of your apartment complex, it’s the landlord’s liability because they are responsible for keeping the property in good repair.

Proving liability in most personal injury cases means establishing negligence. Your Atlanta premises liability lawyer with Harrison Injury Law must prove four elements of negligence to prove the defendant is liable for your accident and injuries:

• Duty of care: The defendant has an obligation to keep you safe
• Breach: You must prove that the defendant didn’t keep the property safe for visitors, thus breaching their duty of care
• Causation: The defendant’s actions (or inaction) directly led to the accident that caused you injury  
• Injuries: You suffered physical or financial losses because of the accident

Let’s take an example of putting all four elements together: You visit Macy’s at the Lenox Square Mall, and while shopping, you slip in a puddle of water from a leaky ceiling tile. You try to break your fall but end up breaking your wrist. The store manager is responsible for making sure spills are cleaned up or a leaky area is cordoned off to prevent falls – but they didn’t. So, Macy’s may be liable for your broken wrist and the cost of your medical care.

Our reasonable legal fees and superior client care make us the top choice for premises liability representation. We work on a contingency basis, which means that if we don’t win your case – you don’t pay a dime! We also offer a 100 day trial which simply means if you are not happy with our customer service after 100 days then you owe us nothing! Check out this unique offer at 100daytrial.com