Premises liability injury claims help people receive appropriate compensation after being injured on someone else’s property due to unsafe conditions. In Atlanta, property owners have a duty to keep their premises safe for every person on the property legally – and even some types of trespassers in a narrow set of circumstances.

The premises liability attorneys at Kanner & Pintaluga are committed to supporting individuals and families in the aftermath of premises liability injuries. We are committed to performing in-depth investigations, seeking out potentially overlooked evidence and aggressively pursuing maximum recovery during insurance company negotiations or litigation.

What Is Premises Liability Law and What Does It Entail?

Premises liability law holds property owners accountable for injuries that occur on their premises due to unsafe conditions. The responsibility of property owners includes ensuring the safety of visitors and occupants by preventing or fixing potential hazards. However, simply being injured on a property doesn’t guarantee a positive claim outcome.

To succeed in a premises liability claim, it’s essential to prove that the property owner did know or should have known about whatever it was that caused your injury. In addition to proving they knew about the hazard, it’s also necessary to demonstrate that they had time to fix the danger or, at a minimum, warn visitors about the danger before your injury occurred.

In addition to those hurdles, you may also need to prove you were on the property when the injury occurred, that your injury would not have occurred had the hazard not existed, that you were not at-fault due to your own actions and that the injury directly resulted in medical costs, lost wages and/or pain and suffering.

If you think that sounds like the law gives property owners a lot of wiggle room to potentially escape liability, you’re right. Insurance companies and property owners have a diverse variety of effective defense strategies against premises liability claims. This is why your choice of Atlanta premises liability attorney is so important after these accidents.

Why Simply Being Injured on a Property Doesn’t Guarantee a Positive Claim Outcome

Proving negligence in a premises liability case requires demonstrating that the property owner failed to take reasonable steps to address known hazards. Being unaware of a hazard isn’t always an effective defense. The viability of the defense often depends on what a reasonable property owner in the same situation would or would not have known about their own property.

Disputes commonly arise over the definition of “reasonable” and whether a property owner’s actions met that standard. This ambiguity often leads to legal battles where evidence, witness statements and legal expertise play significant roles in establishing a solid claim.

What Can I Do if the Insurance Company Says I Was at Fault?

Insurance companies often attempt to shift blame onto the injured party in premises liability cases. They may argue that a person acting reasonably wouldn’t have been injured by the alleged hazard.

For example, the insurance company may say that you weren’t watching where you were walking because you were looking at your phone. They could argue that a reasonable person behaving responsibly would have avoided the hazard simply by being appropriately attentive given the circumstances.

Atlanta personal injury attorneys know how to counter these types of allegations and establish a definition of reasonable that reinforces your claim’s validity. An experienced attorney can counter these arguments by presenting evidence to demonstrate that the property owner’s negligence was the primary cause of the injury.