Defective Property Conditions in Georgia
If there are defective conditions on somebody’s property, and they cause you to suffer an injury, the knowledgeable Michael Braun, an Atlanta premises liability attorney, may be able to help you recover compensation in a premises liability lawsuit. We represent people who have been hurt due to defective property conditions in Atlanta and surrounding areas. Defective property conditions can occur inside or outside stores, offices, residences or public property. Examples of defective conditions include a broken handrail on a staircase that causes a person to fall or a balcony that collapses with guests on it.
What Constitutes Defective Property Conditions?
Defective property conditions can be the result of poor design, weak construction or materials, or poor maintenance. Whatever the cause, a landowner has a duty to invitees to inspect his premises to discover possible dangerous or defective conditions and take precautions to protect an invitee from foreseeable harms as a result of the defective condition. Negligence or another breach of ordinary care must be shown in order to hold a landowner or occupier of property liable for defective property conditions.
It may not be immediately obvious whether defective property conditions existed or whether a landowner should have discovered those conditions and taken precautions to protect you from them. An experienced premises liability attorney may retain experts and investigators to determine what the landowner knew or should have known and what he or she could have done differently to ensure you did not get hurt. For example, if a balcony collapsed while you were on it, an attorney will investigate whether the landowner had any knowledge that the balcony was rickety or whether the landowner had been warned that the balcony had flawed construction even though it showed no signs of failing.
If a landowner knows that a balcony’s construction is flawed due to poor design or inadequate materials, he owes invitees a duty to warn them and try to keep them from going out onto the balcony. However, a landowner would not owe a duty to an unanticipated trespasser in the same situation. For example, if you decided to climb onto a private balcony without authorization or invitations and it collapsed, you may not have a successful cause of action against the landowner.
A landowner who fails to take ordinary care to protect an invitee from getting hurt because of defective property conditions may be held responsible for medical bills and expenses incurred, lost income for time from work to recover, the fair value of personal property damaged in the accident, pain and suffering and more.
Retain An Experienced Atlanta Premises Liability Attorney
Certain aspects of demonstrating liability in defective property conditions cases makes them a little more challenging than some other Georgia personal injury cases. It can be difficult to show a landowner knew or should have known that there were defects in the property. This is why it is critical to retain local attorneys with experience and knowledge about how to investigate, build, and present this type of premises liability case to a judge and jury. The trustworthy Atlanta premises liability lawyer Michael Braun serves clients who have been injured in Atlanta and surrounding areas. Contact us at (770) 421-6888 or via our online form.