Georgia Slip-and-Fall Injury Lawyers

A slip-and-fall sounds minor until it happens to you. A wet grocery aisle, a broken stair, a dark parking lot, or an icy walkway can lead to broken bones, a head injury, or months away from work.

Not every fall leads to a claim, though. Georgia law sets specific rules about when a property owner is actually responsible for an injury, and understanding those rules is the first step in deciding what to do next. If you were hurt on someone else’s property, our slip-and-fall injury lawyers can help you figure out where you stand.

At Prieto, DelCampo, Lopez, & Marigliano, we represent injured people across Atlanta, Savannah, and the surrounding areas. This page explains how Georgia premises liability law works, what you have to prove, and how long you have to act.

If you’ve been injured, contact us today to schedule a free consultation.

What Is a Slip-and-Fall Accident?

A slip-and-fall, sometimes called a trip-and-fall, happens when a hazardous condition on someone else’s property causes a person to slip, trip, or fall. It can happen almost anywhere people are invited in: a store, a restaurant, an apartment complex, an office, a parking lot, or a public sidewalk.

When the hazard existed because a property owner failed to do their job, the fall becomes a legal matter, not just bad luck.

How Often Do Falls Cause Serious Injury?

Falls are one of the most common causes of injury in the country. According to the National Safety Council, more than 8.8 million people were treated in emergency departments for fall-related injuries in 2023, making falls the leading cause of nonfatal injury for nearly every age group. When a property owner ignores a known hazard, the people who get hurt are the ones who pay for it.

Georgia Premises Liability Law

Property owners in Georgia have a legal duty to keep their property reasonably safe. Under O.C.G.A. § 51-3-1, a property owner who invites people in must use ordinary care to keep the premises and their approaches safe.

That word “approaches” matters: the duty does not stop at the front door. It extends to parking lots, sidewalks, ramps, stairs, and the walkways leading to a property. If you were injured by a hazard the owner should have addressed, our premises liability team can help you determine who is responsible.

Invitees, Licensees, and Trespassers

Not every visitor to a property is owed the same level of care under Georgia law. The duty an owner owes you, and how strong your claim is, depends on why you were on the property in the first place. Georgia sorts visitors into three groups:

  • Invitees: People on the property for the owner’s benefit, such as store customers, restaurant diners, hotel guests, and tenants. Owners owe invitees the highest duty: to inspect for hazards, fix them, or warn about them.
  • Licensees: People present for their own purposes with the owner’s permission, who are neither a customer, a servant, nor a trespasser.
  • Trespassers: People on the property without permission. Owners generally owe only a duty not to willfully or wantonly injure them.

Common Slip-and-Fall Hazards

A slip-and-fall can happen almost anywhere an owner lets a hazard go unaddressed. What ties these cases together is not the kind of hazard but how the owner handled it – a spill becomes a legal problem when staff knew about it, or should have, and did nothing before someone got hurt. Common examples include:

  • Wet, slippery, or sticky floors and spilled food or drinks
  • Loose carpeting, tile, or floor mats
  • Uneven floor edges, cracked or crumbling pavement, and potholes
  • Steps that blend into a walkway, or broken or unmarked stairs
  • Broken handrails or railings
  • Inadequate lighting
  • Cluttered walkways and tripping hazards
  • Defective or damaged ladders and scaffolding
  • Malfunctioning escalators or elevators
  • Ice that forms when water freezes on a sidewalk or in a parking lot
  • Nursing home and assisted-living falls

Local conditions add their own risks. In Savannah’s historic district, older brick sidewalks and uneven cobblestone catch visitors off guard every day. Across metro Atlanta, retail centers, restaurants, apartment complexes, and parking decks see frequent wet-floor and stairway falls. And when a winter storm moves through north Georgia, untreated walkways and lots can turn dangerously slick within hours.

Proving Negligence in a Slip-and-Fall Claim

Insurance companies rarely pay a slip-and-fall claim willingly, and winning one takes more than showing that you fell.

By filing a personal injury claim, you generally have to prove three things: that the property owner knew or should have known about the hazard (called actual or constructive notice), that they failed to fix it or warn you, and that this failure caused your injury.

Georgia owners are not automatically responsible for every fall, and a hazard that was open and obvious can make a claim harder. Evidence such as store security video, incident reports, photos of the scene, and statements from witnesses often makes the difference, which is why documenting everything early matters so much.

Comparative Negligence in Georgia Slip-and-Fall Cases

Property owners often argue that you were partly to blame for your own fall. Georgia follows what’s called a modified comparative negligence rule under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 – in plain terms, your share of the blame affects how much you can recover.

You can still recover compensation as long as you are found less than 50% at fault, but your award is reduced by your share of the blame – so if you are found 20% at fault, your recovery is reduced by 20%. If you are 50% or more at fault, you cannot recover at all.

Because so much can ride on that percentage, the other side will often try to shift blame onto you, and having a lawyer who can push back matters.

Common Slip-and-Fall Injuries

Falls can cause far more than a bruise. Landing hard on tile, concrete, or the edge of a stair – usually with no time to catch yourself – can do real damage, and the harm tends to be worse for older adults, who are more likely to suffer a serious fracture or head injury. We help clients recovering from:

Damages You May Be Able to Recover

Compensation in a slip-and-fall claim generally falls into two categories.

Special Damages

Special damages cover measurable financial losses, including emergency and ongoing medical care, future medical expenses, physical therapy and rehabilitation, lost wages, and reduced earning capacity if your injury affects your ability to work.

General Damages

General damages cover losses that are real but harder to put a number on, such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, and the way an injury changes your day-to-day life. The goal is to account for everything the fall has cost you, not just the bills sitting on the table right now.

How Long Do You Have to File in Georgia?

Georgia generally gives you two years from the date of your fall to file a personal injury lawsuit, under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33. Claims against a city, county, or other government entity often carry much shorter notice deadlines, sometimes only a matter of months, so it is wise to get advice quickly rather than wait.

Contact a Georgia Slip-and-Fall Lawyer for a Free Consultation

If you were injured in a slip-and-fall in Atlanta, Savannah, or anywhere in Georgia, let us help you find out where you stand. Call the premises liability lawyers at Prieto, DelCampo, Lopez, & Marigliano or contact us online for a free consultation with one of our attorneys. We can review the facts and explain your options in plain language.