How Georgia premises liability claims work

A Georgia premises claim moves through a fixed set of questions: was the person invited, who controlled the spot, what exactly caused the injury, what did the owner know, and what did the injured person know? Those questions shape the evidence, the insurer’s response, and any summary judgment motion. They all run against the two-year limit in § 9-3-33, or a far shorter notice period if a government owns the place.

The sequence at a glance

Stage	Main question	What can go wrong
Days after the injury	What proves the hazard?	Cleanup, repair, overwritten video
First weeks	Who owns and controls this spot?	A private claim against a public owner, or the wrong company
Treatment	How serious is it, and what is the outlook?	Gaps in care, unclear causation
Investigation	Knowledge on both sides	No proof of how long the hazard was there
Demand and negotiation	Liability, damages, fault shares	Early statements used against the person
Filing	Right defendants, right court, on time	Time limit, service
Discovery	Logs, video, people, prior events	Scope disputes, lost evidence
Summary judgment	Is there a jury question?	Equal knowledge, prior traversal
Trial or settlement	Fault shares and damages	Liens, phased trial

Status and control come first

Status sets the duty. An invitee is owed ordinary care under § 51-3-1, while a licensee’s claim is limited by § 51-3-2 and a trespasser’s by § 51-3-3. The test for an invitee is whether the owner gets “some benefit, real or supposed”, from the visit, as classification explains.

Control sets the defendant. A store in a shopping center may not maintain the parking lot, a landlord who has fully parted with possession answers under § 44-7-14 instead, and a public sidewalk has its own rules. Parking lots and sidewalks walk through those splits.

If a government may be involved, stop and count. City notice is due within six months under § 36-33-5. County claims must be presented within 12 months under § 36-11-1, and state notice within 12 months under § 50-21-26.

The two proofs behind a fall claim

Robinson v. Kroger, 268 Ga. 735 (1997), requires proof “(1) that the defendant had actual or constructive knowledge of the hazard; and (2) that the plaintiff lacked knowledge of the hazard despite the exercise of ordinary care due to actions or conditions within the control of the owner/occupier.” A threshold sits underneath. Season All Flower Shop v. Rorie, 323 Ga. App. 529 (2013), calls whether a hazardous condition exists “the threshold question”. So a person who can’t say what caused the slip may never reach the rest.

Each of these has its own page: the statute, notice, and the invitee’s duty.

The early record

Medical care comes first. Then the evidence: photographs, names, the incident report number, and a written request to keep video and logs. Documenting premises hazards lists the order. The owner’s duty to keep evidence can arise when litigation becomes reasonably foreseeable, under Phillips v. Harmon, 297 Ga. 386 (2015). Treatment records carry the causation story, so make sure each provider has an accurate account.

From demand to filing

A demand letter sets out liability, injuries, treatment, and the amount sought. Demand letter preparation covers the content. Georgia’s time-limited demand statute, § 9-11-67.1, is written for claims “arising from the use of a motor vehicle”, so don’t assume a slip and fall demand operates under it.

The filing date doesn’t move because talks are going well. A claim that’s two weeks from the deadline needs a complaint, and when to file suit discusses timing. Then come the complaint, service, and the answer.

What discovery looks for

Request	Target	Why
Inspection logs and schedules	Constructive knowledge	Was there a check, and did it reach this spot?
All relevant video	Time on the floor, who was close	Period before the fall
Incident reports	Early accounts	Work product may be claimed
Prior complaints and falls	Knowledge of a recurring problem	Scope
Lease and service contracts	Control	Who had the duty
Entry on the land	Measuring and testing	§ 9-11-34(a)(2)

Depositions follow. An employee’s account of the routine and the plaintiff’s account of what they saw can decide what comes next. Reasonable inspection routines has questions to use.

Summary judgment

An owner tests the whole claim here. Robinson says a court may decide negligence as a matter of law “only where the evidence is plain, palpable and undisputable”, yet owners still win. Compare two 2026 decisions.

Case	Fact	Result
Holston v. Aboebarensi, A26A1219	Plaintiff saw the air hose before tripping on it	Owner won
Morano v. Wal-Mart Stores East, A26A0191	Plaintiff learned of the spill only after stepping in it	Plaintiff's case went forward

Summary judgment motions describes the process.

Rules changed by SB 68

Georgia’s 2025 tort reform, SB 68, touched this path in several places.

• Motion to dismiss. § 9-11-12 was revised, including its stay of discovery.
• Voluntary dismissal. § 9-11-41 was revised.
• Pain and suffering argument. § 9-10-184 was revised.
• Medical special damages. New § 51-12-1.1.
• Phased trial. New § 51-12-15 lets a party elect one, with exceptions.
• Negligent security. New §§ 51-3-50 to 51-3-57.

Section 9 applies the negligent security and special damages sections only to causes of action arising on or after the Act’s effective date. It intends the other provisions to reach pending cases, with some qualification. Check the date of the injury against each one.

Ending the claim

Fault is divided under § 51-12-33, with recovery ending at 50 percent. A settlement has to deal with liens and subrogation. If there’s no deal, the case goes to trial preparation.

Sources

• Robinson v. Kroger, 268 Ga. 735
• Cham v. ECI Management, 311 Ga. 170
• Season All Flower Shop v. Rorie, 323 Ga. App. 529
• Phillips v. Harmon, 297 Ga. 386
• Holston v. Aboebarensi, A26A1219
• Morano v. Wal-Mart Stores East, A26A0191
• Official Code of Georgia Annotated, November 2022 public release: §§ 9-3-33, 9-11-34, 9-11-67.1, 36-11-1, 36-33-5, 44-7-14, 50-21-26, 51-3-1, 51-3-2, 51-3-3, 51-12-33
• Georgia Senate Bill 68 (2025)

This page was last reviewed in November 2026 for general information. Laws and court decisions can change after that date. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.