Torts in Real Estate

Recently, I had the privilege of presenting at the Georgia Bar Association’s Annual Meeting in Ponte Vedra, Florida. I spoke about my experience with cases involving real estate. I hope some of this background is helpful to you as you navigate your time at real estate holdings and properties owned by others. I also took the time to discuss preventative actions for property owners. Ideally, properties would be built to protect others from injury. Here are some of the questions asked and portions of my responses. More information about this presentation is available on my social media accounts, but you are always welcome to contact me at my office.

For context, a tort case is legal term sometimes used by lawyers to describe a personal injury case.

Premises liability cases are legal claims made by an individual who has been injured on someone else’s property due to unsafe, neglected, or hazardous conditions. The property owner or occupant may be held responsible if they failed to maintain the premises in a safe condition or failed to provide adequate warnings about dangers that could lead to injury.

Question: Please tell us about your experience with tort cases involving real estate.

Answer: I built my law practice with attorney’s fees from premises liability cases, but before that, I worked for years as a defense attorney for insurance companies, businesses, and local governments. This background gave me the knowledge and experience to know both sides of a legal case. This helps my injured clients when we bring a case against an insurance company because I know how their lawyers think and how they defend the case.

Today, I still passionately pursue premises liability cases in my law practice. It is a fascinating field that requires you to think carefully and critically about the facts and evidence in every case. It is critical to be competent in the law and honestly enjoyable to become experienced in the specifics of premises liability law and the codes and standards that apply to businesses and property.

Here are some recent examples of premises liability cases that Virginia Josey Law has handled:

• Malfunctioning automated doors at department stores where specific timing issues caused by lack of proper inspection, maintenance, and upkeep caused lifechanging injuries.
• Slip and fall case in a retailer which required knowledge of industry standards of inspection and maintenance required by businesses to keep its customers safe.
• Preventable death caused by a landlord who failed to properly maintain fire prevention and mitigation systems and led to a fatal building fire.
• Collapsed apartment building staircase caused by inadequate maintenance and repair which caused serious injuries.
• Failed staircase handrail resulting from insufficient duct tape repair that caused serious injuries.

These are a few of many case examples where Virginia Josey Law has helped clients and protected others from poorly maintained properties.

Question: What are the risks of owning a rental property in the name of an entity in Georgia?

Answer: Significant. You have families lives in your hands and owners are required to take that responsibility seriously. A property owner or occupier is tasked with keeping a safe premises. How does this apply using the case examples from above? For starters, the necessity of fire extinguishers and fire detection devices is non-negotiable in order to keep a building and its occupants safe. While some of the above-described cases appear to be caused by obvious neglect, like a duct taped handrail that failed, other incidents are often caused by neglect over time. When I got the call from my clients about the collapsing staircase, it was clear this did not happen overnight. What mattered in that case, like many other premises liability cases, was that the owner of the property knew of the deteriorating condition of the staircase and failed to make repairs before the condition worsened to the point of complete failure.

Question: Is there anything that you wish more property owners knew as it deals with torts in real estate?

Answer: Frankly, most of premises work involves common sense. Basically, if a property or business owner knows people may be on the property, the law says there is a duty to protect people from harm. Not all injuries occurring on a property or at a business are actionable or can be pursued for compensation. However, all of my cases arise out of an injury that occurred to a person caused by the lack of concern for safety. Georgia law provides guidance on who can be pursued when a person is injured by the carelessness of keeping a property or building safe. As a result, I always encourage businesses to consult with an attorney to be sure their property sufficiently protects others.

At Virginia Josey Law, we are more than just legal representatives - we are advocates for justice and allies for those who need us most.