When someone is hurt by a violent crime at a business, apartment complex, or parking lot, the property owner sometimes shares the blame. Georgia’s premises liability law requires owners to take reasonable steps to keep the people they invite onto their property safe from foreseeable harm.
What Georgia’s Premises Liability Law Requires
When a property owner invites people onto their land for a lawful purpose, that owner has a duty to use ordinary care to keep the premises and its approaches reasonably safe. If the owner fails in that duty and a person is injured as a result, the owner can be held responsible.
This covers more than physical hazards. It also reaches criminal acts committed by third parties when those acts were foreseeable. A gas station, apartment complex, hotel, or shopping center that ignores a known pattern of violence on or near its property may be liable when a customer or resident is later attacked.
Foreseeability and the CVS Decision
Courts ask whether the owner knew, or should have known, that a crime was likely based on what had already happened at that location.
That standard was tested in a widely reported case involving a CVS in southeast Atlanta, where a man was robbed and shot in the parking lot. The Georgia Supreme Court upheld a verdict finding the pharmacy overwhelmingly responsible because it had not taken reasonable steps, such as security guards or cameras, to prevent a crime that prior incidents made foreseeable. Employees testified the store had been robbed before and that guards had been removed.
A business cannot ignore repeated warning signs and then claim a violent act came out of nowhere.
Why the Law Matters for Crime Victims in Atlanta
Atlanta premises liability cases often involve people who did nothing wrong and had no way to protect themselves. When an owner profits from inviting the public in but refuses to spend the money or energy on basic safety, the cost of that choice can fall on innocent people.
The law gives those victims a path to accountability. Security failures that commonly surface in these cases include:
- No working cameras or lighting in areas with known crime
- Broken or unmonitored security gates
- Removing guards despite a history of violent incidents
- Ignoring repeated police calls to the same location
- Failing to warn visitors about recent nearby crimes
An experienced attorney can examine what the owner knew, what they did about it, and whether their inaction contributed to the harm.
If you are weighing your options, speaking with an Atlanta, GA premises liability lawyer is a reasonable first step.
The Debate Over Reform
Businesses and insurers argue the law raises commercial insurance costs and pushes stores out of higher-crime neighborhoods. Lawmakers have introduced several bills to narrow it, and the governor has pressed for changes.
According to the state’s tort reform report, claims frequency rose 25% when comparing 2014 through 2018 with 2019 through 2023, and large losses over $1 million have climbed year after year.
Supporters counter that the law keeps owners honest about safety in the places people are invited to spend time and money. For the Atlanta premises liability attorney representing an injured client, that accountability is the point.
If you or a family member was harmed by a violent crime that a property owner could have prevented, you may have grounds to seek accountability. The team at Deitch + Rogers represents crime victims across Georgia and can explain your options after reviewing the facts of what happened.
