The last thing you want is for someone to get injured on your property. The situation can quickly escalate if the third party decides to sue you for damages.
However, their claim’s validity would depend on several important factors.
Duty of care
Anyone injured on someone else’s property could sue the homeowner because of standards of duty of care. If you have someone at your home, you have an obligation to maintain a safe space that is free from hazards, whether they are intentional or not. You even owe trespassers some degree of duty of care.
Negligence
For someone to file a claim against you, they have to prove that you breached that duty of care by being negligent or intentional. Negligence includes not dealing with hazardous situations and not making the visitor aware of unsafe conditions. Commonly, dogs bite trespassers. This could make you liable for the trespasser’s damages unless you posted warning signs or had your yard fenced off.
Correlation
To have a valid claim, someone must prove that your negligence led to an injury and that the injury was enough to cause damages. Typical damages in a premises liability case include incurred medical bills, lost time at work and pain and suffering. Pain and suffering damages are more difficult to prove because they are non-economic, but with the right lawyer, they could seek this compensation. You could even face punitive damages that are purely designed to punish you.
All Georgia homeowners can know what to expect after someone gets injured on their property if they understand what makes a valid premises liability claim.
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