Premises Liability Accidents in Office Buildings

The general public is often invited to visit office buildings for meetings, appointments, and other routine business. If you are injured while entering an office building or while inside, the building owner or manager may be responsible, especially if your injury was caused by a defect or hazard in or near the complex. Read on for more information about premises liability accidents in office buildings.

In the context of Georgia premises liability law, a dangerous condition is any safety violation or hazard posing a risk of injury to the public, of which the person in control of the building was aware or should have been aware. For those visiting an office building, this can mean any of the following and more:

• Broken stairs
• Missing railings
• Malfunctioning elevators or escalators
• Substances left on the floor
• Dangerously stacked boxes or stored equipment
• Broken equipment
• Unsecured power cords on the floor
• Loose or bunched rugs or carpeting
• Cracked or broken sidewalks
• Sidewalks with leaves, ice, or other debris
• Parking lots with inadequate signage and markings
• Entrance ways with accumulated water or ice

In most cases, those injured in a premises liability accident in an office building must show they had reason to be in the office building. For example, you may have been invited to the building as a guest, were there doing business, or the building was open to the public. (In some cases, however, owners and managers have a duty to a trespasser.)   The injured party must also be able to show that he or she exercised reasonable care while at the property but had no knowledge of the dangerous condition that caused the accident.   In other words, the liable party may attempt to show that the injured victim somehow knew of the dangerous condition and intentionally exposed him or herself to the danger.  

For premises liability accidents occurring in industrial parks or office complexes, determining who may be held responsible for injuries is often challenging. Many businesses rent space in high rises, but they are not the actual owners of the building. The owner may even be located in another city, state, or country. The terms of the lease agreement may help determine who is responsible for maintaining certain elements of the premises, and who is liable in the event of an accident.

With some office buildings, there may also be a property manager in charge of leasing and maintaining public or common areas such as hallways, stairwells, elevators, sidewalks, and parking lots. Sometimes, a property manager or management company may bear some or all of the liability for injuries on the premises.

If you were injured while visiting an office building in Atlanta, Marietta, Macon, or somewhere in Georgia, please contact the personal injury lawyers at Katz Personal Injury Lawyers today at 404-460-0101. We will talk with you free of charge and ensure your rights are protected if you decide to hire our premises liability attorneys. We have extensive experience investigating and litigating cases against parties who neglect or willfully fail to provide safe commercial properties.