Macon Premises Liability Lawyer

Hurt in a fall or attack on someone else’s property in Macon? Call our Macon office at (478) 254-2665 for a free consultation. You pay no fee unless we recover money for you.

Macon Premises Liability Lawyer

Stores, restaurants, apartment complexes, hotels and other businesses in Macon have a legal duty to keep their property reasonably safe for the people they invite in. When they don’t, and someone is hurt, Georgia law can hold the owner or manager responsible. Our Macon office at 544 Mulberry Street represents people hurt on unsafe property across Macon-Bibb County and middle Georgia.

Common Premises Liability Cases

• Slip and falls on wet floors, spilled products, ice or freshly mopped areas without warning signs.
• Trip and falls over broken pavement, uneven sidewalks, torn carpet, loose mats and poorly marked steps.
• Stairway and railing failures in apartments, hotels and older commercial buildings.
• Poor lighting in parking lots, stairwells and walkways.
• Negligent security, where a business or apartment complex ignored known crime and a guest or tenant was attacked.
• Falling merchandise and shelving in big-box stores.
• Dog bites on rental property and at private homes.

What You Have to Prove in Georgia

Georgia law requires an owner or occupier to use ordinary care to keep the premises and approaches safe for invited guests (O.C.G.A. § 51-3-1). In practice, the injured person usually has to show two things:

1. The owner knew, or should have known, about the hazard. That can mean an employee created it, saw it, or it was there long enough that a reasonable inspection would have found it.
2. The injured person did not know about the hazard, even while using ordinary care for their own safety.

That second point is where insurers fight hardest. They argue the hazard was “open and obvious” or that you should have been watching your step. Surveillance video, inspection and cleaning logs, incident reports and witness statements often decide the case, and businesses may keep video for only a short time. Contact a lawyer quickly so a preservation letter can go out before evidence is erased.

Negligent Security After Georgia’s 2025 Tort Reform

Senate Bill 68, signed in April 2025, changed the rules for negligent security cases in Georgia. Among other things, a jury can now consider the fault of the person who committed the crime alongside the fault of the property owner, which can reduce what the owner pays. These cases now require careful work on what the owner knew about prior crimes on or near the property and what reasonable security would have prevented.

Deadlines and Fault

• Two years to file most personal injury lawsuits in Georgia (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33).
• Shorter notice deadlines apply when government property is involved, such as a fall in a Macon-Bibb County building or on a public sidewalk. Treat the deadline as six months and act sooner. See claims against Macon-Bibb County and our page on ante litem notices.
• Comparative fault: your recovery is reduced by your share of fault, and you recover nothing if you are 50 percent or more at fault (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33).

What to Do After a Fall or Injury on Someone’s Property

1. Get medical care and tell the doctor exactly how you were hurt.
2. Report the injury to the manager and ask for a copy of the incident report, or at least the name of the person who took it.
3. Take photos of the hazard, the area, the lighting and your shoes and clothing before anything is cleaned up.
4. Get names and phone numbers of witnesses.
5. Do not give a recorded statement to the property owner’s insurance company before talking with a lawyer.

Premises Liability Questions

The store says I should have seen the spill. Do I still have a case?

Possibly. The question is what you and the store each knew or should have known. Displays designed to draw your eyes, poor lighting and a hazard that blends into the floor all matter.

What does it cost to hire you?

Nothing up front. We handle premises liability cases on a contingency fee, which means you owe no attorney’s fee unless we obtain a recovery for you. The consultation is free.

Talk to a Macon Premises Liability Lawyer

Call (478) 254-2665 for a free consultation.

Sessions & Fleischman, LLC – Macon Office
544 Mulberry Street, Suite 319
Macon, GA 31201
(478) 254-2665

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