Premises Liability

Published on: May 7, 2009

Escalators and Crocs Just Don’t Mix

Since we last reported on the Crocs-related escalator injuries on December 9, 2008, Atlanta Residents Injured By Faulty Escalators more news has developed which now points the finger at Crocs, in addition to faulty escalators. For a full breakdown of this developing area see the Snope.com article Danger Afoot. While it is clear that rubber shoes and escalators do not mix, everyone should take great caution when getting onto and off of escalators. I have especially noticed and increased incident rate of accidents while pedestrians are entering and exiting the escalators at the Atlanta Airport.

Regardless of which side you come down on this debate (e.g., is it the Crocs causing the injuries or is it the escalators that are causing the injuries), the important point to take away from this is: children are suffering injuries on escalators in record numbers. Whether they are being injured at Lenox Mall, Hartsfield Airport, on Marta escalators or in any number of locations around Atlanta, they are being seriously injured. All parents must take extra caution when shopping or traveling with young children.

If you do become involved in an incident stemming from a fall or other injury on an escalator, you must do all you can to preserve your legal rights. First and foremost, seek medical assistance if you are injured. If at all possible, you should also notify police or security and make absolutely certain that a police report or incident report is filled out. In addition, be sure that you obtain the police report number or incident report number (if available) and ask for a copy of the report. This will be invaluable later when you hire a lawyer and other information is sought from the potential defendants. These reports will not only clarify the facts of the incident such as exactly where on the premises you were injured, what caused the injury, who witnessed the incident, etc. but they also put the property owner on notice of the incident. Many times, if a police or incident report is not completed, we are not able to pursue a case.

Published on: January 23, 2009

Georgia Dog Owners Beware

by Robert J. Fleming

Most experienced injury lawyers agree that the owner of a chimpanzee shot and killed by police after it attacked a 55-year-old woman last week will likely be named in a lawsuit. The state could also be held liable in the incident because it should have known the animal was a risk to the public. The victim of the attack remains in critical condition at the Cleveland Clinic as doctors evaluate her injuries, according the the Hartford Courant.

In Georgia, a pet owner is held strictly liable for injuries caused by vicious wild animals belonging to her, because such animals are considered inherently dangerous. Candler v. Smith, 50 Ga.App. 667 (1935). A dog, as a matter of law, is not subject to the rules governing wild animals. Harper v. Robinson, 263 Ga. App. 727(1) (2003).

However, Georgia law provides for liability to pet owners who “knew or should have known of the [vicious] propensities.” OCGA Code Section 51-2-7. While the commonly quoted “one bite rule”, i.e., every dog is entitled to its first bite without the owner being liable to the bitten victim, illustrates one way in which an owner would be held liable, it is not the only way. For instance, even if a dog has never attacked or bitten someone before, the dog’s owner could be liable for damage caused by the dog if “the animal was required to be at heel or on a leash by an ordinance of a city [or] county and the animal was at the time of the occurrence not at heel or on a leash.” Id. In fact, most metro Atlanta, Georgia Counties, including but not limited to Cobb, Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton, and Gwinnett have leash laws that require the dog owner to have control over their dog at all times. For instance, Gwinnett Counties’ leash law makes it clear that the dog must, at all times, be controlled by the owner to avoid the dog attacking someone. The requirements are even stricter if the dog has attacked an innocent bystander before. When the is an applicable animal control statute (a/k/a leash law), the “one bite rule” is superseded by the leash law and the dog’s owner, in most cases, is what lawyer’s refer to as negligent per se. In other words, the fact that the dog was able to attack someone in the neighborhood, proves that the leash law was violated and the owner is liable for all the damages caused by the dog’s attack.

It is important to note that dog attacks result in physical and emotional damages. If one has ever been attacked by a dog, you know just how scary the attack can be. Most people who suffer dog bite attacks, are victims of post traumatic stress disorder from the attack, and are fearful of dogs long after the attack, if not forever.

Dog bites can be very painful and, in some cases, they can inflict long-lasting emotional impacts on victims. Care should be taken by all responsible dog owners to ensure that their dogs are not left in a position to attack and hurt innocent victims.
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Published on: December 9, 2008

Atlanta Residents Injured By Faulty Escalators

by Robert J. Fleming

We hear about it during the busy Atlanta summer travel season. We hear about it during the busy Georgia holiday shopping season. Boys and girls of all ages being seriously injured when their little hands or feet are suddenly sucked into the openings by the moving stairs of escalators. While Marta, the large department stores and airports try to lay blame on the popular Crocs-type shoes, the real culprits are faulty escalators.

For instance, in 1996, long before Crocs were even on the market, a young boy in Houston lost three toes when his tennis shoe was sucked in by an escalator. “If escalators were designed properly and met all the standards, it wouldn’t matter that they [the injured children] were wearing Crocs,” said Scott Anderson, of Houston, Texas whose 4-year-old son was was seriously injured in the 1996 escalator accident.

Since the beginning of this year, over 140 injury incident reports have been filed with Georgia state regulators, with the vast majority occurring at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, MARTA and the various Atlanta area shopping malls such as Phipps Plaza, Lenox Mall and Perimeter Mall. Although rare, some of these incidents result in severe injuries such as head traumas, loss of limbs and permanent disfigurement. If you or a family member is injured in an escalator accident, you should immediately contact an experienced personal injury attorney and then (through your attorney) report the incident to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”). The CPSC’s web site is www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx or they can be reached by telephone at 800-638-2772.

While not every injury that occurs on an escalator is due to someone else’s negligence, many are. If you are seriously injured on an escalator and you suspect that the injury was caused by faulty equipment or negligence on the part of the premises owner/operators (some common premises owners or operators are MARTA, AATC–which operates Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport for the City of Atlanta and the Airlines, and the various malls in the Atlanta area such as Phipps Plaza, Lenox Mall and Perimeter Mall).

Robert J. Fleming, P.C. has successfully represented many clients injured on the premises of others. If you have been seriously injured, contact us today for a free initial consultation to discuss the specific facts of your case.
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