Slip and fall accidents occur when a person who is walking on property owned or controlled by another slips/trips and falls on a hazard. In many instances, the fall results in serious injuries and damages. However, not everyone who gets injured on a walking hazard is entitled to compensation for their losses. In Georgia, a property owner may try to avoid liability for a slip and fall accident by raising the “equal knowledge” defense.

A victim of a slip and fall accident can collect compensation for injuries if the property owner, or person in control of the property, had “superior knowledge,” meaning they had an awareness of the hazardous condition of the premises and knew better than the victim.

On the contrary, if the property owner and the victim both understood and were aware of the danger of a hazard on the premises, this is what is known as “equal knowledge.”

For example, if a property owner was aware that their front porch steps were rotting and unstable, but they failed to let a visitor know before they used them and got hurt, the property owner would be considered to have had superior knowledge. If the visitor had been there before and was just as familiar with the state of the buildings’ stairs as the owner was, then both parties could be considered to have equal knowledge of the hazard.

The financial losses incurred from doctor/hospital visits, treatments, medications and lost income after a slip and fall can be enormous, and showing fault in these cases can be very complex. This is why working with an experienced premises liability attorney can be invaluable — especially when the defendant is trying to claim that the plaintiff was aware of the dangerous condition.

If equal knowledge can be proven in a slip and fall injury case, then the victim cannot recover anything, even if the slip and fall hazard was a shockingly dangerous situation. Likewise, a victim with equal knowledge cannot recover damages regardless of their level of injuries.

Jason & Bradley, LLC, located in Stone Mountain, Georgia, is one of the state’s premier accident injury law firms. Premises liability cases warrant professional representation by attorneys experienced in this area of the law, and our attorneys are highly knowledgeable and experienced in all aspects of these cases. The firm pursues all legal avenues to obtain the maximum recovery for their clients’ slip and fall injuries. If you or a family member have been injured in a slip and fall accident, please feel free to contact us online or call 404-297-9933 for an initial consultation.