Georgia Slip and Fall Cases Win a Victory against the Prior Traverse Rule
In a recent Georgia Court of Appeals decision, Perkins v. The Val D’Aosta Co., Case No. A10A0413 (Ga. Ct. App., July 9, 2010), the Court held that where the injured person had walked across the allegedly hazardous curb several times prior to falling, typically a fatal "prior traverse", they were still able to take their case to the jury. This decision continues the recent Court of Appeals trend chipping away at the ability of trial judges to take away the plaintiff's constitutional right to jury trial.
Remember that as we have discussed before on our Georgia slip and fall page, the basis for holding a property owner responsible is the information imbalance. If the property owner knows the property better than you do and there is a hazard present that hurts you, then you have a case. However, if you know the area, have walked over it previously or know the conditions for any reason before you fall, you have equal knowledge. Equal Knowledge is deadly to a Georgia slip and fall case; as it should be. Think about it; do we want people suing businesses when the injured person knew about the hazard before they tripped over it? People have to take responsibility for their own lack of care, plain and simple.
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