In a Georgia premises liability claim, the duty an owner owes depends on whether the injured person was an invitee, a licensee, or a trespasser, with each category carrying a different level of protection. This classification is often the first question in such a claim.
The highest duty runs to an invitee. A customer shopping during open hours is owed full ordinary care to keep the premises safe, since the visit serves the owner’s business. Placing a visitor in this group sets the most demanding standard the case applies, reaching hazards the owner knew of or should have found.
A licensee receives a lesser duty. Someone present for their own purposes with the owner’s permission, such as a social guest dropping by, is generally owed a duty not to be injured willfully or wantonly. Georgia courts have read that duty to include warning a licensee of a known hidden danger once the owner has reason to expect the licensee near it, which gives the category somewhat more protection than a bare trespasser receives.
A trespasser receives the least. A neighbor cutting across a yard uninvited is generally owed only a duty against willful or wanton injury, subject to narrow exceptions. Where a visitor falls among these categories sets the standard that governs.
Visitor status sorts a premises claim into one of three tracks: the full ordinary-care duty for invitees, a narrower duty for licensees, and the slimmest duty for trespassers. Placing the injured person in the right category is what sets the standard the rest of the claim runs on.