A fall inside a hospital: premises claim or malpractice claim?

Attorney Answer

Whether you have a claim depends on why you fell, and the reason also decides what kind of claim it is. If you were a visitor, or a patient who slipped or tripped on an ordinary hazard such as a wet floor, it is a premises claim. If you were a patient and the fall came from how staff assessed, watched or helped you, it may be a medical malpractice claim, which must be filed with an expert's affidavit and runs on its own clock.

A premises claim. O.C.G.A. § 51-3-1:

Where an owner or occupier of land, by express or implied invitation, induces or leads others to come upon his premises for any lawful purpose, he is liable in damages to such persons for injuries caused by his failure to exercise ordinary care in keeping the premises and approaches safe.

That is ordinary care, not a guarantee. In a slip or trip case, the Supreme Court of Georgia requires the injured person to show that the owner knew or should have known of the hazard, and that the injured person did not know of it despite using ordinary care: American Multi-Cinema, Inc. v. Brown, 285 Ga. 442, 679 S.E.2d 25 (2009). At the summary-judgment stage, you do not have to disprove your own carelessness first; that comes into play once the owner's knowledge is shown and the owner points to evidence of yours (Robinson v. Kroger Co., 268 Ga. 735, 493 S.E.2d 403 (1997)).

A fall caused by staff. When a patient falls because of what staff did or failed to do, the question is whether that took medical judgment. In Byrom v. Douglas Hospital, Inc., 338 Ga. App. 768, 792 S.E.2d 404 (2016), a patient who fell getting out of a wheelchair, after staff did not raise the foot pedals or help the patient, had ordinary negligence claims that needed no expert affidavit, and the premises knowledge test did not apply. In Dent v. Memorial Hospital of Adel, 270 Ga. 316, 509 S.E.2d 908 (1998), the Supreme Court of Georgia held that failing to follow a doctor's order or keep needed equipment on hand can be ordinary negligence, while noting that decisions about what equipment a patient needs are normally professional judgments. So a fall that follows a fall-risk assessment or a decision about supervision may still be malpractice.

If it is malpractice. Under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-9.1, as amended in 2026, a complaint alleging professional malpractice against a listed licensed professional, or a health care facility liable for one, must be filed with an expert's affidavit setting out at least one negligent act or omission and the facts behind it. The deadlines are in O.C.G.A. § 9-3-71:

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this article, an action for medical malpractice shall be brought within two years after the date on which an injury or death arising from a negligent or wrongful act or omission occurred.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this Code section, in no event may an action for medical malpractice be brought more than five years after the date on which the negligent or wrongful act or omission occurred.

What you can do

1. Ask the hospital for your complete records from that stay or visit, including any incident report or fall-risk assessment.

2. Keep the names of any staff or visitors who saw the fall or came to help.

3. Photograph your injuries, and note what was on the floor or what you were told before you fell.

4. Keep every medical record and bill from treatment after the fall.

5. Even if you are handling this yourself, you would be best served by a brief phone consultation with a local Georgia attorney before you act. Most lawyers offer a short initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts — and on how your court actually handles this — is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. A premises claim has two years under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33. A malpractice claim has two years from the injury under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-71(a), and in no event more than five years from the act under § 9-3-71(b). Because the expert affidavit takes time to obtain, talk to a lawyer well before any deadline.