You rented a storage unit to keep your belongings safe. Instead, the gate crushed you, you were assaulted in the dark facility, or you tripped on broken pavement. Self-storage facilities create premises liability exposure despite their seemingly simple business model.
Premises Liability at Storage Facilities
Self-storage operators are property owners who invite customers onto their premises. They owe duties to maintain safe premises for customers accessing their units.
The duty includes maintaining safe grounds, driveways, and common areas, ensuring proper lighting throughout the facility, keeping access systems and gates in safe operating condition, providing reasonable security against foreseeable crime, and maintaining individual units in rentable condition.
Breach of these duties causing customer injury creates liability.
Gate and Access System Injuries
Automated gates at storage facilities cause serious injuries and deaths. Heavy gates designed to secure facilities can crush people caught in their path.
Gate safety features including sensors, auto-reverse systems, and warning devices should prevent entrapment injuries. Missing or malfunctioning safety features create liability when customers are caught and crushed by gates.
Maintenance obligations require regular inspection and testing of gate systems. Gates that have previously malfunctioned, stuck, or caused near-misses create particularly strong liability when subsequent injuries occur.
Garage-style rolling doors on individual units can also cause injuries. Doors that fall unexpectedly, lack proper counterbalancing, or have failed safety mechanisms injure customers loading and unloading units.
Access keypads, card readers, and entry systems must be maintained in working condition. System failures stranding customers in or out of facilities can lead to injuries as customers attempt alternative entry methods.
Security Failures
Self-storage facilities attract crime due to stored valuables, isolated customers, and limited active monitoring.
Prior crime at the facility establishes foreseeability creating security duties. Previous assaults, robberies, break-ins, and vehicle thefts demonstrate known criminal activity the operator should address.
Reasonable security measures depend on facility characteristics, location, and crime history. Appropriate measures may include adequate lighting throughout all areas, functioning electronic access control limiting who can enter, surveillance cameras appropriately positioned, maintained fencing and perimeter security, and prompt response to security system failures.
Marketing representations about security may create heightened duties. Facilities advertising 24-hour surveillance, security patrols, or advanced access control must actually provide these features.
Slip and Fall Hazards
Storage facility premises create various slip and fall risks.
Outdoor surfaces including driveways, parking areas, and walkways may deteriorate, develop potholes, or become uneven. Weather exposure accelerates surface degradation.
Indoor corridors in climate-controlled facilities require floor maintenance. Water leaks, cleaning residue, and debris create slip hazards.
Unit thresholds may be uneven or include lips that create trip hazards when customers are carrying items and can’t see their feet.
Loading areas where customers transfer belongings may have surface hazards, height differences between docks and vehicles, or inadequate lighting.
Exculpatory Clauses in Rental Agreements
Storage rental agreements typically include exculpatory clauses attempting to release the facility from liability.
Georgia enforces some exculpatory clauses but not others. Clauses cannot release liability for gross negligence or intentional misconduct. Clauses must be clear and conspicuous to be enforceable.
The specific language, presentation, and circumstances affect enforceability. Don’t assume a signed rental agreement bars all claims.
Courts examine whether the exculpatory clause was brought to customer attention, whether it clearly covered the type of claim at issue, and whether public policy considerations affect enforcement.
Climate-Controlled and Specialty Units
Climate-controlled facilities have additional systems that can malfunction.
HVAC failures causing temperature extremes may damage stored property but can also create unsafe conditions for customers accessing units in extreme heat.
Fire suppression systems that malfunction may injure customers or create slip hazards.
Specialty units for vehicle storage, wine storage, or other specific uses may have unique hazards related to their special features.
Investigation and Evidence
Storage facility claims require prompt investigation.
Access logs show who entered the facility and when, relevant for security claims.
Surveillance video may capture incidents. Send preservation demands immediately as video is typically overwritten within days.
Gate maintenance records document inspection history and prior problems.
Prior incident reports reveal what the facility knew about hazards.
The rental agreement terms affect available claims and defenses.
Self-storage claims involve premises liability, product liability for gate systems, and potentially security issues. This article provides general information about storage facility claims in Georgia. For specific guidance, consult with a Georgia personal injury attorney.