Not all personal injury claims involve traffic accidents. Some happen at building entrances. Revolving doors, designed to manage climate control and traffic flow in commercial buildings, can cause serious injuries when they malfunction, move unexpectedly, or trap people inside their rotating panels.
Premises Liability Principles
Revolving door injuries fall under Georgia premises liability law rather than motor vehicle law. Property owners and building managers have a duty to maintain their premises in reasonably safe condition for visitors.
Georgia divides visitors into categories that affect the duty owed. Invitees, including customers, employees, and business visitors, are owed the highest duty of care. Property owners must exercise ordinary care to keep the premises safe and inspect for hazards. Licensees, such as social guests, are owed a lesser duty. Trespassers are owed almost no duty except to avoid intentional harm.
Most revolving door injuries involve invitees entering commercial buildings, hotels, hospitals, or office towers. These injured parties are owed the full duty of ordinary care.
How Revolving Door Accidents Happen
Revolving doors present specific hazards.
Entrapment occurs when fingers, hands, clothing, or body parts become caught between the moving door panels and the fixed frame. Children and elderly individuals are particularly vulnerable.
Speed malfunctions cause injuries when doors rotate faster than expected, striking people who have not yet cleared the compartment.
Sudden stops or reversals throw occupants off balance, causing falls within the door enclosure.
Sensor failures occur when automatic doors fail to detect that someone is in the path and continue moving.
Glass breakage can cause laceration injuries if panels shatter due to impact or material fatigue.
Each type of malfunction suggests different potential defendants and liability theories.
Proving Premises Liability
To recover for revolving door injuries, the injured person must prove the property owner knew or should have known about a dangerous condition and failed to correct it or warn visitors.
This knowledge requirement is critical. Georgia does not impose strict liability on property owners. Showing that a door malfunctioned is not enough. The injured person must show that the owner had notice of the problem.
Actual knowledge exists if the owner knew about prior malfunctions, had received complaints, or had been told by maintenance personnel about issues.
Constructive knowledge exists if reasonable inspection would have revealed the problem. Property owners cannot claim ignorance if they failed to inspect equipment that requires regular maintenance.
The Prior Traversal Doctrine
Georgia recognizes a prior traversal doctrine that can complicate revolving door claims. If the injured person had previously used the same door successfully, courts may presume they had equal knowledge of any dangers as the property owner.
This doctrine applies primarily to static conditions rather than mechanical malfunctions. A revolving door that malfunctions unpredictably is different from an obvious hazard the visitor had seen before.
However, defense attorneys raise this doctrine in revolving door cases. Documenting that the malfunction was sudden and unexpected, rather than an obvious condition, helps counter this argument.
Maintenance and Inspection Records
Building owners are expected to maintain revolving doors according to manufacturer specifications. Regular inspection, lubrication, sensor testing, and component replacement are standard practice.
In litigation, maintenance records become important evidence. Gaps in the inspection schedule, deferred repairs, or ignored warnings from maintenance personnel all support claims that the owner knew or should have known about hazards.
Conversely, thorough maintenance records showing regular inspection without detected problems may support an owner’s defense that the malfunction was unforeseeable.
Vulnerable Populations
Certain groups face elevated risk from revolving door hazards.
Children may not understand how to time entry and exit, may move unpredictably, and have small fingers that fit into gap spaces.
Elderly individuals may move slowly and be struck by doors they cannot exit quickly. Falls in the confined space can cause hip fractures and other serious injuries.
Persons with disabilities using wheelchairs, walkers, or mobility devices may have difficulty navigating revolving doors designed for able-bodied pedestrians.
Buildings subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act must provide accessible alternatives to revolving doors. Failure to provide or clearly mark these alternatives can support liability claims.
Potential Defendants
Revolving door injury claims may involve multiple defendants.
Building owners bear primary responsibility for premises safety.
Property management companies that handle day-to-day operations may share liability.
Maintenance contractors who serviced the door may be liable for negligent repair or failure to identify problems.
Door manufacturers may be liable if a design or manufacturing defect caused the malfunction.
Door installation companies may be liable if improper installation created hazards.
Identifying the responsible parties requires investigation into ownership, management, and maintenance arrangements.
Documenting Revolving Door Injuries
Evidence after a revolving door accident should include photographs of the door, any visible damage, and the scene. Request copies of any incident reports filed by building staff. Ask whether surveillance cameras recorded the accident. Get names of witnesses and building personnel.
Seek medical attention promptly. The connection between the door malfunction and your injuries must be established through medical documentation.
If the door was left in place after your accident, it should be inspected and tested by a qualified expert before repairs alter its condition.
Comparative Negligence
Georgia’s comparative fault rule applies to premises liability claims. If the injured person was partially at fault, perhaps by pushing against the door, moving too slowly, or ignoring warnings, their recovery is reduced by their percentage of responsibility.
If the injured person is found 50% or more at fault, they recover nothing. Insurance companies defend premises liability claims by arguing that the visitor failed to exercise reasonable care for their own safety.
Filing Deadlines
Georgia’s two-year statute of limitations applies to premises liability claims. The clock begins running on the date of injury.
Unlike some motor vehicle claims, premises liability cases do not typically involve government defendants unless the building is publicly owned. Claims against government-owned buildings require ante litem notice within six months for city property or twelve months for state property.
Revolving door injuries involve premises liability principles rather than traffic law. Property owners must maintain their entrances in safe condition. This is general information about Georgia premises liability claims. Specific cases require investigation into the property’s ownership, maintenance history, and the cause of the malfunction.