Although property owners have a responsibility to address known hazards and warn invitees about them, people are also expected to use common sense in watching out for open and obvious dangers. The equal knowledge defense holds that if a plaintiff has equal knowledge of a hazard, they have a responsibility to try to avoid it.
A recent example of the equal knowledge defense was weighed by the Georgia Court of Appeals in the 2015 case of Forest Cove Apartments v. Wilson. Plaintiff operated a cleaning and repair business and was contracted to fix some subfloor issues. She provided an estimate and returned with a crew the next day, when she soon realized there was black mold and significant structural concerns. The property owner asked for pictures and an updated estimate. As she was doing this, she fell through the floor and onto a hot stove, suffering serious injuries. She sued the property owner, who argued she had equal knowledge of the danger and a duty to avoid it. Both the trial court and the appellate court agreed.
An injury lawyer should be able to give you a good idea of the likely defenses that will arise in your premises liability claim, and how we can mitigate their impact.