Gaydos v. Grupe Real Estate Investors, 211 Ga.App. 811, 812–813, 440 S.E.2d 545 (1994). See Chamblee v. Grayco, Inc., 266 Ga.App. 154, 156, 596 S.E.2d 683 (2004) (noting the continuing applicability of the voluntary departure rule following the Supreme Court of Georgia's decision in Robinson v. Kroger Co., 268 Ga. 735, 493 S.E.2d 403 (1997)). In this case, viewed in the light most favorable to Bartlett's contentions, the record shows that the static hazard which led to his injuries lay just behind an array of merchandise arranged on the floor so tightly that it completely concealed an opening in the floor of the dimensions of the stairwell.
Thus, St. Paul presented evidence supporting the theory that Georgia Henderson's injury was caused by her own negligence. See, e.g., Chamblee v. Grayco, Inc., 266 Ga.App. 154, 156, 596 S.E.2d 683 (2004) (voluntary departure rule precluded the plaintiff's recovery as a matter of law where plaintiff voluntarily stepped from the sidewalk, which was the route designated by the owner/occupier, onto a partially exposed drainage pipe, fell and was injured). Accordingly the burden shifted back to the Hendersons to produce evidence sufficient to raise an issue of fact as to Georgia Henderson's negligence or to show that her negligence resulted from the defendant's actions or conditions under the defendant's control.