Premises Liability Accident

Know your rights after a serious injury on someone else’s Property

You walked into a store, an apartment complex or a friend’s backyard expecting to be safe. Then a wet floor, broken step, dark stairwell or cracked walkway changed everything. If you were injured on someone else’s property in Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley or anywhere in California, an experienced California premises liability lawyer can help you understand your legal options and pursue compensation. This unsafe property conditions may have caused you or your loved fatal injuries , in this case our personal injury lawyers can explain your family’s legal rights. Contact us today for a free consultation.

For more than 50 years, Walch Law has helped injured people and families seeking justice after a preventable loss. If a dangerous property condition caused your such dangerous injuries or maybe death, contacting our experienced California wrongful death lawyers may help your family understand its legal rights and pursue compensation. We understand how painful this time can be and why acting promptly matters. Contact us now for a FREE consultation. There is no charge to speak with us and you pay no attorney’s fees unless we recover money for you.

What Is Premises Liability in California?

Premises liability means a person or company in control of property can be held legally responsible when a dangerous condition on that property harms someone. The rule comes from California’s general duty of care. Under Civil Code section 1714, everyone is responsible for injuries caused by a failure to use ordinary care in managing their property. In Rowland v. Christian (1968) 69 Cal.2d 108, the California Supreme Court moved the state away from rigid labels such as “invitee” and “licensee” and toward a broader question: did the owner act as a reasonably careful person would under the circumstances?

In plain terms, owners and operators must take reasonable steps to keep their property reasonably safe. That means inspecting it, repairing problems, warning visitors about hazards that cannot be fixed right away and providing safeguards such as adequate lighting and handrails.

Juries in California are instructed using the Judicial Council’s civil jury instructions on premises liability (CACI Nos. 1000 and following). They ask whether the defendant owned, leased, occupied or controlled the property, whether the defendant was negligent in its use or maintenance, whether the plaintiff was harmed and whether the negligence was a substantial factor in causing that harm.

Common Types of Premises Liability Claims

Premises cases are not limited to the classic “slip and fall.” Injuries we see and evaluate include:

• Slip-and-fall accidents on spills, leaks, freshly mopped floors, rain tracked into entrances, or slick walkways.
• Trip-and-fall accidents caused by uneven pavement, torn carpet, loose mats, exposed wires, potholes in parking lots or broken sidewalks.
• Stairway and handrail falls involving missing or loose railings, worn treads, poor lighting or stairs that do not meet code.
• Burn injuries from scalding water, faulty heaters, electrical defects or fires caused by poor maintenance.
• Inadequate security cases, where a business or landlord failed to take reasonable precautions against foreseeable criminal acts (see Delgado v. Trax Bar & Grill (2005) 36 Cal.4th 224).
• Swimming pool and recreational area injuries, including missing fencing, slippery decks, or unsafe diving areas.
• Falling objects, such as merchandise stacked unsafely on shelves.
• Rental housing hazards, such as broken stairs, defective balconies or ignored repair requests.
• Elevator and escalator accidents caused by inadequate maintenance or inspection.

If the injury happened because of a dangerous roadway or a public building, the claim may be handled differently. We cover that below.

What You Must Prove in a California Premises Liability Case

The law does not make an owner an insurer of everyone’s safety. A person who slips on a wet spot that appeared a moment earlier may not have a case. To succeed, an injured person generally has to prove four things:

1. The defendant owned, leased, occupied or controlled the property.
2. The defendant was negligent in the use or maintenance of the property.
3. The injured person suffered harm.
4. The defendant’s negligence was a substantial factor in causing that harm.

The Notice Question: Did the Owner Know, or Should the Owner Have Known?

Most contested premises cases turn on notice. There are three common ways to show it:

• The owner created the hazard. For example, an employee mopped a floor and left no warning sign.
• The owner had actual notice. Someone told management about the leak or a prior incident report documented the problem.
• The owner had constructive notice. The hazard existed long enough that a reasonably careful owner would have found and fixed it. The California Supreme Court discussed this in Ortega v. Kmart Corp. (2001) 26 Cal.4th 1200, explaining that the longer a dangerous condition exists, the more likely it is that a proper inspection would have discovered it.

Practically, this is where evidence matters. In a grocery or big-box store case, we often seek inspection or “sweep” logs, employee schedules, incident reports, maintenance records and security footage. If a store claims it inspected the aisle every 30 minutes, but the log shows a two-hour gap, that gap can be the heart of the case.

“Open and Obvious” Hazards and Comparative Fault

Property owners often argue the injured person should have seen the danger. California does not treat this as an automatic win for the defense. An owner’s duty to maintain property safely generally continues even when a hazard is visible, though how obvious the condition was can affect whether the owner acted reasonably and how much fault is assigned to the injured person.

California uses a system of pure comparative negligence, established in Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804. A jury can assign a percentage of fault to each party. If a jury finds you 20 percent at fault and your damages are $100,000, your recovery is reduced by 20 percent to $80,000. Because you can recover even if you were mostly at fault, it is worth speaking with a lawyer rather than assuming you have no claim.

Fault can also be shared among several defendants, such as a tenant, a landlord, a property manager and a maintenance contractor. Identifying every responsible party matters because each may carry its own insurance.

Injured on Government Property? Strict Deadlines Apply

Cities, counties, school districts and other public agencies are treated differently. Government Code section 835 allows liability for a “dangerous condition” of public property in certain circumstances, usually when the entity created the condition or had notice of it and time to fix it. Section 830.2 provides that very minor defects, often called “trivial defects,” are not considered dangerous as a matter of law.

The most important difference is time. Before filing suit against a public entity, you must generally present a written claim. For injury to a person, that claim is due within six months of the incident (Gov. Code, § 911.2). If the entity rejects the claim, a lawsuit must follow within limited time periods (Gov. Code, § 945.6). A late claim application may be possible in some cases but must usually be made within one year of the incident and is not guaranteed (Gov. Code, §§ 911.4, 946.6).

Sidewalk injuries in Los Angeles can raise additional questions about whether the city, an adjacent property owner or both had responsibility for the damaged area. Older neighborhoods with mature trees, where roots lift concrete slabs, are a frequent source of trip hazards. Because the answer affects whom to notify and how quickly, we recommend speaking with a lawyer as soon as possible after a sidewalk fall.

Time Limits at a Glance

Some situations, such as injuries to minors, can extend these periods, and others can shorten them. Never rely on a chart alone. Missing a deadline can end a case no matter how strong the evidence.

Wrongful Death Claims After a Fatal Premises Accident

Some premises accidents are fatal. A fall down an unlit stairway, a fire caused by faulty wiring, a drowning in an unfenced pool or a violent attack that a landlord or business could have helped prevent can take a life. When the cause is someone else’s negligence, California law allows certain family members to pursue a wrongful death claim.

Who Can Bring a Wrongful Death Claim?

Under Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60, a wrongful death action may be brought by the decedent’s surviving spouse or domestic partner and children or the children of a deceased child. If there are none, it may be brought by the people who would inherit under California intestate succession law. In some situations, a putative spouse, stepchildren, parents or people who were financially dependent on the decedent may also bring a claim. Who qualifies depends on the family’s circumstances, so it is worth asking a lawyer.

What Compensation May Be Available?

• Loss of financial support.
• Loss of household services, such as childcare, home maintenance and caregiving.
• Loss of love, companionship, comfort, care, protection, guidance and moral support.
• Funeral and burial expenses.
• Medical expenses and certain losses of the person’s own before death, which may be pursued through a separate “survival” claim by the estate (see Code Civ. Proc., § 377.30 and following).

Deadlines in Wrongful Death Cases

A wrongful death lawsuit against a private owner is generally due within two years of the date of death (Code Civ. Proc., § 335.1). If the dangerous condition was on public property, a written government claim must generally be presented within six months (Gov. Code, § 911.2). Grief can make deadlines feel impossible to think about, which is why many families call us early so that evidence is preserved while they focus on one another.

No amount of money can replace a loved one and we never treat these cases as numbers. We handle them with the same family-focused care that guides everything we do and we also help families understand the legal process step by step.

How Insurance Companies Approach Premises Claims

Most property owners carry liability insurance, so you will usually deal with an adjuster rather than the owner. Adjusters can be polite, but their role is to resolve the claim for as little as possible. Tactics we commonly see include:

• Asking for a recorded statement early, hoping for an answer that can be used to suggest you were careless.
• Arguing that the hazard was “open and obvious” or that you were not watching where you were going.
• Claiming the owner had no notice and that the hazard appeared only moments earlier.
• Pointing to prior injuries or pre-existing conditions to minimize your medical claim.
• Making a fast, modest offer before you know whether you will need surgery, therapy or long-term care.
• Slow-walking a claim until deadlines approach.

You do not have to handle this alone. Hire an experienced attorney for case evaluation and our consultation is absolutely FREE and there is NO FEE until you win, so please contact us now for consultation.

What Compensation May Be Available?

California law allows an injured person to seek compensation, called damages, for the harm caused by someone else’s negligence (Civ. Code, § 3333). Depending on the facts, damages may include:

• Medical expenses, both past and future, including surgery, hospital care, therapy, medication and assistive devices.
• Lost income and lost earning capacity if you cannot return to your prior work.
• Pain and suffering, emotional distress and loss of enjoyment of life.
• Property damage, such as a broken phone, glasses or medical device.
• Wrongful death damages for eligible family members when a fatal injury results from a dangerous property condition (explained in the wrongful death section above).
• Punitive damages in rare cases where the defendant’s conduct involved malice, oppression or fraud (Civ. Code, § 3294).

Medical expenses can affect your premises liability settlement. Under Howell v. Hamilton Meats (2011), recovery for past medical expenses is generally limited to amounts paid or incurred. Lien-based treatment, as discussed in Pebley v. Santa Clara Organics (2018), and reimbursement claims by insurers or government programs can further complicate settlements. Walch Law explains these issues clearly so you understand your options. No lawyer can guarantee a result; compensation depends on your injuries, evidence, shared fault and available insurance.

Areas We Serve in Los Angeles County and Southern California

Walch Law represents injured people throughout Los Angeles County, Ventura County and the surrounding region, including Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, Woodland Hills, Encino, Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, Tarzana, Calabasas, Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills. We also help clients in Kern, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and other counties throughout California.

Why choose WalchLaw in Premise Liability Cases?

Dangerous conditions are fixed, video is erased and deadlines pass quickly. If you or someone you love was hurt on another person’s property, speak with a Los Angeles premises liability lawyer sooner rather than later. We can explain your options, investigate what happened and fight for the compensation you deserve.
Property owners and insurers have investigators and defense lawyers protecting their interests. An experienced Los Angeles premises liability lawyer at Walch Law can investigate the accident, preserve evidence, identify responsible parties, calculate your damages, handle insurance negotiations and prepare your case for trial if necessary.
As a family-owned firm with more than 50 years of experience handling personal injury and wrongful death cases, Walch Law treats every client with compassion and care. Contact us today for a free and  confidential consultation at 866-465-8792 or 818-222-3400 or you may email us at  info@WalchLaw.com. There is NO FEE unless we recover compensation for you.