What we handle
- Slip and falls on wet or recently mopped floors
- Trips on broken or uneven walkways, raised sidewalk slabs, and parking lot defects
- Falls on poorly lit or defective stairs and missing handrails
- Grocery and big-box store falls involving spills and dropped produce
- Falls from inadequate maintenance in apartment buildings and common areas
- Swimming pool incidents
- Falling merchandise
- Negligent security cases where inadequate measures allowed a criminal assault
The duty owners owe
California Civil Code section 1714 establishes the basic rule: everyone is responsible for injury caused to others by their lack of ordinary care in managing their property.
California does not use the rigid old categories that many states retain, where an owner owed a different duty to invitees, licensees, and trespassers. The Supreme Court replaced that framework decades ago with a general reasonableness standard. Whether you were a customer, a guest, or a tenant still matters to the analysis — it just isn't automatically determinative.
Practically, the duty includes reasonable inspection to discover hazards, repair or removal of hazards found, warning of hazards that can't be immediately fixed, and reasonable security where the risk of criminal conduct is foreseeable.
Notice: the issue that decides most cases
An owner is not automatically liable because someone fell. The plaintiff generally must show the owner had actual notice (they knew about the hazard) or constructive notice (it existed long enough that reasonable inspection should have found it).
This is where the case is won or lost, and it's why evidence matters so much.
Actual notice
Actual notice might be a prior complaint, a work order, an employee who saw the spill, a history of the same problem, or a repair that was requested and never made.
Constructive notice
Constructive notice is usually proved circumstantially: how long the hazard was there, and what the owner's inspection practices were. California courts have made clear that the adequacy of a store's inspection procedures is central — if a store can't show reasonable inspection intervals, a jury may infer the hazard existed long enough to have been discovered.
That's why we request inspection logs, sweep sheets, maintenance records, prior incident reports for the same location, and employee scheduling. A store with no documented inspection routine is in a materially worse position than one that can produce a log.
Why the first 30 days matter
Surveillance footage is the single most valuable piece of evidence in a premises case, and most commercial systems overwrite on a 30-day cycle. Footage showing how long a spill sat on the floor before you stepped in it is often dispositive. Once it's gone, you're arguing inference.
A preservation demand needs to reach the property owner quickly. This is the most common reason a viable premises case becomes unwinnable.
The incident report matters too. If you're able, report the fall before leaving and ask for a copy. Photograph the hazard itself, the surrounding area, the lighting, and any absent warning signs — the spill will be cleaned within minutes of your leaving.
What the defense will argue
- That the hazard was open and obvious. California doesn't treat obviousness as an automatic bar, but it bears on both the owner's duty and your comparative fault.
- That you weren't paying attention. Distraction, footwear, and phone use all get raised. Comparative fault reduces recovery rather than eliminating it.
- That they had no notice. The core defense, and the reason inspection records matter.
- That your injuries predate the fall. Expect your medical history to be examined closely.
Negligent security
Where a criminal assault occurs on someone's property, liability depends heavily on foreseeability. California law requires a showing that the criminal conduct was foreseeable, and the more burdensome the security measure the plaintiff says was required, the higher the degree of foreseeability courts demand. Prior similar incidents at or near the property are central.
These cases are difficult but far from impossible, particularly where a property has a documented history of violence and took no meaningful steps.
Falls on government property
A fall on a public sidewalk, in a public park, at a government building, or at a public school is governed by different rules, including a six-month deadline to file an administrative claim. Claims involving dangerous conditions of public property have their own statutory requirements. If the property might be publicly owned, treat the clock as six months until confirmed.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Possibly, though it's harder. Report it in writing as soon as you can, request that footage be preserved, and get treated. The absence of a report is an argument against you, not an automatic bar.
WHAT WE GO AFTER
- Emergency room, surgery, and ongoing medical care
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation
- Lost wages and diminished earning capacity
- Pain, suffering, and emotional distress
- Out-of-pocket expenses and household help
No fee unless we recover · 24/7 buddy line (844) 84-BUDDY