Slip and Fall Lawyer in California

Get medical care, then make sure there's a record of what happened and what made you fall. Unlike a car crash, the hazard that caused a fall may be cleaned up or fixed within hours, so photos and witness names gathered right away can make a real difference. These steps help, in order.

1. 1

   Get medical help.

   Call 911 if you're badly hurt. Otherwise, see a doctor soon, even if you feel okay, and tell them how you fell. Keep every record and bill.

2. 2

   Report the fall.

   Tell the store manager, landlord or property owner, and ask them to write an incident report. Ask for a copy, or at least write down the name of the person you spoke to.

3. 3

   Photograph what caused the fall.

   Take photos of the spot from several angles: the spill, the broken step or the lighting, and any warning signs or the lack of them. Photograph your shoes and your injuries too.

4. 4

   Get witness names and ask about video.

   Ask anyone who saw the fall, or saw the hazard before it, for their name and phone number. Note any security cameras. A lawyer can send a written request asking the owner to save the video.

5. 5

   Keep your shoes and clothes.

   Put what you were wearing aside, unwashed. It can help show the condition of the floor and that your shoes weren't the problem.

If the property owner's insurance company calls, you don't have to give a recorded statement. You can say no and talk to a lawyer first.

We help people hurt in falls caused by unsafe property, including:

• Wet or slippery floors

  Spills, leaks, freshly mopped floors and rain tracked inside.

• Trip hazards

  Uneven flooring, loose mats, cords and clutter in walkways.

• Stairs and handrails

  Broken or uneven steps and missing or loose handrails.

• Poor lighting

  Dark stairways, hallways and parking areas.

• Stores and restaurants

  Items left on the floor, spills that weren't cleaned up and blocked aisles.

• Apartments and rentals

  Hazards in common areas that the owner knew about or should have fixed.

• Parking lots and walkways

  Potholes, broken pavement and uneven curbs.

• Public sidewalks and buildings

  Falls on government property. A six-month claim deadline applies.

California law requires everyone to use reasonable care in managing their property (Civil Code §1714 (opens in a new tab)). A property owner may be responsible for a fall if a condition on the property created an unreasonable risk of harm, the owner knew or reasonably should have known about it, and the owner didn't repair it, protect people from it or give an adequate warning (CACI No. 1003 (opens in a new tab)). These questions shape a slip and fall claim:

• Was there a dangerous condition?

  Falling alone isn't enough. Something about the property, like a spill, a broken step or poor lighting, has to have created an unreasonable risk of harm.

  Source: CACI No. 1003 (Judicial Council of California) (opens in a new tab)

• Did the owner know, or should they have known?

  An owner who didn't know about a hazard can still be responsible if it was there long enough that reasonable inspections would have found it in time to fix it or warn people.

  Source: CACI No. 1011 (Judicial Council of California) (opens in a new tab)

• Did the owner fix it or warn people?

  An owner can meet their duty by repairing the hazard, guarding against it or giving an adequate warning. Whether a warning, like a wet floor sign, was adequate depends on the facts.

  Source: CACI No. 1003 (Judicial Council of California) (opens in a new tab)

• Who controlled the property?

  The responsible party may be the owner, a tenant, a property manager or a business leasing the space, depending on who owned, leased, occupied or controlled the area where you fell.

  Source: CACI No. 1000 (Judicial Council of California) (opens in a new tab)

• Was it public property?

  Falls on property owned by a city, county or state agency follow different rules, and a written claim is generally due within six months.

  Sources: Government Code §835 (opens in a new tab); Government Code §911.2 (opens in a new tab)

A claim can cover the losses the fall caused you. California law sorts them into economic losses, which are bills and lost income you can document, and non-economic losses, like pain and emotional distress. What a claim is worth depends on its facts, and no lawyer can honestly promise a result. A claim may include:

A few California rules can make a big difference in a slip and fall claim: the deadline to file, special rules for government property, and how fault is shared. Each rule has exceptions, and the right answer depends on your facts, so treat this as a starting point, not legal advice.

Two years to file a lawsuit

The deadline to file a lawsuit for injuries is generally two years (Code of Civil Procedure §335.1 (opens in a new tab)). If the person who fell is a minor, the time until they turn 18 generally doesn't count toward that deadline (Code of Civil Procedure §352 (opens in a new tab)). That pause doesn't apply to claims against a public agency: the six-month claim deadline, and the deadline to sue after the agency rejects the claim, still apply.

Falls on government property

To hold a city, county or state agency responsible, you generally must show the property was in a dangerous condition, the condition caused your injury and created a foreseeable risk of that kind of injury, and either an agency employee's negligent or wrongful act created the condition, or the agency knew or should have known about it in time to protect against it (Government Code §835 (opens in a new tab)). A written claim is generally due to the agency within six months (Government Code §911.2 (opens in a new tab)).

If you were partly at fault

California uses pure comparative fault. If you were partly at fault, for example because you were looking at your phone, your damages are reduced by your share, but you may still recover (CACI No. 405 (opens in a new tab); Li v. Yellow Cab Co.). Insurance companies may raise this argument in fall cases, so evidence about the hazard itself matters.