A fall in a store, a parking lot or an apartment building can cause serious injuries: broken wrists and hips, head injuries, and back injuries that need surgery. Property owners and their insurers usually respond the same way: you should have watched where you were going. This article explains what actually decides a slip-and-fall case in California, and what evidence matters most.
What the injured person has to show
Property owners are not responsible for every fall. They are responsible when they failed to keep the property reasonably safe. In most cases that means showing that there was a dangerous condition, such as a spill, a loose mat, broken stairs or poor lighting, and that the owner knew about it or should have found it in time to fix it or warn people.
“We didn’t know about the spill”
This is the most common defense. It does not end the case. The question is not only what the owner actually knew, but what a careful owner would have found. How often did employees inspect the area? Was the hazard there long enough to be seen? Was it caused by the business itself, such as a leaking cooler or a freshly mopped floor? Inspection logs, cleaning schedules and store video often answer these questions.
“You should have seen it”
California reduces your recovery by your share of the blame, but being partly at fault does not end the claim. A hazard can be hard to see because of lighting, displays, crowds or the color of the floor. Owners are expected to plan for people who are looking at shelves and signs, not only at the floor.
Not every property case is a slip
Premises cases also include falling merchandise, dangerous stairs, poor security, and injuries caused by a business’s own employees. In one of our cases, a store employee pushing a long line of shopping carts struck a customer; that case settled for $5 million. The same principle applies: the business must run its property with reasonable care for the people on it.
Evidence disappears fast
- Photograph the spot right away: the hazard, the area around it, the lighting and your shoes.
- Report the fall to the manager or owner and ask for a copy of the report.
- Get the names of witnesses and employees who helped you.
- Call early. Store video is often recorded over within days or weeks unless someone asks for it to be kept.
- See a doctor the same day or the next, even if you think you’re only bruised.
Read more about our slip-and-fall and premises liability cases. We handle them across California, including Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego.
