A slip and fall claim is a premises liability claim: a demand for compensation from the owner or occupier of property whose failure to keep it reasonably safe caused your fall. Under Civil Code § 1714, you must usually show a dangerous condition, that the owner knew or should have known about it, and that it caused your injury.
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| Legal basis | Premises liability under Civil Code § 1714 |
|---|---|
| Key question | Whether the owner knew, or should have known, about the hazard in time to fix or warn |
| Filing deadline | Generally two years from the fall (Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1) |
| Public property | Written claim to the agency, usually within six months (Gov. Code § 911.2) |
| Attorney fee | 33% contingency; no attorney's fee unless there is a recovery, though case costs and expenses may still apply |
| First consultation | Free, about thirty minutes, in English, Armenian, Russian or Spanish |
What is a slip and fall claim?
A slip and fall claim is a premises liability claim against whoever owned, leased or controlled the property where you fell. California Civil Code § 1714 makes everyone responsible for injuries caused by a lack of ordinary care in managing their property.
The label covers more than wet floors. A trip and fall on broken steps follows the same rules. So do falls from stairways without a proper handrail, uneven parking-lot surfaces, poor lighting and loose carpet. So do injuries from falling merchandise or collapsing fixtures.
Falls cause a wide range of injuries, from sprains and fractured wrists to hip fractures, torn shoulders and head injuries. For older people in particular, a fall can mean surgery, a long recovery and a permanent loss of independence. The claim has to account for that future.
Even so, the owner is not responsible for every slip and fall claim. The law asks whether they took reasonable care, not whether the property was perfect. That distinction shapes the whole claim.
What do you have to prove after a slip and fall?
You generally have to prove that the property had a dangerous condition and that the owner knew or should have known about it. You also have to show that they failed to fix it or warn you, and that the condition caused your injury.
- Ownership or control The defendant owned, leased, occupied or controlled the property. In a shopping center, this may be the store, the landlord or a maintenance contractor.
- A dangerous condition A hazard that created an unreasonable risk of harm to someone using the property with reasonable care.
- Notice The owner created the hazard, knew about it, or would have discovered it with reasonable inspections. This is usually the hardest element to prove.
- Failure to act The owner did not repair the hazard, guard it or give an adequate warning in the time it had.
- Causation and harm The condition caused the fall, and the fall caused a real injury with real losses.
How do you prove the owner knew about the hazard?
You prove notice by showing the owner created the hazard or heard about it. Alternatively, you show the hazard sat long enough that reasonable inspections would have found it. Evidence of how long a condition existed is often the center of a slip and fall case.
In Ortega v. Kmart Corp. (2001), the California Supreme Court held that a store’s failure to inspect its premises within a reasonable time can establish constructive notice. An injured shopper does not need to prove exactly how long a spill sat on the floor. It is enough if the evidence shows the store had not inspected the area for an unreasonable period.
Useful evidence includes inspection and sweep logs, surveillance video, maintenance records, earlier complaints about the same spot and employee statements. Stores and property managers often keep this material only for a limited time, so preservation requests go out early.
What if you fell on public property?
A slip and fall on public property, such as a city sidewalk, a county building or a public park, is a claim against a public entity. It runs on a much shorter timeline. You generally must present a written claim within six months of the fall under Government Code § 911.2.
Liability for public property comes from Government Code § 835. It covers dangerous conditions the entity created or knew about in time to fix. Public entities also have defenses private owners do not. Under Government Code § 830.2, courts may treat a minor sidewalk height difference as a trivial defect. In addition, some design decisions carry their own immunity.
Sidewalks can be tricky: the city may control the walkway while an adjoining owner caused the damage, for example with tree roots. Identifying every responsible party early matters because the six-month claim deadline applies to public entities.
Does it matter if you were partly at fault?
Your own carelessness reduces your compensation but does not bar it. California’s pure comparative fault rule, established in Li v. Yellow Cab Co., divides responsibility by percentage between you and the property owner.
Property owners often argue that a hazard was open and obvious, that you were distracted or that your footwear caused the fall. An obvious hazard can reduce or sometimes eliminate the duty to warn. However, it does not always excuse the owner from fixing it, especially where people have no practical way to avoid it.
What should you do after a fall on someone else’s property?
After a fall, get medical care, report the fall to the owner or manager, and record the scene before it changes. Owners repair hazards quickly, and video is often overwritten within days.
- Get medical care Hip, wrist, shoulder and head injuries are common in falls and can worsen without early treatment.
- Report it on the spot Ask for an incident report and a copy of it. Keep your account factual and brief.
- Photograph the hazard Take pictures of the condition, the lighting, any lack of warning signs and your shoes, from several angles.
- Collect names Witnesses and employees who saw the fall or the hazard before it are hard to find later.
- Keep the evidence Keep the shoes and clothing you were wearing, unwashed and unrepaired.
Property owners and their insurers often move quickly after a fall. A manager may ask you to sign a statement, and an insurer may call within days. Adjusters also routinely check social media for photographs that appear to contradict an injury. None of that decides the claim, but each can be used against it.
Who is responsible when you fall at an apartment or business?
Responsibility falls on whoever controls the area where you fell, and there can be more than one party. A business is responsible for the space it occupies; a landlord usually for common areas; and a contractor for work that created the hazard.
- Stores and restaurants Owe customers regular inspection and prompt cleanup, and must warn of hazards they cannot fix right away.
- Landlords Responsible for common areas and for defects in a unit they knew about and had the right to repair. Tenants’ written repair requests are strong evidence.
- Property managers and contractors Cleaning, security and maintenance contractors can share liability when their work created or missed the hazard.
- Private homes A homeowner’s liability insurance usually covers injuries to guests caused by unsafe conditions.
Falls at work on someone else’s property
Sometimes you fall while working at a property your employer does not control, such as a delivery stop or a client’s building. Workers’ compensation covers the injury, and a third-party claim against the property owner may run alongside it. The page on construction injuries explains how the two claims fit together.
Different rules apply to some recreational property. Civil Code § 846 limits owners’ liability to people who enter without paying to hike, swim or use the land for recreation. There are exceptions, including a willful failure to warn.
How long do you have to bring a slip and fall claim?
You generally have two years from the fall to file a lawsuit under Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1. If a public entity is responsible, you usually have six months to present a written claim. The personal injury deadlines page explains how these time limits interact.
Sometimes an insurer calls before you have advice. The page on giving a statement to the insurer explains what to expect. Meanwhile, the personal injury overview covers how a claim moves from the first call to resolution, and how injury settlements are valued explains the end of that path.
What does a slip and fall lawyer cost here?
The firm handles slip and fall claims on a 33% contingency fee, taken from any recovery, with nothing up front. If there is no recovery, you owe no attorney’s fee, though you may remain responsible for case costs and expenses. The written agreement explains how the firm handles them before you sign. The fees and consultations page sets out the detail.
Your first consultation is free and takes about thirty minutes, in person, by phone or by video.