California Premises Liability Resource

Welcome to the website for California Premises Liability Law. This site was created by the San Diego slip and fall attorneys with Casey Gerry especially for people who have been seriously injured or whose loved ones have been killed as a result of unsafe premises. Premises may include land, leased or rented housing, commercial property such as stores, restaurants, and theaters, and public spaces such as streets, sidewalks, and parks. The owner of a property may be liable when a person is injured or killed, and the injury or death resulted from the negligence of a property owner, or that of the owner’s employees or agents.

On this site you can learn more about premises liability law, and about the obligations of property owners to maintain their premises in a safe condition for those who enter them. Our section on Frequently Asked Questions offers quick answers to some of your most immediate questions.

If you or a loved one have been seriously injured, or you have lost a loved one due to a dangerous condition on a commercial or residential property, you will want to learn more about your rights. The section If you have been harmed on someone else’s property, should you consider legal action? offers useful information.

California state law makes it clear that the person, corporation, or government entity that controls a property has a duty to maintain the property in a safe condition for all those who enter the property. That entity has an obligation to know about dangerous and potentially dangerous conditions and to correct them. Even if the property owner has delegated the maintenance of the property to another entity (for example, a landlord who hires a property management company to maintain rental apartment buildings), the owner still holds the responsibility for assuring that the property is maintained in a safe condition.

Neglect in maintenance can result in unsafe conditions such as:

• Debris uncollected
• Broken step or railing in a stairwell
• Electric wires exposed
• Missing or non-functioning smoke alarms
• Inadequate lighting in halls, vestibules, stairwells, elevators, etc
• Inadequate or non-functioning security lighting in a building’s perimeter
• Inadequate or poorly marked emergency exits
• Failure to maintain floors and corridors in safe condition
• Unsafe storage of materials, tools, vehicles, etc
• Insufficient warning of and protection from worksite hazards

At the time of a serious injury on public or private premises, the victim may or may not be aware that neglect in maintenance contributed to their injuries. The contribution of neglect or insufficient maintenance may emerge in the course of investigation of the events. For a thorough understanding of what occurred and of all the factors contributing to the slip and fall, injury or death, investigation should take place as soon as possible, while evidence is available and witnesses’ memories are fresh.

If you believe that a property owner’s neglect or failure to maintain a property in a safe condition contributed to your trip and fall injuries, or, your loved one’s injuries or death, you should contact an experienced California premises liability attorney as soon as possible for review of a potential claim. There are deadlines set by laws which regulate the filing of lawsuits, called statutes of limitation. These vary state by state. If the statute of limitations expires, your right to pursue a claim against the entity may be forever barred.