Proving negligence can be crucial to win your slip and fall case and maximize your settlement. California law requires showing that a property owner failed to use reasonable care.
There have been some noteworthy slip and fall accidents in recent times. For example, in February, a federal jury awarded $7.25 million to a woman for a spinal cord injury she suffered when she fell while exiting a Harry Potter ride while at Universal Studios Hollywood. In addition, there seems to be an epidemic of lawsuits being filed over the crumbling pavements of Los Angeles.
Call us today for a free consultation if you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a slip or trip and fall accident. We can help you recover compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain, suffering and more, and won’t charge any fee until and unless we win your case. Call us today.
California Slip and Fall Law
Slip and fall law in California falls under the umbrella of premises liability.
In order to establish a premises liability claim in California, a plaintiff needs to be able to prove that:
- A defendant controlled, occupied, leased or owned a property
- The defendant negligently maintained or used the property
- The plaintiff was harmed
- The negligence by the defendant substantially caused harm to the plaintiff
Negligence in California Slip and Fall Accidents
Negligence is the failure to exercise reasonable care in order to prevent harm from happening to others or yourself. Property owners have a duty to exercise reasonable care to prevent dangerous conditions from harming others on their property. This means property owners have a duty to regularly inspect and maintain their property to identify and fix dangerous conditions. When it is not practical to immediately fix dangerous conditions, property owners have a duty to warn others about the dangerous conditions and do whatever they can to prevent others from encountering and being harmed by those dangerous conditions.
Comparative Negligence
California is a comparative negligence state. This means the state recognizes that numerous parties may contribute to accidents.
Courts assess a percentage of fault which each party has to bear. When injured parties are found partially at fault, the compensation they recover is reduce by the percentage of fault they are assigned. So, if you were injured in a slip and fall and you were found to be 20 percent at fault for your accident, your slip and fall settlement would be reduced by 20 percent.
Examples of comparative negligence in slip and fall cases include:
- Slipping on falling on spills on businesses’ floors while not using available hand rails
- Being hurt by falling objects after avoiding warning signs directing customers to keep out of the dangerous area
Being represented by a qualified personal injury lawyer can help to make sure that you’re either not found at fault at all for an accident, or if you are found partially at fault for an accident, that your percentage of fault is kept as low as possible to maximize your recovery.
Proving Negligence in a Slip and Fall Case
You may be wondering, “how do you prove negligence in a slip and fall case?”
In order to successfully prove negligence in a slip and fall personal injury claim, you will need to be able to demonstrate that you were owed a duty of care by a property owner, the owner breached their duty, your injuries were caused by that breach, and you suffered damages. A personal injury attorney at our firm can help you prove these things.
Duty of Care
Property owners have a duty under the law to ensure their premises are maintained in a condition which is reasonably safe for visitors. Owners have a duty to take reasonable steps in order to prevent accidents, and a duty to address known hazards.
Breach of Duty
You need to be able to demonstrate that a property owner did not meet the duty of care they have. You can prove this by showing that:
- A dangerous condition was created by the property owner, and;
- The owner knew about this dangerous condition, yet did not warn others about it tor take action in order to fix the condition, or;
- The owner should have been aware of the dangerous condition via reasonable maintenance and inspection.
Causation
You need to be able to establish a link between your injuries and the negligence of the property owner. You specifically need to demonstrate that your fall injuries directly resulted from the breach of duty on behalf of the property owner.
Damages
You need to be able to prove that you were actually harmed by the accident. Actual harm may include medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages and additional related damages.
What Evidence Do I Need to Win a Slip and Fall Case?
You will need a variety of evidence to win your slip and fall case. A personal injury lawyer at our law firm can help you gather this evidence. This evidence includes:
Photographic Evidence
Document the accident scene, including your injuries, any warning signs, any lack of warning signs, and the hazardous condition, with photographs from multiple angles.
Video Evidence
Document everything that you documented with photographs with video as well. It can also be crucial to obtain any surveillance footage of the accident.
Medical Records
You will need medical records which document the injuries you sustained as well as confirm that you suffered those injuries in a fall accident.
Witness Testimonies
Collect statements from everybody who saw the hazardous condition or accident.
Expert Testimonies
If needed, consult with some experts like safety professionals who can establish a standard of care as well as whether the standard was breached by a property owner.
Policies and Records
Maintenance policies and records from the property owner can help to prove your case.
Receipts and Bills
You’ll need things like medical bills and receipts for lost income in order to prove your financial losses.
Slip and Fall Case Examples
A slip and fall lawsuit can arise from numerous common causes, including:
- Slippery and wet surfaces: Weather conditions (ice, snow, rain), recent cleaning or spilled liquids can make walkways or floors dangerously slippery.
- Cluttered floors: Cords, equipment or debris can lead to tripping hazards.
- Inadequate lighting: Absent or dim lighting can make it hard to see a floor’s hazards, increasing the chances of slip and fall accidents occurring.
- Damaged or broken handrails: Missing or faulty handrails on ramps or stairs can create falls, particularly for people who rely upon them for crucial support.
- Uneven sidewalks or flooring: Uneven, broken or cracked surfaces can cause people to trip and fall. Loose carpeting can also cause falls.
- Ice and snow: Ice and snow on surfaces outdoor are a major cause of these accidents.
- Oil and liquid spills: Spills of liquids such as oil, water or additional substances may lead to slippery conditions.
- Cracks or potholes: Cracks or potholes in parking lots or sidewalks can lead to trip and fall accidents and severe injuries.
Some common examples of slip and fall cases include:
- Customers slipping and falling on grocery stores’ wet floors: Store owners could get held liable for not properly cleaning up spills or not warning customers about hazards.
- People tripping and falling on cracked sidewalks: Cities or property owners could get held liable for not maintaining sidewalks in safe conditions.
- Workers slipping and falling on slippery ladders: Employers could get held liable for not providing a work environment which is safe.
- People falling into open manholes: Utility companies or property owners could get held liable for not properly covering or marking manholes.
- People slipping and falling on ice during snowstorms: Property owners could get held liable for failing to treat or remove the ice.
- People falling on poorly lit staircases: Property owners can be held liable for not providing adequate lighting.
These scenarios can lead to numerous injuries, including:
- Fractures: Slip and fall accidents commonly lead to broken bones, particularly hip fractures.
- Soft tissue injuries: These includes soft tissue tears, strains and sprains anywhere within your body.
- Traumatic brain injuries: When people fall and hit their head, they can suffer head injuries.
- Back and neck injuries: These include spinal cord injuries as well as herniated or bulging discs.
- Chronic pain: This includes long-term disability and pain.
What Is My Slip and Fall Case Worth?
Slip and fall settlements in California will vary in size greatly depending upon injury severity, evidence that negligence occurred, and additional factors, with settlements that can range from just a few thousand dollars to millions of dollars. Negotiating fair settlements will often involve proving negligence by a property owner and the damages’ extent.
There are no damage caps in personal injury cases in California, aside from medical malpractice cases, so settlements in California can potentially be huge.
Examples of huge slip and fall settlements include:
- $18 million for a construction worker who fell from defective scaffolding
- $15 million for a woman suffering a serious spinal cord injury because a grocery store didn’t place a sign warning about a wet floor
Factors which influence settlement amounts include:
- Injury severity: Serious injuries, like permanent disabilities, traumatic brain injuries and broken bones, often lead to larger settlements.
- Medical expenses: A settlement will often cover medical expenses, past and future, in addition to lost wages.
- Pain and suffering: Pain and suffering compensation can significantly vary, but will usually range from a few thousand dollars to over $100,000.
- Property damage: If any property got damaged during a fall, this can also get factored into a settlement.
- Legal representation: Being represented by an experienced personal injury lawyer can significantly increase the size of your settlement.
Why Are Slip and Fall Cases Hard to Win?
There are some factors which can complicate slip and fall cases.
It can sometimes be difficult to establish liability, since certain cases involve multiple liable parties, like property owners, cleaning companies or contractors. Thorough investigations are necessary to identify each possible responsible party as well as hold them accountable.
Resistance by an insurance company can also make it difficult to recover compensation in these cases. Insurance companies might deny liability. They might argue their insured property owner didn’t commit negligence, or that the injuries you sustained aren’t as bad as you’re claiming. They could attempt to shift blame onto you or downplay your injuries. They could try to argue that you’re partially to blame for your fall in order to limit the damages you can recover.
Insurance companies will also try to trick injury victims into saying the wrong things while giving recorded statements. They then use these statements to justify paying them less or nothing at all. Never give a recorded statement to an insurance company – let lawyers talk with insurance companies for you.
How a Slip and Fall Attorney Can Help Prove Negligence
The lawyers at our firm can help you to prove negligence in a slip and fall case by:
- Helping you gather, organize and preserve evidence
- Having the knowledge to counter common defenses that negligent property owners will employ
- Working with experts and negotiating with insurers for larger settlements
- Handling legal deadlines so you can focus on recovering from your injuries
Is There a Time Limit to File a Slip and Fall Claim in California?
California has a statute of limitations for personal injury cases like slip and fall claims. This time limit is typically two years from the injury date, especially regarding slip and fall accidents which occur on private property such as in homes, restaurants or stores. However, different rules might apply depending on your case’s circumstances. Some exceptions shorten this time limit and some lengthen it. For example, different rules could apply regarding properties owned by the government, where the deadline would be only six months.
It’s vital to consult with an experienced personal injury attorney in order to understand your case’s specific deadlines, your legal rights, and to make sure you meet any applicable deadlines. Failing to meet the statute of limitations can lead to your claim getting dismissed.
Contact Our Slip and Fall Lawyers Today
Call us today for a free consultation, fill out this page’s free case evaluation form or text us from this page if you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a trip or slip and fall accident.
We have been handling slip and fall and trip and fall accident cases since 1990 and have recovered in excess of $750,000,000 for our clients. Our extensive experience in handling slip and fall cases like yours will let us obtain the largest recovery for you.
If you’ve been injured in a slip and fall accident and can’t afford to have your injuries treated, we can get you to doctors who will treat you on a lien, which means that you won’t get charged until your case ends. Doctors do this for our clients as a sign of trust in our ability to get great results for our clients.
The only fee we will charge you to handle your slip and fall case is a percentage of whatever we recover for you. This means you won’t owe us any out-of-pocket fee or upfront fee and won’t be charged until and unless we recover compensation for you.
Call us today for a free consultation.
