California law requires property owners to ensure that their premises are maintained in a safe condition. When a property owner or occupier fails to maintain safe conditions on their premises, they can be held liable for the injuries and deaths that occur on their property as a result of dangerous conditions.
At Titan Law Firm, our team of dedicated lawyers in Los Angeles represents victims of slip and fall and other accidents that fall under the umbrella of premises liability in California. Our premises liability attorneys have a reputation for working tirelessly to obtain fair and full compensation on behalf of our clients.
What Premises Liability Cases Do We Handle?
Our knowledgeable lawyers at Titan Law Firm handle all types of premises liability cases involving a property owner’s negligence, including but not limited to:
| Slip and fall accidents | Dog bites and animal attacks |
| Negligent security | Swimming pool accidents |
| Fire and smoke injuries | Exposure to chemicals and toxic substances |
| Escalator and elevator accidents | Amusement park accidents |
| Missing/broken railings | Missing/broken steps |
| Inadequate lighting | Broken or uneven pavement |
| Accidents caused by hazards on the property | Violence and third-party criminal acts on the property |
| Other premises liability cases |
Our experienced and results-driven lawyers understand how California laws work in these and many other premises liability cases and can help you pursue the compensation to which you are entitled if the property owner or occupier was negligent.
What is Premises Liability?
Under California law, property owners and occupiers owe a duty of care to people visiting their property. The duty is to maintain their property in a safe condition and protect visitors from known hazards.
If a property owner becomes aware of a hazardous condition on their property but fails to take reasonable steps to make the necessary repairs and give notice of the dangerous condition before it is fixed, the owner can be held responsible for any resulting injuries to visitors.
The legal term “premises liability” is used to refer to a property owner’s responsibility to compensate people injured on their property due to the owner’s negligence. Under California Civil Code § 1714, everyone is legally responsible for injuries and damages caused by their “want of ordinary care or skill” in the maintenance and management of their property. The term “want of ordinary care or skill,” for its part, refers to the doctrine of negligence.
How Can You Prove That a Property Owner is Negligent?
Negligence refers to a person’s failure to use a reasonable degree of care that a prudent and careful person would use under similar circumstances. In other words, a person is negligent when their actions or inactions create an unreasonable danger that led to a slip and fall or another premises liability accident.
In premises liability cases, a property owner’s negligence refers to failing to maintain the premises in a safe condition despite having actual or constructive knowledge of a dangerous condition.
California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI) No. 1001 provides that persons and entities that own, lease, occupy, or control property are considered negligent if there is evidence that they failed to use reasonable care to keep their premises in a safe condition.
Proving negligence after a slip and fall or another premises liability accident can be complicated. For this reason, it is vital to seek the legal counsel of an experienced premises liability lawyer to help you establish the following five elements of negligence:
- The defendant owned, occupied, leased, or controlled the property on which you were injured
- You were lawfully on the property at the time of your accident
- The defendant was negligent in their use or management of the property
- You were injured because of the defendant’s negligence
- The negligence was a significant factor in causing your injuries and damages
Contact a skilled premises liability attorney to collect the necessary evidence to prove the property owner’s negligence in your particular situation.
What Compensation Can You Seek After a Premises Liability or Slip and Fall Accident?
If you were injured because of a property owner’s negligence and your attorney can prove the above-mentioned elements of negligence in your slip and fall case, you may be able to pursue compensation for:
- Economic damages. These damages include any objectively verifiable expenses a victim has incurred and is likely to incur in the future as a result of the property owner’s negligence. Economic damages include lost wages, medical bills, diminished earning capacity, and others.
- Non-economic damages. This category of damages refers to any non-monetary damages associated with the victim’s injury. These damages include the loss of enjoyment of life, pain and suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement, emotional distress, and many others.
- Exemplary (punitive) damages. These damages are intended to punish the defendant for their especially egregious conduct. In California, exemplary damages are only awarded when the defendant’s conduct can be described as fraudulent, oppressive, malicious, or willful (California Civil Code § 3294).
The compensation you can seek after a slip and fall or another premises liability accident depends on the severity of your injuries and the circumstances of your accident. It is vital to consult with a knowledgeable attorney to determine what damages are available in your particular case.
California’s Comparative Negligence in Premises Liability Cases
California follows the pure comparative negligence rule in premises liability and other personal injury cases. Basically, it means that the property owner or their insurance company may argue that the injured visitor contributed to their injury to reduce their own degree of fault.
The pure comparative negligence rule may be used to reduce your recoverable damages in your premises liability case if:
- You were distracted by your phone or otherwise not paying attention to your surroundings when the accident occurred;
- You were not lawfully on the property (trespassing) when the accident took place;
- The dangerous condition that resulted in your injury was obvious; or
- You were wearing inappropriate shoes for the area where the accident occurred.
If the property owner can prove that you were partially to blame for your injury, your compensation might be reduced in proportion to your degree of fault.
Contact a Beverly Hills Premises Liability Accident Attorney
If you were injured in a slip and fall accident or another accident that falls under the umbrella of California’s premises liability law, you might be entitled to compensation if the property owner or occupier was negligent.
Schedule a case review with our premises liability attorneys at Titan Law Firm to talk about your case. Call 888.848.2656. to receive a case evaluation.
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