A slip and fall can take a normal day and turn it into months of medical appointments, missed work, and worry about who pays the bills. If a property owner failed to keep a floor, sidewalk, stairwell, or parking lot reasonably safe and you were hurt as a result, California gives you a legal claim.
The California slip and fall lawyers at Pérez Law have represented premises liability victims for 27+ years from offices in Ontario and Pomona, with bilingual service in English and Spanish. We handle the full range of fall injuries, including traumatic brain injuries, hip fractures, and spinal damage.
Ricardo Antonio Pérez founded the firm in 1998 and has led California injury cases ever since, including a $1.5 million settlement for injuries from a T-bone collision causing a rollover accident.
Our California personal injury lawyers handle slip and fall claims on contingency. There is no attorney’s fee unless we recover.Call (877) 622-5888 for a free consultation in English or Spanish, or schedule online. Available 24/7. You can visit us at 822 N Euclid Avenue, Ontario, CA 91762.
How California Premises Liability Law Works
Premises liability, the body of law that holds property owners responsible for injuries caused by unsafe conditions on land or buildings they control, starts in California with a single statute. Civil Code section 1714 provides that everyone is responsible for injury caused by their want of ordinary care in managing their property. A grocery store, an apartment landlord, a hotel, a restaurant, a shopping mall, a city, or a private homeowner all owe a duty to keep the property reasonably safe for people who are expected to be there.
The duty is not absolute. A property owner is not an insurer of your safety. But when they know, or should know, about a dangerous condition and fail to fix it, warn about it, or block it off, and you are hurt as a result, California gives you a cause of action.
The Four Elements You Must Prove
California’s standard jury instruction for premises liability, CACI 1000, breaks the case into four elements. Every Pérez Law slip and fall file is organized around them from intake.
- Duty: The defendant owned, leased, occupied, or controlled the property.
- Breach: The defendant was negligent in the use or maintenance of the property.
- Causation: That negligence was a substantial factor in causing your injuries.
- Damages: You were harmed (medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, future care).
Damages: You were harmed (medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, future care).
How California Courts Decide Duty: The Rowland Factors
In Rowland v. Christian (1968) 69 Cal.2d 108, the California Supreme Court eliminated the old common-law categories of invitee, licensee, and trespasser and replaced them with a flexible, factor-based duty analysis. California courts still apply the Rowland factors today.
- Foreseeability of harm to the plaintiff.
- Degree of certainty that the plaintiff suffered injury.
- Closeness of the connection between the defendant’s conduct and the injury.
- Moral blame attached to the defendant’s conduct.
- Policy of preventing future harm.
- The burden on the defendant of taking precautions.
- Availability, cost, and prevalence of insurance for the risk.
Constructive Notice and Ortega v. Kmart
The most common defense in a slip and fall case is, “We didn’t know about the hazard, so we can’t be liable.” California closed that door in Ortega v. Kmart Corp. (2001) 26 Cal.4th 1200. The California Supreme Court held that a property owner has constructive notice of a hazard, meaning the law treats the owner as if they knew, because the hazard existed long enough that a reasonably careful owner should have discovered it, if the conditions existed long enough that an inspecting employee would have found it. Inspection logs are where these cases are won or lost.
Statute of Limitations: Two Years (Private), Six Months (Government)
California’s general personal-injury statute of limitations is two years from the date of injury, codified at Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. If you fell on a city sidewalk, in a county building, on a state university campus, or any property owned or controlled by a public entity, Government Code section 911.2 requires a written claim within six months. Miss the six-month claim deadline and your right to sue can be barred entirely. Code of Civil Procedure section 352 tolls the period for minors and during certain incapacity.
Pure Comparative Fault – Recovery Even When You Were Partly at Fault
California is a pure comparative-fault state. If a jury decides you were 30 percent at fault for not looking where you walked, but the store was 70 percent at fault for failing to inspect a leaking refrigerator, you still recover 70 percent of your damages. Comparative fault discounts a recovery, but it does not erase it.
Where Slip and Falls Happen in California
Slips and falls cluster in a handful of locations across California. The most common hazards we see, by location:
- Grocery stores and big-box retailers: Spills, freezer drips, recently mopped aisles, dropped produce.
- Restaurants: Kitchen runoff, melted ice near soda machines, broken tile near restrooms.
- Hotels: Lobby floors, pool decks, bathrooms, poorly lit stairs, loose rugs.
- Apartment complexes and condominiums: Broken stairs, missing handrails, dark stairwells, defective elevators.
- Public sidewalks and curbs: Uneven concrete, tree-root upheaval, missing tactile warnings. Government Tort Claim deadlines apply.
- Parking lots and structures: Potholes, oil slicks, broken speed bumps, inadequate lighting.
- Office buildings, schools, and government facilities: Wet entryways during rain, slippery polished floors.
- Construction zones: Debris, exposed rebar, unprotected drop-offs.
- Stairways and escalators: Handrail failures, riser-height violations, and mechanical failure.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a California Slip and Fall
California premises liability rules turn on control, not just title. Several different parties may be legally responsible for the same fall.
- Property owners: Residential and commercial owners whose negligence created or allowed a hazard.
- Tenants and businesses: A leaseholder who occupies and controls the property where you fell.
- Property managers and management companies: Third parties contracted to maintain or inspect the premises.
- Cleaning, maintenance, or janitorial contractors: Vendors whose negligent work caused or failed to remedy the hazard.
- Public entities: Cities, counties, the State of California, and Caltrans may be liable for hazards on sidewalks, government buildings, and state-controlled roadways. A six-month written claim under Government Code section 911.2 is required.
- Landlords of multi-tenant buildings: For hazards in common areas like lobbies, hallways, stairwells, and parking lots.
- Construction companies and contractors: For hazards on or adjacent to active jobsites.
What to Do After a Slip and Fall in California
After a fall, the first hours and days shape both your recovery and the strength of any future claim. If you can do these things or ask a friend or family member to help, your case starts on much firmer ground.
- Get medical care, even if you feel fine. Internal bleeding, concussion, and disc injuries can take days to present. An early medical record is the single most valuable piece of evidence in your case.
- Report the incident in writing. Tell the property owner, store manager, or landlord, and ask for a copy of the incident report. Keep your description short and factual.
- Photograph the hazard from multiple angles. Wide shots, close-ups, and a shot that shows scale (a shoe, a coin, a hand for size). If the hazard is a sidewalk lip, photograph it with a ruler or anything that shows depth.
- Get names and numbers from witnesses. A short note on your phone is enough. Witnesses move on; their contact information disappears.
- Save what you were wearing, especially shoes. Defense lawyers often blame footwear. Keeping the actual shoes lets us answer that defense with evidence.
- Do not give a recorded statement to an insurer before talking to a lawyer. A few words taken out of context in the first 48 hours can be used to reduce your recovery later.
- Talk to a California slip and fall lawyer before you make decisions about settling, signing, or speaking on the record. A free consultation lets you understand what your case is worth and what to do next at no cost.
If a written claim against a public entity may be involved (a city sidewalk, a county building, a state-controlled road), call us quickly. The six-month deadline under Government Code section 911.2 runs from the date of the fall.
What Disappears in the First 72 Hours
The first three days after a fall, decide what evidence will still exist when your case is being valued.
- Surveillance footage overwrites within 24, 48, or 72 hours on most retail and commercial systems. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.
- Sweep logs and inspection records often disappear in the ordinary course of business once a lawsuit looks likely.
- Witness contact information decays quickly. People move, change phones, or forget details that mattered.
- The hazard itself is usually fixed within hours. The wet floor is mopped, the broken stair repaired, the cracked tile replaced, often before you have left the ER.
If a property owner destroys evidence after a preservation notice has been given, California courts can impose evidentiary sanctions, including an adverse inference instruction telling the jury to assume the destroyed evidence would have hurt the defendant’s case.
If an Insurance Adjuster Has Already Called You
It is common for an insurer to call within 24 to 72 hours of a fall. The call usually sounds friendly. The adjuster will ask how you are feeling, how the fall happened, and whether you can describe your injuries. They may ask permission to record. You are not required to give a recorded statement, and you do not have to answer questions on the spot.
What we recommend:
- Get the adjuster’s name, the insurance company, and the claim number.
- Tell them you will follow up after speaking with your attorney.
- Do not describe your injuries until you have been fully evaluated by a doctor. Symptoms evolve; an early “I’m fine” can be used against you weeks later.
- Do not sign anything, including a medical-records release, without legal review.
If you have already given a recorded statement or signed a release, call us anyway or request a free consultation. We can often work around it.
Common Slip and Fall Injuries
Slip and fall injuries are often more serious than they first appear. Common diagnoses in our cases include:
- Traumatic brain injury and concussion (often missed at the initial ER visit).
- Hip fractures, especially in adults over 65.
- Spinal cord and disc injuries, including herniated discs.
- Fractures of the wrist, ankle, and shoulder from trying to catch the fall.
- Rotator-cuff tears.
- Meniscus and ACL tears.
- Soft-tissue injuries that develop into chronic pain.
- Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), a chronic pain condition that can follow what seems like a minor injury.
Delayed symptoms are common. If you fell and feel mostly fine the next day, see a doctor anyway. Internal bleeding, traumatic brain injury, and disc herniation can take days or weeks to fully present.
What Compensation Can You Claim After a Slip and Fall
A California slip and fall case can include three categories of damages: economic losses, non-economic losses, and rare punitive or wrongful death damages where the facts support them. What’s actually available in your case depends on injury severity, available insurance, and evidence.
Economic Damages (Out-of-Pocket and Wage Losses):
- Past medical bills: ER, imaging, surgery, physical therapy, and prescriptions.
- Future medical care: Anticipated surgery, ongoing therapy, and durable medical equipment.
- Lost wages and lost earning capacity: If you cannot return to your prior work.
- Out-of-pocket costs: Mileage to medical appointments, prescriptions, and home care.
- Property damage: Phones, glasses, clothing, and mobility devices broken in the fall.
Non-Economic Damages (Uncapped in California Premises Cases):
- Pain and suffering: California imposes no statutory cap on pain-and-suffering damages in slip and fall cases.
- Loss of enjoyment of life and emotional distress.
- Loss of consortium for a spouse, meaning the loss of companionship and partnership that the marriage provided before the injury.
Punitive and Wrongful Death Damages:
- Punitive damages in rare cases involving conscious disregard for safety. These are designed to punish, not just compensate.
- Wrongful death damages for surviving family members in fatal falls. California Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60 sets out who can bring the claim.
Want a free, no-pressure evaluation of what your case may be worth? Call (877) 622-5888. Bilingual consultations are free and available 24/7.
Common Defenses (and How We Defeat Them)
Property owners and their insurance carriers raise four defenses in nearly every California slip and fall case. Each one has a counter rooted in California law and the evidence we preserve.
“The Hazard Was Open and Obvious”
California recognizes the open-and-obvious doctrine, but it is not absolute. If the owner should have anticipated that someone could be injured despite the hazard being visible, the duty to remedy or block off the hazard still applies.
“The Defect Was Trivial”
Defense lawyers raise the trivial-defect doctrine for sidewalk lips and small cracks. We defeat it with photographs, measurements, lighting analysis, and prior-complaint evidence showing that the defect was bigger or more dangerous than a quick measurement suggests.
“We Had No Notice”
Constructive notice under Ortega v. Kmart usually wins this fight if the property owner cannot produce credible inspection records.
“You Were Comparatively at Fault”
California’s pure comparative-fault rule keeps the case alive even if the jury attributes significant fault to the plaintiff.
What a California Slip and Fall Lawyer Does on Your Case
A slip and fall lawyer preserves evidence the property owner will not, calculates damages the insurance carrier will not, and moves the case forward on the timeline neither of them will. At Pérez Law, PC that work runs through five phases.
1. Investigate and Preserve Evidence
Within 24 hours of retention, we send spoliation letters, secure surveillance footage before it overwrites, photograph and measure the hazard, interview witnesses, and pull maintenance records. Erick Pérez, our field investigator, runs this phase. What evidence exists a year from now is decided in the first week.
2. Coordinate Your Medical Care
Your case manager refers you to providers who regularly treat injury patients, tracks every visit, gathers records as they are generated, and watches for maximum medical improvement, the point where your recovery has plateaued, and your long-term prognosis can be assessed. Settling before that point almost always undervalues the case. Daisy Cervantes leads slip and fall case management; Carlos Sandino coordinates medical records and provider scheduling.
3. Calculate Damages, Demand, and File
Once your treatment is documented, we calculate the full value of your case and assemble a demand package, the formal settlement demand sent to the carrier with evidence supporting every dollar. If the carrier will not negotiate fairly, we file a lawsuit before the two-year deadline under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. Where a public entity is involved, we present the Government Code section 911.2 claim well before the six-month deadline.
4. Discovery and Mediation
Once a lawsuit is filed, both sides enter discovery, the pre-trial process of exchanging documents, answering questions under oath, and taking depositions. We use discovery to lock witnesses into specific testimony, expose gaps in maintenance records, and prepare the case for either trial or settlement. Most filed cases resolve at mediation, where we arrive with the record built and the damages documented.
5. Try the Case if Necessary
When the carrier will not pay fair value, we prepare for trial: expert testimony, pre-trial motions, jury selection, and trying the case to a verdict. California Code of Civil Procedure section 998 offers and prejudgment-interest exposure under section 3291 are tools we use to move stalled negotiations even on the courthouse steps. Carriers track which firms try cases and which do not, and that distinction shapes settlement numbers.Call (877) 622-5888 to schedule a free consultation.
Throughout the time of my case they helped me understand every bit of information I needed. They provided the best medical attention for my injury.
Areas We Serve
Pérez Law represents California slip and fall victims statewide from two offices.
- Ontario office (primary): 822 N Euclid Ave, Ontario, CA 91762. Phone (909) 983-2235. Serves Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Montclair, Chino, Chino Hills, Fontana, Rialto, San Bernardino, and the broader Inland Empire.
- Pomona office (branch): 522 W Holt Ave, Pomona, CA 91768. Phone (909) 622-1071. Serves Pomona, Claremont, La Verne, San Dimas, Diamond Bar, Walnut, West Covina, El Monte, Baldwin Park, and the broader Pomona Valley.
Statewide California representation for qualifying premises liability matters in Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County, Orange County, San Diego County, and beyond.
What Clients Have Said About Working With Our Personal Injury Team
I had an excellent experience with Pérez Law handling my injury case, particularly with Janie Thompson. Their team was professional, compassionate, and kept me informed throughout the process. They fought thoroughly for my case and secured a great outcome. I highly recommend them to anyone in need of a dedicated and knowledgeable attorney.
I had the pleasure of working with Pérez Law, and I couldn’t be more satisfied with the experience. From the moment I reached out, they were professional and dedicated to my case. The team kept me informed throughout the entire process and worked to ensure the best outcome for my injury case.
I express my sincere gratitude to Pérez Law for your exceptional work on my injury case. Your performance was outstanding.
California Slip and Fall FAQ
Two years from the date of the fall under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 for most private-property cases. For government property, you must present a written claim within six months under Government Code section 911.2.
California’s pure comparative-fault rule means you can still recover even if a jury attributes significant fault to you. Your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, not erased.
Case value depends on the severity of your injuries, the strength of liability evidence, the available insurance, future medical needs, and lost earnings. We give honest, free case evaluations rather than promising specific dollar figures.
No. We handle slip and fall cases on contingency. There is no attorney fee unless we recover for you.
Do not accept and do not sign anything before you talk to a California premises-liability attorney. First offers are almost always lower than the actual value of a serious-injury claim.
You may have a claim against the city, the county, the state, or Caltrans, depending on jurisdiction. These cases run on the six-month Government Tort Claim deadline. Call us as soon as possible.
Most slip and fall cases resolve in nine to eighteen months, but timelines depend on injury severity, treatment duration, insurance posture, and whether a lawsuit must be filed. We give you a realistic timeline at intake and update it as your treatment progresses.
Talk to a California Slip and Fall Lawyer
Call (877) 622-5888 toll-free, (909) 983-2235 in Ontario, or (909) 622-1071 in Pomona. You can also schedule a free consultation online. The first call is free, confidential, and available in English or Spanish.
Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every case is different. The information on this page is provided for general informational purposes and is not legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.