## Slip-and-fall claims in California When you slip, trip, or fall on someone else's property — a grocery store floor, a snowy sidewalk, a poorly-lit parking lot — and you get hurt, California's premises-liability law decides whether the property owner has to pay. ### California's framework **Merged duty of reasonable care.** Property owners owe a single duty of reasonable care to all lawful entrants — without the old invitee/licensee distinction. The visitor's status may still factor into the analysis (foreseeability) but doesn't define the legal duty. Trespassers still receive only a limited duty. **Worth knowing about California:** California abolished the invitee/licensee/trespasser distinctions in Rowland v. Christian (1968) — one of the first states to do so. Landowners owe reasonable care to ALL entrants based on the totality of circumstances. ## What you have to prove Across every state, slip-and-fall cases require: 1. **A dangerous condition** existed on the property 2. **The owner knew, or should have known** about it ("actual notice" or "constructive notice") 3. **The owner failed to fix it or warn about it** 4. **The condition caused your injury** 5. **You suffered damages** — medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering Notice (#2) is usually the most contested element. "How long was the puddle on the floor?" is the classic question — long enough to give the store time to clean it up? ## Common dangerous conditions - **Liquid spills** — water, soda, milk, oil, cleaning products - **Wet floors after mopping** — without warning signs - **Broken or uneven flooring** — loose tiles, ripped carpets, raised cement - **Snow and ice** — both natural accumulation (state-specific liability rules) and ice that's been worsened by inadequate clearing - **Inadequate lighting** — especially in stairwells, parking lots, hallways - **Loose handrails or broken stairs** - **Cluttered aisles** — boxes, displays, cords - **Poorly maintained outdoor walkways** — cracked sidewalks, potholes - **Missing warning signs** — for known hazards ## The "open and obvious" doctrine Many states (and Texas particularly hard) reduce or eliminate liability when the danger was open and obvious to a reasonable person. Walking onto an obviously icy walkway, into a clearly visible puddle, over an obvious cord — these can defeat your claim or reduce damages. ## How comparative negligence affects recovery If a court finds you partly at fault — looking at your phone, ignoring a wet-floor sign, wearing inappropriate shoes — your recovery is reduced (or eliminated) under your state's comparative-negligence rule: - **Pure contributory** (AL, MD, NC, VA, DC) — any fault by you = no recovery at all - **Modified-50** — you must be UNDER 50% at fault - **Modified-51** — you must be 50% OR LESS at fault - **Pure comparative** — recover even at 99% fault, reduced by your share ## Damages Slip-and-fall damages typically include: - **Medical bills** — emergency room, imaging, physical therapy, surgery - **Future medical care** — for ongoing or permanent injuries - **Lost wages** — time missed during recovery - **Lost earning capacity** — for permanent injuries that affect your career - **Pain and suffering** - **Loss of enjoyment of life** - **Property damage** — broken phones, glasses, clothes Most slip-and-fall settlements are paid by the property owner's commercial general liability or homeowner's insurance, not the owner directly. ## What to do immediately after a slip-and-fall 1. **Get medical attention** — even if you feel okay; some injuries (especially head and back) develop over hours 2. **Report it to management** — get an incident report number; ask for a copy 3. **Photograph the scene** — the spill, the lighting, the sign (or absence of), nearby cameras, your shoes 4. **Get witness names and contacts** 5. **Save your shoes and clothing** as evidence — don't wash them 6. **Don't give recorded statements** to insurance adjusters before consulting a lawyer 7. **Track your symptoms** — date-stamped photos and a daily log help your damages claim 8. **Don't post about it on social media** — defense lawyers comb social media for evidence to undercut your claim ## Statute of limitations Slip-and-fall claims are personal-injury claims and use your state's general personal-injury SOL — typically 2-3 years from the date of the fall. Government-property cases (city sidewalks, state parks) usually require a much shorter "notice of claim" — sometimes as little as 60-90 days. ## Why slip-and-fall cases are harder than they look - **Insurance defenses are aggressive** — adjusters routinely try to push fault onto plaintiffs - **Medical causation is contested** — defense doctors will testify the injury was pre-existing - **Notice requirements** — proving the owner had time to know about and fix the hazard is often the case - **Surveillance video** — get a preservation letter to the property OWNER quickly; surveillance often gets overwritten in 30-60 days - **"Mode of operation" cases** — some states allow plaintiffs to recover without proving notice if the operation itself created the hazard (self-service drink stations, salad bars) ## What you should do If you've fallen and been hurt in California, talk to a personal-injury attorney before talking to the property owner's insurance company. Most California slip-and-fall attorneys offer free consultations and work on contingency — no fee unless you recover. Time-sensitive evidence (especially surveillance footage) needs to be preserved early. --- *This guide is general information about California law as of early 2026 and is not legal advice. Premises-liability law is fact-specific and edge cases (recreational-use immunity, jaywalking, dual-use property, government immunity) change the analysis. Talk to a licensed California attorney about your specific case.*