Who Can Be Held Liable in Slip-and-Fall Accidents in California?

Different types of accidents can give rise to a personal injury claim in California, including auto accidents and slip-and-fall accidents. Typically, one party has to be held liable and accountable for the accident, and that party compensates the injured party.

However, in California, determining who should be held responsible for falls and why they should be held responsible can be difficult. If you have such a case ongoing or plan to file a claim due to a slip-and-fall accident, keep reading. We will discuss who you can hold liable and what you need for the case to go in your favor.

The Duty of Care Owed

Owners and operators of businesses in California have a legal responsibility to make reasonable efforts to keep their premises safe. Particularly, they should ensure the safety of their customers and others with a right to enter the property. The keyword here is ‘reasonable,’ meaning their efforts do not have to be 100 percent.

However, if the person owing a duty of care breaks it, they can be liable to the individual who suffers an injury. Examples of individuals and companies that owe such duty of care include giant department stores, supermarkets, apartment complexes, strip malls, and restaurants. Owners of multi-family housing and condominium associations, among others, can also be held liable in slip-and-fall accidents.

What Victims Need to Prove Liability

Under California personal injury law, the individual who suffered a fall must demonstrate that the property owner owes them a duty of care. That is, they knew or should have known that there was a risk of harm from the attendant circumstances. As such, the claim is valid under the following conditions:

• The property owner failed to adequately inspect their property to eliminate every potential risk of harm;
• The property owner failed to repair the premises after they learned of its unsafe condition;
• The property owner did discover the risks but failed to warn customers of the dangerous conditions. For example, they neglected to put up a wet floor sign to notify customers that the floor was wet.

Nevertheless, a fall is not enough to file a personal injury claim or prove liability on the part of the property owner. Rather, the injured individual has to state clearly what caused their fall – otherwise, there is no case. 

Types of Cases That Can Result in Liability

In California, accidents in self-service businesses are much easier to pursue because of what governs their liability. The liability is governed by the ‘mode of operation rule,’ meaning the nature of business has an inherent risk of someone falling.

More so, self-service gives rise to food products falling on the floor because of inappropriate displays or customers dropping food. With that said, here are the examples of slip-and-fall accidents that can give rise to liability:

• Failure to regularly inspect the produce section of a supermarket, thus avoiding produce falling to the floor;
• Neglecting to repair the sidewalks situated at the front of a store;
• Failing to fix a torn carpet;
• Neglecting to treat a parking lot with ice melt, salt, or sand;
• Not adequately mopping or drying the floor of a store or restaurant, or
• Inadequate plowing of a parking lot.

Conclusion

“It can be hard to know what to do after a fall, especially when you are still trying to make sense of what happened, and that is where and why it gets tricky,” says Attorney Walter Clark of Walter Clark Legal Group. Therefore, with your phone, endeavor to take a picture or video of what made you fall. If pictures will not be possible, you can ask someone, particularly a witness, to take a photograph for you.