Premises Liability and Personal Injury Claims: Holding Property Owners Accountable

When you step onto a business premises, enter an apartment complex, or visit a public space in California, you have a legal right to expect a reasonably safe environment. Unfortunately, property owners, property managers, and commercial tenants do not always address dangerous conditions or maintenance issues in a timely manner.

When deferred maintenance or a hidden hazard causes a serious accident, it falls under an area of law known as premises liability. Navigating a premises liability claim requires proving that the party who managed or controlled the property failed in their basic legal duty to protect you.

The Legal Foundation: California Civil Code § 1714

Premises liability in California stems from a single, powerful foundational principle. Under California Civil Code § 1714(a), everyone is legally responsible for injuries caused by their “want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property.”

This means that anyone who owns, leases, occupies, or controls a property generally has a duty to use reasonable care to help keep the premises safe. This duty does not just apply to traditional property owners; it extends to:

• Commercial Businesses: Grocery stores, shopping malls, gyms, and restaurants.
• Landlords & Property Managers: Responsible for keeping common areas, stairwells, and walkways of apartment complexes safe.
• Short-Term Rental Hosts: Individuals renting out properties on apps like Airbnb or Vrbo.
• Public and Government Entities: In some circumstances, cities, counties, or other public entities responsible for maintaining public property. 

Beyond the Slip and Fall: Types of Premises Liability Cases

While people often associate premises liability strictly with slipping on a wet grocery store aisle, this area of personal injury law covers an incredibly wide range of dangerous property conditions:

• Structural Failures: Balcony collapses, rotting wooden decks, collapsing staircases, or loose handrails due to severe deferred maintenance.
• Negligent Security: When a commercial property or parking garage in a high-crime area fails to provide adequate lighting, functioning locks, or security guards, leaving visitors vulnerable to foreseeable physical assaults.
• Hazardous Walkways: Severe cracks or abrupt elevation changes in private walkways, loose carpeting, or cluttered retail aisles that create direct trip hazards.
• Swimming Pool Accidents: Drownings or near-drownings caused by broken gates, unsecured pool barriers, or failed supervision in violation of California safety codes.

Fighting Back Against the “Open and Obvious” Defense

Insurance companies routinely try to defeat premises liability claims by claiming the hazard was “open and obvious”—arguing that you should have looked where you were walking and avoided it.

However, under California’s pure comparative negligence rule, you may still recover compensation even if you were partially at fault for the incident. Even if a hazard was partially visible, a property owner may still be responsible for failing to repair or warn of a dangerous condition.

If a court finds that the property owner was 70% at fault for leaving a structural hazard exposed and you were 30% at fault for being distracted, you are still legally entitled to collect 70% of your total medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Let Avalon Law Firm Investigate Your Case

Property owners or businesses may repair dangerous conditions after an accident occurs, making it important to preserve evidence as early as possible. 

At Avalon Law Firm, we work to preserve available surveillance footage, obtain maintenance records when available, and investigate whether a property owner or manager may be legally responsible for your injuries.

Every case is unique, and the outcome of any personal injury claim depends on its specific facts, the available evidence, and applicable law.

If you or a loved one has been injured due to a dangerous property condition, don’t face corporate insurance adjusters alone. Call us today at 818-251-8787 for a free consultation