Articles
Answers for anyone hurt in California
Plain answers on injury claims, insurers, deadlines and what to do next. Written by Aryan Aliakbarzadeh, Esq., a personal injury attorney in Northridge.
Call or text. Same day reply.
5.0 across more than 180 reviews·Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 5 years in a row
Slip and Fall
Articles on slip and fall are coming. Until then, the slip and fall page answers the questions people ask most, and Aryan Aliakbarzadeh, Esq. answers the rest on the phone.
Call or text. Same day reply.
Questions
Questions about slip and fall cases
I did not report the fall at the time. Is it too late?
No. Report it now, in writing, and keep a copy. The claim is harder without a same-day report, not impossible.
The store says it was my fault.
They usually do. Fault can be shared in California, and a share of fault reduces a claim rather than ending it.
How long do I have to file a slip and fall claim?
Two years is the general limit, and it is much shorter when the property belongs to a city, county or the state: a claim must be presented to the agency first, within months.
I fell in a store and there was no wet floor sign. Do I have a case?
Possibly, and the missing sign is not the whole answer. A California store is responsible when it caused the hazard, knew about it, or should have found it with reasonable inspections, and failed to fix it or warn in time. The question is how long the hazard was there and what the store did about it, which the store’s own cameras, sweep logs and incident report usually show. Those records are overwritten or lost quickly, so the request for them goes out first.
Does the store have to give me the video or the incident report?
Not on request, and no California law makes a store keep the footage for any set time; many systems overwrite within days. A written preservation letter from a lawyer creates a duty not to destroy it, and if a lawsuit is filed the store must produce what it kept. Ask for the incident report at the time, and if they refuse, write down who you spoke to and when.
I fell at a friend’s house. Can I make a claim without suing my friend?
Usually, yes. A homeowner’s or renter’s policy carries liability coverage for exactly this, and the claim is made to the insurer, which pays it; your friend does not pay personally and is not the one you are dealing with. California holds a homeowner to the same standard as a business: a hazard they knew about or should have fixed. Many people never claim because of the friendship, and the policy exists so that they can.
I tripped on a broken sidewalk. Can I claim against the city, and how long do I have?
Yes, and the deadline is short. A claim against a city, county or the state must be presented to that agency within six months of the injury under Government Code §911.2, before any lawsuit can be filed; miss it and the claim is usually lost. In Los Angeles the sidewalk may be the city’s responsibility or the adjoining owner’s, and finding out which is part of the claim. Photograph the defect with something for scale before it is repaired.
I slipped at work. Is that a workers’ compensation claim or a slip and fall claim?
Workers’ compensation, first: in California an injury at work is covered regardless of fault, and you generally cannot sue your employer for it. It becomes a slip and fall claim as well when someone other than your employer caused the hazard, such as the owner of a building your employer does not control, a cleaning contractor, or a store you were making a delivery to. Report the injury to your employer in writing within 30 days either way.