To win a slip and fall case in California, you have to show the store was careless about a hazard. It either knew about it or should have found it.
The fall alone does not prove that. What the store knew, and when, is where most of these claims are won or lost.
What does California law require of a store?
Anyone who owns or controls a property has to use reasonable care in managing it. That rule comes from Civil Code section 1714.
Reasonable care does not mean a perfect floor every second. It means checking the aisles often enough, cleaning up spills, and warning shoppers about anything that cannot be fixed right away.
What are the four things you have to prove?
California’s jury instructions break a premises case into four parts. You need all of them.
- The store owned, rented or controlled the place where you fell.
- The store was careless in how it looked after that place.
- You were hurt.
- The store’s carelessness was a substantial factor in causing your injury.
Most of the fight is over number 2. Proving that you fell and got hurt is usually the easy part.
How do you show the store knew about the spill?
An employee caused it, an employee saw it, or it was there long enough that a careful store would have found it. Any one of the three works.
If a worker mopped and put out no sign, the store knew about the wet floor from the start. You do not have to show how long that hazard was there.
What if nobody knows how long the spill was there?
This is the most common problem, and California courts have an answer for it. In a 2001 case called Ortega v. Kmart, the California Supreme Court said the store’s inspection habits can be the proof.
If nobody checked that aisle for a long time, a jury may decide the hazard was there long enough to find. So the question becomes when an employee last walked the aisle, and whether anyone wrote it down.
What evidence helps the most?
Get what you can before you leave, because a floor gets cleaned within minutes.
- Photos of the floor, the spill, the lighting and the spot where a warning sign should have been.
- The names and phone numbers of anyone who saw you fall.
- The name of the manager who took your report.
- The shoes and clothes you had on. Put them in a bag and do not wear them again.
Stores often record over their video after a set number of days. Send the store a letter asking it to save the footage, and send it the same week.
Will the store say it was your fault?
Expect it. The usual arguments are that you were looking at your phone, wore the wrong shoes, or walked past a hazard anyone could see.
California uses pure comparative fault, so a share of blame lowers what you recover and does not end the claim. Our guide to California’s pure comparative fault rule shows how that math works.
Who is responsible at a mall or a shopping center?
It can be more than one company. The owner of the center, the store renting the space, and an outside cleaning company may each control a different part of the floor.
A fall in a store’s own aisle points to the store. A fall in a walkway, a parking lot or a shared restroom may point to the owner or the cleaning company. The lease often decides which one.
How long do you have to file?
You have two years from the date of the fall, under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. That covers stores, restaurants, malls and other private businesses.
Public property is different. A claim against a city or a county has to be presented within six months, under Government Code section 911.2.
How this plays out in Los Angeles
Many shopping centers here put a grocery store, a food court and a parking structure on one lot. Each of those spaces can have a different company in charge of the floor.
Rain is rare in Los Angeles, so shoppers do not expect a slick entrance. On a rainy day, photograph the entry, including any mats and any warning signs, or the lack of them.
What to do after a fall in a store
- Report the fall to a manager before you leave.
- Ask for a copy of the incident report, and write down the manager’s name.
- Photograph the floor and the area around it.
- Get the names and numbers of witnesses.
- See a doctor the same day, even if you feel fine.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the store’s insurance company.
Ask whether the store knew
We can look at your photos, the store’s report and any video, and tell you what the store knew and when. That answer decides whether you have a claim.
There is no fee to ask, and no fee unless we win. Here is how we work as a slip and fall lawyer in Los Angeles, and how to reach our team in English, Spanish or Armenian.
