Los Angeles Slip and Fall Lawyer

Who is responsible for a slip and fall in Los Angeles depends on who controls the spot where you fell: a store or landlord, the City of Los Angeles, or another agency such as Metro or the County. Each is a different case with its own rules and deadlines. A Los Angeles slip and fall lawyer starts by working out which one you have.

Pacific Law Firm is based in San Francisco and represents people injured in falls throughout Los Angeles County, meeting with clients by phone and video. The first consultation is free.

Who Is Responsible for a Slip and Fall in Los Angeles?

The person or agency that owns or controls the property is responsible if it knew, or should have known, about the hazard and failed to fix it or warn you. California requires every property owner to use reasonable care toward everyone on the property (Civ. Code § 1714; Rowland v. Christian). The rules and deadlines change when the owner is a public agency.

Where you fell	Legal standard	Where and when to file
A store, restaurant, office, apartment building or other private property	The owner or tenant in control was negligent in maintaining the property and knew or should have known of the hazard (CACI Nos. 1000, 1011)	An insurance claim, then a lawsuit within 2 years (CCP § 335.1)
A City of Los Angeles sidewalk, street, park or building	A dangerous condition that a city employee created, or that the city knew about in time to fix (Gov. Code § 835). Minor defects may be excused as trivial.	A claim with the City Clerk within 6 months. The city has 45 days to respond, then a lawsuit deadline applies
A Metro station, platform or bus stop, or a County building or park	The same public dangerous-condition rules	A claim with LA Metro or the County Board of Supervisors within 6 months

Other cities in the county, such as Long Beach, Pasadena and Santa Monica, take claims for their own sidewalks and property. Our guide to the common causes of slip and fall accidents covers typical hazards, from spills to uneven flooring.

What Does “Notice” Mean, and How Is It Proved?

Notice means the owner knew about the hazard (actual notice) or would have found it with reasonable inspections (constructive notice). Notice is often the central issue in a slip and fall case. If an employee created the hazard, for example by mopping without a sign, notice usually does not need to be proved.

Constructive notice is proved by showing the hazard existed long enough that a reasonably careful owner would have discovered it (CACI No. 1011). In Ortega v. Kmart Corp. (2001), the California Supreme Court held that evidence the store had not inspected the area within a reasonable time can support that inference. You do not need direct proof of exactly how long the spill was on the floor.

Evidence that helps prove notice:

Inspection logs, sweep sheets and cleaning schedules
Surveillance footage showing how long the hazard was there
Prior complaints, incident reports or repair requests about the same spot
Employee statements about how often the area was checked
The condition of the hazard itself, such as dried edges, footprints or cart tracks through a spill

What If I Fell on a City Sidewalk, in a Metro Station or in a County Building?

You must file a written government claim within six months, and you must show the property was in a dangerous condition. Under Gov. Code § 835, a public agency is liable if one of its employees created the condition, or if it had actual or constructive notice in time to fix it.

City of Los Angeles sidewalks, streets, parks and buildings: file with the Office of the City Clerk, 200 N. Spring St., Room 395, by mail, in person or through the City Clerk’s online claims portal.
Metro stations, platforms and bus stops: file Metro’s Claims for Damages form in person or by mail with LACMTA Legal Services.
County buildings, parks and roads: file with the Executive Officer of the Board of Supervisors, 500 W. Temple St., Room 383.

The agency has 45 days to respond (Gov. Code § 912.4). After a written rejection, you have six months to file a lawsuit (§ 945.6).

Who Is Responsible for a Broken Sidewalk?

State law requires owners of property next to a public sidewalk to keep it in repair (Sts. & High. Code § 5610). That duty alone generally does not make the neighboring owner liable to a pedestrian who falls. A neighboring owner can be liable if they created the defect, altered the sidewalk for their own use, or their tree or landscaping damaged it.

Since 2017, the Los Angeles Municipal Code has also required owners to maintain adjoining sidewalks. Courts have not settled whether that creates liability to injured pedestrians, so both the city and the neighboring owner may need to be named. The city is also repairing sidewalks under the Willits settlement, a roughly $1.4 billion, multi-decade program. Earlier 311 reports or repair requests for the same stretch of sidewalk can help show the city knew about the hazard.

What If the Owner Says the Hazard Was “Open and Obvious” or Too Minor?

Those are common defenses, but neither one automatically ends a claim. An obvious hazard may remove the duty to warn, but an owner can still be liable if it was foreseeable that people would have to walk through it anyway, such as the only path into a building.

For minor defects, a public agency is not liable for a condition that poses only a trivial risk when people use reasonable care (Gov. Code § 830.2). Courts apply the same idea to private sidewalks and walkways. There is no fixed height rule. Courts look at the size of the crack or lift along with lighting, shadows, weather, debris and foot traffic.

What If I Was Partly at Fault?

You can still recover. California uses pure comparative fault (Li v. Yellow Cab Co.), so your compensation is reduced by your share of the blame, not eliminated. Owners and insurers often point to footwear, phone use, walking speed or ignored warning signs. Clear photos of the hazard and the lighting at the time help keep that share low.

How Long Do I Have to File a Slip and Fall Claim?

You generally have two years from the fall to sue a private property owner (CCP § 335.1). If the City, the County, Metro or another public agency controls the property, you must file a written claim within six months.

Where you fell	First deadline	Lawsuit deadline
Private property	None before suit	2 years from the fall
City, County, Metro or other public property	Government claim within 6 months	6 months after a written rejection

What Should I Do Right After a Fall?

Get medical care, then preserve evidence before it disappears. Store cameras are often recorded over within days or weeks.

Photograph the hazard from several angles, with something for scale, plus the lighting and any missing warning signs.
Keep the shoes and clothing you were wearing, unwashed and unrepaired.
Report the fall to the manager or property owner, and ask for the incident report number.
Get witness names and phone numbers before they leave.
Ask in writing for surveillance footage to be preserved. An attorney can send a formal preservation letter right away.
See a doctor promptly. Hip and wrist fractures, back injuries and traumatic brain injuries are common in falls, and older adults face higher risks. Your medical records are often the first thing a slip and fall injury lawyer in Los Angeles will ask for.

Falls on the job usually involve workers’ comp and sometimes a third-party claim; see falls at work and workers’ comp.

What a Los Angeles Slip and Fall Attorney Does for Your Case

The first job of any slip and fall attorney, Los Angeles cases included, is to lock down the evidence before it is lost. Pacific Law Firm:

Identifies who controlled the spot, whether a business, landlord, management company, city, county or Metro.
Sends preservation letters for surveillance footage, inspection logs and incident reports.
Files government claims within six months when public property is involved.
Builds the notice case with records, witness statements and photos.
Documents your injuries and losses, including medical care, time off work and future treatment.
Negotiates with the insurer, or files suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court if a fair offer is not made.

When a fall causes a death, the family may have a claim for fatal falls under California’s wrongful death law. For other types of injury claims, see our personal injury lawyer Los Angeles page.

Talk to a Los Angeles Slip and Fall Lawyer

When you talk to a slip and fall lawyer Los Angeles, deadlines should be the first thing you ask about, especially the six-month limit for public property. Call 855-722-5290 or request a free case review.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I fell in the apartment building I rent?

A landlord is responsible for common areas it controls, such as stairs, hallways, parking areas and walkways. A landlord can also be liable for a hazard inside your unit if it knew about the problem and failed to repair it within a reasonable time. Keep copies of any repair requests you sent.

Does a “wet floor” sign mean I can’t recover?

Not necessarily. The question is whether the warning was adequate and placed where you would see it. A sign does not protect an owner that left a spill for too long or put the sign somewhere you could not see it.

Should I give a statement to the store’s insurance company?

You are not required to give the owner’s insurer a recorded statement. Anything you say can be used to argue that you were careless or not badly hurt, so speak with a lawyer first.

Do you have an office in Los Angeles?

No. Our office is at 535 Mission St #14 in San Francisco. We represent people injured in falls throughout Los Angeles County by phone and video.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Contacting Pacific Law Firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.