Reviewed by Adrianos Facchetti, Esq., California Bar Number 243213. This web page has been reviewed for California personal injury accuracy, legal precision, and relevance to Encino residents who have been injured due to dangerous premises.
Slipping and falling on another party’s property does not necessarily mean the property owner is at fault for your injuries. While a wet floor, broken step, hazardous pathway, inadequate lighting, falling objects, or even a dangerous parking area may seem like grounds for a claim, the key is whether the owner of such a dangerous condition used reasonable care in addressing or warning of the condition. This is really all there is to the case.
If you have been injured while on another’s property, whether in an apartment complex, a Ventura Boulevard shopping center, a restaurant, or even a private residence, an Encino Personal Injury Lawyer can offer a free consultation to provide insight into what facts need to be established for your claim.
The Property Hazard Is Only the Beginning
Establishing that you were injured because of something dangerous on another person’s property is not sufficient in itself. California premises liability laws do not automatically make someone liable for a premises accident; they usually follow standard negligence laws.
California Civil Code § 1714 states that everyone must exercise reasonable care not to cause injuries to others. With a premises injury, it usually means that there was some hazard, that the person or entity in charge of the property violated their duty of care towards that hazard, that the violation of the duty caused your injuries, and that you actually suffered damages.
In premises cases, control is as important as ownership. It does not matter whether the party who is in charge of the hazardous property or its part or condition is the owner of the property, the tenant, the business occupying the property, the management company, or even the contractor working there.
Did the Property Owner Know About the Danger?
It is generally a critical element in establishing liability in such claims. Typically, California law provides for proving whether the owner of the land or any other party in charge was aware of the existence of the hazardous condition or should have known about it by performing proper inspection.
There are typically two types of notice. Actual notice refers to the situation when any individual in charge of the property had genuine knowledge of the existence of the hazard, for example, because one of the employees spotted the spill or the tenant had informed about the broken rail. In constructive notice, the hazardous condition was either present long enough or was so noticeable that the reasonably attentive property owner would discover it.
Factors that may be considered in proving notice include:
- Prior complaints about the condition
- Requests for repairs that had not been fulfilled
- Previous neglect as shown by the maintenance logs
- History of regular occurrences of leaks or other similar problems
- Damage to flooring and other fixtures as evidence of gradual deterioration
- Video recording illustrating the duration of the existence of the hazard
- Inspection practices on the property
Not all cases work similarly; for instance, the notice elements will be different if we are speaking about the recent spill compared to a developing structural hazard.
Evidence That Can Change a Premises Liability Case
Certain evidence tends to matter more than anything else in these cases:
- Photos or video of the exact hazard, taken as soon as possible
- Surveillance footage from the property
- An incident report, if one was created
- Contact information for anyone who witnessed the fall or hazard
- Maintenance and inspection records
- Records of prior complaints about the same condition
- Repair records showing when work was or wasn’t done
- Medical documentation connecting your injury to the incident
- Shoes or damaged personal items, where relevant to how the injury happened
- Measurements or an expert inspection, in cases involving a structural or design issue
The hazard itself often doesn’t stay the same for long. A wet floor gets mopped up, a broken step gets repaired, and a torn carpet gets replaced. Once that happens, it becomes much harder to prove exactly what the condition looked like at the time you were hurt, which is why documenting it early, even with a quick phone photo, can matter more than people realize.
People injured because of another party’s negligence can also review our Encino personal injury lawyer guidance for a broader explanation of how California injury claims generally work.
Who May Be Responsible for an Unsafe Property in Encino?
Liability isn’t always limited to whoever’s name is on the property deed. Depending on who actually controlled the hazardous condition, potentially responsible parties may include:
- The property owner
- A commercial tenant operating a business on the property
- A landlord, particularly for common areas in a rental property
- A property management company hired to maintain the site
- A maintenance contractor responsible for a specific repair or upkeep task
- A construction or repair contractor whose work created the hazard
- Another entity that had actual control over the dangerous condition
In practice, this plays out in specific ways. An apartment complex’s shared stairwell might be the landlord’s responsibility, while a spill inside a leased restaurant space might fall on the business operator instead of the building owner. A parking lot pothole near a Ventura Boulevard shopping center might be the responsibility of the property management company handling that lot, not the individual store owners. Encino’s mix of apartment buildings, commercial strips, restaurants, and office parking areas means the responsible party often depends heavily on lease agreements and maintenance contracts that aren’t visible from the outside.
What an Injury Claim May Pay For
What you might be able to recover depends on the severity of your injury and the strength of your case.
Economic losses may include:
- Past and future medical treatment
- Lost income from missed work
- Reduced earning capacity, when supported by medical and vocational evidence
- Necessary out-of-pocket expenses related to the injury
Non-economic losses may include:
- Physical pain
- Emotional suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Permanent limitations or disfigurement, when applicable
Punitive damages are not a routine part of premises liability claims. They require facts showing conduct well beyond ordinary negligence, and they’re the exception rather than something to expect in a typical case.
There’s no meaningful “average settlement” figure that applies broadly here. What a claim is actually worth depends on the nature of your injury, the strength of the evidence, who’s found liable, the insurance coverage available, your future medical needs, lost income, and the specific facts of your situation.
What Happens if You Are Partially Responsible?
California uses the principle of comparative negligence, so even being partially responsible for your injuries does not preclude your right to recover damages. What happens instead is that your compensation can be reduced according to the degree of your own responsibility in the accident.
For instance, if you were 20% responsible for a fall, you would get less compensation in an amount equal to that percentage. It is just one way in which comparative negligence applies to such cases. It does not mean your particular case will go this way.
The parties on behalf of property owners or their insurers can mention various factors, such as whether you were using your cell phone, the type of footwear that you were wearing, if there was a warning cone or sign, or if the hazard was obvious enough so that you could see it and avoid it. These factors do not necessarily mean you were negligent in any way.
California Deadlines Can Depend on Who Controlled the Property
The two-year rule in most personal injury cases in California is set by California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1, which gives individuals two years from an injury caused by another individual’s wrongful act or neglect to bring forth a lawsuit.
But there are exceptions to this general two-year statute of limitations period. In cases where the premises of a claimant are under control of a public entity, like the government or a city, the deadline for presenting a written claim to the authority can be six months from the date of occurrence of the injury, according to California Government Code § 911.2.
Not all premises liability claims have a fixed deadline. This article does not serve as personalized legal advice for your particular case. It usually takes time to find out what property was actually in control, and so it would help to get your case reviewed immediately.
Get a Free Case Review After an Encino Property Injury
Were you injured because of a dangerous property condition in Encino? The Law Offices of Adrianos Facchetti provides a no-cost case consultation to help you learn about the cause of your injuries and discuss your possible course of action. We take such cases on a contingency basis, which means that there will be no attorney fee unless we get a recovery for you.
In the process of consultation, we can discuss the place and circumstances of the accident, who is believed to have control over the property or particular hazard, available evidence, your treatment, and what insurance company got in touch with you. In addition, we can discuss the possible steps that need to be taken in your case. No guarantees or particular results can be provided, but at least, it costs you nothing to learn about your possible options.
FAQs About Encino Premises Liability Claims
Is it difficult to make a premises liability claim in California?
It all depends on the individual circumstances. Difficulties tend to be associated with the level of evidence available to prove that the condition was dangerous, who had control over it, whether they had knowledge of it, and whether that lack of knowledge or corrective action caused the injury. Different cases are easier to prove than others depending on these factors.
What are some examples of premises liability cases?
Some of the most common cases arise from wet floors, broken or uneven steps, cracks or uneven sidewalks, falling objects, insufficient lighting in staircases or parking lots, hazardous parking lot conditions, swimming pool dangers, and elevator and escalator defects due to negligence of the responsible party.
What if the property owner claims to be unaware of the dangerous condition?
In such cases, the question of whether they had actual or constructive notice becomes important. Even if the property owner argues that he or she did not personally know of the condition, evidence of inspections, video footage, prior complaints, maintenance records, and the duration of the condition will indicate that he or she knew about the dangerous condition and could have done something about it.
How much do you pay an Encino premises liability lawyer?
The Law Offices of Adrianos Facchetti represent premises liability cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning that you only have to pay the legal fees if we recover compensation for you. We offer a complimentary case analysis to help you understand your options.
