Washington Slip and Fall Lawyer: Premises Liability for Falls on Rain, Ice, Stairs and Sidewalks at Stores, Apartments and Public Property (Updated November 2026)

By Michael Shemtoub, trial attorney, Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.

What to do after a fall in Washington

1. Get medical care the same day if you can, and keep every record.
2. Report the fall to the manager, front desk or landlord and get the incident report number.
3. Photograph the entrance and floor. In Washington, many falls happen on tracked-in rain, ice and wet leaves. Photograph the mats (or the lack of them), the wet-floor signs, the gutters and downspouts, and the weather that day.
4. Get witnesses, including anyone who saw others slip in the same place. See what to do after a fall with no witnesses.
5. Ask in writing for the video and the business’s mat, mopping and inspection records.
6. If the property is public, find out which agency owns it. You will need its tort claim form.

See our page on what to do after a slip and fall.

Why your reason for being there matters in Washington

Washington keeps the common-law categories of invitee, licensee and trespasser. In Tincani v. Inland Empire Zoological Society (1994), the Washington Supreme Court said precedent required it to apply those classifications to decide the owner’s duty (Tincani).

• Invitees are owed reasonable care, which can require the owner to inspect for dangers and then make repairs, add safeguards or give warnings as reasonably needed.
• Licensees, people privileged to be there only because the owner consented, are owed a warning or repair of conditions the owner knows about and the licensee is unlikely to discover.
• The area matters. A visitor is an invitee only on the part of the property the invitation covers. In Tincani, a visitor who left the main trail at a zoo and fell was found to be a licensee at that point.

When you do not have to prove the owner knew

Normally you must show the owner had actual or constructive notice of the hazard. Washington has an important exception. In Pimentel v. Roundup Co. (1983), a case against a Fred Meyer store, the Washington Supreme Court held that proof of notice is not required when the nature of the business and its methods of operation make the unsafe condition reasonably foreseeable (Pimentel). You still must prove the owner failed to use reasonable care.

For years courts limited that exception to self-service areas. In 2021 the court dropped that limit and held the exception applies outside self-service areas, in a case about a customer who slipped in the entryway of a state liquor store on a rainy day (Johnson v. Liquor & Cannabis Board). In a state with this much rain, that matters for every store, restaurant, hotel and office lobby.

Known or obvious hazards

Washington follows the Restatement rule: an owner is not liable to invitees for dangers that are known or obvious to them, unless the owner should anticipate the harm despite that knowledge or obviousness (Tincani). The court said that distraction, forgetfulness or a good reason to encounter the danger can create that duty, and it held that a jury could reasonably find the zoo should have anticipated harm from a cliff despite its obvious danger. A shopper looking at shelf displays, or a tenant who has no other way to the parking lot than an icy path, can still have a claim.

Pure comparative fault and the three-year deadline

Any fault of your own reduces your damages in proportion but does not bar recovery (RCW 4.22.005). Even if a jury finds you 60% at fault, you recover 40% of your damages. Our page on comparative fault in California, Texas and Washington compares the three states.

You have three years to file suit for injury to the person (RCW 4.16.080(2)). See our page on the slip and fall deadline.

Sidewalks and government property in Washington

Cities, counties, special districts and other local governments are liable for their negligence to the same extent as a private person. Filing a claim within the time allowed by law is a condition before you can sue (RCW 4.96.010).

• Local governments. The claim goes to the agent the city or county has appointed, on the standard tort claim form, within the limitations period. You cannot file suit until 60 calendar days after the claim is presented, and the deadline is tolled during those 60 days (RCW 4.96.020).
• The State of Washington. Claims go to the Office of Risk Management on the standard form (RCW 4.92.100), with the same 60-day wait and tolling (RCW 4.92.110).

Washington does not have California’s six-month claim deadline, but a defective form or the wrong recipient can cost you months. File early.

Falls in Washington: the numbers

CDC figures count falls from every cause, including at home. They show Washington has a serious problem with fall deaths among older adults.

• In 2023, 1,147 Washington residents age 65 and older died from unintentional falls, a rate of 85.7 per 100,000. That is above the national rate of 69.9 and more than twice California’s rate of 40.0 (CDC/NCHS Data Brief 532).
• Nationally, the age-adjusted fall death rate among older adults rose from 64.7 per 100,000 in 2018 to 78.4 in 2024 (CDC).
• Falls cause 88% of hip fracture emergency visits and hospital stays in older adults (2019 data) and are their most common cause of traumatic brain injury (CDC).

Where Washingtonians get hurt

• Stores. See our Washington pages for Walmart, Target, Home Depot and Lowe’s, and our answers on falls at Safeway and Albertsons. Convenience store falls are covered on our 7-Eleven slip and fall page.
• Entrances and lobbies on rainy days, at stores, offices, hotels and apartment buildings.
• Apartments. Mossy or icy exterior stairs, broken railings and dark walkways.
• Parking lots. Ice, potholes and poor lighting. For cars in lots, see who is at fault in a parking lot accident.

We take fall cases across Washington, including Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma and Vancouver. Our Seattle and Spokane injury pages cover those counties, and our Washington store slip and fall page lists every city page.

Evidence that decides a Washington fall case

• How the business handles rain and ice: mat placement, mopping schedules, sanding and de-icing logs. Under Johnson, these go to whether the hazard was foreseeable.
• Video of the entrance or area before and after the fall.
• Weather records for the day.
• Prior falls and complaints at the same spot.
• Medical records from the first visit on.

See our page on slip and fall evidence.

Washington, California and Texas compared

Washington gives the longest deadline of the three states and the broadest exception to proof of notice.

Related pages

• California slip and fall lawyer
• Texas slip and fall lawyer
• Store slip and fall lawyer (Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s)
• 7-Eleven slip and fall lawsuits
• Is it worth suing for a slip and fall?
• How long does a slip and fall case take?

Common questions

Important: This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; talk to a lawyer about yours. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Last reviewed: November 6, 2026.