By Michael Shemtoub, trial attorney, Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.
Hurt in a fall in California?
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What to do after a fall in California
- Get medical care the same day if you can. Hip, wrist and head injuries can look minor at first. A gap before your first visit is the first thing an insurer points to.
- Report it before you leave. Ask the manager, front desk or landlord to write an incident report. Get the report number and the name of the person who took it.
- Photograph the spot before anyone cleans it. The liquid, the broken step, the raised sidewalk slab, the lighting, and any wet-floor sign or lack of one. Photograph your shoes and clothes too.
- Get witnesses. Names and phone numbers of anyone who saw the fall or the hazard. If no one did, read what to do after a fall with no witnesses.
- Ask for video and records in writing. Send a letter asking the owner to keep the camera footage and its floor inspection or sweep logs. Many systems record over old video within days.
- Check who owns the property. If it is a city sidewalk, a county building or a state facility, the six-month claim deadline below applies.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the owner’s insurer before you get advice.
Our checklist on what to do after a slip and fall goes into more detail.
Where falls happen and who is responsible
California’s basic rule is in Civil Code § 1714: everyone is responsible for injuries caused by a lack of ordinary care in managing their property (Civ. Code § 1714). That covers every kind of property.
- Supermarkets and big-box stores. Spilled liquids, fallen produce, leaking coolers and merchandise left in the aisle. See our pages for Walmart, Target, Home Depot and Lowe’s in California, and our answers on falls at Ralphs, Vons, Albertsons, Food 4 Less, Smart & Final and Northgate Market.
- Convenience stores and gas stations. Drink stations, ice and rainwater at the door. See our 7-Eleven slip and fall page.
- Restaurants and bars. Grease near the kitchen, ice by the soda machine, wet restroom floors.
- Apartments and rentals. Broken stairs, loose handrails, dark hallways and walkways. The landlord, the property manager or both may be responsible.
- Hotels. Pool decks, bathtubs and lobby floors after rain.
- Parking lots and garages. Potholes, loose wheel stops and poor lighting. Our page on who is at fault in a parking lot accident covers cars in lots.
- Sidewalks and public buildings. Special rules apply; see the next sections.
More than one party can share the blame: the owner, a business that leases the space, a property manager, or a cleaning or maintenance contractor.
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What you must prove under California law
Your status matters less in California. In Rowland v. Christian (1968), the California Supreme Court held that whether a person was a trespasser, licensee or invitee may have some bearing on liability but is not determinative. The test is whether the owner, in managing the property, acted as a reasonable person in view of the probability of injury to others (Rowland v. Christian). A guest in an apartment and a shopper in a store are both owed reasonable care.
Notice. A store owner is not an insurer of its customers’ safety, but it owes them reasonable care. You do not have to show the owner actually knew about the hazard if the evidence shows it was there long enough that a reasonable owner would have found it. Proof that the area had not been inspected within a reasonable period of time can support that inference (Ortega v. Kmart). That is why inspection and sweep logs matter so much in California.
Obvious hazards. The California Supreme Court has said that a danger so obvious that a person could reasonably be expected to see it generally serves as its own warning. But an owner can still have a duty to fix an obvious danger when it is foreseeable that people will have to encounter it anyway, for example the only path to a door (Kinsman v. Unocal).
Your own fault. California uses pure comparative negligence: your own carelessness reduces the award in proportion to your share of fault and does not bar the claim (Li v. Yellow Cab). If a jury finds you 20% at fault for looking at your phone, a $100,000 award becomes $80,000. Our page on comparative fault in California, Texas and Washington has more examples.
Deadline. A personal injury suit must be filed within two years (CCP § 335.1). See our page on the slip and fall deadline.
Sidewalks and government property in California
Falls on city sidewalks, in county buildings, at public schools or on state property follow the Government Claims Act. A public entity is liable for a dangerous condition of its property only if you prove the property was dangerous when you were hurt, the condition caused the injury, it created a reasonably foreseeable risk of that kind of injury, and either a public employee created it or the entity had actual or constructive notice in time to protect against it (Gov. Code § 835).
Cities often argue that a sidewalk defect is “trivial.” Under Gov. Code § 830.2, a condition is not dangerous if the court decides the risk was so minor that it did not create a substantial risk of injury when the property is used with due care (Gov. Code § 830.2). Photograph the height difference with a ruler or tape measure next to it, and capture the lighting, shadows and anything that hid the defect.
The six-month claim. Before you can sue, a written claim for personal injury must be presented to the agency no later than six months after the injury (Gov. Code § 911.2). If the agency sends a written rejection, you then have six months from that notice to file suit; if it never sends proper notice, the limit is two years from the injury (Gov. Code § 945.6). Our page on suing a county or UC hospital walks through the same claim process.
Falls in California: the numbers
The CDC counts falls from every cause, including falls at home, so these numbers are wider than premises cases. They show how serious a fall can be, especially for older adults.
- In 2023, 2,523 Californians age 65 and older died from unintentional falls, a rate of 40.0 per 100,000. That is close to seven deaths a day. The national rate was 69.9 per 100,000, with 41,400 deaths (CDC/NCHS Data Brief 532).
- More than one in four older adults falls each year, and older adults make about 4.5 million emergency department visits for falls each year (CDC).
- Falls caused 88% of hip fracture emergency visits and hospital stays among older adults in 2019, and falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injury in that age group (CDC).
Evidence that decides a California fall case
- Video. Inside and outside cameras, including footage from before the fall that shows how long the hazard was there and whether anyone walked past it.
- Inspection and sweep logs. Under Ortega, a gap in inspections can be enough to show the owner should have known.
- The incident report and the names of employees on shift.
- Measurements of the step, slab or curb, and photos of the lighting.
- Prior complaints and repair records for the same spot, which can show notice.
- Your medical records from the first visit on.
Our page on slip and fall evidence explains how to request each one.
California, Texas and Washington compared
The same fall can come out differently across state lines. These are the rules that decide most cases.
| State | Deadline to sue | Your own share of fault | Proving the owner knew | Obvious hazards | Government property |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 2 years (CCP § 335.1) | Reduces the award, never bars it (Li v. Yellow Cab) | Actual or constructive notice; a missed inspection can support an inference of notice (Ortega v. Kmart) | Usually its own warning, but the owner may still have to fix it if people will have to walk through it anyway (Kinsman v. Unocal) | Written claim within 6 months (Gov. Code § 911.2) |
| Texas | 2 years (CPRC § 16.003) | Barred if you are more than 50% responsible (CPRC § 33.001) | Usually proof of how long the hazard was there (Wal-Mart v. Reece) | Generally no duty to warn, with two narrow exceptions (Austin v. Kroger) | Notice within 6 months, or a shorter city charter period (CPRC § 101.101); damage caps (§ 101.023) |
| Washington | 3 years (RCW 4.16.080(2)) | Reduces the award, never bars it (RCW 4.22.005) | Not needed when the business’s methods make the hazard foreseeable (Pimentel; Johnson, 2021) | Owner can still be liable if it should expect harm anyway (Tincani) | Standard tort claim form, then a 60-day wait (RCW 4.96.020; RCW 4.92.110) |
Fall cases across California
We take fall cases throughout California, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, Fresno, San Jose and Riverside. Our Los Angeles injury page covers the county’s courts and roads, and our California store slip and fall page lists every city with its own page.
Related pages
- Texas slip and fall lawyer
- Washington 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
Can I sue if I slipped and fell in a store in California?
Yes, if the store created the hazard, knew about it, or should have found it with reasonable inspection, and did not clean it up or warn you. Falling is not enough by itself. Proof that the store had not inspected the area within a reasonable time can support the claim.
Do I have to prove how long the spill was on the floor?
Not exactly. California lets a jury infer that the owner should have known about a hazard from evidence that the area had not been inspected within a reasonable period. Video and sweep logs are the usual proof.
How long do I have to file a slip and fall lawsuit in California?
Two years from the injury against a private owner or business (CCP § 335.1). Against a city, county, school district or state agency, a written claim must be filed within six months (Gov. Code § 911.2) before you can sue.
I tripped on a cracked city sidewalk. What is different?
You must file a government claim within six months, and you must prove the elements of Gov. Code § 835, including that the city created the condition or had notice of it in time to fix it. Expect the city to argue the defect was trivial, so measure and photograph it.
What if I was partly at fault?
Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault but not barred. If you are found 30% at fault, you recover 70% of your damages.
I fell at a friend’s apartment building. Can I still make a claim?
Yes. California does not limit the owner’s duty because you were a guest instead of a customer. The question is whether the owner or manager used reasonable care with the stairs, walkways and lighting.
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California slip and fall lawyer — Beverly Law
Hurt in a fall at a store, apartment, hotel, parking lot or on a public sidewalk in California? We can tell you who is responsible and which deadline applies. Free, confidential, English or Spanish. You owe no fees or costs unless we win.
Sources
- Cal. Civ. Code § 1714
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1
- Cal. Gov. Code § 835
- Cal. Gov. Code § 830.2
- Cal. Gov. Code § 911.2
- Cal. Gov. Code § 945.6
- Rowland v. Christian (1968) 69 Cal.2d 108
- Ortega v. Kmart Corp. (2001) 26 Cal.4th 1200
- Kinsman v. Unocal Corp. (2005) 37 Cal.4th 659
- Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975) 13 Cal.3d 804
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 101.023, 101.101
- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Reece, 81 S.W.3d 812 (Tex. 2002)
- Austin v. Kroger Texas, L.P., 465 S.W.3d 193 (Tex. 2015)
- RCW 4.16.080
- RCW 4.22.005
- RCW 4.96.020
- RCW 4.92.110
- Pimentel v. Roundup Co., 100 Wn.2d 39 (1983)
- Johnson v. Liquor & Cannabis Bd., 197 Wn.2d 605 (2021)
- Tincani v. Inland Empire Zoological Society, 124 Wn.2d 121 (1994)
- CDC/NCHS Data Brief No. 532, Unintentional Fall Deaths in Adults Age 65 and Older: United States, 2023 (June 18, 2025)
- CDC, Older Adult Falls: Facts and Stats
- CDC, Older Adult Falls Data
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.