A bad fall can change your week, your job, and sometimes your life. Still, in a Los Angeles premises liability case, the outcome often turns on proof, not just pain. Property owners and insurance companies rarely say, “You’re right, we should’ve fixed that.” They usually say, “We didn’t do anything wrong,” or “You should’ve seen it.”
These cases pop up everywhere across LA: slip and falls in busy grocery aisles, broken stairs in older apartment buildings, dim parking structures in shopping centers, and cracked walkways outside offices and restaurants. The injuries can be serious, but the defense will focus on details like lighting, warning signs, cleaning routines, and how long the hazard was there.
Even when someone claims you share blame, you can still recover money in California under comparative fault. The key is building the story with evidence: photos, witness names, medical records, video footage, maintenance logs, and incident reports. Below, we’ll cover the defenses we see most often in Los Angeles, and how we answer them.
What the defense has to prove in a California premises liability case
Premises liability cases in California are built on four basics: duty, breach, causation, and damages. The defense almost always attacks at least one of those building blocks.
First, duty means the property controller had a legal responsibility to keep the area reasonably safe, or to warn about hazards that weren’t obvious. In Los Angeles, that “controller” might be a store owner, landlord, property manager, tenant business, or a maintenance company. On public property, it can be a government entity, which brings extra claim rules and faster deadlines.
Second, breach means they failed to act reasonably. That might be not cleaning a spill, not fixing a loose handrail, not repairing broken lighting in a stairwell, or ignoring a recurring leak that creates puddles.
Third, causation is the link between the hazard and your injuries. Defense lawyers love to argue, “Something else caused this,” or “Your injury is old,” or “You would’ve gotten hurt anyway.”
Fourth, damages are what you lost, like medical costs, missed work, and pain and suffering. If your treatment looks inconsistent, or you waited too long to see a doctor, the defense may argue your damages aren’t real or aren’t connected to the incident.
Visitor status can also matter in California. In plain terms, the law treats a customer differently than a social guest, and both differently than a trespasser. That comes up a lot in LA because people move through mixed-use spaces: apartment courtyards, parking garages, storefront walkways, and “private” areas that aren’t clearly marked.
The “We did not owe you that duty” argument
One common defense is trying to shrink the duty they owed you. If you were shopping, eating, delivering food, or attending an event open to the public, the duty is usually higher because you’re there for the owner’s benefit. If you were a social guest at someone’s home, the defense may argue the duty was limited to warning you about dangers they already knew about.
If you were in an area marked “employees only,” behind a locked gate, or somewhere you didn’t have permission to be, the defense may argue you were a trespasser and they owed you little or no protection. There are exceptions, including situations involving children, where property owners may have extra responsibilities if something on the property is likely to attract kids and create danger.
We also see a second angle: the defense claims the wrong party got sued. In real life, multiple parties can share duties, including the owner, the tenant running the business, the property manager, and vendors who were hired to clean, repair, or provide security.
The “It was not our hazard” argument (who controlled the area)
Another frequent move is shifting blame to someone else by arguing they didn’t control the spot where you fell. Control matters in Los Angeles because so many places are shared: retail centers with common walkways, apartments with common stairs, and parking structures managed by third parties.
Quick examples we see:
- A spill in a store aisle blamed on a vendor who was stocking products
- A broken step blamed on a landlord while the tenant business says it “reported it”
- An uneven walkway blamed on a shopping center owner while a tenant says it’s outside their lease area
To sort this out, we look for the paper trail and the digital trail: leases, vendor contracts, cleaning schedules, work orders, incident reports, email complaints, and photos showing who posted signs or blocked areas. We also look at who had the power to fix it that day, not just who owned the building on paper.
Common defenses we see after slip and falls, and how we push back
Slip and fall defenses often sound simple. “We didn’t know.” “It was obvious.” “You weren’t paying attention.” The truth is that each of these defenses depends on timing, visibility, and documentation, which is why evidence collection matters so much.
If you’re able, the best early steps are practical. Take scene photos and video right away. Get the names and numbers of witnesses before they walk off. Report the incident and ask if an incident report was created. Keep the shoes and clothes you wore (don’t wash them). Get medical care quickly, even if you hope it’s “just sore,” because delayed symptoms are common with head, back, and soft tissue injuries.
Video footage is often the make-or-break evidence in Los Angeles, and many systems overwrite quickly. We move fast to request video before it disappears. We also look for details that tell the real story: the direction you walked, lighting, floor shine, cones placed after the fall, or employees stepping around the same hazard earlier.
“We did not know about it” (no notice, no time to fix)
“No notice” is one of the most used defenses. It comes in two forms:
Actual notice means they truly knew about the hazard, like an employee saw a spill, a manager received a complaint about broken lights, or maintenance was already scheduled for the same problem.
Constructive notice means they should’ve known because the condition existed long enough that a reasonable owner would’ve found it and fixed it. A fresh spill that happened seconds before you stepped on it is harder to prove than a recurring puddle near a freezer, a worn carpet edge that’s been curling for weeks, or a stair light that’s been out long enough that multiple tenants complained.
What they use as “proof”: statements like “We inspect hourly,” generic cleaning policies, or an employee claiming it “just happened.”
What helps us respond: surveillance footage showing the hazard sitting there, employee schedules, cleaning logs, inspection checklists, photos of dirt track marks through a spill, prior incident reports, and testimony about repeated complaints. In some cases, an expert can estimate how long a condition likely existed based on wear patterns, water spread, or building design.
“The danger was obvious” and “You should have seen it”
The “open and obvious” defense sounds persuasive because it tries to make the case about common sense. Insurance adjusters love it. Still, it doesn’t end every case.
A hazard can be visible and still unreasonably dangerous. People don’t walk like robots. In Los Angeles stores and apartment buildings, hazards are often located where you can’t safely avoid them, like a narrow aisle, the only exit route, the only staircase, or a poorly lit path from a parking structure to the elevator.
Warning signs can help a property owner, but signs aren’t a free pass. A cone placed far from the spill, a tiny handwritten note, or a sign that appears only after someone falls doesn’t mean the property was reasonably safe. Owners have a duty to fix hazards when they can, not just to hang a warning and hope for the best.
We often push back by showing the whole context: lighting levels, the angle of approach, distractions created by store layout, glare from polished floors, crowded conditions, and whether you had any realistic safe route around the danger.
Comparative fault, assumption of risk, and other ways they try to reduce what we recover
In California, premises cases often end up being less about “who’s at fault,” and more about “how much fault belongs to each person.” That’s comparative fault.
Here’s the simple math: if your total damages are $100,000 and you’re found 20 percent at fault, your recovery drops by 20 percent, so you receive $80,000. The big fight is often over the percentage.
Insurers routinely try to assign too much blame to injured people because it lowers what they have to pay. We see the same allegations again and again: distracted walking, phone use, rushing, “wrong shoes,” ignoring cones, stepping into an area marked off, or not using a handrail.
Sometimes they use your own words against you. A casual statement like “I wasn’t looking” can get repeated in a claim file as an admission of fault. That’s why we’re careful about recorded statements and why we prefer to handle communications with the insurer.
Assumption of risk is another defense that shows up in certain situations, like entering a clearly restricted construction area or choosing to do something that carries known danger. It’s not a magic shield for property owners, but it can affect fault arguments. The details matter: signage, barriers, lighting, and whether you had a safe alternative.
How comparative fault affects settlement value in real life
Scenario 1 (wet floor in a grocery store): A shopper slips near a freezer with a puddle that appears regularly. The store claims the shopper was looking at their phone. Video shows employees walked past the puddle for several minutes and no warning sign was placed until after the fall. That kind of proof can shrink the phone argument and keep fault closer to the store.
Scenario 2 (poor lighting in an apartment stairwell): A tenant falls on stairs after a light has been out for weeks. The landlord argues the tenant “should’ve used the other staircase.” Text messages show multiple repair requests and that the other route required going through a locked gate at night. Evidence like that can limit fault shifting and strengthen the duty and notice parts of the case.
Even if the defense argues you’re mostly at fault, California law still allows recovery. The percentage matters a lot, and strong evidence often moves it in your favor during negotiations.
“You cannot prove your injuries came from this fall” (causation and damages attacks)
Defense teams often challenge injuries, not just liability. Common attacks include:
- Pre-existing conditions: “Your back was already bad.”
- Gaps in care: “If it hurt, you would’ve treated sooner.”
- Delayed symptoms: “You didn’t complain about this until later.”
- Soft tissue doubt: “It’s just a strain.”
What helps: an immediate medical exam, consistent symptom reporting, imaging when a doctor recommends it, follow-up care, and clear work restrictions when you can’t do your job. We also build a timeline that connects the fall to the first symptoms, then to the diagnosis and treatment plan.
Damages aren’t only bills and pay stubs. California also allows non-economic damages, like pain, loss of enjoyment of life, and the daily limits an injury creates. Good documentation supports those losses, including medical notes, therapy records, and honest day-to-day impact details.
FAQs about premises liability defenses in Los Angeles
Do we need a police report after a slip and fall?
Often, no. For most private property falls, it’s more important to report it to the manager and get an incident report. Police may make sense if there’s violence, a hit-and-run in a parking lot, or a crime tied to poor security.
What’s the deadline to file a premises liability lawsuit in California?
In many personal injury cases, it’s two years from the date of injury. If a government entity may be involved (city sidewalk, public building), you may need to file a government claim within about six months, so time matters.
What if the property owner offers a quick settlement?
Quick offers are often tied to limited information and low values. Once you sign a release, you usually can’t ask for more, even if you later learn you need surgery or extended care.
How long do these cases usually take in Los Angeles?
Some settle in a few months after treatment stabilizes. Others take 12 to 24 months, especially if a lawsuit is needed, liability is disputed, or you need long-term care.
Can we handle a small claim without a lawyer?
Sometimes, yes, if injuries are minor, fault is clear, and the insurer is acting reasonably. Red flags that suggest you need help include blame shifting, recorded statement pressure, denied video requests, or the insurer questioning your medical care.
Conclusion
Premises liability cases aren’t won by saying “we got hurt.” They’re won by showing why it happened, who had control, and how the injuries changed your life. In Los Angeles, the strongest cases usually come from fast action and clean documentation, especially when video footage and cleaning logs can vanish quickly.
If you’ve been hurt, here’s a quick checklist we recommend: get medical care, report the incident, ask for a copy of the incident report if you can, take photos and video, get witness info, preserve shoes and clothing, and don’t give a recorded statement on your own. If the incident may involve a city or other public agency, don’t wait, those deadlines can be much shorter than people expect.
We keep things direct and client-first. You’ll have lawyer communication, practical updates, and contingency fees, which means no fees unless we win. If you’re dealing with a defense that doesn’t feel fair, a quick consult can protect your claim before key evidence disappears.