Types of Premises Liability Cases

Slip and fall

The type of premises liability case that Casey Gerry’s San Diego premises liability attorneys see most frequently is slip and fall. This term refers to the all-too-frequents situations in which a person falls and is seriously injured in a store, a mall walkway, or other commercial establishment, as a result of obstacles in their pathway, substances left on the floor or other conditions that reflect a failure to maintain safe walkways.

Slip and fall cases present a significant challenge in jury trials. The defendants frequently allege that the victim should have paid more attention to where she or he was walking. Our premises liability attorneys and our expert consultants in merchandising know that stores design their merchandise displays to attract shoppers’ attention to the goods that the store wishes to sell. The last place they want shoppers to be looking is at the floor.

Our premises liability attorneys in San Diego focus on the owners’ obligation to provide a safe premises, including the provision of safe, obstacle-free and spill-free aisles and walkways through their store, especially as they are diverting their customers’ attention. In grocery stores and other establishments where spills are frequent occurrences, the owner and the employees have a duty to watch for spills and clean them up promptly before a person can fall and be seriously injured.

A related problem is merchandise falling on a customer. In many “big box” stores, shelving rises high over shoppers’ heads. Merchandise which has not been properly secured on high shelves can fall off and seriously injure or even kill an unsuspecting person. Displays which are not properly secured can tip over or come apart, causing serious injury. Heavy merchandise stacked on the floor can present a similar hazard, especially to young children.

Private property

Like owners of commercial property, owners of private property have a legal duty to maintain safe premises for people entering the property or working on it. Included in this duty is the obligation to recognize reasonable hazards, and to prevent or eliminate such hazards on the premises. Examples of hazards would include a broken stair or railing, a stairwell so poorly lighted as to compromise safe passage, or a break in a fence that allows a dangerous animal free passage. If a person entering the property is harmed as a result of the hazard, that person may be entitled to seek damages from the property owner. Persons entering the property may include social visitors, a person coming to the premises to perform repairs, a government employee engaged in the discharge of official duties, a provider of medical or nursing services or other person with need to enter the premises.

Workplace injuries

Employers are required by law to provide a safe workplace for their employees. Casey Gerry has prosecuted many workplace injury cases in which a worker was seriously injured or killed as a result of an employer’s failure to comply with OSHA, Cal-OSHA, and other safety standards.

Federal and state workplace safety standards include the requirement that dangerous conditions be eliminated. If a contractor or a sub-contractor at a job site creates conditions such as a hole left uncovered, an unsecured ladder, an elevator that malfunctions, or a roof or a drop-off without adequate safety fencing, and fails to remedy such conditions, and a worker is injured as a consequence, then the employer may be responsible.

Unsafe premises created by a government entity

City, county, and state governments, and other governmental entities also have an obligation under California law to maintain their premises in safe condition. Their premises include government buildings and their grounds and walkways, parking lots and parking garages, municipal stadiums, fairgrounds, and public parks. A person who is seriously injured on public property as a result of the governmental entity’s failure to maintain safe conditions may be able to file a claim. You should be aware that the timetable for filing claims against governmental entities in California is short. If you or a loved one has been seriously injured on government property, you should contact a California premises liability attorney experienced in claims against governmental entities as promptly as possible.