Slip and fall accidents are one of the leading causes of emergency room visits across the country. While these incidents are sometimes unavoidable accidents, negligence can often be the real culprit. Working with a Gardena slip and fall lawyer can help you better understand your rights after a slip and fall injury on someone’s property.
Per California’s statute of limitations, you typically have two years from the date of the slip and fall injury to file a claim against a property owner.
Businesses that are liable for a slip and fall injury claim can include:
If you intend to file a slip and fall injury claim against a government entity or its employees, you have a shorter deadline to meet. You must file claims against government entities within six months of an accident if you are seeking compensation.
Government properties involved in slip and fall accident claims often include:
There is one exception to California’s statute of limitations: the delayed discovery rule. This rule states that the statute of limitations begins after the victim realizes they are injured or discovers they have suffered the loss of a loved one. In these cases, the plaintiff will have two years or six months, respectively, from the date they knew about the incident.
To file a slip and fall injury claim, you must be able to prove the property owner was negligent by showing that they didn’t exercise reasonable care in keeping their property safe. Due to California’s premises liability law, property owners are responsible for any injuries that unsafe conditions on their property may cause.
Your responsibility is to prove the property owner had knowledge about a dangerous condition and did not take action to fix it. Proving fault in a slip and fall injury is not always a straightforward job.
An experienced Gardena slip and fall lawyer can help collect valuable evidence to build your case and bolster your claim before the property owner decides to act and cover up the property defects.
California is a comparative negligence state, which means you can file a claim for a slip and fall accident even if you are partially to blame. When filing a claim under these circumstances, the court or the attorneys determine your percentage of fault for the injury and decide the final settlement amount based on that information.
At the Law Offices of Daniel An, our job is to keep you on your feet as you navigate a slip and fall injury in Gardena, CA. Our accomplished legal team’s job is to come up with a strategy that helps you get the compensation you deserve so you can focus your energy on rest and recovery. Get in touch to set up a consultation to get started.