A fall is not clumsiness, and an assault in a dark parking lot is not bad luck. California law requires the people who own and profit from property to keep it reasonably safe. The Vertanous Firm has recovered more than $60 Million for injured Californians, including a $6.8 Million settlement on negligent security and premises liability theories, and we build every premises case for trial from day one.
The Duty
California does not grade property owners on a curve. Civil Code section 1714(a) makes everyone responsible for injuries caused by their failure to use ordinary care, and since Rowland v. Christian (1968) 69 Cal.2d 108, property owners have owed that same duty of reasonable care to the people on their property. Not a lesser duty that depends on labels. Not a duty that evaporates because the hazard was somebody else's job. Reasonable care, under all the circumstances. That standard is the floor, not a favor.
In practice, the duty means three things: inspect the property for hazards, fix what you find, and warn people about what you have not yet fixed. A grocery store that never checks its aisles, a landlord who ignores a broken stair, and a hotel that leaves its parking structure dark have all made the same choice: your safety was not worth the cost. Premises liability is a pillar of our personal injury practice, and these cases respond to the same discipline as every other case we build: preserve the evidence, prove the notice, and be ready for trial.
Slip and Fall
Here is what nobody tells you at the scene: the store starts building its defense while you are still on the floor. The spill is mopped. The incident report is written in the store's words. The surveillance footage begins its countdown to being overwritten. Fall cases are won on notice and lost on delay.
The law is on your side if you move. Under Ortega v. Kmart Corp. (2001) 26 Cal.4th 1200, an owner's failure to inspect the premises within a reasonable time before your fall can itself support the inference that the hazard sat there long enough to be discovered. That is why the sweep log, the inspection policy, and the gap between the last documented walk-through and your fall are often the whole case.
Our first moves are the same in nearly every fall case: a preservation letter demanding the surveillance footage before it is overwritten, a demand for the sweep logs and inspection records, and prompt documentation of the hazard and your injuries. Falls break hips, tear shoulders, and cause the injury defense doctors dismiss most readily: traumatic brain injury.
Fell on someone else's property? The footage clock is running.
Free Case ReviewNegligent Security
Premises liability is not only about wet floors. When a business or landlord knows its property attracts crime and does nothing, the next assault is not bad luck. It is a business decision, and California law lets a jury price it.
Negligent security cases turn on foreseeability and on the measures a reasonable owner would have taken: working locks and gates, adequate lighting, cameras that are actually monitored, and trained personnel where the history of the property demands them. Apartment complexes, hotels, bars, and parking structures are where we see these failures most. The evidence looks different in these cases too: prior police calls to the property, incident logs, broken-gate work orders, and the security contracts that show what the owner promised and never delivered.
We have carried this fight before. The firm recovered a $6.8 Million settlement for a survivor of sexual assault on theories of negligent security and premises liability. If you were assaulted on someone else's property, the civil case belongs to you, moves at your pace, and can be pursued with privacy protections. We explain how on our page for survivors of sexual assault.
The Defendants
The defendant is rarely just the person who mopped, or did not. We identify everyone whose choices produced the hazard, and every policy that answers for it:
One defendant changes everything: the government. If you were hurt on a public sidewalk, in a park, or in a government building, your case runs through a different statute with a six-month claim deadline. That is our signature arena: dangerous condition of public property.
Proving Notice
Almost every premises case comes down to one question: did the owner know, or should the owner have known, about the hazard in time to fix it? Actual notice means the owner knew: an employee saw the spill, a tenant reported the broken step, a customer complained about the dark stairwell. Constructive notice means the owner should have known: the hazard existed long enough that any reasonable inspection would have found it.
Notice is proven with paper and film, not speculation: sweep logs and inspection records, prior incident reports, customer complaints, maintenance work orders, employee statements, and surveillance footage. Ortega tells juries they may infer notice from an owner's failure to inspect; our job is to put the documents in front of them that make the inference irresistible. And when the records that should exist do not, that absence becomes evidence of its own.
This is why the first week matters more than the first year. Records demanded early get preserved. Records demanded late get explained.
After a Fall
What you do in the first hour matters more than anything a lawyer does in month six. In order:
Tell the manager or landlord immediately, ask for an incident report, and get the name of the person you told. Do not embellish. Do not minimize.
The spill will be mopped within minutes. Capture the hazard, the lighting, the absence of warning signs, and the surrounding area from several angles.
Independent witnesses decide disputed fall cases, and they vanish in minutes.
Adrenaline masks injury, and gaps in treatment are the first thing adjusters use to discount a claim.
Unwashed and unaltered. The defense will argue about your footwear; the actual shoes end that argument.
The owner's insurer moves fast in fall cases. Politely take their information and get counsel first.
Surveillance systems overwrite in days or weeks. A preservation letter this week is worth more than a subpoena next year.
Tell us where it happened, and we will handle the rest.
Free Case ReviewDeadlines
The general deadline for a California premises liability lawsuit is two years from the date of injury under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. If the property is public, a sidewalk, a park, a school, or a government building, the real deadline is far shorter: a written government claim within six months under Government Code section 911.2. Those cases follow their own statute and their own traps, and missing the claim deadline can end the case before it starts.
The evidence deadline is shorter than any statute. Footage is overwritten, hazards are repaired, sweep logs go missing, and witnesses move. If your fall happened at a business, assume the footage will be gone within weeks unless someone demands it in writing. The earlier we start, the stronger the case.
If we don't win, you don't pay.
The consultation is free. The representation is on contingency. If there is no recovery, you owe no attorney fee.
Questions We Hear Every Week
That the owner or occupier failed to use reasonable care to keep the property safe, and that the failure caused your injury. In practice most cases turn on notice: the hazard existed, the owner knew about it or should have discovered it through reasonable inspection, and nobody fixed it or warned you.
No. California law recognizes constructive notice: if the hazard sat there long enough that a reasonable inspection would have found it, the owner is charged with knowing. In Ortega v. Kmart Corp. (2001) 26 Cal.4th 1200, the California Supreme Court held that a jury may infer notice from the owner's failure to inspect within a reasonable time. Sweep logs and camera footage usually decide the point.
Often, yes. Landlords owe tenants and their guests reasonable care in the condition of the property, especially common areas: stairways, walkways, railings, lighting, and parking structures. If a broken step or a burned-out light caused your fall, the landlord's insurance is answerable. You can pursue the claim and keep your tenancy; retaliation is illegal.
No. California follows comparative fault: if a jury decides you share some percentage of the blame, your recovery is reduced by that percentage, not eliminated. Owners raise this argument in almost every fall case. It is a number to be fought over, not a reason to stay silent.
Sometimes, yes. When a business or landlord knows its property attracts crime and fails to take reasonable security measures, such as lighting, locks, or security personnel, it can be liable for an assault that follows. We recovered a $6.8 Million settlement for a survivor on negligent security and premises liability theories. These cases are handled with privacy and care.
Generally two years from the date of injury under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. But if you were hurt on public property, a sidewalk, a park, or a government building, you must present a written claim within six months under Government Code section 911.2. Camera footage disappears much faster than either deadline. Call early.
Nothing out of pocket. We work on contingency: the consultation is free, we advance the costs, and if there is no recovery you owe no attorney fee.
Client Reviews
Ani A., Glendalevia Yelp"The guy who hit me had a low max coverage. I don't know what magic Vertanous Firm worked, but I got paid for my damages less than a year out from my accident, and was paid three times more than the policy limit."
Tony K., Burbankvia Yelp"Tom is the absolute best. He knows the law and he also knows medicine. One meeting with Tom and he was able to understand the medicine behind my condition and find the appropriate doctors."
Bobby S., Los Angelesvia Yelp"Tom is a straight shooter and he's whip-smart. He treated my case as though it were his own. He has a gift for compassion that sets him apart from other legal professionals."
Where We Work
From our office at 301 N. Lake Ave in Pasadena, we represent fall and premises injury victims across the San Gabriel Valley and all of Los Angeles County, in English, Armenian, and Farsi.
Contact
Call, text, email, or send a brief message. We respond the same day. Free consultation. No fee unless we win.
