Category: Premises Liability – CA

The short answer is yes. You can sue the government if you trip and fall on a sidewalk. The long answer is it depends on several factors that determine if you will be successful in a claim against the government for an injury sustained from falling on a sidewalk. These factors include what type of case it is, what evidence you have to prove the government’s fault, and if you have standing to sue.  

What Type of Case Is It?

A trip and fall on a sidewalk is a personal injury claim. In legal terms, these types of accidents are called slip and falls. You and your attorney will need to research the appropriate defendant. Remember that the government will only be responsible for injuries that happen on public walkways and sidewalks. If your injury occurred on a private walkway, you will not be able to sue the government.

Once you know the appropriate local government entity to sue, you will need to file your claim in civil court. There are several things that you and your attorney will need to prove to show that your injuries were caused by the government entity and that they should compensate you because of it.

What Do You Need to Prove to Sue the Government?

In most personal injury claims, including slip and falls, you will need to be able to prove negligence on behalf of the person you are suing. Negligence is a failure of a person or entity to behave to a certain level of care that another person or entity would usually perform at. In basic terms, this means that the entity did not act as a comparable entity would act in the same circumstances.

To prove negligence, you will need to show that there was both a duty of care and that there was a breach of that care. Duty of care means that someone has a responsibility to not cause harm to another. This can also mean that an entity has a responsibility to make sure harm is not caused by their action or inaction on a matter. In a slip and fall on a sidewalk, the duty of care would be what type of responsibility the government has to make the sidewalk safe for individuals.

A breach of that care means that you have established a duty of care and the level of care was not met. The person or entity responsible for that care has then breached their duty. In a sidewalk slip and fall, this could be for a number of reasons including not maintaining the sidewalk or having hazards on the walkway that make it dangerous for pedestrians. Additionally, there could be a defect in the way and manner that it was built.

When Can You Sue the Government?

First, there must be negligence by the government that caused your slip and fall on the sidewalk. If there is no negligence, you will not be successful in your lawsuit. Second, you must have standing to sue. This means that you are the person who was injured, there was an actual measurable injury, and the entity you are suing is responsible for your injury.

Even if you can prove that there is negligence, there are still issues that you may encounter that make suing the government impossible. For example, many state and local governments have specific rules about suing them for a personal injury. These are usually strict procedural steps that must be followed to be able to get any damages for your injury. Government entities usually also have limits on how much money you can recover and on the time you have to make a claim.  

The most common reason for a slip and fall on a public sidewalk is weather conditions like ice, snow, or rain. In general, a state or local government is not responsible for keeping sidewalks clear in front of private residences. They are however usually responsible for clearing sidewalks in commercial areas. This means that where you got injured also matters on whether you can sue or not.

Why Sue the Government For a Slip and Fall Injury?

Most people make the decision to sue someone or an entity for an injury for two main reasons. One, they suffered an injury and they want compensation to help pay for medical bills and other things like lost wages they couldn’t make while they were recovering. Another reason is that people want to make sure that the unsafe condition that led to their injury won’t reoccur and hurt anyone else.

 Regardless of why they sue, it is possible to make a claim against the government for a slip and fall on a sidewalk if all of these conditions are met.

Swimming pools can be a great source of fun and entertainment for the entire family. However, at the same time, swimming pools can be incredibly dangerous. Every year, hundreds of people are injured and killed because of swimming pool accidents. Many of these victims, sadly, are young children. 

Even when swimming pool accidents aren’t fatal, the consequences can still be devastating. Injuries can follow a child for the rest of their life. That’s why the steps you take in the minutes, hours, and days after an accident involving a swimming pool matter. 

Here are five things you should absolutely keep in mind if you or a loved one is involved in a swimming pool accident.

Get to the Doctor or Hospital Immediately

Prompt medical care is critical for anyone who has been involved in a swimming pool accident. This is particularly true for children and victims who were submerged in the water for an extended period of time. Getting to a hospital right away reduces the risk of severe, potentially life-threatening complications.

Report the Accident to Local Authorities

While you might not want to call the cops on your friends, family, or neighbors, it’s important to make sure that the accident is reported and documented. A police officer can be dispatched to the scene of the accident to conduct a preliminary investigation and write up a report.

This report can help to make sure that important details relevant to the accident are preserved. You might not remember what the weather was like or the time of day when the accident occurred. However, a police report will typically reflect this kind of information. 

Document the Scene of the Accident Immediately

When someone has a swimming pool on their premises – whether it’s a hotel, apartment complex, or private homeowner – they have a responsibility to protect guests from foreseeable harm. Taking certain steps can help to reduce the risk of accidents and keep guests safe.

For example, someone who has a swimming pool would want to ensure that the motor and pump are functioning properly and that the pool is fenced off to prevent unintended guests from falling in. Sadly, many swimming pool accidents occur because property owners fail to take the steps that are necessary to keep their premises safe.

When you or a loved one is injured in a swimming pool accident on someone else’s property, you might have a legitimate claim for damages. In order for a claim or lawsuit to be successful, you’ll have to prove that you (or your child) got hurt because the pool’s owner was negligent in some way. Gathering evidence before it has a chance to disappear can make or break your case.

So, after an accident, try to take photos of the swimming pool and the surrounding area. You should concentrate on the location where the injury occurred. Look for puddles of water, loose wires or cords, missing fence, and swimming toys and flotation devices. Document as much as possible. Your attorney can review the photos at a later time and determine if you’ve caught any proof of negligence on tape.

Don’t Admit Fault or Talk About the Accident

After an accident, the best rule of thumb is to keep quiet. Don’t apologize if you think that you’re (at least partly) to blame for the accident. Homeowners, property owners, and insurance companies will try to use an apology – however innocent – to deny liability. If you sustain severe injuries, you might want to pursue compensation through an insurance claim or lawsuit. However, if you admit fault, you could undercut your ability to get a financial award.

So, what should you do? Answer any basic questions you’re asked, but don’t expand and offer details. Direct any detailed or invasive questions to your attorney. Refuse the urge to accept a settlement offer, especially if it’s extended shortly after you or a loved one gets hurt. You want to know for sure that any offer you accept will cover all of the costs of your accident. That takes time and a little bit of outside assistance.

Call an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer

Some law firms handle almost any case that walks through the door. They’ll negotiate contracts, defend clients against criminal charges, and handle personal injury claims. Your swimming pool accident is too important to entrust to anyone who is not focused solely on personal injury law. When law firms only represent accident victims, they’ll have experience and knowledge that can directly benefit you. That can put you in the best possible position to secure a substantial monetary award.

Understanding Landowner Liability In California

One of the most persistent urban legends in premises liability law is the burglar who breaks into someone’s home, is injured, and sues the property owners. In a few cases, California landowners do owe a duty of care to trespassers. But such instances are quite limited. With that said, landowner negligence victims are often entitled to significant compensation.

Legal Responsibility

To determine duty, many states use a common-law sorting system that classifies victims as:

• Invitees (guests with permission to be on the land and whose presence benefits the landowner),
• Licensees (guests with permission to be on the land), and
• Trespassers (guests without permission to be on the land).

However, this system is rather unwieldy, because many of the categories overlap, and arcane, because few people know or care who or what a “licensee” is. So, a little over a decade ago, most California courts started applying a general duty of care in these cases, which varies according to several factors:

• Property Location: Business-owners and others who encourage people to come onto their property must take better care of it than private homeowners, or commercial owners at least have more of a responsibility to warn about possible safety hazards.
• Likelihood of Similar Visits: Older adults go to nursing homes and teenagers go to high school athletic fields, so the required degree of care is different.
• Likelihood of Harm: Generally speaking, swimming pools and construction sites are more dangerous than churches and synagogues.
• Probable Severity of Harm: For the most part, the possible injuries at construction sites and swimming pools are also much more serious than the ones worshippers may sustain at synagogues and churches.
• Knowledge of Hazard: Such knowledge can be actual (did know) or constructive (should have known).
• Possible Protection: Owners could effectively prevent dog bites by digging moats around their property and hiring security guards, but such efforts are clearly too costly.
• Extent of Control: Owners who lease property to a third party have less liability for falls and other incidents than owners who actually control the premises.

The jury may also consider any other factors that the judge considers to be relevant.

Slip and Falls

Falls are the leading cause of accidental injury in the United States, as there are twice as many fall-related emergency room visits as motor vehicle crash-related visits. The injuries are quite serious, especially among young children and older adults.

Knowledge is often a key issue in landowner liability cases in general, and slip-and-fall cases in particular. Most California court still use the analysis first set forth in Anjou v. Boston Elevated Railway Company (1911), which is also known as the banana peel case.

Ms. Anjou slipped on a banana peel at a busy Boston train terminal. At trial, witnesses consistently testified that the offending peel looked as if it had been “tramped over a good deal,” because it was “flattened down, and black in color;” in fact, “every bit of it was black.” These details loom large in the holding of the case. For its part, the railroad company denied that it knew anything about the peel, and therefore argued that it was not responsible for Ms. Anjou’s injuries.

In finding that the railroad company was indeed liable, Justice Arthur Rugg concluded that knowledge of the defect could be imputed depending on the color of the peel.

• Yellow Peel: If the hazard had just occurred recently, the plaintiff needs to provide direct evidence of knowledge, such as a bathroom cleaning report about a wet spot on the floor.
• Black Peel: Since the banana peel was black, the court concluded that it had been on the floor quite some time, and therefore the owner should have known about the hazard.
• Brown Peel: Pardon the expression, but brown peels are in a grey area, and more evidence is needed to establish or disprove knowledge.

Victims in these case are normally entitled to compensation for both economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.

If you have been injured in California, see our guide on finding a good personal injury lawyer.