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Los Angeles Premises Liability Attorney

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Under California law, anyone who owns property has a legal obligation to keep it safe from hazards. If property owners fail to properly maintain their property and someone incurs injury as a result, they may be liable for damages under premise liability law. In LA, people sustain injuries each year by dangers that owners’ care could have prevented. While many accidents are minor, some result in serious and even catastrophic injuries. If you or a loved one are struggling with medical bills, lost wages, or other damages associated with an accident incurred on someone else’s property, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries.

What is Premises Liability?

The term “premise liability” refers to the idea that anyone who allows others on their property has a duty to use “reasonable care” in its upkeep. In other words, entities like businesses, public parks, and government building must maintain their properties to prevent foreseeable injury. Slip and fall accidents are one of the most common types of premise liability accidents, so much that it’s sometimes called “slip and fall liability. However, premise liability law encompasses all kinds of scenarios, including:

  • Pool accidents
  • Elevator and escalator accidents
  • Campus injuries
  • Matters of negligent security
  • Trip and fall accidents
  • Dog bites
  • Asbestos or lead related illness (for renters), or
  • Amusement park injuries

As you can see, premise liability is a large and multi-faceted area of the law. Premise liability cases can become very complicated, as they often involve businesses, public, or municipal entities. These all have different legal guidelines and insurance considerations, making each case unique. Panish, Shea & Boyle, LLP has experience with each kind of this complicated litigation. From class action lawsuits to individual plaintiffs with complex injuries, our firm has seen a wide array of premise liability cases in the City of Angels. You can contact our experienced Los Angeles slip and fall attorney team for help with your case today!

Los Angeles Slip and Fall Accidents

Slip, trip, and fall accidents happen when walking surfaces are defective, slippery, dangerous, or otherwise unsafe to walk upon. They are some of the most common types of premises liability accidents in Los Angeles. The National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) states that more than one million emergency room visits arise from slip and fall accidents each year.

What are the Most Common Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents?

Slip and falls are most frequent on premises where owners don’t take proper care to prevent fall hazards, such as:

  • Wet floors
  • Grease or oil spills
  • Food debris
  • Spilled drinks or liquids
  • Ice or snow
  • Uneven walking surfaces
  • Cracked sidewalks
  • Faulty staircases
  • Loose carpets

Property owners are legally responsible to look out for these slip and fall risks and to repair them if noticed. Failure to fix a slip hazard, resulting in a preventable property visitor injury, is an act of negligence. If you believe the property owner or a business employee reasonably should have known about the hazard that caused your slip and fall, you could have grounds to file a premises liability lawsuit.

Surprising Statistics About Slip and Fall Accidents

Slip and falls aren’t just small personal injury accidents. They can cause more than bumps, bruises, and embarrassment. Serious fractures occur in about 5% of those who take a tumble, according to the NFSI. Fractures of the hip are the most serious and can be fatal for elderly victims. Other bad falls can cause concussions or other brain injuries. The number one cause of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in the U.S. is falls. Some surprising facts you might not know about slip and falls are:

  • Flooring and floor materials cause about two million fall-related injuries per year
  • Slips, trips, and falls caused 849 worker deaths in 2016
  • Falls are the main cause of missed days from work
  • Falls are the number one occupational injury for employees 55 years and older
  • Falls are the second-leading cause of death in the construction industry
  • Falls cause 15% of all accidental deaths in the workplace
  • The odds of falling increase with each decade of life
  • More than 60% of nursing home residents suffer falls each year
  • Half of elderly fall victims cannot live on their own after the accident

The majority of slip and fall accidents occur on same-level surfaces rather than elevated platforms. Same-level falls often don’t cause as severe injuries as those from an elevated surface. All harmful slip and fall accidents are serious, however, and deserve legal attention. Hiring a Los Angeles slip and fall attorney from Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP can help you get to the bottom of your recent incident. We can help you hold a property owner responsible.

Los Angeles Negligent Security Case Attorneys

Victims of a violent crime are frequently also covered by premises liability law, under a special legal principle called negligent security. Owners have a duty to maintain a safe property and avoid foreseeable hazards; this includes the foreseeable hazard of violent crime. That means that if a public or private property is located in a high-crime area or presents an attractive target for other reasons, property owners must provide good lighting, secure door locks, security guards or other appropriate security measures. If it fails, victims of the resulting crimes may hold them responsible. The courts have extended this liability to rental landlords, schools, employees and even online violence.

Premises liability and negligent security lawsuits can be very complicated because they frequently involve more than one business or even government agencies, each of which has a separate insurer, and sometimes multiple victims. Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP has extensive experience handling and winning this kind of complex litigation. Our attorneys have taken leadership roles in several large-scale national class action lawsuits, as well as individual lawsuits presenting complicated liability and procedural issues. Partner Brian Panish won the largest settlement ever against the City of San Francisco, $21 million, for a wrongful death of a four-year-old girl hit by a municipal truck as she walked home from school.

What is Involved in a Premise Liability Case?

While each premise liability case is unique, litigating them requires four unique aspects:

Showing a property owner owed the victim a duty of care. Public and private entities own all “invitees” a duty of care, though this does not apply to trespassers.
A defective condition existed on the property. This could be one that the owner did or should have known about. Examples include a broken stair, inadequate lighting, lax security, and more.
The defective or dangerous condition directly led to the victim’s injuries. This needs to be proven without a reasonable doubt it was the route cause.
They incurred damages as a result. Examples of injuries include medical bills, lost wages, or pain and suffering.

Our Client Success with Premises Liability

The Los Angeles premises liability attorneys at Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP are national leaders in slip and fall cases, personal injury and consumer protection law. Partners have won several landmark verdicts and settlements, including the largest verdict in U.S. legal history in Anderson v. General Motors and the nation’s largest defective-tire settlement in Lampe v. Continental General Tire. Our lawyers are repeatedly nominated or honored with awards for their leadership roles in those and similar cases. Name partners frequently write and speak to other attorneys about their legal specialties and all of our attorneys are active in public life.

Premises Liability Verdicts & Settlements

  1. Williams v. Doe Garbage Truck Company $7,000,000
  2. Vasquez v. Doe Oil Refinery $6,000,000

Recent Articles About Premises Liability

Can I Sue My Landlord for Premises Liability?

When to Call a Slip and Fall Lawyer

If your slip and fall accident in LA caused bone fractures, bruising, head injury, brain injury, contusions, sprains, strains, or other medical complications, contact an attorney. These personal injuries give you grounds to file a claim against the negligent property owner and/or other parties. One of our attorneys will be happy to investigate your recent fall accident, identify the appropriate defendant(s), and start taking action toward obtaining compensation. You could be eligible to recover the following damages:

  • Medical bills
  • Lost wages
  • Pain and suffering damages
  • Emotional distress
  • Disability expenses

Our job is to fight for fair damage recovery on behalf of our slip and fall accident clients in Los Angeles. We take this job seriously, doing everything we can to ensure a positive outcome. When you need a lawyer who will fight aggressively to achieve justice, count on Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP. Our LA premises liability attorneys can immediately begin work on your case, starting with a free initial consultation. Call today to schedule yours.

Los Angeles Slip and Fall Accident Attorneys – Free Consultations!

If you or a loved one suffered an injury from a fall or unsafe conditions on someone’s property, we want to hear from you! You might be due compensation from the property owner because of their negligence. Contact the LA slip & fall lawyer team at Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP in Los Angeles about your case! Call us today! (310) 477-1700

How Can We Help You?

If you have a legal matter you would like to discuss with an attorney from our firm, please call us at (310) 477-1700 or complete and submit the e-mail form below, and we will get back to you.

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