Slip and Fall | Duty of Care
California law requires anyone who owns, maintains, controls and or occupies property to keep their premises in a reasonably safe condition. In order to meet their duty of care, property owners (etc.) must:
- Use reasonable care to discover any unsafe conditions existing on their premises;
- Repair or replace any unsafe conditions existing on their property; and or
- Give adequate warning of anything that could reasonably be expected to harm (injure or kill) others.
Slip and Fall | Extent of Duty
A property owner’s (etc.) duty to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition extends to all areas their customers (or visitors) are invited to use including:
- Areas with their building premises;
- Areas immediately outside of their building that are used by the general public; and
- parking lots including adjacent, unpaved overflow parking lot
- Areas of entry to, and exit from their premises.
- front lawn
Slip and Fall | Store Owner Liability
The extent of a store owner’s liability depends on the foreseability that an unsafe condition will cause an injury to one of their customers. Store owner’s (operators) have a duty to keep their floors safe for the use of their customers recognizing that they draw the attention of their customers to items and signs above the ground.
Example Scenario 1: Belinda was shopping at Wal-Plus. She was turning the corner looking at an overhead directional sign when she slipped on some laundry detergent that spilled when an employee was restocking the shelf. The store owner would be liable for Belinda’s slip and fall injuries.
Slip and Fall | Non-Delegable Duty
An owner’s duty to keep their premises in a reasonably safe condition is non-delegable. They cannot avoid liability from harm by hiring an independent contractor to perform those tasks.
Slip and Fall | Site Inspections
An owner (etc.) fulfills its duty to exercise reasonable care in keeping their premises safe by making reasonable inspections of the areas open to their customers. The care required when making their inspections is commensurate with the risks of a slip and fall involved by the customers.

Ordaz Law, APC | Slip and Fall
Juan J. Ordaz Jr. provides candid, hardworking and personal legal representation to individuals seeking a slip and fall, personal injury lawyer in San Diego County. We help victims suffering from a variety of injuries, who have sustained their injuries through different types of slip and fall injury producing incidents. We believe that it is a necessity to represent people who have sustained traumatic and debilitating injuries.
Call (619) 550-3617 today so that we may schedule your free and discreet consultation with a premier San Diego slip and fall, personal injury lawyer.
We are for Justice no Matter Who it’s for or Against.
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