A guest was injured at my property / business and now I am being sued
Under California law, property owners and occupiers have a duty of care to keep their property in a reasonably safe condition
This is known as “premise liability,” which is a form of negligence, which obligates owners, possessors, or those who control the property to use due care and act affirmatively so that the property does not create an unreasonable risk of harm to others. Essentially, all persons are responsible for injuries caused by their lack of ordinary care in managing their property. [Civ.C. § 1714(a); Kinsman v. Unocal Corp. (2005) 37 C4th 659, 672, 36 CR3d 495, 504.] If a property owner or occupier is negligent, the injured party may file a lawsuit for damages. If you are being sued because someone was injured while in possession of property, one of our skilled attorneys at Webb Law Group can help you.
In California, a person who was injured on someone else’s property – whether the property was owned/managed by a business, an apartment complex, a private homeowner, etc., may be entitled to financial compensation for their damages.
California Civil Code § 1714(a) provides in part:
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Property/Business Owners FAQ's
Have questions? We are here to help. Still have questions or can't find the answer you need? Give us a call at 559-431-4888 today!
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What types of accidents fall under premise liability?Premise liability accidents can occur on just about any type of property. Common examples are: injuries caused by animals such as dog bites, slip and falls, workplace duty to protect against crime, pool/drowning accidents, failure to warn about known hazards, uneven floors, etc.
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Do I have a duty to warn about obvious hazards?Landowners are not liable for injury caused by hazards that are trivial or insignificant (i.e., walkway separation of 7/8”), and owners have no duty to eliminate such defects. Nevertheless, owners must warn of hazards including hazards caused by others. Keep in mind there generally is no duty to warn of an obvious danger but the possessor of land does have a duty to warn an invitee not only of conditions known by him to be dangerous but also conditions which might have been found dangerous by the exercise of ordinary care.
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Do I owe a duty of care to trespassers?
California no longer categorizes duty based on whether the injured party is a trespasser, invitee, or licensee. However, these categories come into consideration in evaluating whether a landowner acted reasonably in light of the circumstances. As stated in Beauchamp v. Los Gatos Golf Course (1969) 273 Cal.App.2d 20, 25 [77 Cal.Rptr. 914], factors to consider are:
- whether a possessor of the premises has acted as a reasonable man toward a plaintiff,
- probability of injury,
- the circumstances under which the trespasser came upon defendant’s land,
- the probability of exposure of plaintiff and others of his class to the risk of injury,
- as well as whether the condition itself presented an unreasonable risk of harm, in view of the foreseeable use of the property.