The legal term "reasonableness" and your California premise liability case can oftentimes be confusing to some injury clients. When you set about to show that a property owner is liable for the injuries you sustained in your California slip and fall accident, you will most likely have to show, at some point, the reasonableness of the property owner's actions that led to the injury in the first place. In order to help you with this situation, here are some questions that you should be able to answer before starting a case with a lawyer in California:
- How long had the defect been present before your California Slip and Fall accident? In other words, if the leaking roof over the stairwell had been leaking for the past three months, then it was less reasonable for the owner to allow the leak to continue than if the leak had just started the night before and the landlord was only waiting for the rain to stop in order to fix it. The longer it takes for this to have happened, the better for the injured person's legal claim.
- What kinds of daily cleaning activities does the property owner engage in? If the property owner claims that he or she inspects the property daily, what kind of proof can he or she show to support this claim? If it is a grocery store, do they keep and maintain periodic sweep logs?
- If your slip and fall accident involved tripping over something that was left on the floor or in another place where you tripped on it, was there a legitimate reason for that object to be there?
- If your slip and fall accident involved tripping over something that was left on the floor that once had a legitimate reason for being there, did the legitimate reason still exist at the time of your accident? For example, tripping over a can of paint in a living room is probably not reasonable if the last time the room had been painted was over 2 years ago and the owner had no immediate plans to repaint the room.
- If your slip and fall accident involved tripping over something that was left on the floor has a legitimate reason for being there, could the object have been stored or placed in a way that would lessen the likelihood of someone tripping over it? What could the property owner have done to make that safer, if anything?
- What kinds of precautions could a California property owner have taken to lessen the likelihood of someone being involved in a trip and fall accident on his or her property? The less burdensome the precaution (say, a simple plastic fence), the less reasonable it was to not take the precaution.
- Was there a problem with any of the surroundings (surroundings also under the control of the California property owner) that contributed to the accident? For example, you tripped on a slippery staircase that had no working light bulbs illuminating the staircase.
Mark C. Blane is a San Diego Slip and Fall Attorney, and the managing lawyer of the Law Offices of Mark C. Blane, a San Diego, California Premise Liability Law Firm devoted to representing families of injured persons of automobile accidents. If you or someone you love, has been injured or killed in San Diego County, or Southern California, due to the negligence of another, please order your FREE copy of Mr. Blane's book, The 10 Secrets You Need To Know About Your Injury Case, BEFORE You Call A Lawyer. It is full of helpful information, insights, and secrets that will help you protect your legal rights. It normally sells for $16.95; however, it is free to all California residents, or those injured in a California accident.
