Pomona Premises Liability Attorney

Premises Liability Lawyer in Pomona, CA

When a guest enters a property, California premises liability law dictates that they can reasonably expect to not get hurt. This means that the property owner or operator (or non-owner resident) is responsible for maintaining reasonable care to keep their property safe from dangerous conditions. Falls like this are common and often serious – more than 14 million adults age 65 and older fall each year in the United States, and about 9 million of those falls cause an injury serious enough to need medical care.

A Pomona premises liability lawyer can help you understand your rights under California law if you have been injured on a public property (such as a park, retail store or shopping mall) or a private property (such as a personal residence or office building).

Table of Contents

• The Duty
• Notice Of The Condition
• Slips and Trips
• Other Types of Premises Liability
• How Long Do You Have to File a Claim
• Who Can Be Held Responsible
• What to Do After a Slip and Fall
• Frequently Asked Questions

The Duty

In the state of California, an owner or occupier of property has a duty of care to maintain the property in a safe condition. The owner or occupier must act with reasonable care to inspect and correct hazardous conditions or to erect protective barriers and if not possible, to warn of the danger. A lack of knowledge of a dangerous condition is not a viable defense. The owner or occupier’s duty requires that they inspect their property or use other methods of determining of its condition.

Notice Of The Condition

A lack of knowledge of a dangerous condition is not a viable defense if constructive notice might be proved by showing that the owner or occupier should have known of the issue. Evidence that the condition existed for an adequate period of time so as to be unreasonable is enough to imply constructive notice.

To put constructive notice simply, if the banana peel on the floor of the supermarket was yellow when the person slipped on it and fell, constructive notice could be difficult to prove as it only fell very recently. If the banana peel was brown and deteriorated, it might have been there for a sufficient period of time to be reasonably assumed that the store employees should have known about it.

California courts have said a store can be held responsible for a fall even without direct proof of exactly how long a hazard was there, if the store failed to check the area within a reasonable amount of time. See Ortega v. Kmart Corp. (2001) 26 Cal.4th 1200. To understand how severe property claims are evaluated, review our guide on California personal injury settlement amounts.

Slips and Trips

Slip and fall injuries can happen as a result of a wet, oily or otherwise slippery surface. With slip and falls, the injured person usually falls backward, resulting in injuries to the spine, back and shoulder. More serious injuries to the skull, brain and brain stem can result in lifelong disability or even death. If you suffered severe back or neck trauma, consulting a reliable Pomona back and neck injury attorney is critical.

Trip and falls results in the person falling forward, resulting in injury to their skull, face, jaw, neck, shoulders, arms, hands and ribs. Trips generally result from insufficient lighting around cracks, holes or uneven surfaces in places like sidewalks and parking lots.

Not every accident gives rise to legal responsibility, but valid slip and fall claims are filed and settled every year. One of our experienced premises liability attorneys can explain the strength of your case and the probability of a favorable outcome.

Other Types of Premises Liability

Many people think of premises liability cases in the context of slip and fall or trip and fall cases, but across Southern California, they include but aren’t limited to animal attacks, swimming pool injuries or deaths, elevator and escalator accidents, amusement park accidents and negligent or inadequate security.

Common private property/home related injuries:

• Drowning in swimming pool
• Spinal and neck injuries from diving
• Electrocution from faulty wiring
• Slip and trips
• Dog bite (California Civil Code section 3342 makes a dog owner strictly liable for a bite that happens in a public place, or while the injured person was lawfully on private property, even if the dog never showed dangerous tendencies before. This strict-liability rule generally does not apply if the injured person was trespassing at the time or provoked the dog)
• Negligent or inadequate security is relatively new in the law. It is now recognized that Pomona property owners have a duty to keep others safe from criminal acts or attacks. If they fail to take adequate protective measures, and injury results, they can be held liable.

Common amusement or theme park injuries:

• Whiplash
• Fractures
• Internal injuries
• Heart attacks
• Back and neck injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries

Common elevator/escalator injuries:

• Falls or drops
• Improper door movement
• Elevator arriving above or below the specified floor
• Accidents caused by sudden stops, missing or degraded parts and side entrapment of footwear

How Long Do You Have to File a Claim

In most premises liability cases, California gives you two years from the date of your injury to file a lawsuit, under California Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. If you wait too long, the court will generally not hear your case, no matter how strong it is. For detailed statutory rules, review our overview of the California personal injury statute of limitations.

This deadline can be shorter in some situations. If the property is owned by a city, county, or state agency, you generally have only six months to present a claim to that agency before you can sue. If the injured person was under 18 at the time of the accident, the two-year clock usually does not start running until they turn 18.

Because these deadlines can shift depending on who owns the property and when the injury was discovered, it’s best to talk to a Pomona premises liability lawyer as soon as possible after an accident.

Who Can Be Held Responsible

More than one party can sometimes share responsibility for an injury on someone else’s property. Depending on the facts of your case, this may include:

• The property owner
• A business or store operating on the property
• A property management company
• A landlord, if the injury happened in a rented home or apartment
• A tenant who controls part of the property
• A government agency, if the property is publicly owned

Every case is different, and a Pomona premises liability lawyer can help you figure out which parties may be responsible for your injury. Understanding statutory rights under California personal injury laws can clarify how liability is assigned across multiple parties.

What to Do After a Slip and Fall

If you are hurt on someone else’s property, what you do in the first few hours and days can affect your claim later.

• Report the fall to the property owner, manager, or landlord, and ask for a written incident report if one is available.
• Take photos or video of the hazard, the lighting, and the surrounding area before it can be cleaned up or repaired.
• Get the names and contact information of anyone who saw what happened.
• See a doctor promptly, even if your injuries seem minor at first. Some injuries, like a concussion or a soft-tissue injury, do not show symptoms right away.
• Avoid giving a recorded statement to the property owner’s insurance company before speaking with a Pomona premises liability lawyer.
• Keep your medical bills, receipts, and any correspondence about the accident in one place.

Taking these steps early can help preserve the evidence a Pomona premises liability lawyer needs to show what caused your fall and who is responsible.

At the Pomona Duque & Price, we maintain a staff of premises liability attorneys with experience representing injured people through our offices that stretch across Southern California. Time limitations apply to any injury claim you might have, so for purposes of investigating a possible case and possibly preserving evidence, it’s best for you to contact us immediately after an accident.

Contact our Pomona Personal Injury Attorney at 1-877-241-9554 to learn more about your legal options. A free consultation is just a phone call away. You can even use our online contact form, and we’ll reply to you quickly.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is premises liability?

Premises liability is the area of law that holds property owners and occupiers responsible when someone gets hurt because of a dangerous condition they knew about, or should have known about, and did not fix.

Do I have to prove the property owner knew about the hazard?

Yes, in most cases. You must show the owner had actual knowledge of the hazard, or that it existed long enough that a reasonably careful owner should have found and fixed it.

What if I was partly at fault for my fall?

California generally still allows you to recover damages even if you were partly at fault, though your compensation may be reduced by your share of the fault.

Does it matter if I was a guest instead of a paying customer?

California law protects most people who are lawfully on a property, whether they are a customer, a social guest, or another type of visitor, though the specific duty owed can vary.

How long does a premises liability case take to resolve?

It depends on the complexity of your case and whether the insurance company disputes liability, but many claims settle before trial once both sides review the evidence.

This page provides general information about California premises liability law. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, contact a Pomona premises liability lawyer directly.

Pomona, California Related Premises Liability Resources

• How Much Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Cost in California?
• Average Motorcycle Accident Settlement in California
• Chances of Winning a Personal Injury Lawsuit in California

Pomona, California Premises Liability Legal Resources

• Los Angeles County Superior Court – Pomona Courthouse South (Civil Division)
• Pomona Code Enforcement Division – Property Maintenance & Safety Standards
• Los Angeles County Department of Public Health – Environmental Health Division
• California Civil Code Section 1714(a) – Legal Responsibility for Property Care

About Pomona, California

Pomona is home to popular cultural venues like the historic Fairplex, which hosts the annual LA County Fair and draws massive crowds year-round. However, maintaining public and commercial space safety remains vital, as high foot traffic across retail hubs like the Pomona Downtown Center leads to thousands of slip, trip, and fall incidents annually. In response, local authorities enforce strict code compliance regulations to ensure commercial properties meet safety standards and minimize public hazards. These proactive civic measures help preserve community well-being and keep public spaces safe for all Pomona visitors.