Williams & Gasparian Law represents people injured by trip hazards on private property as well as public property across Los Angeles County and the rest of California.
Trip and fall cases involve a rule you will hear from the insurer right away: the trivial defect doctrine. It says very small height differences are not the owner's fault. Whether it applies depends on the exact measurements, the lighting, and the surroundings. We photograph the hazard with a ruler as soon as we can.
Common Trip Hazards
Most trip hazards have been there long enough that the owner should have fixed them.
- Lifted sidewalk slabs. Raised by tree roots or settling, often with a sharp edge.
- Stairs. Broken treads, missing handrails, or steps of uneven height.
- Carpet and mats. Loose or bulging carpet, curled mat edges, and unmarked transitions between flooring types.
- Walkway obstructions. Cords, hoses, pallets, or merchandise left in a path.
- Parking lots. Potholes, wheel stops in walkways, and broken pavement.
- Single steps and curbs. Unmarked changes in level that look flat until you are on them.
- Poor lighting. Any of the above becomes far more dangerous in a dark stairwell or parking structure.
What You May Be Able to Recover
California law lets an injured person claim two kinds of losses.
Economic losses
- Emergency care, imaging, surgery, and follow-up treatment
- Physical therapy and future care
- Wages you lost while you could not work
- Reduced ability to earn if the injury is lasting
- Help at home during recovery
Non-economic losses
- Physical pain
- Emotional distress
- Loss of the activities you used to enjoy
- Permanent limitation or disability
Wrist, shoulder, or hip injuries from a trip can take months to heal and sometimes require surgery. We document the full course of treatment before we value the claim. We do not quote case values on this site.
California Rules That Affect Trip and Fall Cases
- What you have to prove
- That a dangerous condition existed, that the responsible party knew about it or should have discovered it, that they failed to fix it or warn about it, and that it caused your injury.
- The trivial defect doctrine
- Courts have found sidewalk height differences of less than about an inch to be trivial in some cases, but the rule is not a fixed number. Lighting, weather, debris, the shape of the edge, and whether other people had tripped there all matter.
- Public sidewalks
- Responsibility for a sidewalk can fall on the city, the adjacent property owner, or both. State law generally makes adjacent owners responsible for repairs. Whether an owner can be held liable to someone who is hurt depends on the local ordinance and on what caused the defect. The rules in the City of Los Angeles differ from those in neighboring cities.
- Public property
- A fall on city, county, or state property requires a written government claim within six months, under a standard set by Government Code section 835.
- Building codes
- Stairs, handrails, and walkways that violate the building code are strong evidence of negligence.
- Deadline to file
- Two years from the fall to file a lawsuit against a private owner. Six months for a government claim.
- Shared fault
- California follows pure comparative negligence. Any share of fault assigned to you reduces the recovery. It does not eliminate it.
What Happens After You Call
Five stages, from the first phone call to the day the case closes.
A free consultation
You tell us what happened. We tell you whether you have a case and what we would do first. No charge, no obligation to hire us.
Investigation
We gather the police or incident report, photos, witness statements, medical records, and video. When a case calls for it we bring in accident reconstructionists or treating physicians.
Dealing with the insurance companies
Once you hire us, insurers deal with us instead of you. We handle the calls, the letters, and the requests for recorded statements. You focus on treatment.
Negotiation or a lawsuit
When your treatment has gone far enough to know what your losses are, we send a demand. If the insurer will not pay a fair amount, we file a lawsuit and prepare the case as if it will be tried.
Resolution
Most cases settle. Some go to trial. Either way, we explain every offer to you in plain terms, and the decision to accept or reject it is yours.
Questions People Ask Us
It can be. Courts look at the whole picture: the height, the lighting, whether the edge was jagged, whether debris hid it, and whether anyone had complained before. We measure and photograph the defect as soon as possible, because that evidence decides the question.
State law generally puts the duty to repair sidewalks on the adjacent property owner. Whether that owner, the city, or both are liable to an injured person depends on the local ordinance and on what caused the defect. Roots from a city tree, for example, can shift responsibility to the city. We find out who owned the duty before we file.
Missing or loose handrails and uneven step heights are code violations in most settings. A violation does not automatically win the case, but it is strong evidence that the owner failed to keep the property safe.
Get medical care. Photograph the hazard from several angles, ideally with something for scale, such as a coin or a ruler. Report the fall if it happened at a business. Get witness names. Keep your shoes. Then call us before you speak to any insurer.
Two years against a private owner. Six months for a government claim, which covers most sidewalk cases. The defect itself may be repaired at any time, so document it now.
We work on a contingency fee. You pay no fee up front, and our fee is a percentage of what we recover for you. If we recover nothing, you owe no attorney fee. You owe nothing for case costs either.
Talk to a Trip and Fall Lawyer in Glendale
If you tripped on an unsafe walkway anywhere in California, call us or send the form. We will review what happened at no charge.
