Fontana Premises Liability Lawyer

Under California law, premises liability regulations stipulate that a person entering a property has a legal and reasonable expectation of not getting injured. This means that the owner or operator of a property (or non-owner resident) holds the responsibility to maintain reasonable care to keep their property safe from hazardous conditions.

Whether you have been hurt in a public property (such as a public park, store or shopping mall) or a private property (such as a personal residence or office building) a Fontana premises liability lawyer can help you understand your rights under California law.

The Duty

Premises liability in California provides that the owner or operator of a public or private location is under a duty to maintain the property in a reasonably safe condition. If a known risk of harm exists on the premises, appropriate warning of the condition must be given so that others can avoid it. A lack of knowledge of a dangerous condition is not a viable defense. The owner or occupier’s duty is to inspect their property or use other methods of determining of its condition.

Notice Of The Condition

The owner/operator owes a duty to inspect the premises, making a lack of knowledge of a dangerous condition an unviable 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.

Slips and Trips

A wet, oily or otherwise slippery surface is a common cause of slip and fall accidents. With slip and falls, the person usually falls backward, resulting in painful injuries to the shoulder, spine or back. More serious injuries to the skull, brain and brain stem can result in lifelong disability or even death.

Cracks, holes or uneven surfaces in places such as sidewalks and parking lots, especially where insufficient lighting is present is often to blame for trip and fall accidents. With trip and falls, the person usually falls forward, resulting in injury to their face, jaw, skull, neck, shoulders, arms, hands and ribs.

Not every situation gives rise to legal liability, 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

Most 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 is one of the states that has a dog bite statute. Under the statute, negligence isn’t an issue. A dog owner is strictly liable for any bites caused by their dog regardless of whether the dog has ever shown dangerous tendencies)
* Negligent or inadequate security is relatively new in the law. It is now recognized that Fontana 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

At the Law Offices of Brent A. Duque, we maintain a staff of a highly professional, knowledgeable, aggressive and successful premises liability attorneys who represent 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 San Bernardino County 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.