Pasadena Premises liability attorney in Los Angeles, California Attorney

When you walk into a store, visit someone’s home, stay at a hotel, or enter any other property, the owner has a legal responsibility to keep that property reasonably safe. If they fail — and you get hurt because of a hazard they knew about or should have known about — California law holds them liable. This area of law is called premises liability, and it covers a much wider range of accidents than most people realize.

Premises liability goes beyond slip and fall cases. It includes injuries from inadequate security, defective stairs and elevators, swimming pool drownings, dog attacks on someone’s property, falling merchandise in stores, and toxic exposure in buildings. At McNally Law Offices, our Los Angeles premises liability lawyers have over 30 years of experience handling these cases against property owners, landlords, businesses, and government agencies throughout LA County.

Types of Premises Liability Cases We Handle

• Slip, trip, and fall accidents — Wet floors, uneven surfaces, torn carpet, broken stairs, poor lighting, and cluttered walkways. Learn more about our slip and fall practice.
• Negligent security — Assaults, robberies, and other crimes that occur on properties with inadequate security measures. If an apartment complex, parking garage, hotel, or nightclub fails to provide proper lighting, locks, cameras, or security guards in an area with known criminal activity, the property owner can be liable for injuries caused by third-party criminals.
• Swimming pool accidents — Drownings and near-drownings in residential and commercial pools. California law imposes specific fencing, gate, and safety requirements on pool owners. Failure to comply creates liability.
• Elevator and escalator accidents — Sudden stops, door malfunctions, free-falls, and entrapment injuries. Building owners and maintenance companies share responsibility for keeping elevators and escalators safe.
• Falling objects — Merchandise falling from shelves in retail stores, construction debris dropping from buildings, and unsecured items causing head injuries.
• Toxic exposure — Mold, asbestos, lead paint, carbon monoxide, and other hazardous substances in residential and commercial buildings.
• Fire and electrical injuries — Fires caused by faulty wiring, code violations, blocked exits, and missing fire safety equipment.
• Amusement park and recreational facility injuries — Accidents on rides, in water parks, and at sports facilities caused by inadequate maintenance or supervision.

How Premises Liability Claims Work in California

To win a premises liability case, you need to establish three elements:

1. A dangerous condition existed. This can be a physical hazard (wet floor, broken railing) or a systemic failure (inadequate security, building code violations).

2. The property owner knew or should have known about the danger. We prove this through maintenance logs, inspection records, prior incident reports, code violation notices, and witness testimony. If a grocery store floor was wet for 30 minutes before you fell, the store had a duty to discover and address the hazard in that time.

3. The property owner failed to fix the hazard or adequately warn visitors. A warning sign may satisfy the duty temporarily, but if the underlying hazard persists without repair, the owner has not met their obligation.

The level of duty a property owner owes depends on why you were on the property. California categorizes visitors as invitees (customers, tenants), licensees (social guests), or trespassers, with different standards of care for each. Businesses owe the highest duty to their customers.

Where Premises Liability Accidents Happen in Los Angeles

• Shopping centers and retail stores — spills, falling merchandise, and parking lot hazards
• Apartment buildings — broken stairs, missing handrails, insufficient lighting in common areas
• Hotels and resorts — wet pool areas, broken furniture, and negligent security
• Restaurants and bars — grease on floors, uneven flooring, and overcrowded exits
• Office buildings — elevator malfunctions, slippery lobbies, and parking garage defects
• Construction sites — falling materials, open trenches, and inadequate barriers near pedestrian areas
• Public sidewalks and parks — cracked pavement, tree root uplifts, and missing lighting

Compensation for Premises Liability Injuries

You may recover:

• Medical expenses — past, current, and future
• Lost wages and diminished earning capacity
• Pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life
• Out-of-pocket costs for medical equipment, transportation, and home care
• Wrongful death damages if the accident was fatal

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sue my landlord for injuries in my apartment building?

Yes. Landlords are responsible for maintaining safe conditions in common areas — stairways, hallways, parking areas, elevators, and laundry rooms. If a hazard in a common area caused your injury, the landlord is liable. For hazards inside your unit, the answer depends on whether the landlord was responsible for the repair and had notice of the problem.

What if I signed a waiver?

Waivers are common at gyms, amusement parks, and sporting events. In California, waivers can release a property owner from ordinary negligence but cannot protect them from gross negligence or intentional misconduct. If the property owner’s behavior went beyond ordinary carelessness, the waiver may not hold up. We evaluate every waiver on a case-by-case basis.

How do I prove the property owner knew about the hazard?

Direct evidence like maintenance requests, complaint logs, and emails is ideal. But you can also prove “constructive notice” — showing that the hazard existed long enough that a reasonable property owner would have discovered it through routine inspections. For example, if a puddle sat on a grocery store floor for 45 minutes, the store should have found and cleaned it during normal maintenance rounds.

Contact Our Los Angeles Premises Liability Attorneys

If you were injured on someone else’s property in Los Angeles County, McNally Law Offices can help you hold the property owner accountable. We serve clients from our Pasadena and Century City offices.

Call (626) 584-5744 for a free consultation. We take premises liability cases on contingency — you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.