Also known as “premises liability,” this covers all types of injuries where the owner of property, or someone controlling the property, such as a shop or home owner, is liable for an injury. At Callaway & Wolf, our California premises liability cases have included injuries caused by defective windows, defective medical equipment, fires, falling merchandise in stores, injuries caused by store personnel, and many others. Business owners can also be liable for injuries caused by sidewalk falls outside their property, and for Slips and falls on their premises.

Here are some sample types of property/business owner cases:

• Safeway stocker runs cart into customer
• Store clerk leaves stock cart in a place where a customer may trip on it
• Big-box store leaves plastic package binding straps on floor, causing trip and fall
• Landlord fails to keep windows operating smoothly, resulting in a broken glass injury
• Medical office leaves unsafe chair in waiting area, causing injury when patient falls
• Homeowner or business owner fails to maintain safe sidewalks around property
• Goods in store fall on customer shopping in store
• Elevator fails to level properly, causing a trip and fall

In California, most home and business owner policies have a type of no-fault insurance called “Medical Payments,” which can pay some of your medical bills–up to the Medical Payments policy limit–even though the owner claims they are not responsible for the injury. This can provide you a way to be paid for some of your bills even before you reach a settlement.

California has a two-year statute of limitations for premises liability claims. This is the time in which your case must be settled, or filed in court. This time limit shrinks to six months if the state or a city is responsible.

Even though you may have plenty of time before your time limit is up, Callaway & Wolf can help guide you through the process from day one, helping to insure that the proper groundwork is done for your claim.

If you or someone you know has been injured due to hazards at a business or on another person’s property in California, click here for a free consultation or call 415-541-0300 to speak to a California lawyer experienced in handling premises liability claims.