Downey Slip and Fall Accident Lawyers

Business and home owners in Downey, California, are expected to comply with §1714(a) of the California Civil Code with regards to maintaining ordinary care in their property management. When due diligence is breached and an unsuspecting victim suffers a slip-and-fall accident, the result can range from a minor yet painful inconvenience such as a sprained wrist to a devastating injury that severely impacts the quality of the victim’s life.

Injuries resulting from a property owner or operator’s failure to exercise best practices and maintain his or her upkeep are a costly and serious matter, and Downey slip-and-fall lawyers are focused on helping their fellow citizens earn the recompense to which they are entitled.
<h4>The Meaning of Ordinary Care</h4>A want of ordinary care, as mentioned in §1714(a), provides that one of the two parties involved in a premises liability case failed to take reasonable precaution to ensure the safety of the person injured. Wet walkways, poor structural integrity and flaws that violate building codes can often indicate a want of ordinary care. The degree of scrutiny to which a property owner is subject can vary widely according to the nature of the establishment and the expected risk inherent therein.
<h4>Potential Property Owner Defenses</h4>In litigating a slip-and-fall case, lawyers for the claimant can often expect to see two familiar types of defenses on the proprietor’s behalf. In many cases, the owner makes the claim that they had not acted negligently, stating that a hazardous environment was created before any proprietor could have been reasonably expected to discover and deal with the problem. For example, one customer accidentally breaks a jar of sauce in an aisle, and another customer walks into the aisle, slips on the sauce and breaks his wrist within thirty seconds. Neither the clerk nor the management could be reasonably expected to render such an environment safe in that frame of time.

The other common defense implicates the injured party. For instance, a person who sees a barrier with a wet floor warning in a grocery store aisle would be reasonably expected to avoid the aisle. If the customer bypassed the warning sign and fell, they would be considered at fault for their injuries. Downey slip-and-fall lawyers may face challenges when seeking to discredit these defenses.
<h4>Protecting the Rights of the Injured</h4>The statute of limitations for filing a premises liability suit in California is two years. Downey slip-and-fall accident lawyers are dedicated to righting the wrongs brought about by negligent property owners, and anyone with a valid claim should contact one as soon as possible to ensure that his or her compensation doesn’t slip through the cracks.