These claims are harder than collision claims, and the reason is specific rather than general.
In a crash, the other driver did something. In a fall, the property owner usually did nothing, and doing nothing is only actionable if they knew about the hazard or should have known about it.
That is the notice question, and the evidence that answers it belongs to the other side.
Culver Legal, LLP represents injured people across San Diego County. We work on contingency and advance the costs of the case, so there is nothing to pay up front and no fee unless we win. If there is no recovery, you are not charged those costs either. Call (310) 600-7881 at any hour.
Two Years, Unless It Was Public Property. Then It Is Six Months
This is the single most important thing on this page, and it is the thing most commonly left out of general advice about falls.
The ordinary deadline is two years from the date of injury under Code of Civil Procedure 335.1.
Where you fell on public property, a written claim must be presented within six months under Government Code 911.2, and no lawsuit can be filed until it has been.
Falls run into this constantly, because so much of where people walk is public: sidewalks, parks, libraries, civic buildings, transit stations and platforms.
Which entity, and where the claim goes:
- The City of San Diego. Risk Management Department, 1200 Third Ave., Suite 1000, on the city’s RM-9 form. **Since 11 December 2023 the city no longer accepts first-notice claims by email**, so it is the online portal, mail, or in person. Somebody emailing a claim in good faith may not have presented it at all.
- San Diego MTS, for a fall at a transit station or on a bus or trolley. MTS is **a separate public agency**, and its claim goes to MTS at 1255 Imperial Avenue rather than to the city.
- The county, a school district or the state, each a separate entity with its own process.
A claim presented to the wrong entity has not been presented. Where you are unsure, work to the six months.
Did you fall on public property?
Six months, not two years, and the city stopped accepting claims by email. Do not lose a good claim on procedure.
The Sidewalk Rule Most People Have Backwards
A fall on a public sidewalk feels like a claim against the city. Frequently it is not.
Streets and Highways Code 5610 places the duty to maintain the sidewalk fronting a property on the owner of that property, not on the city.
That can move the claim from a six-month government deadline to an ordinary two-year one against a private owner, or mean there are two potential defendants rather than one. It is worth establishing early, because it changes the deadline you are working to.
Where there is any doubt, work to the shorter one. Nothing is lost by presenting a government claim that turns out to be unnecessary. A great deal is lost by not presenting one that was.
What Does Notice Actually Look Like in Evidence?
Almost never a witness saying “they knew”. It is documentary, and it is held by the defendant:
- Inspection logs and sweep sheets, which show how often the area was checked and whether the schedule was actually kept on the day.
- Cleaning and maintenance records.
- Prior complaints or incident reports about the same hazard or the same spot.
- Surveillance footage, which establishes how long the hazard had been there.
- Work orders for a repair that was requested and never carried out.
Every one of those sits on a retention schedule. Footage in particular is routinely overwritten within days, and once it is gone the question of how long the hazard had been there often cannot be answered at all.
That is the reason to act early on a premises claim, and it has nothing to do with how the injury feels. Cases that look weak become strong once those records are produced. Cases that feel obvious fail because nobody asked for them in time.
What You Do in the First Week
- Report the fall to the owner, manager or agency and ask for a copy of any incident report.
- Photograph the hazard immediately, before it is cleaned, repaired or gritted, and photograph the wider area so the location can be identified later.
- Keep the shoes you were wearing. They get thrown out, and footwear is one of the first things an insurer raises.
- Get medical attention the same day. A head injury can declare itself over the following week, and falls produce them often.
- Get witness names before they leave.
- Do not give a recorded statement to any insurer before taking advice.
A gap in treatment is the most effective thing an insurer has against you. Falls produce a particular version of this, because people decline the ambulance, go home, and see somebody days later when the pain has not settled. The gap between the fall and the first record is the first thing an insurer points at, so a record made as soon as you realize something is wrong beats a later account of how you felt at the time.
What About “You Should Have Been Looking Where You Were Going”?
Expect it, and know what it is worth.
California is a pure comparative fault state. If you are found partly responsible, your recovery is reduced by that percentage rather than eliminated. Somebody found 25% at fault recovers 75%.
An open and obvious hazard can reduce a claim. It does not automatically defeat one, particularly where the owner should have anticipated that people would encounter it anyway, which is exactly the situation in a store aisle, a stairwell or a parking lot.
Where Would the Case Be Heard?
A premises claim seeking more than $35,000 is an unlimited civil case, filed at the Hall of Justice, 330 West Broadway, and heard in San Diego County before a San Diego County jury.
Where a fall was serious enough to require trauma care, San Diego’s catchment area system decided which hospital holds the records: you were taken to the trauma center for where the fall happened. The adult Level I centers are Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego and UC San Diego Medical Center, with Rady Children’s Hospital as the pediatric Level I.
Was there a camera where you fell?
Footage is usually overwritten within days. A preservation request has to go out before it is.
Why Do San Diego Clients Choose Culver Legal?
We go after the notice evidence first, because it is what decides these cases, it belongs to somebody else, and it is destroyed on a schedule that runs whether or not anyone has decided to make a claim.
Our team speaks Spanish, Farsi, Filipino, Hindi, Mandarin and Korean.
The economics are simple. Contingency, costs advanced, nothing up front and no fee unless we win. We advance the case costs, and if there is no recovery you are not charged those costs either. Culver Legal has recovered $200 Million and counting, and the phone is answered 24 hours a day.
San Diego Slip and Fall FAQs
How much time do you have to sue after a slip and fall?
Two years from the date of injury in an ordinary case. If you fell on public property it is six months, because a written claim must be presented to the public entity before any lawsuit is possible, and that is the deadline most often missed. It applies to sidewalks, parks, civic buildings, transit stations and anywhere else a public entity is responsible. Where you are not sure whether the property was public, work to the six months, because presenting a claim you did not need costs nothing and missing one you did is final.
What are the legal protections for slip and fall injuries in California?
A property owner or occupier owes a duty of reasonable care to people lawfully on the property, including customers and visitors. To win, you generally have to show they knew about the hazard or should have known and had a reasonable chance to deal with it, which is the notice question. California also uses pure comparative fault, so being partly careless reduces a recovery rather than barring it, and an open and obvious hazard does not automatically defeat a claim. On sidewalks specifically, state law places the maintenance duty on the owner of the fronting property rather than on the city.
I fell on a sidewalk. Do I sue the city?
Not necessarily, and this catches people out. California places the duty to maintain the sidewalk fronting a property on the owner of that property rather than on the city, so depending on what caused the fall and who controlled it, the claim may be against a private owner on a two-year limit, against the public entity on a six-month claim, or against both. Work to the shorter deadline while that is established.
Is it worth suing for a slip and fall?
It depends on the injury and on what the records show, and the honest answer is that these are harder than collision claims. What decides them is documentary evidence held by the other side, so a claim that looks weak can strengthen considerably once inspection logs and footage are produced, and one that feels obvious can fail because nobody asked in time. That is why the question is worth asking early rather than after deciding alone.
The store says I should have seen it. Does that end my claim?
No. California reduces a recovery in proportion to fault rather than barring it, so even a finding that you were partly careless leaves the claim intact at a lower figure. An open and obvious hazard can reduce a claim, and it does not automatically defeat one, particularly where the owner should have expected people to encounter it anyway.
I am undocumented. Can I bring a claim without putting myself at risk?
Yes, and the protection is stronger than most people expect. Under Evidence Code 351.2, added by AB 2159, evidence of a person’s immigration status is not admissible in a civil action for personal injury or wrongful death, and discovery into it is not permitted either. It cannot be raised at trial and it cannot be asked about beforehand. It is not a question we ask you, and it is not a question the other side gets to ask.
Contact a Culver Legal San Diego Slip and Fall Lawyer
If you fell on public property the deadline is six months rather than two years, and the footage that proves how long the hazard sat there is on a much shorter loop than either. If you were hurt in a fall anywhere in San Diego County, reach us at (310) 600-7881 at any hour. The review costs nothing.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Culver Legal, LLP is a California law firm. The information on this page is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.
