Personal Injury

Premises Liability

At AJG Law Group, PC, we represent individuals injured on property owned, managed, or controlled by someone else — landlords, businesses, commercial operators, and public entities. California law holds property owners to a duty of reasonable care, and when that duty is breached and you are injured, you are entitled to recover the full measure of your damages. We handle premises liability cases statewide on a contingency basis — no fee unless we win.

The Legal Standard

Duty of Reasonable Care

California law imposes a duty of reasonable care on property owners to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition and to warn visitors of hazards that are not obvious. That duty applies to conditions the owner created, conditions they knew about, and conditions they would have discovered through reasonable inspection. It extends to tenants, customers, guests, and in many cases even trespassers when children are involved.

What Must Be Proven

A successful premises liability case requires establishing that the property owner owed the injured person a duty of care, that a dangerous condition existed on the property, that the owner knew or should have known about the condition and failed to remedy it or warn of it, and that the dangerous condition caused the injury and resulting damages.

Common Premises Liability Cases

Slip and Fall Injuries

Slip and fall cases are the most common premises liability claim in California. Wet floors without warning signs, broken or uneven pavement, poorly lit stairwells, damaged flooring, and debris in walkways are all grounds for premises liability when the property owner had notice and failed to act. Serious fall injuries — fractured hips, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injury, torn ligaments — produce significant damages including surgery, rehabilitation, and lost wages.

Mold-Related Health Injuries

When a landlord’s failure to remediate mold causes documented respiratory illness, asthma, chronic infections, or organ damage, the claim is both a habitability violation and a personal injury. Mold injury cases involving children who develop asthma or other respiratory conditions from landlord-ignored mold are among the most sympathetic in California personal injury litigation. Punitive damages are available when the landlord had written notice and deliberately failed to act.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Malfunctioning furnaces, water heaters, gas appliances, and attached garages in rental properties are a leading cause of CO poisoning. Survivors frequently experience permanent neurological damage, cognitive impairment, and lasting personality changes. CO cases often involve both the property owner and the manufacturer or installer of the defective appliance, expanding the pool of defendants and the potential recovery. These are among the highest-value premises liability claims in California.

Lead Poisoning

Lead-based paint in pre-1978 housing that landlords fail to disclose, contain, or remediate gives rise to serious personal injury claims. Childhood lead poisoning causes permanent neurological harm — lowered IQ, learning disabilities, behavioral problems — and courts have awarded significant damages that account for the full arc of the child’s life with the resulting impairments.

Burns, Fire, and Electrical Injuries

Faulty wiring, missing smoke detectors, blocked fire exits, and building code violations that contribute to fires create significant landlord liability. Burn treatment is among the most expensive and lengthy in medicine. Electrical injuries from exposed wiring and code violations often involve both the property owner and the contractor who performed the work, creating joint liability and expanded recovery potential.

Dog Bite Injuries

California is a strict liability state for dog bites under Civil Code §3342 — no prior bite history is required, and there is no “one free bite” rule. Landlords can be liable for dog bites in common areas when they knew a tenant’s dog was dangerous and had authority to require its removal. Dog attacks cause lacerations requiring surgery, nerve and tendon damage, PTSD, and permanent scarring — all compensable. Homeowner’s and renter’s insurance policies almost universally cover dog bite claims, providing a clear path to recovery.

Security Negligence and Assault

Property owners must maintain reasonably safe premises, including adequate lighting, functional locks and entry security, and security measures proportionate to known crime risk. When inadequate security enables a criminal assault, the property owner can be liable alongside the perpetrator. Security negligence cases are particularly strong where prior incidents on the property should have put the owner on notice of the risk.

Additional Case Types We Handle

What You Can Recover

A successful premises liability case can recover past and future medical expenses, lost wages and earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, property damage, and in cases where the property owner’s conduct warrants it, punitive damages.

Statutes of Limitations — Act Quickly

Most personal injury claims in California must be filed within two years of the injury date. Claims against government entities — cities, counties, public housing authorities — carry a much shorter deadline: a government tort claim must typically be filed within six months. Missing the government claims deadline permanently bars your claim.

Evidence also disappears quickly. Surveillance footage is typically overwritten within 24 to 72 hours of an incident. The sooner you contact us, the stronger your case.

If you were injured on someone else’s property in California, contact AJG Law Group, PC for a free case evaluation. We advance all litigation costs and recover nothing unless we win.