Premises liability cases are about a simple obligation: people who control property must use reasonable care to keep it safe for the people they invite onto it. I represent people seriously injured by dangerous conditions in Oakland and the East Bay—in grocery stores and restaurants, apartment buildings, parking structures, construction-adjacent walkways, and on public sidewalks and stairways. Free consultation; contingency fee.
These cases are won and lost on notice and documentation. A spill on a market floor, a stairwell with a loose rail, a walkway left dark for months—the question a jury will ask is what the owner knew, when, and what a careful owner would have done. The evidence that answers it (footage, logs, prior complaints) belongs to the defendant, degrades quickly, and is only produced under pressure applied early.
Cases I Handle
- Slips and trips from spills, flooring failures, and debris in stores and restaurants
- Falls on broken sidewalks, stairways, and walkways—private and public
- Apartment and rental-property hazards: broken steps, failed railings, inadequate lighting and security
- Falls in parking lots and garages
- Dog attacks on another’s property (owners are strictly liable under Civil Code § 3342)
The Deadlines
Two years for most premises claims (Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1); six months to present a government claim when the City of Oakland, Alameda County, BART, or another public entity is involved (Gov. Code § 911.2)—the details are in the public-entity claims guide. And in every premises case there is an earlier, unofficial deadline alongside the legal one: the surveillance footage, which is typically overwritten within days.
Frequently Asked Questions
The store says I should have watched where I was walking. Do I still have a case?
Possibly. Property owners in California owe a duty of reasonable care to keep their premises safe — the standard set by Rowland v. Christian — and a customer's partial inattention reduces recovery under comparative negligence rather than eliminating it. The real questions are whether a dangerous condition existed and whether the owner knew or should have known about it in time to fix it.
What evidence matters in a slip and fall case?
The condition itself, photographed before it is cleaned up or repaired; the store's incident report; surveillance footage, which is often overwritten within days; sweep and inspection logs showing when the area was last checked; prior complaints about the same hazard; and your immediate medical records. Almost all of it is controlled by the property owner, which is why a preservation demand should go out immediately.
I fell on a broken sidewalk in Oakland. Who is responsible?
It can be the City, the adjacent property owner, or both — sidewalk responsibility in California is shared in ways that depend on what caused the defect and local ordinance. What is certain is the deadline: if a public entity is a defendant, a written government claim is generally due within six months of the injury. That short fuse makes sidewalk cases urgent even when the injury seems straightforward.
Are falls really serious enough to justify a lawyer?
The serious ones are. Falls are a leading cause of hip fractures, wrist and shoulder injuries, and head trauma — particularly for older people, where a fracture can permanently change independence and life expectancy. I take premises cases involving serious injury, and I will tell you honestly in a free consultation whether yours is one a lawyer adds value to.