Orange County Slip and Fall Lawyer
Slip and Fall Attorney Orange County
You were walking through a mall in Costa Mesa, a hotel lobby near the Anaheim resort district, or a terminal at John Wayne Airport, and the floor gave you no warning. Now there is a fracture, a surgery date, and a property owner’s insurer asking you to explain what you were looking at.
If you are searching for an Orange County slip and fall lawyer, here is what we do first. We find out who controlled the floor, we demand the video before it is recorded over, and we check whether a public agency owns the property, because that changes your deadline from two years to six months.
We represent clients in Orange County from our Los Angeles office on San Vicente Boulevard, and consultations are available by phone or video. Call (424) 465-2500 for a free consultation. No fee unless we win.
Slip and Fall Attorney Orange County: Where These Falls Happen and Who Controls the Property
The places that draw crowds in Orange County are owned and run differently, and the owner decides which rules apply to you.
- Shopping centers. At a center such as South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, the store usually answers for its own floor, and the center’s owner answers for common walkways, escalators, and parking structures. We put both on notice.
- Hotels in the Anaheim resort district. Lobby marble, pool decks, and wet entryways are common sites of serious falls. Hotels keep incident reports and video that may be overwritten within days.
- Honda Center. The arena is owned by the City of Anaheim and managed by a private company, Anaheim Arena Management. A fall on a concourse or stairway there can involve both a private operator and a public owner.
- John Wayne Airport. The airport is owned and operated by the County of Orange. A fall in a terminal walkway points to the County, while a spill inside a shop or restaurant may point to the private business running it.
- OC Fair & Event Center. The Costa Mesa fairgrounds are owned and operated by the 32nd District Agricultural Association, an institution of the State of California. A fall there can be a claim against the State.
A fall is not a traffic collision, so there is usually no police report. The record you need is the property’s own incident report. Ask the manager, security desk, or guest services to write one before you leave, ask for a copy, and write down the name of the person who took it.
How California Premises Law Applies to an Orange County Fall
Every fall case starts with Civil Code 1714, which makes owners and businesses responsible for injuries caused by a lack of ordinary care in managing their property. The owner is not liable simply because you fell. Under Ortega v. Kmart Corp. (2001), the question is notice: did the owner know about the hazard, or had it been there long enough that a reasonable inspection would have found it?
That is why our first letters go to whoever holds the inspection records and the cameras.
| Where you fell | Who we put on notice | What we ask them to preserve |
|---|---|---|
| A store inside a shopping center | The retailer, and the center owner if the hazard was in a common area | Sweep logs, aisle video, prior spill reports |
| A hotel in the Anaheim resort district | The hotel operator, and the property owner for structural defects | Incident report, lobby and pool deck video, maintenance tickets |
| Honda Center | The private arena manager and the City of Anaheim | Event staffing logs, concourse video, cleanup records |
| John Wayne Airport | The County of Orange, or the concession operator | Terminal video, custodial logs, concession incident report |
A “Wet Floor” sign does not end your claim, and neither does the argument that you should have watched your step. California follows pure comparative fault, so a share of blame reduces your recovery by that percentage and nothing more. Our Los Angeles slip and fall page explains notice, warning signs, and the “open and obvious” defense in full, and our guide to what premises liability cases are covers the basics.
When a Public Agency Owns the Property in Orange County
Many people fall on public property here without realizing it is public. If the County, a city, the State, a transit agency, or a school district owns or controls the place where you fell, the Government Claims Act applies. A written claim must be presented to that agency within six months of the injury under Government Code 911.2, before any lawsuit.
The claim has to reach the right office:
- County of Orange (John Wayne Airport, OC Parks, county buildings): the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, 400 W. Civic Center Drive, 6th Floor, Santa Ana. The County’s form must be signed.
- City of Anaheim (including city-owned venues): the Office of the City Clerk, 200 S. Anaheim Blvd., Suite 217.
- OCTA (a fall on an OC Bus): OCTA Risk Management, by mail. OCTA’s form repeats the six-month limit.
- The State (the fairgrounds, state property): the Government Claims Program at the Department of General Services.
A public owner is liable for a dangerous condition of its property under Government Code 835 only if it created the condition or had notice of it in time to act. If your fall was on a city sidewalk, see our page for an Orange County sidewalk accident lawyer, which covers those claims in detail.
What Your Slip and Fall Claim Can Recover
Falls on tile, concrete, and stairs break hips, wrists, and ankles, and a backward fall can cause a brain injury. We build your claim around what the injury will cost over time.
Economic damages cover emergency care, surgery, hardware, rehabilitation, future medical care, in-home help, lost wages, and lost earning capacity. Non-economic damages cover pain, emotional distress, and the loss of independence that follows a serious fracture. Punitive damages are rare in fall cases and are not available against a public entity under Government Code 818. Our guide to economic and non-economic damages explains both categories.
Deadlines for an Orange County Slip and Fall Claim
| Your situation | Deadline | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Fall on private property (store, hotel, apartment, private parking) | Generally 2 years from the injury | Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 |
| Fall on County, city, State, OCTA, or school district property | 6 months to present a written claim | Government Code 911.2 |
| Injured child, private owner | Two years, generally tolled until age 18 | Code of Civil Procedure 352 |
| Injured child, public owner | The six-month claim is not paused. Late-claim relief may be available | Government Code 911.4, 911.6 |
The practical deadline is shorter than any of these. Video is the clearest proof of how long a hazard sat on the floor, and many systems record over it within days or weeks.
How We Handle a Slip and Fall Case for Clients in Orange County
- Free review. We listen to what happened and tell you whether there is a claim worth pursuing, including when the answer is no.
- Preservation letters. We write to the store, hotel, venue manager, or agency to keep video, sweep logs, and incident reports.
- Ownership check. We confirm whether the property is private, public, or both, and calendar the six-month date if any agency is involved.
- Medical proof. We document your treatment and, in serious cases, project future care with your treating doctors.
- Demand and negotiation. We present the evidence and the full cost of the injury. Most cases resolve by settlement.
- Lawsuit where needed. Cases arising in Orange County are filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Orange. Its Central Justice Center, at 700 Civic Center Drive West in Santa Ana, hears unlimited civil cases.
You work with us directly, and we keep you updated at every stage. For the wider picture of how we represent people here, see our Orange County personal injury page.
These are results from across our premises liability practice, not Orange County results.
| Recovery | Case type |
|---|---|
| $6,000,000 | Premises liability |
| $1,700,000 | Premises liability |
| $200,000 | Premises liability |
Every result depended on the facts of that case, and results will differ based on different facts. Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict the outcome of your matter.
Talk to an Orange County Slip and Fall Lawyer Before the Video Is Gone
If you were seriously hurt in a fall at a store, hotel, venue, airport, or apartment building in Orange County, the footage that shows what happened may already be on a deletion schedule. If the property is public, the six-month claim under Government Code 911.2 started the day you fell. Speak with an Orange County slip and fall lawyer while both can still be protected.
Call Ravan Law at (424) 465-2500 for a free consultation. We answer your questions and tell you which deadline applies. No fee unless we win. For other injuries, see our Orange County pages on car accidents, truck accidents, Uber and Lyft accidents, and dog bites. You can also see all of our locations.
Ravan Law, 6310 San Vicente Blvd., Suite 401, Los Angeles, CA 90048
Attorney Advertising. Ted H. Ravan, Esq., Ravan Law, Los Angeles, CA. This content is general information, not legal advice. Every case depends on its specific facts.
Every result depended on the facts of that case, and results will differ based on different facts. Past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict the outcome of your matter.
