Catastrophic Injuries from Premises Incidents in California
A catastrophic injury from a slip and fall, poor security, or a building defect can leave you permanently disabled with huge medical bills and no way to earn money. Property owners must keep their buildings safe. When they don’t, you can hold them responsible.
But what qualifies as a catastrophic injury in premises liability cases, and who can be held responsible?
Whether your injury happened at a store, apartment complex, office building, or private residence, contacting an experienced California premises liability attorney is the first step toward getting the justice and financial support you deserve. At William D. Shapiro Law, Inc., our team of personal injury lawyers has been fighting for injured California victims for decades. Let us fight for you. Call us at 714-602-6990 now.
What Makes an Injury “Catastrophic” in Premises Cases
Not every slip and fall or property accident qualifies as catastrophic. California courts and insurance companies recognize catastrophic injuries as those causing permanent, life-altering harm. These injuries typically prevent victims from returning to their previous quality of life or ability to work.
Examples of common catastrophic injuries from premises incidents include:
- Traumatic brain injuries from hard falls on concrete or stairs
- Spinal cord damage causing long-term disability or paralysis
- Severe burns from electrical hazards or fires
- Crush injuries from falling objects or structural collapse
- Amputations from machinery or severe accidents
Catastrophic injuries often mean multiple surgeries, years of physical therapy, lifelong medical care, and expensive changes to your home and car. These injuries can destroy the life you built and take away the future you planned.
Sadly, the financial impact extends far beyond initial hospital bills. You might face lifetime medical expenses exceeding millions of dollars, complete loss of earning capacity, the need for full-time caretakers, and costs for mobility equipment and home accessibility changes. California law recognizes these devastating consequences and allows premises liability victims to pursue full compensation for both economic and non-economic damages.
How Property Owners Fail Their Legal Duty
California premises liability law holds property owners and occupiers responsible for maintaining safe conditions. When someone gets hurt due to a dangerous condition on the property, the owner may be liable if they knew or should have known about the hazard and failed to fix it or warn visitors.
Business owners face an even higher standard of care than normal property owners. Stores, restaurants, hotels, and other commercial properties must regularly inspect for hazards, quickly address dangerous conditions, and adequately train staff to spot and report safety issues. When a major retailer ignores a spill for 30 minutes and someone suffers a traumatic brain injury, that’s negligence. When an apartment complex refuses to fix broken exterior lighting and a tenant is violently attacked, that’s a failure of duty.
Who Can Be Held Responsible
Multiple parties may share liability for catastrophic premises injuries. The property owner bears primary responsibility, but property management companies that handle day-to-day operations, maintenance contractors who failed to properly repair hazards, security companies that provided inadequate protection, and even tenants who created dangerous conditions can all be held accountable.
California follows a comparative negligence system. Even if you were partially at fault for your accident, you can still recover damages reduced by your percentage of responsibility. This system ensures that property owners can’t escape liability just by pointing to any small mistake a victim made.
Third-party liability also matters in premises cases. If a violent crime caused your catastrophic injury, both the criminal and the property owner may be liable. California law recognizes that property owners must provide reasonable security measures in areas where criminal activity is foreseeable.
Time Limits and Evidence Preservation After a Premises Liability Accident
California gives injury victims two years from the date of injury to file a premises liability lawsuit. This sounds like plenty of time, but catastrophic injury cases require extensive investigation, expert analysis, and careful preparation. Waiting too long can result in lost evidence, faded memories, and unavailable witnesses.
Property owners often destroy or alter evidence once they know a lawsuit is coming. Your attorney can send a “spoliation letter” requiring them to preserve video footage, maintenance records, incident reports, and other crucial evidence. This is why contacting an experienced California premises liability lawyer is so important.
Contact Our California Premises Liability Lawyers Today
Catastrophic injuries change everything. Property owners who allow dangerous conditions must be held responsible for the devastating harm they cause. You deserve compensation that covers your lifetime of losses and helps you rebuild whatever life is possible after such trauma.
Insurance companies defending property owners will try to minimize your claim or deny it entirely. They’ll argue you caused your own injury, that the hazard was obvious, or that your injuries aren’t as severe as you claim. Without a lawyer, catastrophic injury victims rarely recover fair compensation.
Call William D. Shapiro Law, Inc. at 714-602-6990 to talk about what happened or fill out our confidential contact form. Time matters, evidence matters, and your future matters. Don’t let property owners or their insurance companies take advantage of you during the most difficult time of your life.
William Shapiro has handled catastrophic injury/wrongful death actions for over 4 decades obtaining numerous seven and eight-figure verdicts and settlements. Honors include: 2022, 2016 and 2013 OCTLA “Top Gun” TLY; 2022 CAOC TLY Finalist; 2018 “Lifetime Achievement Award” Western State College of Law, 2021 & 2017 Best Lawyers, Lawyer of the Year; 2016 WSBCBA “TLY”; 2015 CAL-ABOTA “TLY”; 2014 “TLY” Consumer Attorneys of CAOIE; 2011 “Hall of Fame,” Western State College of Law; Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers; International Academy of Trial Lawyers; International Society of Barristers; Diplomat, American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA); National Board of Trial Advocacy; specialist in Trial Advocacy, State Bar of California; “Best Lawyers in America” and “Tier 1 Best Law Firms” U.S. News; AV Preeminent, Martindale-Hubbell; SuperLawyers; Past President of: San Bernardino/Riverside chapter ABOTA; San Bernardino County Bar Association; Consumer Attorneys of Inland Empire; The Joseph. B. Campbell American Inn of Court; Consumer Attorneys of California; IE ; National Sec of ABOTA, Adjunct professor, Western State College of Law. Learn more here.