Slip and Fall matters in San Rafael
Where Slip-and-Fall Injuries Happen in San Rafael
Premises injuries happen all over San Rafael, in the everyday places people shop, work, and live. The retail and restaurant blocks along Fourth Street downtown see falls from spilled drinks, freshly mopped floors without warning signs, and uneven entryways. The shopping centers and grocery stores near the US-101 corridor and Northgate generate slip-and-fall claims from leaking refrigeration, tracked-in rain, and cluttered aisles. In the Canal district, dense apartment housing can mean poorly maintained stairwells, broken handrails, and dark common areas where landlords have neglected basic upkeep.
Office parks off Andersen Drive, parking structures and garages, hotels, and public walkways all carry their own hazards — cracked pavement, unmarked level changes, missing lighting, and pooled water. Marin's wet winters add slick surfaces that owners are supposed to manage. When a property owner or manager lets a known danger persist, the people who get hurt are entitled to seek accountability.
Proving a California Premises Case
A slip-and-fall is not automatically the owner's fault. Under California law, a property owner owes visitors a duty of reasonable care, which includes inspecting for hazards, fixing or warning about dangers, and keeping the premises reasonably safe. To recover, we generally must show the owner created the hazard, knew about it, or should have known about it and failed to act. That requires evidence — and evidence in these cases disappears fast, because spills get cleaned and surveillance video is often overwritten within days.
We move quickly to preserve security footage, document the hazard with photos, identify witnesses and store employees, and obtain incident reports. Prompt evaluation at MarinHealth Medical Center in Greenbrae both protects your health and creates the record connecting your injuries to the fall. California's pure comparative negligence rule means you can recover even if you were partly at fault, with your award reduced by your share, so insurers will argue you were not watching where you walked. Solid documentation answers that argument.
Deadlines and the Marin County Court
Most California premises liability claims must be filed within two years of the injury under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. If you fell on government property — a public building, sidewalk, or park — you may have only six months to file a claim under Government Code section 911.2, a deadline that is easy to miss. Marin County cases are handled at the Marin County Superior Court at the Civic Center on North San Pedro Road. MMG Law Firm investigates each premises case early and prepares it for a Marin jury when an owner's insurer refuses to be reasonable.
Our attorney
How Mihran M. Ghazaryan helps with slip and fall
Premises cases turn on notice — whether the owner knew or should have known about the hazard — so Mihran M. Ghazaryan builds the timeline early, before surveillance video is recorded over and conditions are fixed. He secures incident reports, photographs, and maintenance records, identifies the right defendant, and presents a documented demand rather than letting the insurer set the terms.
Types of slip and fall accidents we handle
Wet-floor and spill cases
Sweep schedules, mop logs, and warning-sign placement decide these. We pull them via subpoena when necessary.
Stair, handrail, and step defects
Code-compliance review and expert measurement of riser and tread tolerances drive liability.
Inadequate-security claims
Where assault or robbery occurred on premises and the owner knew of risk. Police-call records and prior incidents matter here.
Damages
What compensation can cover
Every slip and fall claim is different, but California law allows injured plaintiffs to seek several categories of damages. We build each one with documentation — medical records, wage statements, expert opinions — so nothing is left on the table.
Medical expenses
Emergency care, hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, and the future treatment your providers say you'll need.
Lost wages
Income you lost while recovering — and, where the injury affects your ability to work, diminished future earning capacity.
Pain and suffering
Compensation for physical pain, emotional distress, and the ways the injury has changed how you live day to day.
Property damage
Repair or replacement of your vehicle and other property damaged in the incident.
Out-of-pocket costs
Transportation to appointments, medical equipment, household help, and the other expenses an injury forces on you.
How we work
- 1
Free, no-pressure consultation
We listen first. We answer your questions. There is no fee for the initial conversation — and you decide whether to engage us at the end of it.
- 2
Investigation and evidence preservation
Police reports, scene photos, witness statements, vehicle data, surveillance video, medical records. The earlier we collect, the harder it is for the other side to reshape the story later.
- 3
Treatment, demand, and negotiation
We coordinate with your providers, document the full extent of damages — medical, lost income, pain — and present a demand backed by evidence. We push back firmly when an insurer lowballs.
- 4
Litigation when necessary
Most matters settle. When an insurer refuses to be reasonable, we file. Preparing every case as if it will be tried is what makes the settlement number move.
What to do right away
- Report the fall to the property manager and ask for a written incident report.
- Get a copy of the incident report before leaving — they are routinely 'lost' later.
- Photograph the hazard, the area, and your shoes.
- Preserve your shoes and clothing as worn.
- Get witness contact information immediately.
- Call us before signing anything from the property's insurer.
The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.
Deadlines that matter
Most California personal-injury claims must be filed within two years of the injury (Code of Civil Procedure §335.1). Miss the window and the court will almost always dismiss the case, no matter how strong it is.
Claims against government entities are much shorter — generally a written claim within six months (Government Code §911.2). Crashes involving city vehicles, public buses, or dangerous public-road conditions can fall under this rule.
Exceptions exist in both directions — discovery rules, minors, continuing violations, out-of-state defendants — so don't assume your deadline has passed or that you have time to spare. Call (818) 539-7969 and we'll tell you exactly where you stand.