Ventura Premises Liability Lawyer

Premises Liability Lawyer Ventura, CA

If you’ve been injured on someone else’s property due to unsafe conditions, you shouldn’t have to fight the property owner’s insurance company alone. Broken stairs, inadequate lighting, slippery floors, falling merchandise, dangerous dogs, criminal attacks enabled by poor security. These injuries happen because property owners cut corners, ignore hazards, or simply don’t care. California law makes them responsible for the harm their negligence causes.

Our Ventura, CA premises liability lawyer has held property owners accountable since 1991. We take premises liability cases on contingency, which means you pay nothing unless we win compensation for you.

Why Choose Cohen Injury Law Group for Premises Liability Cases in Ventura, CA?

Attorneys Who Know How to Prove Property Owner Negligence

Premises liability cases hinge on what the property owner knew and when they knew it. Nicholas E. Cohen, managing partner, builds cases around the documentary evidence that proves negligence: maintenance logs, inspection records, prior incident reports, and communications showing the owner ignored warnings. He completed his undergraduate degree at USC and earned his law degree from Loyola Law School Los Angeles.

Wayne R. Cohen, founding partner, has litigated personal injury claims since 1991. He graduated cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law after completing undergraduate studies with distinction at the University of Michigan. Wayne serves as a Professorial Lecturer at The George Washington University Law School and has provided commentary on liability issues to Fortune, CNBC, USA Today, and the ABA Journal.

As your personal injury lawyer in Ventura, CA, we understand how to establish that property owners failed their legal duties and should pay for the injuries they caused.

Aggressive Advocacy Against Insurance Companies

Property owners and their insurers fight premises liability claims hard. They’ll argue you weren’t paying attention, that the hazard was obvious, or that you had no business being where you got hurt. They’ll claim they didn’t know about the dangerous condition or didn’t have enough time to fix it.

We dismantle these defenses with evidence. Surveillance footage showing how long a spill sat on the floor. Maintenance records proving the owner knew about a broken handrail for months. Prior complaints from other visitors about the same hazard. We refuse to accept inadequate settlement offers and prepare every case for trial.

Contingency Fees Mean No Financial Risk

Premises liability claims operate on a contingency fee structure. No retainers. No hourly bills. We advance all investigation costs, expert witness fees, and litigation expenses. You pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you. Our fee comes from the settlement or verdict we win.

★★★★★

“Cohen Law was very helpful in providing important advice on a case I was considering pursuing. If you need knowledgeable guidance on whether your personal injury case is worth pursuing, give Cohen Law a call.” – Andrew Galvin

Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.

Types of Premises Liability Cases We Handle in Ventura

Ventura’s mix of shopping centers, hotels, apartment complexes, restaurants, beaches, and aging commercial buildings creates varied conditions where property owner negligence causes injuries. We handle claims arising from dangerous conditions across all property types.

• Slip and fall accidents. Wet floors, uneven surfaces, torn carpeting, broken stairs, missing handrails, and inadequate lighting cause falls resulting in fractures, head trauma, and back injuries. Property owners who fail to address hazards or warn visitors bear liability for resulting harm.
• Inadequate security injuries. Assaults, robberies, and attacks in parking garages, apartment complexes, hotels, and commercial properties may give rise to claims when owners failed to provide reasonable security measures. Prior crimes on the property can establish that the owner knew about safety risks and did nothing.
• Dog bites. Property owners who allow dangerous animals on their premises or fail to secure them properly may share liability when those animals injure visitors. California imposes strict liability on dog owners for bite injuries.
• Swimming pool accidents. Missing fences, broken gates, inadequate supervision, slippery decks, and defective drains at residential and commercial pools cause drownings and serious injuries. Pool owners must comply with California safety requirements.
• Construction accidents. Visitors, delivery workers, and others injured on construction sites due to inadequate barriers, falling debris, or unmarked hazards may have premises liability claims against property owners and general contractors.
• Falling objects. Merchandise stacked unsafely in stores, poorly secured fixtures, and items falling from shelves cause head injuries and trauma. Retailers and property owners must prevent foreseeable falling hazards.
• Elevator and escalator accidents. Mechanical failures, sudden stops, misaligned floors, and entrapment injuries in elevators and escalators create liability for building owners and maintenance companies.

California Legal Requirements for Premises Liability Cases

California law establishes specific duties property owners owe to people who enter their premises. Understanding these rules is essential to proving your claim.

Property Owner Duty of Care

California Civil Code Section 1714 requires property owners to exercise ordinary care in managing their premises. What this means depends on why you were on the property. Business visitors are owed the highest duty. Property owners must regularly inspect for hazards, promptly repair dangerous conditions, and warn about risks that can’t be immediately fixed.

The central question in most premises liability cases is whether the owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition. A spill that happened moments before your fall is harder to prove than a broken step that’s been damaged for months. We investigate maintenance schedules, inspection logs, and prior incident reports to establish what the owner knew.

Two-Year Statute of Limitations

California Code of Civil Procedure Section 335.1 gives you two years from the accident date to file a lawsuit. This deadline applies regardless of how serious your injuries are or how obvious the property owner’s negligence seems.

Injuries on government property require faster action. If you were hurt in a public building, on a city sidewalk, or at a county facility, the California Tort Claims Act requires filing an administrative claim within six months. Many people discover this shorter deadline too late.

Comparative Fault Can Reduce Recovery

California follows pure comparative negligence. You can recover damages even if you were partially at fault. Your compensation is reduced by your percentage of responsibility, but you retain the right to recover.

Property owners exploit this rule by arguing you should have seen the hazard or that you were distracted. We counter these arguments with evidence showing the owner’s negligence outweighed any contribution you made to your injuries.

What Damages Are Recoverable in a Ventura Premises Liability Case?

Premises liability injuries range from minor to catastrophic. Falls cause fractured hips and traumatic brain injuries. Assaults result in physical and psychological trauma. Pool accidents cause drownings and permanent disability. Compensation should reflect the full impact of what negligent property owners cause.

Economic Damages

These cover quantifiable financial losses. Medical expenses typically dominate: emergency care, hospitalization, surgeries, imaging, physical therapy, medications, and ongoing care for permanent injuries. Premises liability injuries often require extensive rehabilitation, particularly brain injuries from falls or neck injuries affecting mobility.

Lost wages count significantly. Time missed during recovery, reduced work capacity while healing, and permanent earning limitations if injuries prevent returning to your previous occupation all qualify as economic damages. The California Courts outline what qualifies as compensable economic loss in personal injury claims.

Non-Economic Damages

Pain and suffering addresses losses without dollar figures attached. Physical pain from injuries and treatment. Emotional trauma, particularly in assault cases. Anxiety about entering similar spaces. Depression from limitations affecting daily life. Loss of enjoyment in activities and relationships that mattered before your injury.

California places no cap on non-economic damages in premises liability cases. Catastrophic injuries resulting in permanent disability or chronic pain often result in substantial non-economic awards. Even injuries that heal, like soft tissue damage, warrant compensation for months of pain and disruption.

Punitive Damages

When a property owner’s conduct rises to the level of malice, oppression, or fraud, California Civil Code Section 3294 allows punitive damages. A landlord who knowingly rents units with dangerous mold. A business owner who ignores repeated warnings about a hazard. A property manager who conceals evidence of prior assaults to avoid implementing security.

These damages aren’t common in premises liability cases. But when evidence shows the property owner consciously disregarded safety, punitive damages can substantially increase your total recovery.

Contact Cohen Injury Law Group

If you’ve been injured on someone else’s property in Ventura, CA, preserving evidence and acting quickly are essential. We offer free consultations to evaluate what happened, identify responsible parties, and explain your options for pursuing compensation.

Property owners have insurance companies and lawyers protecting their interests. You deserve someone protecting yours. Contact us to speak with a Ventura premises liability attorney about your case.