First Week After a Fall at a Store

Much of that evidence can disappear within days: floors are mopped, displays are moved and memories fade. This page is a day-by-day plan for the first week after a fall at a store, restaurant, parking lot or other business. For how these claims work overall, see our slip, trip and fall injuries page.

What should I do, day by day?

When	Step	Why it matters
Day 1	Get medical care, and tell the provider exactly how you fell.	Your records connect the injury to the fall. Providers must send you copies within 15 days after receiving your request (Health and Safety Code 123110).
Day 1	Report the fall to a manager. Ask for the incident report number and the names of employees who saw the fall or helped you.	The business's own report records when and where you fell.
Day 1 or 2	Photograph the hazard, the lighting, any warning sign or the lack of one, from far away and up close.	A repair made after your fall generally cannot be used to prove the business was negligent (Evidence Code 1151). Your own photos of how it looked before the fix are separate evidence.
Days 1 to 3	Keep the shoes and clothes you wore, unwashed, in a bag.	They show what you had on and anything that was on the floor.
Days 1 to 3	Send the business a short written request to keep its video, the incident report and any cleaning or inspection logs for that day.	Video systems may record over older footage, and a written request leaves a dated record that you asked.
By day 7	Write down what happened while you remember it: the time, what you saw on the floor, who was there and what was said.	Details fade quickly, and a note made within days is more reliable than a memory months later.
All week	Keep every bill, receipt and record of missed work.	These show the financial side of the injury.

How does a claim after a fall at a business move forward?

The first week: medical care, the incident report, photos, witnesses and a written request to keep the video, as in the table above.
The claim: the business, or its insurer, opens a claim file. Its 40-day clock to accept or deny starts once it has proof of the claim.
Treatment: you finish treatment, or reach a point where your doctors can describe what care you will need in the future.
The demand: your records, bills, lost pay and photos are sent with a request for payment.
Negotiation: the insurer answers in writing, and the claim may be resolved at this stage.
A lawsuit, if needed: filed within two years of the fall, usually in the county where it happened. For a fall here, our guide to what to expect at Sonoma County Superior Court covers what follows.

Who is responsible for a fall at a business?

California's basic rule is in Civil Code section 1714: everyone is responsible for an injury caused by their lack of ordinary care in managing their property. The jury instruction for property owners spells it out: a person who owns, leases, occupies or controls property must use reasonable care to discover unsafe conditions and to repair them, replace them or give adequate warning (CACI 1001).

That is why the first-week evidence focuses on what the hazard was, how long it had been there and whether anyone warned you. A business is treated as knowing about a condition its own employee created on the job (CACI 1012). Our guide on how to prove the property owner knew about the hazard explains why those points matter.

Should I talk to the store's insurance company?

You can, but you do not have to decide anything in the first week. Once the insurer has proof of your claim, California's fair claims rules give it 40 days to accept or deny the claim, and a denial must be in writing. If you do not have a lawyer, the insurer must warn you in writing at least 60 days before any time limit it may rely on runs out (California Code of Regulations, title 10, section 2695.7).

Read any release carefully before you sign it. Under Civil Code section 1542, a general release does not cover claims you do not know or suspect exist when you sign, and some release forms ask you to give up that protection. An injury that seems minor in the first week can turn out to need more care later.

What if I fell on public property?

A fall on a city sidewalk, in a county building or at another public place follows different rules. Before suing a public entity, you must present a written claim within six months of the injury (Government Code 911.2). In Sonoma County, claims against the County go by mail or in person to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, 575 Administration Drive, Suite 100A, Santa Rosa. Our page on dangerous conditions of public or private property explains how responsibility works when a public entity owns the property. The claim itself is covered in our guide on filing an injury claim against a city, county or the State.

What changes the answer?

The hazard was obvious. If a condition is so obvious that a person could reasonably be expected to see it, the owner does not have to warn about it, but it still must use reasonable care to protect against the risk when people foreseeably have to encounter it (CACI 1004). Our guide on recovering when a hazard was obvious or marked with a sign explains how necessity and your own care are weighed.

An employee caused the hazard. If an employee on the job created the condition, the business is treated as knowing about it, so there is no need to prove how long it was there (CACI 1012).

You fell in a shared parking lot or walkway. A landlord must inspect common areas it controls and take reasonable precautions against unsafe conditions it knows or should know about (CACI 1006), so the landlord, not only the store, may be responsible.

You fell on the sidewalk outside. The city and the owner next to the sidewalk can both be involved; see who is responsible for a sidewalk trip and fall in Sonoma or Marin.

You were partly at fault. If the business proves you were also negligent, for example by not watching where you walked, your damages are reduced by your share of responsibility, not erased (CACI 405).

You were working when you fell. Against your own employer, workers' compensation is generally the only remedy (Labor Code 3602). If you fell at another company's business, such as on a delivery, a claim against that business is still possible alongside workers' compensation (Labor Code 3852).

Someone attacked you on the property. A business open to the public must use reasonable care to protect customers from criminal conduct it can reasonably anticipate (CACI 1005). Our assault and battery page covers those claims.

What could this look like? An example

For example, imagine a shopper who slips on spilled liquid soap in a grocery aisle on a Saturday afternoon. A clerk helps her up and says the spill had been reported an hour earlier. She photographs the puddle and the empty bottle, asks the manager for the incident report number, and goes to urgent care for a wrist injury.

On Monday she emails the store asking it to keep the aisle video and that day's sweep log, and she writes down the clerk's words. Her claim would rest on the store knowing about the spill and not cleaning it up or warning shoppers in time, which the clerk's statement and the sweep log could show. If her wrist needs surgery, her claim would wait until her doctors can describe her recovery. This example is made up to show how the evidence fits; it predicts nothing about a real case.

What mistakes do people make after a fall?

Saying "I'm fine" and leaving without reporting the fall or getting names.
Not photographing the hazard before it is cleaned up.
Throwing away or washing the shoes and clothes.
Waiting weeks to ask for the video.
Signing a release or accepting a quick payment before the injury is understood.
Posting about the fall or the injury on social media.

How long do I have to file a claim?

For a fall on private property, a lawsuit must be filed within two years (Code of Civil Procedure 335.1). For public property, the six-month written claim comes first. Our guide to California personal injury deadlines covers the exceptions, including the rules for children.

What should I do this week?

Get medical care and keep the records.
Report the fall and get the incident report number.
Photograph the hazard and the area.
Bag the shoes and clothes you wore.
Ask the business in writing to keep its video and logs.
Write down your account and the witnesses' names.

What should I bring when I talk to a lawyer?

Your photos, and the incident report number.
Names and phone numbers of employees and witnesses.
Medical records and bills, and the dates of every appointment.
Any letter, email or voicemail from the business or its insurer.
A copy of your written request to keep the video.

Our guide on what to bring to your first meeting with an injury lawyer has a fuller checklist, with where to get each paper.

If you are still deciding who to call, our article on how to find the right legal representation in California may help.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to prove how long the spill was on the floor?

Not always. If an employee caused it, the business is treated as knowing (CACI 1012). Otherwise, the question is whether it was there long enough that a reasonable inspection would have found it, and a store that did not inspect within a reasonable time may be found to have had enough time (CACI 1011).

Can the store's repair after my fall be used against it?

Generally not to prove negligence (Evidence Code 1151). Your own photos of the hazard before the repair are separate evidence.

What if I hit my head when I fell?

Tell every provider, even if you feel fine. Our guide on how a traumatic brain injury is proven and valued explains why early records matter.

Is the store responsible for every fall?

No. The owner must use reasonable care to keep the property reasonably safe (CACI 1001). A fall alone does not prove the owner failed to do that.

Can I still claim if I was looking at my phone?

Possibly. Your share of fault reduces the damages but does not end the claim (CACI 405).

Does a wet-floor sign end the store's responsibility?

Not automatically. The owner must repair the condition, protect against harm from it, or give adequate warning of it (CACI 1003), and whether a sign was adequate depends on where it stood and what it showed. Photograph any sign and where it was placed.

How long does the store's insurer have to answer?

Forty days after it has proof of the claim to accept or deny it, in whole or in part, or it must tell you in writing why it needs more time (California Code of Regulations, title 10, section 2695.7).

If you or a loved one has been hurt in a fall at a store or business, contact Young Law Group today at (707) 343-0556 or through our contact page to schedule your free consultation and learn how we can help.

What should I do in the first week after a fall at a store or business?