Dangerous Conditions That Lead to Injury in Los Angeles

Fighting for you when your injury was a result of dangerous conditions on public property throughout California

Claims against a government entity for injuries due to the dangerous condition of public property can be very difficult. Hiring an experienced personal injury lawyer to handle your lawsuit when a government claim could be involved is imperative.

At McNicholas & McNicholas, LLP, our Los Angeles injury claim lawyers are dedicated to pursuing justice on behalf of our clients. We are not intimidated about bringing a claim against the government when an agency or individual employee is responsible for causing your injury. Schedule a free consultation today to discuss your case. We take cases on contingency, so you will never pay attorney fees until we have recovered compensation for you.

Holding the government liable for dangerous conditions

If you are injured on public property because of dangerous conditions, your Los Angeles government injury claim lawyer, who understands the complexity of these matters, might bring a claim under California Government Code § 830 (2017).

As used in this chapter:

(a) “Dangerous condition” means a condition of property that creates a substantial (as distinguished from a minor, trivial or insignificant) risk of injury when such property or adjacent property is used with due care in a manner in which it is reasonably foreseeable that it will be used.

(b) “Protect against” includes repairing, remedying or correcting a dangerous condition, providing safeguards against a dangerous condition, or warning of a dangerous condition.

(c) “Property of a public entity” and “public property” mean real or personal property owned or controlled by the public entity, but do not include easements, encroachments and other property that are located on the property of the public entity but are not owned or controlled by the public entity. (Added by Stats. 1963, Ch. 1681.)

What is sovereign immunity?

Sovereign immunity is a legal principle that harkens back to British common law, which held that private citizens could not sue the king. This idea seems to have been retained by the federal government, and some state and local governments also shielded themselves behind the idea of being impervious to lawsuits. But in 1946, the U.S. Congress enacted the Federal Tort Claims Act, which provided a venue for private citizens to file personal injury claims. The California Tort Claims Act (Government Code §§ 810-996.6) was the state of California's law that would allow private citizens to sue a public entity.

Statute of limitations for filing a claim against the government

There are strict time limits for filing a claim against a government entity. The Sacramento County Law Library has published a guide to filing claims against the government. It reports that a plaintiff must file within six months of the injury for:

• Personal injury
• Damage to personal property
• Wrongful death

If your claim is not filed within the appropriate time limit, you will be barred from pursuing a lawsuit. Ask your Los Angeles government tort claim lawyer about the process for filing a late claim.