Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney Blog
In California, a person or entity that hires an independent contractor to do work on his or her property will generally not be liable for any injuries that happen to the contractor or the contractor’s employees while they are working on the job. However, a property owner may be liable when he or she retains control over the safety precautions taken on the property or when he or she affirmatively contributes to the creation of the dangerous condition. In Gonzalez v. Mathis, Cal. S. Ct. Case No. S247677, the California Supreme Court considered whether a third exception exists when an independent contractor or the contractor’s employee is injured by an obvious hazard within the work area for which the contractor could not take any reasonable safety measures to avoid it.[1]
Factual and procedural background
Luis Gonzalez was employed as a window washer during the 1990s for a company called Beverly Hills Window Washing. During that time, he regularly cleaned a skylight window for John R. Mathis. Later, Gonzalez started his own window washing business, advertising that his company specialized in cleaning windows and skylights in hard-to-reach areas. Mathis hired Gonzalez and his company to clean his skylight regularly beginning in 2007.
Property owners and occupiers in Los Angeles have a duty to maintain their premises in reasonably safe conditions to protect lawful visitors from being injured. This duty can sometimes extend to the adjacent, publicly-owned property when the property owner has exercised control over it in some way and has created or contributed to the dangerous condition. In 
Slip and fall accidents are not always but, often times the result of negligence on the part of a residential or commercial property owner. They occur much more frequently than they should especially in retail stores, hotels, hospitals or nursing homes, or even when you are a guest at another person’s home. If you sustain injuries as a result of a slip and fall accident and the cause of your fall can be attributed to some action or inaction on the part of the premises owner, it may be best to obtain legal advice from an experienced California personal injury attorney who is familiar with the law and the requirements to hold the negligent party responsible for payment of medical expenses, lost wages and to compensate the victim for emotional trauma and physical pain. Personal injuries can be a result of a number of reasons, such as spilled chemicals or liquids, improperly waxed floors, or obstructions in the walking area, dangerously slick floor materials such as certain types of commercial-grade tile and many other reasons. Many types of injuries may occur as a result of a slip and fall injury and to get the compensation that you need, it is important to have a lawyer that is experienced in handling personal injury cases.