Premises Liability Lawyer in Glendale, AZ
An injury on someone else’s property can leave you with painful medical problems, missed work, unexpected expenses, and questions about who should be held responsible. The property owner, business, landlord, management company, maintenance contractor, or another party may be legally responsible when an unsafe condition caused the injury.
A Glendale premises liability lawyer at Perez Law Group, PLLC can investigate what happened, identify the people or companies that may be responsible, and help you pursue compensation for the losses connected to your injury.
Our office is located in Glendale, and we represent injured clients throughout the West Valley and communities across Arizona.
Call (602) 730-7100 for a free consultation.
Legal Help After an Injury on Unsafe Property
Businesses and property owners cannot prevent every accident. However, they are expected to take reasonable steps to maintain their property, inspect for dangerous conditions, address hazards, and warn visitors when a danger cannot be corrected immediately.
Premises liability cases can involve much more than a wet floor. A person may be seriously injured because of broken stairs, missing handrails, poor lighting, falling merchandise, an unsecured swimming pool, dangerous electrical conditions, inadequate security, or another preventable property hazard.
These cases often become disputes about how long the condition existed, whether the owner knew about it, who was responsible for correcting it, and whether the injured person should have noticed the danger. The insurance company may begin collecting evidence immediately, making it important to preserve photographs, video, reports, witness information, and maintenance records as soon as possible.
Learn more about how our Glendale personal injury lawyers help people who have been harmed by negligence.
Do You Have a Premises Liability Case?
Being injured on someone else’s property does not automatically mean the property owner is liable. A successful claim generally requires evidence showing that the responsible party owed you a legal duty, failed to act with reasonable care, caused your injury, and left you with measurable losses.
Depending on the circumstances, your case may involve evidence that the property owner or another responsible party:
- Created the dangerous condition
- Knew about the hazard but failed to correct it
- Received complaints or warnings and failed to respond
- Should have discovered the condition through reasonable inspections
- Failed to provide an adequate warning
- Failed to maintain or repair the property
- Violated a relevant safety requirement
For example, a store may be responsible when employees create a tripping hazard in a customer walkway. An apartment owner or management company may be responsible for ignoring a broken stairway railing. A restaurant may be responsible when staff repeatedly overlook a spill that creates a dangerous walking surface.
The facts must be investigated carefully. The person who owns the property is not always the only responsible party. A tenant, commercial operator, property manager, security company, cleaning company, maintenance contractor, construction company, or equipment manufacturer may also have played a role.
Common Negligence Cases We Review
Slip-and-Fall and Trip-and-Fall Accidents
Falls may be caused by spilled liquids, recently mopped floors, loose rugs, uneven flooring, damaged sidewalks, cluttered walkways, potholes, poorly marked steps, or changes in floor elevation. These incidents can cause fractures, head injuries, torn ligaments, and serious back or spinal damage.
Our separate guide explains how a Glendale slip-and-fall lawyer can investigate a fall and determine whether negligent property maintenance contributed to it.
Unsafe Stairs, Railings, Balconies, and Walkways
Broken stairs, loose handrails, unstable balconies, missing guardrails, and poorly maintained walkways can cause a person to fall from a dangerous height. Responsibility may depend on who controlled the area, when it was last inspected, whether prior complaints were made, and whether repairs were attempted.
Negligent or Inadequate Security
Some premises liability claims involve assaults, robberies, or other criminal acts that occur on commercial or residential property. A claim may arise when a foreseeable security risk was made worse by broken locks, damaged gates, inadequate lighting, ignored warnings, or a failure to respond to prior incidents.
Not every crime committed on another person’s property creates a claim against the property owner. These cases require a detailed review of the property’s history, security procedures, prior reports, available surveillance, and the circumstances leading to the attack.
Swimming Pool and Drowning Accidents
Swimming pools can become dangerous when gates, barriers, drains, warning signs, lighting, supervision, or safety equipment are inadequate. Children are especially vulnerable around unsecured pools and water features.
Learn more about claims involving unsafe pools from our Glendale swimming pool accident lawyers.
Falling Merchandise and Unsecured Objects
Merchandise stacked too high, unstable shelving, improperly mounted signs, unsecured fixtures, construction materials, and other falling objects can cause head, neck, shoulder, and spinal injuries. Store layout, stocking procedures, inspection policies, and employee training may become important evidence.
Elevator and Escalator Accidents
Elevators and escalators require appropriate inspection and maintenance. Sudden stops, misaligned elevator floors, defective doors, damaged steps, and missing safety guards can cause serious injuries. These cases may involve the property owner, management company, maintenance contractor, or equipment manufacturer.
Apartment and Rental Property Hazards
Tenants and visitors may be injured because of defective stairs, unsafe balconies, electrical hazards, inadequate lighting, broken gates, damaged flooring, fires, or unrepaired common areas. Determining responsibility may require reviewing the lease, maintenance requests, inspection history, repair records, and division of responsibilities between the landlord and property manager.
Fires, Electrical Hazards, and Burn Injuries
Defective wiring, blocked exits, poorly maintained appliances, leaking fuel, missing safety equipment, and ignored fire hazards can cause severe burns or smoke-inhalation injuries. Our Glendale burn injury attorneys can evaluate the long-term medical, financial, and personal consequences of these incidents.
Who May Be Responsible for an Unsafe Property?
The name on the property deed does not always identify every responsible party. Many commercial and residential properties are controlled by several businesses under leases, management agreements, service contracts, and maintenance arrangements.
Depending on the evidence, a premises liability claim may involve:
- The property owner
- A tenant or business operating on the property
- A commercial landlord
- An apartment management company
- A homeowners’ association
- A maintenance or repair contractor
- A cleaning company
- A security provider
- A construction contractor
- A government agency or public entity
- A manufacturer of defective property equipment
An attorney can obtain contracts, inspection reports, work orders, surveillance recordings, incident reports, and other records to determine who controlled the dangerous area and who had the responsibility to correct the problem.
How Do You Prove That the Owner Knew About the Hazard?
Notice is one of the most disputed issues in premises liability cases. The insurance company may argue that the property owner did not know about the condition or did not have enough time to correct it.
Evidence of knowledge may include employee statements, earlier complaints, maintenance requests, prior incident reports, inspection records, photographs, surveillance video, repair estimates, code reports, text messages, emails, or proof that an employee created the condition.
Sometimes the question is not whether the owner actually knew about the hazard. The issue may be whether a reasonable inspection would have discovered it. A leaking refrigerator that repeatedly creates water on a grocery store floor, for example, may raise different issues than a spill that occurred only seconds before a customer fell.
Surveillance footage is particularly important because many businesses record over older video. Sending a prompt preservation request may help prevent relevant evidence from being lost.
Serious Injuries Caused by Dangerous Property Conditions
A property accident can affect far more than the first emergency room bill. Some injuries require surgery, rehabilitation, mobility equipment, assistance at home, or months away from work.
Premises liability accidents may cause:
- Broken wrists, arms, ankles, hips, or legs
- Torn muscles, tendons, or ligaments
- Knee and shoulder injuries
- Neck, back, and spinal cord injuries
- Concussions and traumatic brain injuries
- Burns and smoke-inhalation injuries
- Crush injuries and internal organ damage
- Scarring or disfigurement
- Psychological trauma following an assault
- Fatal injuries
Visit our pages about back and spine injury claims and traumatic brain injuries for more information about the long-term effects of serious falls and property accidents.
When an unsafe property condition results in a death, eligible family members may have legal options through an Arizona wrongful death claim.
What Compensation May Be Available?
A claim may include emergency transportation, hospitalization, surgery, physician appointments, diagnostic imaging, medication, physical therapy, rehabilitation, medical equipment, and reasonably necessary future care.
Medical Expenses
A claim may include emergency transportation, hospitalization, surgery, physician appointments, diagnostic imaging, medication, physical therapy, rehabilitation, medical equipment, and reasonably necessary future care.
Lost Income and Reduced Earning Ability
If the injury prevents you from working, you may seek compensation for missed wages. A disabling injury may also affect your future earning ability, career opportunities, work schedule, or ability to perform the same occupation.
Pain and Personal Losses
Compensation may also address physical pain, emotional distress, disability, scarring, loss of independence, and reduced enjoyment of life. These losses do not come with a fixed invoice, but they can be a major part of the harm caused by a serious injury.
Other Accident-Related Expenses
Transportation costs, home assistance, mobility modifications, replacement services, and other reasonable expenses may also be considered when they are connected to the injury.
The value and outcome of every premises liability case depend on its specific facts, evidence, damages, available insurance, and applicable law.
Arizona Laws That May Affect a Premises Liability Claim
Business Owners Owe Customers a Duty of Reasonable Care
In its 2025 decision in Perez v. Circle K Convenience Stores, Inc., the Arizona Supreme Court explained that a business owes its customers a duty to keep the premises reasonably safe.
The Court also explained that the fact that a condition may have been visible or “open and obvious” does not automatically eliminate the business’s duty. The condition’s visibility may still be considered when deciding whether the business acted reasonably and whether the injured person shares some responsibility.
Arizona’s Comparative Negligence Rule
An insurance company may argue that you were distracted, wearing inappropriate shoes, ignored a warning, entered a restricted area, or should have noticed the hazard.
Under Arizona’s comparative negligence law, a person’s claim is not necessarily barred because the person shares some fault. However, recoverable damages may be reduced according to the percentage of fault assigned to that person.
Do not assume that you have no case simply because the property owner or insurance adjuster blames you for what happened.
Arizona’s Personal Injury Filing Deadline
Arizona Revised Statutes Section 12-542 generally provides a two-year limitations period for many personal injury lawsuits. The correct deadline depends on when the claim accrued, the identity of the responsible party, and whether an exception applies.
Waiting until the deadline approaches can also make a case harder to prove. Video may be erased, property conditions may be repaired, witnesses may become difficult to find, and records may be misplaced.
Claims Against Government Agencies Have Shorter Deadlines
An injury at a public building, public park, public school, government office, or another publicly controlled property may involve special requirements.
Arizona Revised Statutes Section 12-821.01 generally requires a formal notice of claim against a public entity, public school, or public employee within 180 days after the claim accrues. The notice must meet specific legal requirements, including a settlement amount and supporting facts.
Arizona Revised Statutes Section 12-821 generally requires lawsuits against public entities or employees to be brought within one year after the claim accrues.
Other rules and exceptions may change these deadlines. Speak with an attorney promptly when a city, county, school, public agency, or government employee may be involved.
What to Do After an Injury Caused by Negligence
- 1
Get Appropriate Medical Care. Call 911 when the injury may be life-threatening or involves loss of consciousness, severe bleeding, difficulty breathing, weakness, numbness, confusion, possible spinal damage, or an inability to stand. Even when symptoms initially seem manageable, obtain a medical evaluation and explain exactly how the injury occurred.
- 2
Report the Incident. Tell the owner, manager, security officer, landlord, or other appropriate person what happened. Ask for an incident report and request a copy. Keep the report factual and avoid guessing about details you do not know.
- 3
Photograph the Area. Take wide and close photographs of the hazard, surrounding area, lighting, warning signs, damaged equipment, stairs, flooring, weather conditions, and your injuries. Property conditions can change quickly after an accident.
- 4
Identify Witnesses. Obtain the names and contact information of anyone who saw the accident, noticed the condition earlier, heard employees discuss the problem, or has information about previous complaints.
- 5
Preserve Clothing and Physical Evidence. Keep the shoes and clothing you were wearing. Do not repair or discard damaged personal property. Store these items safely because an insurance company may later question what you were wearing or carrying.
- 6
Be Careful With Insurance Communications. The property insurer may request a recorded statement, broad medical authorization, written account, or early settlement. A statement made before the extent of the injury is understood may later be used to dispute your claim.
- 7
Keep Records of Your Losses. Save medical paperwork, receipts, transportation expenses, employment records, correspondence, photographs, and a written account of how the injury affects your daily activities.
How a Glendale Premises Liability Lawyer Can Help
Property injury claims may require evidence that an injured person cannot easily obtain alone. Businesses and insurance companies often control the surveillance recordings, employee reports, inspection records, maintenance agreements, and internal communications needed to understand what happened.
Perez Law Group can:
- Investigate the accident scene and dangerous condition
- Identify the owner, operator, manager, tenant, and contractors
- Send requests to preserve surveillance video and other evidence
- Obtain incident reports, maintenance records, and inspection documents
- Interview witnesses and review prior complaints
- Analyze contracts to determine who controlled the property
- Review applicable insurance policies
- Document medical expenses, lost income, and future care needs
- Respond to attempts to shift blame onto you
- Negotiate with insurance companies
- Prepare the claim for litigation when an appropriate resolution cannot be reached
Our role is not limited to submitting bills to an insurance company. We work to understand how the accident affected your health, employment, independence, family responsibilities, and future.
Representing People Injured Throughout Glendale and the West Valley
Unsafe property accidents can occur at grocery stores, restaurants, hotels, apartment communities, shopping centers, entertainment venues, office buildings, private homes, construction sites, parking structures, and public spaces.
In Glendale, these cases may arise around busy commercial and entertainment areas such as Westgate, Arrowhead, Historic Downtown Glendale, and the shopping and business corridors along Bell Road, Glendale Avenue, Northern Avenue, and 59th Avenue. Mentioning these areas does not suggest that any particular business or property is unsafe.
Our office is located at 7508 N. 59th Avenue in Glendale’s Catlin Court Historic District. We are accessible from Grand Avenue, Loop 101, and Interstate 17 and represent clients throughout Glendale, Phoenix, Peoria, Surprise, Avondale, Goodyear, and other Arizona communities.
When litigation is necessary, personal injury cases in the area may be handled through the civil court system. The Maricopa County Superior Court Civil Department handles personal injury claims and other civil disputes.
Why Injured Clients Choose Perez Law Group
Perez Law Group is a Glendale-based law firm serving people throughout Arizona. Our attorneys understand that a serious injury can create medical, financial, and personal challenges at the same time.
Clients receive:
- A free initial consultation
- Representation in English or Spanish
- Direct guidance about the legal process
- Investigation focused on the specific facts of the accident
- Careful documentation of current and future losses
- Preparation for negotiation and litigation
- No attorney fees unless compensation is recovered
Meet founding attorney Cristina Perez Hesano, explore our personal injury case results, or read what clients have shared on our reviews page.
Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case presents different facts, injuries, insurance coverage, and legal issues.
What Happens After You Contact Us?
Free Initial Consultation
We listen to what happened, ask questions about the property, discuss your injuries, and identify possible deadlines or evidence that should be preserved.
Case Evaluation
Our legal team examines the available records, responsible parties, insurance coverage, legal duties, medical damages, and potential challenges.
Investigation and Documentation
If we accept the case, we begin gathering evidence, communicating with insurers, documenting your losses, and protecting the claim from avoidable mistakes.
Negotiation or Litigation
We pursue an appropriate resolution based on the evidence and damages. When an insurer denies responsibility or refuses to make an appropriate offer, filing a lawsuit may become necessary.
Frequently Asked Questions About Negligence Claims
Many claims resolve through negotiation, but settlement is not guaranteed. Litigation may become necessary when the insurer denies that the condition was dangerous, disputes notice, blames the injured person, challenges the medical evidence, or refuses to offer appropriate compensation. Preparing the case carefully from the beginning can place the legal team in a stronger position for either negotiation or trial.
Perez Law Group offers free consultations for premises liability claims. Personal injury cases are generally handled on a contingency-fee basis, meaning you do not pay attorney fees unless the firm recovers compensation for you. The fee arrangement and responsibility for case expenses should be explained in the written representation agreement before legal work begins.
Possibly. A property owner or insurance company may argue that the condition was open and obvious and that you should have avoided it. However, visibility does not automatically end every premises liability claim. The surrounding circumstances matter, including the location of the condition, lighting, distractions created by the property, available warnings, why you were in the area, and whether the owner should have expected visitors to encounter the danger.
The timing of the hazard can become an important issue. The investigation may examine surveillance footage, inspection schedules, employee assignments, cleaning records, witness accounts, earlier complaints, and the nature of the condition. Evidence that the owner created the condition, knew about it, or should have discovered it through reasonable inspections may support the claim.
A claim may be possible when a dangerous condition at a private residence causes an injury. In many situations, the claim is handled through homeowners or renters insurance rather than being paid personally by the friend or relative. Liability will depend on why you were on the property, what caused the injury, what the homeowner knew, whether a warning was provided, and other facts.
Responsibility may rest with the property owner, landlord, management company, maintenance contractor, security company, tenant, or another party. The answer depends on where the accident occurred, who controlled that part of the property, who was responsible for inspections and repairs, and whether earlier complaints were made. Maintenance requests, leases, management agreements, work orders, and prior incident reports may help answer these questions.
Claims involving a city, county, public school, transit system, public employee, or another government entity are subject to special rules. Arizona generally requires a legally sufficient notice of claim within 180 days, and a lawsuit may be subject to a one-year filing deadline. The notice must contain specific information, so simply reporting the accident to an employee or completing an incident form may not satisfy the requirement.
There is no standard settlement amount. Value depends on the strength of the liability evidence, severity and permanence of the injury, medical treatment, future care, lost income, reduced earning ability, personal limitations, available insurance, and whether you share responsibility. An attorney should review the medical and liability evidence before estimating potential value.
Speak With a Glendale Premises Liability Lawyer
You should not have to manage a serious injury, insurance investigation, and disputed property claim by yourself. Perez Law Group, PLLC can review the circumstances, explain your rights under Arizona law, preserve important evidence, and help you determine the appropriate next step.
Our Glendale premises liability lawyers represent people injured at commercial properties, apartment communities, private residences, entertainment venues, public spaces, and other locations throughout Arizona.
Call Perez Law Group at (602) 730-7100 or contact us online for a free consultation.
Hablamos Español. You will not pay attorney fees unless we win your case.
Perez Law Group, PLLC
7508 N. 59th Ave.
Glendale, AZ 85301