Slipping on a Wet Floor While Working in California

Attorney Answer

A fall while you are working is normally a workers' compensation claim, and the good news is that you do not have to prove anyone was careless.

The compensation system is the route because Cal. Lab. Code § 3602(a) makes it the employee's sole and exclusive remedy against the employer where the conditions of compensation are met. That cuts both ways. You generally cannot sue your employer for negligence over the wet floor, but you also do not have to show that the employer did anything wrong. An injury that arises out of and happens in the course of the work is covered. That matters when the person who slipped is the same person who was doing the cleaning — being the one with the mop does not disqualify you.

What the system provides is medical treatment for the injury, wage replacement for time you are kept off work, and, if something does not fully heal, a permanent disability component. Those benefits are set by the compensation statutes rather than negotiated the way a lawsuit is settled, and they are administered through the state workers' compensation agency.

One thing does sit outside that exclusive remedy. If someone other than your employer created or was responsible for the hazard — a building owner who is not your employer, a separate cleaning or maintenance contractor, another company sharing the site — that party can be pursued in ordinary negligence. Cal. Civ. Code § 1714(a) makes everyone responsible for an injury occasioned to another by want of ordinary care in the management of his or her property or person. That is a separate claim, brought in court, with its own deadline, and it can exist alongside the compensation claim.

If a third-party claim is in play, your own carelessness does not end it either. California uses pure comparative fault: a share of responsibility reduces recovery in proportion and does not eliminate it (Cal. Civ. Code § 1714(a); Daly v. General Motors Corp., 20 Cal. 3d 725 (1978)).

What you can do

1. Tell your employer in writing that you were injured at work, if you have not already, and ask for a workers' compensation claim form. Keep a copy of what you send and the date you sent it.

2. Get medical care and tell the provider plainly that the injury happened at work, so it is recorded that way in the chart from the start.

3. Photograph the area if you still can — the floor, any wet-floor signs or the absence of them, the footwear you had on, and anything you were carrying.

4. Write down who else was present, who you reported it to, and what was said.

5. Ask a local workers' compensation attorney whether anyone other than your employer owned, controlled or created the hazard, because that is the question that decides whether a second claim exists.

Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts with someone licensed in California is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. Workers' compensation has its own reporting and filing deadlines, and they are short — reporting the injury to your employer is the first of them (Cal. Lab. Code § 5400). If a party other than your employer is responsible, Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 sets two years for a personal injury claim against that party. Which dates apply depends on your facts, including when the injury was reported and when it was diagnosed, so have a local workers' compensation attorney confirm them rather than assuming you have time.