Tacoma Personal Injury Attorneys
Tacoma Slip and
Fall Attorneys
A fall on someone else’s property can leave you with broken bones, surgery, and bills you never saw coming. When a property owner’s carelessness put you on the ground, we hold them accountable.
“After my slip and fall I reached out to this firm. Leticia was amazing — she was great and understanding, and she along with Kyle got straight to business.”
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A Fall Can Change Everything in a Second
Most falls end in nothing worse than embarrassment and a scraped knee. But some leave people with broken hips, head injuries, and surgeries that take months to recover from. When that fall happened because a property owner ignored a hazard they were supposed to fix, you have the right to hold them responsible.
Slip-and-fall claims are a type of premises liability case — and they are harder to win than most people expect. The store, restaurant, or landlord and their insurance company will fight to blame you. A Tacoma slip and fall lawyer levels the field by gathering the evidence and proving exactly how the owner’s negligence caused your injuries. Your first consultation is free.
Results That Speak for Themselves
Insurance companies know which firms are willing to go the distance. Over more than 20 years, Valero Law Group has recovered $500 million+ for injured clients — including what is believed to be one of the largest personal-injury settlements in the firm’s history.
$6.25M
Confidential settlement
One of the largest personal-injury settlements in the firm’s history.
$3M
Back & neck injury
Settlement for serious back and neck injuries.
$5M
Brachial plexus injury
Recovered after a serious motor-vehicle collision.
These results reflect the firm’s overall track record across personal-injury cases. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different.
What We Must Prove to Win Your Case
Being hurt on someone’s property is not enough on its own. Under Washington common law, property owners must keep their premises reasonably safe for the people they invite onto them. To recover, we have to prove four things.
A Duty of Care
The property owner — or whoever controlled the property — owed you a duty to keep the premises reasonably safe.
Knew or Should Have Known
The owner knew about the dangerous condition, or a reasonable owner inspecting the property would have discovered it.
Failed to Act
The owner failed to fix the hazard or warn visitors about it within a reasonable amount of time.
The Hazard Caused Harm
That dangerous condition — not something else — is what caused your fall and your injuries.
Washington premises liability is not built on a single statute — it comes from decades of common-law negligence decisions, and the duty an owner owes turns on whether you were an invitee, licensee, or trespasser. Customers and members of the public invited onto a business property are owed the highest duty of care. The hard part is proving the owner fell short of it — and that is where an experienced attorney makes the difference.
Common Hazards That Cause Falls
Most serious falls trace back to a hazard the property owner could have fixed. In Pierce County, the weather plays a role of its own — rain that soaks entryways and parking lots for months at a time, moss and algae left to build up on outdoor stairs and walkways, and short winter days that hide the hazard until it is too late.
Wet & Slippery Floors
Spilled liquids, freshly mopped floors with no warning sign, and rainwater tracked in from the parking lot turn tile and polished concrete at an entrance into a skating rink.
Moss, Algae & Wet Leaves
Tacoma’s months of rain grow moss and algae on outdoor walkways, ramps, and stairs, and wet autumn leaves hide the surface underneath. Both are slick, both are predictable, and both are the property owner’s job to clear.
Poor Lighting
Dim stairwells, dark parking structures, and unlit walkways hide tripping hazards — and on a dark winter afternoon in Tacoma, a hazard a properly lit space would reveal is invisible until you are on the ground.
Broken or Missing Stairs
Loose handrails, worn treads, and broken steps cause serious falls — especially in apartment complexes and older buildings.
Loose Mats & Rugs
Curled entry mats, torn carpet, and unsecured rugs catch a foot the moment you walk in the door.
Debris & Obstacles
Merchandise left in aisles, stray cords, and clutter in walkways turn an ordinary errand into an emergency-room visit.
No matter how minor your injuries seem at first, see a doctor and document the hazard before it is fixed. Serious conditions — like a concussion or internal injury — don’t always show symptoms right away.
Property Owners Must Keep You Safe
In Washington, anyone who owns or controls a property — a store, a landlord, a property manager, a city agency — has a common-law duty to take reasonable steps to keep it safe for the people they invite onto it. When deciding whether an owner did enough, Washington courts look at factors like how visible the hazard was, how likely it was to hurt someone, how long it had existed, and how hard it would have been to fix.
Washington also follows pure comparative fault under RCW 4.22.005: your own share of the fault diminishes your award proportionately, but it does not bar recovery. There is no 50% cutoff. Insurers almost always try to pin the fall on you — we push back and keep the focus on the owner’s negligence.
Where Falls Happen in Tacoma
We handle falls across every kind of property — from the Tacoma Mall and the big-box stores along South 38th Street to apartment complexes off Pacific Avenue and parking lots along South Tacoma Way.
Falls on Public Property Follow Extra Rules
Not every fall happens at a private business. People are hurt on broken city sidewalks, in Tacoma parks, at county buildings, and on transit property all the time. Those cases follow a separate procedure before you can ever get into court.
To sue the City of Tacoma, Pierce County, or another local government, you must first file a standard tort claim form with that entity and then wait a mandatory 60 calendar days before filing suit, under RCW 4.96.020. The three-year deadline in RCW 4.16.080(2) is still running the whole time, so get the claim form filed correctly and early. If your fall was on public property, call us right away.
How We Prove a Public-Property Claim
- Show the dangerous condition existed and caused your fall
- Prove the public entity had notice of the hazard
- Show they had enough time to fix it but failed to
- File the tort claim form correctly and observe the 60-day wait
- Preserve photos, maintenance records, and witness accounts
These claims are easy to get wrong and impossible to fix once the deadline passes. Let an experienced attorney handle the filing so a paperwork mistake never costs you your case.
Compensation After a Slip and Fall
A serious fall brings bills that don’t stop just because you can’t work. Washington law lets injured visitors recover two kinds of damages.
Economic Damages
Calculable, out-of-pocket losses you can prove with bills and records.
- Emergency care, surgery, and hospital bills
- Ongoing physical therapy and rehabilitation
- Lost wages and lost earning capacity
- Future medical care for lasting injuries
Non-Economic Damages
The human cost of your injuries — subjective, but very real.
- Pain and physical suffering
- Disfigurement and permanent scarring
- Loss of mobility and independence
- Lost future enjoyment of life
Why Injured Clients Choose Valero Law Group
We Prove Liability
Slip-and-fall cases turn on evidence. We move fast to preserve surveillance video, incident reports, and witness statements before they disappear.
No Fee Unless We Win
You pay nothing up front. We only get paid when we recover money for you.
We Speak Spanish
Hablamos Español. You’ll always understand your case and your options.
Available 24/7
Day or night, a real person is here when you or your family need help.
We Come to You
Injured and can’t travel? We’ll meet you at home or in the hospital.
$500M+ Recovered
Over 20 years fighting for the injured, including one of the largest PI settlements in the firm’s history.
See What Our Clients Are Saying...
“The first time I came into the office they welcomed me like I was family, and made sure to go over the whole process slowly and with great detail. My experience with this law firm was truly incredible and I can guarantee any client who decides to hire them will see exactly what I experienced.”
Jacob D.
Auto Accident
“Valero injury law firm made me feel comfortable like family and answered my questions no matter how small. They are completely committed to making sure you are taken care of. They are honest, they communicate with you, and they treat you like family.”
Elizabeth M.
Auto Accident
“After searching for an attorney, they truly were the only ones that looked at me as a person not just an easy case. Any question, no matter how small was answered. Any missed call was quickly returned. Even though they have many clients I never felt like I was not a priority.”
Nathan J.
Personal Injury
Serving the Injured Across Tacoma & Pierce County
From the stores and restaurants along 6th Avenue to the shopping centers in Lakewood and apartment complexes off Pacific Avenue, we know Tacoma. We help people injured on unsafe property across all of Pierce County — Lakewood, Puyallup, Federal Way, University Place, Fife, Gig Harbor, Bonney Lake, Spanaway, and Parkland.
24/7 Line
(800) 985-9565Slip and Fall FAQ
How long do I have to file a slip and fall claim in Washington?
Is the property owner automatically responsible for my fall?
What if I was partly to blame for my fall?
What is my Tacoma slip and fall case worth?
What should I do right after a slip and fall?
How much does a slip and fall lawyer cost?
Sources: RCW 4.16.080(2) (3-year personal-injury deadline) · RCW 4.22.005 (pure comparative fault) · RCW 4.16.190 (tolling for minors) · RCW 4.96.020 (claims against local government).
Hurt in a Fall? Let’s Talk Today.
A skilled Tacoma slip and fall lawyer will preserve the evidence, prove the owner’s negligence, and negotiate hard with the insurance company — and file in Pierce County Superior Court if that’s what it takes. Your first consultation is free. Call now: there are legal deadlines, and claims against a city or county require extra steps before you can sue.
This page provides general information about Washington premises liability law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. For advice about your specific situation, speak with a licensed attorney.