The short answer
Premises cases (slip and fall, unsafe stairs, poor lighting, store and apartment injuries) start with a person who doubts the fall was anyone's fault. Win the call with a page per state that quotes what the law asks them to prove, search ads built for fall and store-injury terms, and intake that asks about the hazard, notice and photos. Count signed cases.
A shopper slips on a spilled drink, breaks a wrist and wonders whether it was just bad luck. Premises liability cases begin with that doubt: the injured person often blames themselves, and the other side is a store, a landlord or a neighbor. This guide shows an injury firm how to reach people after a fall or an unsafe-property injury, within its state’s law and its bar’s rules.
Why does state law shape premises liability marketing?
Because a person who fell asks “was it their fault?”, and the answer depends on what the state’s law asks them to prove. Pages that explain the rule in plain words, with the statute quoted, give that person a reason to call. A national page cannot. Have your attorneys check each statement before it goes live.
What do some state laws say about premises injuries?
Three examples show how different the wording is. The right column says what a firm’s page in that state needs to explain in plain words. Your attorneys decide how each one applies to a case.
| State | What the law says | What your page should explain |
|---|---|---|
| California | Everyone is responsible for an injury occasioned to another by his or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property | That property owners must take ordinary care, and what that looks like |
| Florida | For a fall on a transitory substance in a business, the injured person must prove that the business establishment had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition | Why photos, reports and witnesses about the spill matter |
| Illinois | The distinction under the common law between invitees and licensees as to the duty owed by an owner or occupier of any premises to such entrants is abolished | That visitors are owed reasonable care, whatever their reason for being there |
The table’s conclusion: what the injured person must show changes from state to state, so one page per state you serve beats one page for the country.
How long does an injured person have to file?
Premises injuries usually fall under the state’s general personal injury limit. The table below comes from our open dataset, read in each official code. Claims against a city, county or public agency often have much shorter notice periods, so your page should tell people to call promptly rather than promise any date.
Personal injury: the general limit in these states runs from 2 years to 3 years, so one page per state beats one national page.
| State | General time limit | Statute read |
|---|---|---|
| California | 2 years | Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 |
| Texas | 2 years | Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a) |
| Florida | 2 years | Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a) |
| New York | 3 years | N.Y. C.P.L.R. 214(5) |
| Pennsylvania | 2 years | 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524(2), (7) |
| Illinois | 2 years | 735 ILCS 5/13-202 |
| Ohio | 2 years | Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10(A) |
| North Carolina | 3 years | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52(5), (16) |
| Michigan | 3 years | Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.5805(2) |
| New Jersey | 2 years | N.J. Stat. § 2A:14-2(a) |
Source: our statute of limitations dataset (version 1.1.0), read in each official code; last read October 28, 2026. Exceptions (minors, late discovery, claims against a government) change the limit; your attorney decides how it applies. Not legal advice.
Every state, and four other claim types, is in our statute of limitations by state study.
Which channels fit premises cases?
Search carries most premises work, because people search for the place and the hazard right after the injury. Local Services ads reach people looking for an injury lawyer nearby, and plain pages answer the “is this a case?” question. Each channel below does one job.
- Search ads. Build ad groups by place and hazard (store, apartment, parking lot, stairs), each with its own landing page, and add negatives for flooring, safety products and insurance claim forms. Our negative keywords tool has a starting list.
- Local Services Ads. A verified injury firm appears for nearby injury-lawyer searches; answer every call fast.
- SEO and AI answers. Write “slip and fall law in [your state]”, “what to do after a fall in a store” and “apartment injuries and landlords” pages. These are the pages AI answers can cite.
- Business Profile. Many of these searches are local; keep your profile complete and your hours accurate.
What should intake ask after a fall?
The person answering collects facts and connects the caller to an attorney; they never say whether there is a case.
- Where it happened (store, apartment, office, private home, public property) and when.
- What caused it: a spill, a broken step, poor lighting, ice, a falling object.
- Whether it was reported, and whether they have a copy of the report.
- Photos or video of the hazard and the injury, and any witnesses.
- What medical care followed, and whether they missed work.
- Whether the property’s insurer has called them.
Our personal injury intake metrics guide shows how to track these calls to signed cases.
What ad rules matter for premises ads?
The general lawyer-advertising rules apply. Avoid dramatized falls and injury close-ups: California presumes misleading The depiction of an event through methods such as the use of displays of injuries, accident scenes, and other states are similar. Don’t name a store or landlord in an ad as being at fault. Check your own state on our state rules pages. This is marketing information, not legal advice.
What this means for your firm
- Write one plain-language page per state you serve, quoting what the law asks the injured person to show; have your attorneys check it.
- Build search ad groups and pages by place and hazard, with negatives, and keep your Business Profile complete.
- Train intake on fall questions, ask for photos early, and count signed cases from these calls.
Start with a free video review, and we will look at how your firm shows up for slip and fall searches. For related cases, read our guides to wrongful death marketing and medical malpractice marketing.
Questions about this guide
What counts as a premises liability case for marketing?
Injuries caused by the condition of someone else's property: wet floors and spills in stores, broken stairs or railings, poor lighting, uneven sidewalks on private property, falling objects, pool injuries and, in some states, negligent security. Each one is a separate search, so each deserves its own page.
Why do slip and fall callers hesitate?
Many people blame themselves for falling, or feel awkward about a claim against a store, landlord or neighbor. Pages that explain plainly what the law in their state asks them to show, and intake that listens first, turn that doubt into a call.
What should a premises page tell people to do after a fall?
Get medical care, report the fall to the store or property manager and ask for a copy of the report, photograph the hazard and the shoes they wore, keep the shoes and clothes, and write down witnesses. The page should say an attorney will review the facts.
Do premises cases need different search terms than car accidents?
Yes. People search for the place and the hazard ('fell at grocery store', 'apartment stairs injury'), not for 'accident lawyer'. Build ad groups and pages around those phrases, and add negatives for flooring, safety-product and insurance-claim-form searches.
Sources
- California Civil Code § 1714, responsibility for want of ordinary careAccessed October 28, 2026
- Florida Statutes § 768.0755, transitory foreign substances in a business establishmentAccessed October 28, 2026
- Illinois Premises Liability Act, 740 ILCS 130/2Accessed October 28, 2026
- California Business and Professions Code § 6158.1, presumed-misleading messagesAccessed October 28, 2026
- Probative statute of limitations dataset (each cell read in the official code)Accessed October 28, 2026