Homeless Injury Liability: Is the City Responsible for the Crisis?

The homelessness epidemic is the most visible crisis facing California cities. Encampments line sidewalks and parks, creating complex social and public health challenges. Beyond the policy debates, however, lie critical legal questions of responsibility. When a city’s failure to manage this crisis leads to harm, the issue of Homeless Injury Liability arises. This explores whether the city can be held responsible for injuries affecting citizens, businesses, and homeless individuals themselves.

Some people argue that cities may be benefiting from a crisis that brings in state and federal funds. This happens while the public bears the actual costs. This article explores a city’s legal duties, the types of claims that can arise, and the immense challenges of holding a government entity accountable.

The City’s Legal Duty: Maintaining Safe Public Spaces

At its core, a city has a fundamental duty to maintain its public property in a reasonably safe condition. This is a basic principle of premises liability. This duty means a city must take steps to protect people from dangerous conditions on public property that it knows or should have known about. For example, a city must repair broken sidewalks or deep potholes. It must also maintain public parks and ensure they are free from hazards like falling tree branches. When a city fails in this duty and someone gets injured, the city may be found negligent.

Fact Patterns in Homeless Injury Liability Claims

The theory of a city’s duty becomes much more complex when applied to the homelessness crisis. Here are some potential situations where Homeless Injury Liability could become a legal issue:

Injuries to Homeless Individuals

The unhoused population is extremely vulnerable to injury. A city’s decisions can place them in harm’s way.

• Accidents in Dangerous Locations: If a city’s policies effectively force homeless encampments into foreseeably dangerous areas—such as next to a busy freeway off-ramp—and a person is hit by a car, a case could be made that the city’s failure to provide a safer alternative contributed to the injury.
• Injuries During Encampment Sweeps: A city worker operating a sanitation truck could negligently injure a person during a poorly managed encampment cleanup.

Injuries to Citizens and Harm to Businesses

The crisis also impacts the safety and livelihood of other residents.

• Pedestrian Injuries: If a city allows an encampment to completely block a public sidewalk, forcing a pedestrian to walk in the street where a car hits them, the city might be held partially liable.
• Business Losses: A business might have a claim if it can show the city’s failure to address a public nuisance (like an encampment blocking its entrance) has directly caused a significant loss of revenue.

Hurdles in Proving Homeless Injury Liability

Suing a city in California is extremely difficult. A legal doctrine called “sovereign immunity” shields government entities from most lawsuits. To sue, you must follow the strict rules of the California Tort Claims Act.

The most unforgiving rule is the deadline. According to the official California Government Claims Program, you must file a formal written claim with the correct government agency within six months of the injury. If you miss this deadline, you almost always lose your right to sue forever.

Furthermore, governments are immune from liability for their “discretionary” policy decisions. A city will argue that how it chooses to address homelessness is a policy decision and therefore immune from lawsuits. To succeed, a victim must typically prove the city failed in a specific, “operational” duty—such as failing to clean up a specific known hazard on a sidewalk.

How KAASS LAW Investigates Homeless Injury Liability

At KAASS LAW, we believe that no one’s safety should be ignored. We are not afraid to take on complex and challenging cases, including those involving government liability. When it comes to Homeless Injury Liability, we investigate every angle to see if a city’s operational negligence led to a preventable injury.

We handle a wide range of Personal Injury cases. We understand the immense procedural hurdles of filing a claim against a government entity. Our team knows the importance of acting quickly to meet the six-month deadline. We believe that when a city’s failure to maintain safe public spaces causes harm, it must be held accountable.

Homeless and lost your way Home? Let Kaass try to get you there. If you have been physically injured as a result of the dangerous conditions created by the homelessness crisis, Contact Us. We will listen to your story and see how we can get you compensation.

Conclusion

The homelessness epidemic is a humanitarian crisis with profound legal dimensions. While cities are protected by sovereign immunity for their broad policy decisions, they still have a fundamental duty to ensure public spaces are reasonably safe. When a city’s operational negligence leads to a serious injury, a claim for Homeless Injury Liability may be possible. These cases are incredibly difficult. However, they are essential for holding our public institutions accountable and fighting for the safety of all residents.