Landowners and possessors of land owe a nondelegable duty to put and maintain the premises (including its buildings and structures) in reasonably safe condition.

CC § 1714

“(a) Everyone is responsible, not only for the result of his or her willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by his or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property or person, except so far as the latter has, wilfully or by want of ordinary care, brought the injury upon himself or herself. …  The extent of liability in these cases is defined by the Title on Compensatory Relief.”

Generally, a person who has suffered injury through the fault of another (e.g. negligence by landlord) is entitled to “be made whole”—i.e., to be restored insofar as is possible to his or her preinjury condition through a “compensatory” damages award.

CC § 3281

“Every person who suffers detriment from the unlawful act or omission of another, may recover from the person in fault a compensation therefor in money, which is called damages.”

CC § 3333 sets forth the general measure of “compensatory damages” in an action arising from tortious conduct:

“For the breach of an obligation not arising from contract, the measure of damages, except where otherwise expressly provided by this code, is the amount which will compensate for all the detriment proximately caused thereby, whether it could have been anticipated or not.”

It can be reduced to the following formula:

If it is proven that:

• Plaintiff has sustained an injury,
• Which was legally caused by the tortious wrong of another,

Then:

• Plaintiff is entitled to recover an amount of money that will reasonably compensate for all physical, mental and emotional detriment attributable to the injury.

Seek the advice of a lawyer who is experienced in personal injury cases to be able to determine the proper steps to take.