Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

The answer to whenever anyone asks me if you can sue someone is always a resounding "Yes of course you can sue anyone." But the next two questions are of greater importance:

1. What's my chances of winning?

2. If I win, am I going to be able to recovery any money for my damages?

First things first. Get medical attention for your injuries first to determine the extent of your injuries. Next, request that she provide you with a copy of her homeowner's insurance policy. Bring your medical bills and the "release" you signed to an attorney to review.

Without that information I couldn't tell you if you could sue and win and recover. There are many many variables depending upon if the insurance policy will cover when there are "renters" living on the premises. Moreover, under California Law a "Release" and "Covenant Not to Sue" may not shield someone from liability if there is illegal conduct involved. Unable to determine at this point whether having moss accumulate is a building and safety code violation. . . doubtful. . . Also note. . . that from your description the accumulation of moss is what caused you to slip. The Board only contributed to extent of damages. That may affect the outcome of your case.

In any case you could bring it to small claims court and let a judge decide on whether the Release is valid or not, and whether the moss growing was negligent and concealed enough that you should and could have known that it was slippery.

Good luck!

Ms. Rodriguez gives a very good answer. Normally if the person getting the waiver of laibility has active negligence [created or had actual knowledge of dangerous condition] and the person giving the waiver had "passive" negligence, thewiver does not apply on the basis that you can not know of a danger but shift your responsibility to one who does not know of it. Whether that would apply in your case is unclear. But the major problem is that the covering sheet of plywood seems merely to have perhaps increased the injuries but did not cause the fall.

A release given before liability attaches is unenforceable except in the case of known hazards of dangerous activities. That is why you sign those things before they allow you to scuba dive, jump out of an airplane, etc. They don't apply and don't stand up for the negligent maintenance of a deck by the property owner. There are always extensive details that go into whether or not a person can win a case, as the other attorneys have said, but based on the information you provided, it is not likely that the release will have any legal effect on the outcome of the case.