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Slip and Fall
Dallas Slip and Fall Lawyer
A fall in a store, a parking lot, or an apartment complex can cause lasting injuries. Attorney Avia Gauthier handles premises liability claims across Dallas, Collin, and Denton Counties.
Overview
Premises Liability in Texas
A property owner is not automatically responsible every time someone falls. Texas premises liability law asks what the owner knew, or should have known, about a dangerous condition and what the owner did about it.
For a customer or other invitee, that generally means showing the owner had actual or constructive knowledge of a condition that posed an unreasonable risk of harm, failed to take reasonable care to make it safe or warn about it, and that the failure caused the injury.
The duty owed depends on why the injured person was on the property. The same puddle can produce a valid claim for a shopper and no claim at all for someone who had no permission to be there. As with other injury claims, most suits must be filed within two years of the injury.
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Get answers about your injuries, your deadlines, and your options.
The Details
Who You Are on the Property Changes the Duty
Texas sorts visitors into categories, and the category generally determines what the property owner owed you.
| Visitor status | Who that usually means | General duty owed by the owner |
|---|---|---|
| Invitee | Highest duty | Customers and others on the property for the owner's benefit. The owner must use reasonable care to make safe or warn of dangerous conditions it knew about or should have discovered. |
| Licensee | Limited duty | Social guests and others present with permission. The owner generally must warn of or make safe dangers it actually knows about. |
| Trespasser | Lowest duty | Someone on the property without permission. The owner generally must only avoid injuring the person willfully, wantonly, or through gross negligence. |
What Matters
What Shapes a Slip and Fall Claim
Premises cases are won or lost on details that are easy to lose in the first days after a fall.
How long the hazard was there
Constructive knowledge often turns on time. A spill that sat for an hour is treated very differently from one that happened moments earlier.
Surveillance video
Store and apartment video frequently shows both the fall and how long the hazard existed, but it is routinely overwritten unless someone asks for it to be preserved.
Incident reports and witnesses
What the property wrote down, and who saw the condition before the fall, can corroborate the claim.
Warnings and maintenance
Whether cones were out, how often the area was inspected, and whether the hazard had been reported all bear on reasonable care.
The open and obvious defense
Property owners often argue a hazard was plain to see, or that the injured person wasn't watching where they were going. Comparative fault applies here too.
Connecting the injury to the fall
Prompt treatment ties the injury to the incident. Insurers scrutinize prior conditions and gaps in care.
FAQ
Slip and Fall Questions
More questions? See the general injury FAQ or read what to do after a car accident.
No. Texas law doesn't make a property owner responsible for every injury on its premises. A claim generally requires showing the owner knew or should have known about an unreasonably dangerous condition and failed to use reasonable care to fix it or warn about it.
Report it to the property and ask that an incident report be made. Photograph the hazard and the surrounding area before anything is cleaned up, get the names of any witnesses, and seek medical attention. Keep the shoes and clothing you were wearing.
Most Texas premises liability suits must be filed within two years of the injury. Claims involving a governmental property owner often carry much shorter written notice requirements, so those dates should be checked right away.
That's a common defense. Texas reduces recovery by the injured person's share of fault and bars recovery if that share exceeds 50 percent, so this argument is often about shifting blame. Evidence about lighting, signage, floor condition, and what the property knew can respond to it.
Possibly. Landlords and property managers can be responsible for dangerous conditions in common areas such as stairwells, walkways, parking areas, and pools, depending on what they knew and what the lease and Texas law require of them.
There's no standard figure. The value of any injury claim depends on the evidence of fault, the seriousness and permanence of the injury, the medical treatment involved, and the available insurance coverage. Be skeptical of anyone who quotes a number before reviewing the facts.
Related
Other Practice Areas
Slip and Fall Claims Across North Texas
This page provides general information about Texas law, not legal advice, and laws change. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. See the full disclaimer.
Injured on Someone Else's Property?
Speak with attorney Avia Gauthier about your injuries and your options. Call (214) 377-0786 or send a message to request a consultation.
Contacting Gauthier Law Firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send confidential information until an attorney-client relationship has been established.