Hurt in a slip, trip or fall?

It starts with why you were there

Texas law calls these cases premises liability, and the first question is why you were on the property. A shopper, a hotel guest, a restaurant customer or a delivery driver is usually an invitee: someone there for the owner’s business as well as their own. Owners owe invitees the most protection. A social guest is usually a licensee, and a trespasser gets the least protection of all. The category changes what you have to prove, so it is one of the first things we look at.

What you have to prove against a store or business

The Texas Supreme Court has laid out the elements for an invitee’s claim in cases like Keetch v. Kroger Co. (1992) and CMH Homes v. Daenen (2000). You must show that:

• the owner or operator knew, or reasonably should have known, about the condition;
• the condition posed an unreasonable risk of harm;
• the owner did not use reasonable care to reduce or eliminate the risk; and
• that failure caused your injuries.

Falling is not enough by itself. The business is not automatically responsible because you were hurt there. The case is won or lost on evidence, and the hardest part is usually the first element: knowledge.

The “how long was it there” problem

If the store didn’t create the spill and no employee saw it, you have to show it should have been found. In Wal-Mart Stores v. Reece (2002), the Texas Supreme Court held that there must be some proof of how long the hazard was there, long enough that the store had a reasonable chance to discover it. Being near an employee is not the same thing.

That rule decides real Houston cases. In 2024, in Albertsons v. Mohammadi, a woman slipped on liquid next to a shopping cart inside a Houston Randalls. The Court threw out her verdict because there was no evidence anyone knew the floor was wet, even though video seemed to show an employee putting a wet bag in the cart. What counts is the condition at the time and place of the fall.

That is why we move quickly. Store video, cleaning and inspection logs, incident reports and the names of employees on shift are the proof of time, and video in particular can be kept for a short time. We send preservation requests and gather witnesses early.

Open and obvious dangers

An owner must make safe, or warn about, concealed dangers. In Austin v. Kroger (2015), the Texas Supreme Court said an owner generally has no duty to warn of hazards that are open and obvious or already known to the person hurt. Insurers raise this defense often. Whether a hazard was really obvious, in the lighting and crowd that day, is a question of fact we investigate.

Apartments and rental homes

A landlord generally owes no duty for dangerous conditions inside the space it has leased to a tenant. But an apartment complex is the owner and operator of the areas it keeps for itself and runs: the stairways, walkways, parking lots, pools and gates. A broken step, missing handrail or dark stairwell in those areas is a different case. The lease, repair requests and who controlled the spot where you fell all matter.

Falls on government property

Falls at a city building, public park, public school, county courthouse or state office fall under the Texas Tort Claims Act. For an ordinary premises defect, the government owes you only the duty owed to a licensee unless you paid to use the property (Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.022). That means proving the government actually knew about the danger and you did not (Sampson v. University of Texas, 2016). A special defect, such as an excavation or obstruction in a road, carries a higher duty.

The deadlines are short. Written notice is due within six months under the Act, the City of Houston requires sworn written notice within 90 days, and the City of El Paso requires sworn notice within 90 days. We prepare and send these notices for you.

Deadlines and shared fault

Most premises cases must be filed within two years (Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003). Owners and insurers often say you weren’t watching where you were going. Under Texas proportionate responsibility (chapter 33), you can still recover if you were 50% or less at fault, reduced by your percentage. See what happens if the accident was partly your fault.

Falls at work

If you fell while working, different rules may apply depending on whose property it was and whether your employer carries workers’ compensation. Falls from ladders, scaffolds and roofs are covered on our work accident page. And if you work inside someone else’s business, like a bank branch inside a grocery store, you may have a premises claim against that owner.

We handle the store and its insurer

Once you hire us, we handle every call with the store, the property manager, the insurer and any government office. You focus on getting better. Your right to compensation doesn’t depend on your immigration status, and we don’t ask about it to help you. Jimmy Suerken is a Mexican-American attorney, licensed in Texas since 2011, who grew up in El Paso and speaks Spanish. You talk with him directly, in Houston, El Paso or anywhere else in Texas.

Sources: Keetch v. Kroger Co., 845 S.W.2d 262 (Tex. 1992) · CMH Homes, Inc. v. Daenen, 15 S.W.3d 97 (Tex. 2000) · Albertsons, LLC v. Mohammadi (Tex. 2024) · Sampson v. Univ. of Tex. at Austin (Tex. 2016) · Wal-Mart v. Reece and Austin v. Kroger, as quoted by the Fifth Circuit · Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code ch. 101 (Tort Claims Act) · Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003 · Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code ch. 33 · City of Houston: How to file a claim · City of El Paso: Filing a claim

Built for premises cases

• We go after the proof of time. Video, inspection logs, incident reports and witnesses, before they are gone.
• We find who controlled the spot. Store, landlord, property manager, contractor or government.
• We handle the insurers and the owner. From the first call, you don’t have to deal with them.
• We watch the government deadlines. 90-day and six-month notices, prepared and sent for you.
• Your whole case in Spanish. Jimmy speaks Spanish, and you can talk with him directly.
• We work the way you need. By phone, text, email and video call, and in person when needed.
• No fee unless we win. The consultation is free, and there is nothing to pay up front.

Houston, El Paso and all of Texas

We help people across the Houston area, from Montrose and the Museum District to Gulfton, Sharpstown, Alief, Aldine, Pasadena and Baytown, and in El Paso, where Jimmy grew up. We handle cases anywhere in Texas.