Slip and falls, stairway collapses, broken walkways, inadequate lighting — when a property owner's negligence causes your injury, Texas law holds them accountable. This guide explains what you must do before the evidence disappears.
Premises liability covers any injury caused by an unsafe condition on property you were legally permitted to be on. These are the most common scenarios in Texas.
The most common premise liability claim. Grocery stores, restaurants, and retail locations have a duty to inspect for and remedy spills. If no wet floor sign was posted and no cleanup attempt was made in a reasonable time, the property owner had constructive knowledge of the hazard.
Broken handrails, uneven steps, cracked sidewalks, and unmarked elevation changes are common property defects. Commercial property owners must maintain walkways in reasonably safe condition and warn of known hazards.
Potholes, poor lighting, unmarked curbs, and ice or standing water in parking lots are hazards that property owners must address. Inadequate lighting that contributed to a fall or assault is a separate but related premises liability theory.
As a customer, you are an invitee — the highest legal protection in Texas premises law. The business owes you an active duty to inspect for and remedy hazards, not just react when they're reported. Failure to inspect on a regular schedule can establish liability.
Landlords must maintain common areas in a reasonably safe condition for tenants and their guests. Broken gates, malfunctioning elevators, unlit hallways, and known security threats that are not addressed can all support a premises liability claim.
If you were assaulted on commercial property where criminal activity was foreseeable — and the owner failed to provide adequate security, lighting, or access controls — you may have a negligent security claim alongside a criminal case against the attacker.
Under Texas premises liability law, the duty owed to you depends on why you were on the property. This classification is the foundation of your case — and the first thing a defense attorney will challenge.
An invitee enters with the owner's express or implied invitation, typically for a commercial purpose that benefits both parties. As an invitee, you are owed the highest duty of care in Texas law. The property owner must:
If you were a customer in a store, restaurant, hotel, or any business open to the public, you are almost certainly an invitee — the strongest legal status for a premises liability claim.
A licensee enters with the owner's permission but for their own purpose — a social guest, for example. The duty owed is lower. The property owner must:
A trespasser enters without any right or invitation. The property owner owes only a duty not to willfully, wantonly, or grossly negligently injure the trespasser. There is a significant exception: child trespassers (attractive nuisance doctrine) may be owed a higher duty if the hazard — like a swimming pool — is likely to attract children.
Premises liability cases are won or lost on evidence. The steps below are time-critical — some windows close within hours of the incident.
Tell a manager or property employee immediately and ask them to complete a written incident report. Request a copy before you leave. This report creates an official record and makes it nearly impossible for the property to later claim the incident was never reported. If they refuse to write a report, document that refusal.
The hazard that caused your fall — the spill, the broken step, the missing handrail, the wet floor — is often fixed or cleaned within minutes of an incident. Photograph it from multiple angles before this happens. Also photograph the absence of warning signs, the lighting conditions, and any surrounding area that shows the property's general state of maintenance.
Ask anyone who saw the fall — or who can describe how long the hazard had been present before your fall — for their name and phone number. A witness who can testify that the spill was there for twenty minutes before it was cleaned up is powerful evidence of constructive knowledge. Bystanders who saw no wet floor sign are equally valuable.
Do not wash your clothes or shoes after the incident. Footwear can provide evidence of traction capability — which the property's insurer will try to use against you. Your clothing may carry residue from the spill. Place everything in a bag and store it as-is. Your attorney may need these items for analysis.
Visit an emergency room, urgent care, or your doctor the same day — even if pain feels minor. Premises injuries frequently worsen over 24–72 hours as inflammation sets in. A same-day medical record creates a direct documented connection between the incident and your injuries that cannot be disputed later.
Surveillance footage at retail locations, restaurants, and apartment complexes is typically overwritten every 30–72 hours. AK Law can issue a litigation hold letter to the property owner within hours — legally requiring them to preserve all video evidence. If the footage shows the hazard had been present for a significant time, that evidence alone can win your case. Waiting even 48 hours may mean it is gone forever.
Do not describe the accident, post photos, or comment on your condition on any social media platform. Defense attorneys routinely comb social media for posts that can be used to argue you are not as injured as claimed or that you were distracted at the time of the fall. A single post can undermine an otherwise strong claim.
Keep a written log of your pain levels, medical appointments, medications, missed work days, and activities you can no longer perform. This contemporaneous record is difficult to dispute and becomes the basis for calculating non-economic damages — pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life — which can exceed medical expenses in serious premises cases.
Attend every appointment. Property insurers scrutinize treatment gaps and use them to argue injuries were not serious, or that you failed to mitigate your damages. Consistent, documented treatment directly supports the value of your claim.
Property insurers train their adjusters specifically for premises liability claims. These are the six statements most commonly used against injured Texans.
Retail chains, restaurants, and apartment operators carry specialized liability insurance with adjusters who handle slip-and-fall claims daily. These are the six tactics used most frequently in Texas.
They claim the hazard appeared moments before your fall — not long enough for them to have known about it or fixed it. Surveillance footage showing the hazard existed for a significant time defeats this argument.
They classify you as a licensee or even a trespasser to reduce the duty owed. The nature of your visit — why you were on the property and who invited you — must be documented clearly.
They produce an employee statement claiming a wet floor sign was in place — sometimes even producing a sign that was placed after the fall. Photographs and witness statements taken immediately after the incident counter this.
They argue your shoes lacked adequate traction or were inappropriate for the conditions. Your preserved footwear — along with expert analysis if needed — can defeat this argument.
They obtain your medical history and argue your back, knee, or neck pain predated the incident. Texas law allows recovery when a fall aggravates a pre-existing condition — but you need an attorney to present this correctly.
An early settlement offer — before imaging results, specialist opinions, or full diagnosis — is designed to close your claim cheaply. Once signed, it cannot be reopened.
Property insurers preserve evidence that helps them. AK Law preserves evidence that helps you — and we move within hours.
