Premises Liability Lawyer in McKinney, TX
McKinney Premises
Liability Lawyer
When you enter someone else's property, you have a reasonable expectation that it will be maintained in a safe condition. Property owners have a legal obligation to protect visitors from hazardous conditions they knew about or should have known about. When they fail that obligation and someone is hurt, Texas law holds them accountable. Your case review is free, and there is no fee unless we win.
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Quick Answer
Premises liability law holds property owners responsible when a hazardous condition on their property injures a visitor who had a right to be there. Texas law requires the injured person to show that the owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition and failed to fix it or warn about it. Evidence including surveillance footage, maintenance records, and prior incident reports needs to be preserved quickly. A free case review will tell you whether your situation supports a claim.
What Premises Liability Covers
Premises liability is the broader legal framework that applies any time someone is injured because a property owner failed to maintain a reasonably safe environment. A slip and fall on a wet store floor, an injury caused by inadequate lighting in a parking garage, a crime that happened because a property had no functioning security, a swimming pool drowning at an apartment complex, a balcony or stairwell collapse, and a fall caused by a broken or uneven surface all fall under premises liability, because in each situation the core question is the same: did the property owner know or should they have known about the dangerous condition, and did they fail to fix it or warn about it in time?
Your Legal Status on the Property Matters
Texas law determines the level of protection you receive on someone else's property partly based on why you were there.
- Invitees are customers, shoppers, tenants, and members of the public invited onto the property for a commercial or public purpose. Property owners owe invitees the highest duty of care: to inspect the property regularly, identify hazardous conditions, and either fix them or provide adequate warning.
- Licensees are social guests or people who have permission to be on the property but are not there for the owner's commercial benefit. Owners must warn licensees about known dangers that are not obvious.
- Trespassers generally receive no duty of care, with limited exceptions, including the attractive nuisance doctrine that applies when a child is lured onto property by a dangerous feature such as a pool or playground equipment.
The distinction matters because it directly affects the legal standard your case has to meet and how the property owner's defense is structured. Most commercial injury cases involve invitees, where the duty is highest and the path to liability is clearest.
Proving the Property Owner Had Notice of the Hazard
The most contested element in most premises liability cases is notice. To hold a property owner liable, the injured person generally has to show one of two things.
- Actual notice: the property owner or their employees knew about the dangerous condition before the injury occurred. An employee who saw the spill and walked past it, or a maintenance log showing the broken step had been flagged weeks earlier, are examples of actual notice.
- Constructive notice: the condition had existed long enough that a property owner exercising reasonable care should have discovered and addressed it. A spill on a store floor for three hours is different from one that appeared thirty seconds before the fall.
Establishing notice requires evidence: inspection logs, maintenance records, employee statements, prior incident reports involving the same hazard, and surveillance footage. Each of these has a limited window before it is altered, lost, or routinely erased. We work to obtain them as early as possible in every case.
Evidence
Why Surveillance Footage Has to Be Preserved Fast
Security camera footage is often the most important evidence in a premises liability case. A recording of the area before and after an injury can show how long a hazard had been present, whether any staff member walked past it without addressing it, and what conditions existed at the exact moment of the incident. Most commercial properties retain footage for between 30 and 90 days on a rolling overwrite cycle. Once it is gone, it is gone.
We send preservation demands to property owners and their insurers at the earliest stage of every case. We also request maintenance schedules, inspection checklists, employee training records, and any prior complaints or incident reports relating to the same area or condition. The defense will have its own investigation team. Getting started early means we are not operating from a position where the most critical evidence has already been handled by the other side.
Common Premises Liability Situations We Handle
Slip and falls, falling merchandise, and poorly maintained aisles in stores and shopping centers across Collin County.
Falls caused by poor lighting, unmarked curbs, potholes, and icy or wet surfaces in commercial parking lots and garages.
Broken stairs, defective railings, unsecured entry points, and hazardous common areas at apartment complexes and rental properties.
Slip and falls on wet floors, seating failures, and inadequate floor maintenance at restaurants, bars, and food service venues.
Assaults, robberies, and other foreseeable crimes at apartment complexes, hotels, parking garages, and entertainment venues where inadequate security contributed to the harm.
Visitors and contractors hurt on a site they did not own or control. These cases can intersect with both premises liability and workers' compensation issues.
Negligent Security Claims
Negligent security is a premises liability claim that many people do not immediately recognize as one. When a property owner is aware that their property or the surrounding area presents a foreseeable risk of criminal activity, and they fail to take reasonable steps to protect tenants or visitors, and someone is subsequently assaulted, robbed, or killed as a result, the property owner may be held liable for that failure.
These cases require evidence of the owner's prior awareness of the risk, the specific security measures that were absent or inadequate, and the connection between that failure and the harm that followed. Crime statistics for the area, prior incidents on the property, security audit records, and expert testimony from security professionals are often needed. Negligent security cases are more complex than a standard slip and fall, but they rest on the same foundational principle: the property owner had a duty to protect visitors and failed to meet it.
Injuries and Compensation in Premises Liability Cases
Premises liability injuries range from broken bones and soft tissue damage to serious head trauma and spinal injuries. Cases involving traumatic brain injuries or spinal cord injuries require expert testimony and a long-term damages analysis that accounts for future care costs and lost earning capacity. In cases where a premises liability incident causes a fatality, the surviving family may have a wrongful death claim against the property owner. Catastrophic injury cases are structured around how those long-term, high-value damages are proven and valued.
Compensation in a premises liability case can include medical expenses, future care costs, lost wages, lost earning capacity, and pain and suffering. The severity of the injury and the strength of the notice evidence are the two biggest drivers of how a claim is valued and how it is likely to resolve.
Why Us
Why McKinney Clients Choose The Darwich Law Firm
Direct Attorney Access
You speak with an attorney, not a call center.
We Act Fast on Evidence
Surveillance footage and maintenance records disappear. We send preservation demands at the earliest stage of every case.
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By phone, text, or online, any time.
$0 Upfront for Qualifying Injury Cases
No fee unless we win.
Local to McKinney
We serve clients across Collin County and North Texas.
Premises Liability FAQs
What is premises liability and how is it different from a slip and fall?
Premises liability is the broader legal category. A slip and fall is one specific type of premises liability claim. Other types include negligent security, swimming pool injuries, stairwell and balcony collapses, and any injury caused by a property owner's failure to maintain a safe environment for visitors.
What does it mean that a property owner had notice of the hazard?
Notice means the owner either actually knew about the dangerous condition before you were hurt, or the condition had been present long enough that a reasonable owner exercising ordinary care should have discovered and fixed it. Notice is usually the central disputed issue in a premises liability case, and inspection records, maintenance logs, and surveillance footage are the key evidence.
Can I still bring a claim if I was partly at fault?
Possibly. Texas uses proportionate responsibility rules, which means your recovery may be reduced by your share of fault, but you may still be able to recover compensation as long as your share of fault was not more than 50 percent.
Does it matter whether I was hurt at a business or a private home?
Yes. The duty a property owner owes you depends on your legal status as a visitor. Customers and business invitees receive the highest level of protection. Social guests receive a lower but still meaningful level of protection. The category affects both the standard that applies and how the case is built.
How long do I have to file a premises liability claim in Texas?
Most premises liability claims must be filed within two years of the injury, though some exceptions can apply. Surveillance footage and maintenance records that support the notice element of your claim often disappear well before that deadline, making early legal involvement important.
What if I was hurt because of a crime on someone else's property?
Negligent security claims hold property owners responsible when their failure to provide adequate security measures creates conditions that allow a foreseeable criminal event to harm a visitor. These cases require additional evidence and often expert testimony, but they are a recognized and important part of premises liability law.
Hurt on Unsafe Property in McKinney?
Talk to an Attorney Today.
Property owners and their insurance companies move quickly to protect their own interests after an injury on their premises. You should too. The evidence that determines whether your claim succeeds is time-sensitive. Start your free case review or call (469) 960-6069. You can also visit our frequently asked questions page for general guidance on Texas personal injury timelines.
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