McKinney Slip and Fall
Lawyer

Property owners in Texas have a legal duty to maintain their premises in a reasonably safe condition for people who have a right to be there. The scope of that duty depends on the visitor's status. A customer in a store or a patron in a restaurant is a business invitee and receives the strongest protection: the property owner must not only correct known dangers but must also inspect the property and find hazards that a reasonable inspection would have revealed. A social guest is a licensee and must at minimum be warned of known dangers. In every case, the analysis turns on what the owner knew or reasonably should have known, and what they chose to do about it.

The broader legal framework that governs these cases, including the legal standards for different types of visitors and what a property owner must prove or disprove, is covered in more depth on our premises liability page.

The property owner controls much of the evidence in a slip and fall case, and the clock starts running the moment the accident happens.

• Surveillance footage from stores, parking lots, and common areas is routinely overwritten within days, sometimes within 24 to 72 hours.
• Maintenance and inspection logs documenting the condition of the property in the days before the accident.
• Incident reports filed at the time of the fall, which may be sent directly to the property owner's legal department.
• Prior complaints or work orders related to the same hazard, which can show the owner knew about the problem and failed to act.
• Witness information from other customers, employees, or bystanders who saw the condition or the fall.

We send evidence preservation demands to the property owner and their insurer at the earliest stage of every case to protect this record before it is gone. If you filed an incident report at the scene, request a copy before leaving. If witnesses were present, get their names and contact information immediately.

The most common defense in a slip and fall case is that the injured person was not paying attention or that the hazard was open and obvious. Texas law does allow the open and obvious doctrine to limit a property owner's liability in some circumstances, but that analysis is fact-specific and not a blanket shield. Whether the owner could foresee that a visitor might still be harmed despite the hazard being visible, and whether the hazard was truly obvious under the conditions at the time, are questions that require a careful review of the evidence.

The comparative fault argument is equally common: the property owner's insurer claims the injured person bears some or most of the blame for the fall. Texas allows recovery as long as the injured person's share of fault was not more than 50 percent, though the fault allocation reduces the recovery proportionally. Contesting a fault argument requires building a strong factual record from the beginning, starting with the physical evidence at the scene and the timeline of how the hazard developed.

Compensation in a premises liability claim may include medical bills, the full cost of future treatment and rehabilitation, lost wages, lost earning capacity if the injury creates lasting limitations, and pain and suffering. Injuries from a fall often come with a long tail of medical treatment, specialist visits, and physical therapy that extends well beyond the initial hospitalization. Building the claim around the complete picture of damages, not just the first round of bills, is what an experienced attorney brings to the evaluation from day one.