Slip and Fall Liability in Texas

Question:  I slipped & fell at a grocery store.  What can I do now? Do I have a claim?

If you slipped and fell on a slippery floor or debris at the grocery store or other establishment, the property owner may be liable for your injuries, such as neck injury, back injury, or other type of damage related to your body.    

The elements of a premises liability case are basically the same as an ordinary negligence claim in that the elements involve keeping the premises reasonably safe (duty), the property owner failed to do so (breach), and because of the property owner’s failure to do you have now been injured (proximate cause of the injury). 

However, the first thing you should understand about these types of cases is that they’re a lot more complicated than most people think.  Too many people often think that a property owner or manager is automatically responsible for the victim’s injuries on their property. Unfortunately, the exact opposite is true. 

To bring a claim forward, you will need to prove that the owner of the premises was very much aware of the hazardous condition on its premises and that condition indeed caused your injuries.  In addition, the owner failed to exercise any measures to correct the dangerous condition and/ or failed to warn you or others by not putting up sufficient signs to alert patrons of the possible risks in the area.  If any of the above is present, your slip and fall claim case may not progress in the court system.

In order to help your claim, there should also be an incident report completed at the time of your accident, which would include what happened, who witnessed the fall and the conditions of the surface that caused you to have your injury. 

Although there is no legal requirement for an incident report to be completed, most businesses do have policies requiring a report be written when a guest slips & falls on their premises.  It’s strongly recommend that you request one be filled out for documentation and evidence preservation purposes.

Because of the complexity with slip & fall cases, you should consult with a qualified and competent slip and fall accident lawyer to fully understand your rights. He or she can utilize all the legal methods to defend your rights and maximize the value of your case.