SLIP AND FALL & PREMISES LIABILITY
Houston Slip and Fall Lawyer
A person hurt in a fall on someone else’s property in Houston has a claim only if the owner or occupier knew, or should have known, about the dangerous condition and did not use reasonable care to fix it or warn of it. A fall alone is not enough. Texas courts set the test, and when the property belongs to the City of Houston or another government body, notice is due within months.
The short version
- A fall is not enough. You must show the owner knew or should have known of the condition, that it posed an unreasonable risk, that reasonable care was not used, and that this caused the injury (Keetch v. Kroger Co., 845 S.W.2d 262 (Tex. 1992)).
- Knowledge is proven three ways: the owner created the condition, actually knew of it, or it existed long enough to be discovered (Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Reece, 81 S.W.3d 812 (Tex. 2002)).
- City of Houston property: written, verified notice within ninety days (Houston City Charter, Art. IX, § 11). Other government bodies: six months (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.101(a)).
- Two years to file suit for personal injury (§ 16.003(a)).
- Shared fault: nothing is recoverable above 50 percent responsibility; below that, damages are reduced by your share (§§ 33.001, 33.012(a)).
WHAT YOU MUST PROVE
What do you have to prove in a Houston slip and fall case?
Four things, as the Texas Supreme Court lists them: the owner knew or should have known of 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 the injury. Most cases are won or lost on the first.
The four elements
In Keetch v. Kroger Co., 845 S.W.2d 262 (Tex. 1992), the Court set them out: “(1) Actual or constructive knowledge of some condition on the premises by the owner/operator; (2) That the condition posed an unreasonable risk of harm; (3) That the owner/operator did not exercise reasonable care to reduce or eliminate the risk; and (4) That the owner/operator’s failure to use such care proximately caused the plaintiff’s injuries.” The duty behind them was described in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Reece, 81 S.W.3d 812 (Tex. 2002): the store owed its customer “a duty to exercise reasonable care to protect her from dangerous conditions in the store that were known or reasonably discoverable, but it was not an insurer of her safety.” Those last words are the reason a fall alone does not make a claim.
How knowledge is proven
Reece states the three ways. A person who slipped “satisfies the notice element by establishing that (1) the defendant placed the substance on the floor, (2) the defendant actually knew that the substance was on the floor, or (3) it is more likely than not that the condition existed long enough to give the premises owner a reasonable opportunity to discover it.” The third is the “time-notice rule,” which the Court said “is based on the premise that temporal evidence best indicates whether the owner had a reasonable opportunity to discover and remedy a dangerous condition.” It also explained what is not enough: “An employee’s proximity to a hazard, with no evidence indicating how long the hazard was there, merely indicates that it was possible for the premises owner to discover the condition, not that the premises owner reasonably should have discovered it.” And how long is long enough is not fixed: “What constitutes a reasonable time for a premises owner to discover a dangerous condition will, of course, vary depending upon the facts and circumstances presented.”
In practice that makes time the central question. The evidence that answers it is the store’s surveillance video, its inspection or sweep records, the incident report, the condition of the spill itself (footprints, cart tracks, dirt, drying at the edges), and what employees said at the scene. Video is routinely recorded over, so a written request to preserve it should go out quickly.
Warnings and conditions that were open and obvious
In Austin v. Kroger Texas, L.P., 465 S.W.3d 193 (Tex. 2015), the Court wrote: “A landowner has a duty to exercise reasonable care to make the premises safe for invitees.” It added that “in most cases, the landowner can also satisfy its duty by providing an adequate warning of the danger,” and that “in most cases, a landowner owes no duty to protect an invitee against a dangerous condition that is open and obvious or known to the invitee.” The opinion describes two limited exceptions. Whether a cone, a sign or the visibility of the hazard defeats a particular claim depends on the facts, and it is one of the first things a lawyer will ask about.
Falls that are not spills
The same elements apply to a broken stair, a loose handrail, a torn carpet, an unlit walkway, a pothole in a parking lot or ice outside a door. What changes is the evidence of knowledge: repair requests, earlier complaints, maintenance contracts and inspection reports take the place of sweep logs. If you were hurt while working, the rules are different; see our page on Houston workplace injury and non-subscriber claims.
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE & DEADLINES
Who is responsible for a fall on property in Houston, and what are the deadlines?
Usually whoever controls the property: a tenant, a landlord or a management company. A lawsuit must generally be filed within two years. When the property belongs to a government body the duty is narrower, the amount is capped, and notice is due within six months, or ninety days for the City of Houston.
Government property: sidewalks, public buildings, parks and transit
Under the Texas Tort Claims Act, Section 101.022(a), when a claim arises from a premise defect “the governmental unit owes to the claimant only the duty that a private person owes to a licensee on private property, unless the claimant pays for the use of the premises.” Subsection (b) keeps a fuller duty for some road hazards: “The limitation of duty in this section does not apply to the duty to warn of special defects such as excavations or obstructions on highways, roads, or streets” and certain traffic-signal problems. In a park or other place used for recreation, Section 75.002(f) provides that “if a person enters premises owned, operated, or maintained by a governmental unit and engages in recreation on those premises, the governmental unit does not owe to the person a greater degree of care than is owed to a trespasser on the premises.”
Notice comes first. Section 101.101(a): “A governmental unit is entitled to receive notice of a claim against it under this chapter not later than six months after the day that the incident giving rise to the claim occurred.” Subsection (b): “A city’s charter and ordinance provisions requiring notice within a charter period permitted by law are ratified and approved.” The Houston City Charter, Article IX, Section 11, requires that the injured person “shall give the Mayor and City Council notice in writing of such injury or destruction, duly verified, within ninety days after the same has been sustained” and lists what the notice must contain. Under § 101.101(c) the notice requirements “do not apply if the governmental unit has actual notice that death has occurred, that the claimant has received some injury, or that the claimant’s property has been damaged.” The amount is limited as well: “Liability of a municipality under this chapter is limited to money damages in a maximum amount of $250,000 for each person and $500,000 for each single occurrence for bodily injury or death” (§ 101.023(c)).
Contractors and their employees
A worker for a contractor who is hurt by a condition of the property where the work is being done faces Chapter 95. Under § 95.003 the property owner is not liable unless “the property owner exercises or retains some control over the manner in which the work is performed, other than the right to order the work to start or stop or to inspect progress or receive reports; and” “the property owner had actual knowledge of the danger or condition resulting in the personal injury, death, or property damage and failed to adequately warn.”
Your own share of fault
Section 33.001: “a claimant may not recover damages if his percentage of responsibility is greater than 50 percent.” Below that, under § 33.012(a), “the court shall reduce the amount of damages to be recovered by the claimant with respect to a cause of action by a percentage equal to the claimant’s percentage of responsibility.” Expect questions about your shoes, what you were carrying, whether you were looking at a phone and whether a warning was posted.
What can be recovered, and the deadline to sue
Section 41.001 defines the two kinds of compensation: “”Economic damages” means compensatory damages intended to compensate a claimant for actual economic or pecuniary loss” and “”Noneconomic damages” means damages awarded for the purpose of compensating a claimant for physical pain and suffering, mental or emotional pain or anguish” with the other losses the definition lists. Section 16.003(a) provides that, with listed exceptions, “a person must bring suit for trespass for injury to the estate or to the property of another, conversion of personal property, taking or detaining the personal property of another, personal injury, forcible entry and detainer, and forcible detainer not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues.” Other kinds of injury claims are covered on our Houston personal injury page.
COMMON QUESTIONS
What do people ask after a fall on someone else's property in Houston?
Possibly. Knowledge can be shown without an admission. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Reece lists three ways, including that “it is more likely than not that the condition existed long enough to give the premises owner a reasonable opportunity to discover it.” Video and inspection records are how that is usually proven.
Not automatically, but it matters. The Texas Supreme Court has said that “in most cases, the landowner can also satisfy its duty by providing an adequate warning of the danger.” Whether a particular warning was adequate, and where it stood, depends on the facts.
Three things. The City generally owes only the duty owed to a licensee (§ 101.022(a)); the City Charter requires written, verified notice “within ninety days after the same has been sustained”; and the amount is capped (§ 101.023(c)). Call a lawyer right away.
It depends on who controlled the area and what they knew. Stairs, walkways and parking lots are usually under the landlord’s or manager’s control. Earlier repair requests, emails and photographs are the evidence of knowledge.
Get medical care. Report the fall and ask for a copy of the incident report. Photograph the floor, your shoes and the area. Get the names of employees and witnesses. Keep the shoes and clothing as they are. Do not give a recorded statement to the insurer before getting advice.
Nothing. The consultation is free, and we charge no fee unless we recover for you. Call (713) 785-9484.
How do I find out whether I have a slip and fall claim?
Call (713) 785-9484 or use the form. The consultation is free and there is no fee unless we recover for you. Tell us the date and the exact place of the fall, whether a report was made, and where you were treated. If the property is public, tell us that first, because the notice period is short.
Houston personal injury claims: key facts
| Fact | Answer |
|---|---|
| Law firm | Maida Law Firm — Houston personal-injury firm |
| Practice on this page | Houston Personal Injury Claims |
| Area served | Houston and the surrounding communities listed under Areas We Serve |
| Office | 8313 Southwest Fwy Ste 102, Houston, TX 77074 · (713) 785-9484 |
| Author | Sam A. Maida, Jr. — Texas Bar No. 00787950 |
| Reviewer | Bernard G. Johnson III — Texas Bar No. 00796832 |
| Consultation and fee | Free Consultation; Contingency Fee — no attorney’s fee unless there is a recovery |
| Google rating | 4.9 stars from 368 reviews (Google, 21 September 2026) |
| Deadline to file | Two years from the day the cause of action accrues — Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a) |
What an injured visitor must prove in Texas
The elements are quoted from the Texas Supreme Court; the middle column says what usually proves each one.
| Element | Evidence that usually proves it | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Actual or constructive knowledge of some condition on the premises by the owner or operator | Video, inspection and sweep records, earlier complaints or repair requests, employee statements, the state of the hazard itself | Keetch v. Kroger Co., 845 S.W.2d 262 (Tex. 1992) |
| The condition posed an unreasonable risk of harm | Photographs, measurements, lighting, earlier falls in the same place | Keetch v. Kroger Co. |
| The owner or operator did not exercise reasonable care to reduce or eliminate the risk | No cleanup, repair or warning in the time available; the owner’s own procedures | Keetch v. Kroger Co. |
| That failure proximately caused the injuries | Medical records from the day of the fall onward; witness accounts | Keetch v. Kroger Co. |
The middle column is our description of the evidence used in these cases, not a quotation. Rows link to the full opinion.
Deadlines and limits for a fall on property in Houston
Public property has the shortest deadline: count from the day of the fall.
| What | Deadline or limit | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Written, verified notice to the City of Houston | Within ninety days after the injury | Houston City Charter, Art. IX, § 11 |
| Notice to another governmental unit | Six months after the day of the incident, unless a city charter sets a shorter period | Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.101(a), (b) |
| Lawsuit for personal injury | Two years after the day the cause of action accrues | § 16.003(a) |
| Most a municipality can be made to pay for bodily injury | $250,000 for each person and $500,000 for each single occurrence | § 101.023(c) |
Exceptions exist, including actual notice under § 101.101(c). A lawyer should confirm the deadline that applies to you.
Slip and fall claims in Houston: who, what, when, where, why and how
Tap a question to open it.
Who is the claim against when I fall in a store inside a shopping center?
Usually the business that controls the place where you fell. Inside the store that is the store; in a shared parking lot or walkway it may be the landlord or a management company. The lease and the maintenance contracts decide it.
What is the difference between a slip and fall claim and a premises liability claim?
A slip and fall is one kind of premises liability claim. The same elements apply to trips on broken pavement or stairs, falls from a failed handrail, and injuries from poor lighting or falling merchandise.
When does the deadline start to run?
Generally on the day of the fall. The two-year period in § 16.003(a) and the notice periods for government property are both counted from the incident.
Where is a Houston slip and fall lawsuit filed?
Generally in the county where the fall happened. For a fall in Houston that is usually Harris County, in a county civil court at law or a district court depending on the amount in dispute.
Why do stores keep sweep logs and inspection sheets?
Because time is the central question. The Texas Supreme Court has said temporal evidence best indicates whether the owner had a reasonable opportunity to discover and remedy a dangerous condition. A log showing no inspection for a long period helps the injured person; a recent inspection helps the store.
How is the value of a fall claim worked out?
From the losses Texas law recognizes: medical expenses and lost earnings as economic damages, and physical pain and mental anguish as noneconomic damages (§ 41.001), reduced by any percentage of responsibility assigned to you.
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Maida law firm was great. They have amazing communication. The staff was also very friendly and professional. The process was fast and they are very reliable. I will definitely be recommending them to all my friends and family. Thank you so much Maida Law Firm.
Reviews are the opinions of the clients who wrote them. Past results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case.
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Where we are in Houston
Maida Law Firm
8313 Southwest Fwy Ste 102, Houston, TX 77074
We are on the Southwest Freeway, minutes from the 610 Loop and Sharpstown, and we see clients from across Harris County.
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About the authors
Sam A. Maida, Jr.
Owner and Managing Attorney
Sam A. Maida, Jr. has represented injured Texans in the greater Houston area since the firm opened in 1993.
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Bernard G. Johnson III
Litigation Managing Attorney
Bernard G. Johnson III is a board certified trial lawyer licensed in Texas since 1996 and a graduate of South Texas College of Law.