Dallas Premises Liability Attorneys · 30+ Years in Texas

Dallas Premises Liability Lawyers

Slip-and-fall at NorthPark or the Galleria Dallas, falling merchandise at a big-box retailer, parking-garage injury, hotel pool incident, or assault at an apartment complex with inadequate security? Texas premises liability turns on what the owner knew or should have known. We serve Dallas from our Fort Worth office.

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How we serve Dallas clients

Patterson Law Group does not maintain a brick-and-mortar office in Dallas. We serve Dallas-area clients from our Fort Worth office (30 minutes west on I-30) and our Arlington office. We know Texas premises-liability law, the invitee/licensee/trespasser duty framework, and the surveillance-video preservation moves that decide premises cases at the threshold.

Where Dallas premises liability cases happen

NorthPark Center, Galleria Dallas, Mockingbird Station. Mall and shopping-center premises incidents — slip-and-fall, falling merchandise, escalator and elevator incidents.
Big-box retailers. Walmart, Target, Sam's Club, Costco, Home Depot. Liquid-spill and pallet-stacking incidents.
Grocery chains. Tom Thumb, Kroger, Whole Foods, Central Market, Sprouts. Produce-section spills, bakery leaks, frozen-aisle condensation.
Downtown hotels and Convention Center area. Hotel pool, parking-garage, and stairway-fall cases.
Restaurants and bars. Lower Greenville, Deep Ellum, Bishop Arts, Knox-Henderson. Slip-and-fall, glass-table collapse, inadequate-lighting incidents.
Apartment complexes. Negligent-security after assault, inadequate-lighting falls, swimming pool drownings.
American Airlines Center and event venues. Large-crowd negligent-security and concession-area incidents.
Hospital campuses. Parkland, Baylor, UT Southwestern, Methodist Dallas. Wet-floor, parking-garage, and elevator incident cases.
DART stations and parking lots. Texas Tort Claims Act applies — notice deadlines as short as six months.
White Rock Lake and city parks. Recreational use statute (§75.001 et seq.) issues.

Texas premises liability law — what Dallas clients should know

Two-year statute of limitations

Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code §16.003. Government-defendant claims may have shorter Texas Tort Claims Act notice deadlines.

Invitee / licensee / trespasser framework

Texas case law assigns different duties based on the visitor's status. An invitee is owed the highest duty.

Knowledge requirement

The plaintiff must show the owner knew or reasonably should have known of the dangerous condition. Constructive knowledge can satisfy this element.

Modified comparative fault (§33.001)

You can recover as long as you are 50% or less at fault.

Texas Recreational Use Statute (§75.001 et seq.)

Limits liability when someone is injured during recreational activity on certain property.

Dog bite liability

Texas follows a modified one-bite rule. Tex. Health & Safety Code §822.0421 creates criminal liability for owners of dogs declared dangerous.

Negligent security

Texas recognizes a duty to provide reasonable security against foreseeable criminal acts. Foreseeability depends on prior criminal incidents on the property and surrounding crime statistics.

Paid or incurred medicals (§41.0105)

Limits medical-damages recovery. Parkland trauma stays easily run into six figures.

Where Dallas premises liability cases are heard

Dallas County

George L. Allen Sr. Courts Building, 600 Commerce Street, Dallas. 30+ civil district courts handle the docket.

Surrounding counties

Collin County (Plano, Frisco, McKinney), Denton, Rockwall, Kaufman — each has its own county courthouse.

Federal court (N.D. Tex.)

United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, Earle Cabell Federal Building, 1100 Commerce Street.

Other Dallas injury cases we handle

Common questions from Dallas premises clients

What is the deadline to file a Dallas premises liability lawsuit?

Two years from the date of the injury under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code §16.003. Claims against city, county, or state property — the City of Dallas, Dallas County, DART, Dallas Independent School District — can trigger Texas Tort Claims Act notice deadlines as short as six months under §101.101.

What does Texas law require me to prove in a premises case?

Generally, the plaintiff must prove (1) a dangerous condition existed on the property, (2) the property owner knew or reasonably should have known about it, (3) the owner failed to exercise reasonable care to make the condition safe or warn about it, and (4) that failure caused the injury.

Does it matter why I was on the property when I got hurt?

Yes. Texas law assigns different duties based on the visitor's status. An invitee (someone there for the owner's business benefit, like a shopper at the Galleria Dallas or NorthPark Center) is owed the highest duty. A licensee (a social guest) is owed a more limited duty. A trespasser is owed only the duty not to be willfully or wantonly injured.

Can I recover if I was partially at fault for not seeing the hazard?

Yes, as long as you were 50% or less at fault. Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code §33.001 reduces your recovery by your share of fault but does not bar it unless that share exceeds 50%.

What about negligent security at a Dallas apartment complex, hotel, or bar?

Texas recognizes a duty to provide reasonable security against foreseeable criminal acts by third parties. Whether an assault was foreseeable depends on prior criminal incidents on the property, surrounding neighborhood crime statistics, the nature of the business, and the owner's existing security measures. We pull prior-incident records and police call histories for the address.

What if I was bitten by a dog at a Dallas property?

Texas follows a modified one-bite rule: the owner is liable if they knew or should have known the dog had a dangerous propensity. The owner can also be liable for ordinary negligence if they failed to secure the dog. Texas Health & Safety Code §822.0421 also creates criminal liability for owners of dogs declared dangerous.

Where will my Dallas premises liability case be filed?

Most Dallas County civil cases are heard at the George L. Allen Sr. Courts Building, 600 Commerce Street, Dallas. Dallas County operates 30+ civil district courts. Cases with diversity of citizenship can be filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.

Does Patterson Law Group have an office in Dallas?

We do not have a brick-and-mortar office in Dallas. We serve Dallas-area clients from our Fort Worth office at 2409 Forest Park Boulevard (30 minutes west on I-30) and our Arlington office at 2310 W I-20 Suite 100.

How much does it cost to hire Patterson Law Group for a Dallas premises case?

Nothing up front. We take premises-liability cases on contingency — you pay no attorney fees unless we recover for you. The consultation is free and confidential. Se habla español.

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