Fort Worth Slip & Fall Accident Lawyers

Property Owners Have a Legal Duty to Keep You Safe

When you visit someone else's property — a grocery store, a restaurant, an apartment complex, a parking garage, a neighbor's home — the property owner or manager has a legal obligation to maintain reasonably safe conditions. When they fail to meet that obligation and someone is injured as a result, Texas law holds them accountable.

Slip and fall cases fall under the broader category of premises liability law. These cases are often more complex than they appear. Property owners and their insurance companies aggressively defend these claims, typically by arguing the hazard was "open and obvious," that they had no notice of the condition, or that the injured person was not paying attention.

Patterson Law Group's Fort Worth slip and fall attorneys know how to investigate these claims thoroughly, identify the evidence that proves the property owner's knowledge and negligence, and counter the defenses their lawyers will raise. We've helped slip and fall victims across Tarrant County recover compensation for serious injuries, and we're ready to help you.

Proving Negligence in a Texas Slip & Fall Case

To win a slip and fall claim in Texas, your attorney must generally prove four elements:

1. 1
   The property owner owed you a duty of careThe legal duty owed depends on your status as a visitor. Invited guests (customers, patrons) are owed the highest duty — the owner must both inspect for and correct known hazards. Licensees (social guests) must be warned of known hazards. Trespassers are generally owed only a duty to avoid willful injury.
2. 2
   The property owner breached that dutyThe owner either created the hazardous condition, knew about it and failed to address it, or should have known about it through reasonable inspection and failed to act.
3. 3
   The breach caused your accidentThe hazardous condition directly caused your fall and resulting injuries.
4. 4
   You suffered actual damagesYou must have suffered real, compensable losses — medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering — as a result of the fall.

The "knew or should have known" standard is often the heart of a slip and fall case. We investigate how long the hazard existed, whether it had been reported, whether there were prior similar incidents, and whether the property's maintenance procedures were adequate. Surveillance footage, incident reports, and maintenance logs are often decisive evidence.

Common Locations for Slip & Fall Accidents

Slip, trip, and fall accidents can happen anywhere. The cases our Fort Worth attorneys most commonly handle involve accidents at:

The location of your fall matters for identifying the property owner, the applicable duty of care, and the insurance coverage available. Our attorneys investigate every aspect of where your accident occurred to build the strongest possible case.

Injuries Commonly Caused by Slip & Fall Accidents

Slip and fall accidents are sometimes portrayed as minor incidents, but they frequently cause serious, life-altering injuries — particularly for older adults, for whom a fall can be catastrophic. Our attorneys handle cases involving:

What To Do Immediately After a Slip & Fall Accident

What you do in the minutes and hours after a slip and fall accident has a direct impact on the strength of your legal claim. Follow these steps whenever possible:

1. 1
   Report the accident: Tell the store manager, property owner, or supervisor immediately. Insist on a written incident report and ask for a copy before you leave.
2. 2
   Document the hazard: Take photos of exactly what caused your fall — the wet floor, broken step, torn carpet, pothole, or other hazard — before it is cleaned up or repaired.
3. 3
   Photograph your injuries: Take pictures of any visible injuries, bruising, swelling, or lacerations at the scene and in the days following.
4. 4
   Get witness information: If anyone saw your fall, get their names and phone numbers. Eyewitness accounts are valuable evidence.
5. 5
   Seek immediate medical attention: Even if you think you're fine, see a doctor right away. Adrenaline masks pain, and many serious injuries (TBI, internal bleeding, hairline fractures) are not immediately apparent. A gap between the accident and medical treatment can be used against your claim.
6. 6
   Do not give a recorded statement: The property owner's insurance company will want to take a recorded statement. Do not do this without first consulting an attorney.
7. 7
   Contact Patterson Law Group: We can act immediately to preserve surveillance footage and other evidence that may be deleted within days.

How Insurance Companies Fight Slip & Fall Claims

Property owners — particularly large retailers and commercial property owners — carry liability insurance specifically to handle claims like yours, and their insurers are experienced at minimizing payouts. Common tactics include:

• "We Had No Notice" Insurers claim the property owner didn't know about the hazard and couldn't reasonably have known. We counter this by obtaining maintenance logs, prior complaint records, and surveillance footage showing how long the hazard existed.
• "The Hazard Was Open and Obvious" Texas law does recognize a reduced duty of care for open and obvious conditions — but this doesn't eliminate liability entirely, especially if the property owner created the hazard or if it was still unreasonably dangerous despite being visible.
• Comparative Fault Allegations Adjusters claim you were texting, not watching where you were going, wearing inappropriate footwear, or otherwise contributed to your own fall. We build evidence-based responses to each of these arguments.
• Disputing Injury Severity Insurance company medical examiners routinely challenge the severity and cause of slip and fall injuries, particularly soft tissue injuries and TBI. We work with your treating physicians and independent medical experts to document the full scope of your harm.

Patterson Law Group has decades of experience going up against large corporate insurers and their defense teams. We know their playbook, and we know how to beat it.

Compensation Available in Slip & Fall Cases

If you were injured due to a property owner's negligence, you may be entitled to recover:

Texas Statute of Limitations for Slip & Fall Claims

You generally have two years from the date of your slip and fall accident to file a personal injury lawsuit in Texas (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003). If the accident occurred on government-owned property, you may need to file a formal notice of claim within six months of the incident — a much shorter window.

Surveillance video is typically erased or overwritten within 30 to 90 days. Incident reports can be "lost." Witnesses become hard to find. The sooner you contact an attorney, the better your chances of preserving the evidence your case depends on.