San Antonio Premises Liability Attorneys · 30+ Years in Texas

San Antonio Premises Liability Lawyers

Slip-and-fall on the River Walk, falling merchandise at a big-box retailer, assault at an apartment complex with inadequate security, hotel pool incident, or injury at a Fiesta event? Texas premises liability turns on what the owner knew or should have known. Local San Antonio office.

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San Antonio office — local attorneys for premises cases

Our San Antonio office at 926 Chulie Drive handles premises-liability cases regularly. 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 San Antonio premises liability cases happen

River Walk perimeter and downtown. Slip-and-fall, falling-signage, and trip-on-uneven-surface cases. The River Walk's heavy tourist volume produces premises incidents year-round, particularly during Fiesta.
Big-box retailers. Walmart, Target, Sam's Club, Costco, Home Depot, Lowe's. Liquid-spill and falling-merchandise incidents.
Grocery chains. HEB (San Antonio is HEB's home market), Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Bill Miller's. Produce-section spills, bakery leaks, frozen-aisle condensation.
Mall and shopping center properties. The Shops at La Cantera, North Star Mall, Rivercenter Mall, Ingram Park Mall. Slip-and-fall, escalator, and elevator incidents.
Hotels. Downtown convention-hotel corridor (Marriott Rivercenter, JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort), River Walk hotels, airport-adjacent hotels. Pool, parking-garage, and stairway-fall cases.
Restaurants and bars. St. Mary's Strip, Pearl District, Southtown, downtown. Slip-and-fall, glass-table collapse, inadequate-lighting incidents.
Apartment complexes. Negligent-security after assault, inadequate-lighting falls, swimming pool drownings.
Stadiums and event venues. Alamodome, AT&T Center, Frost Bank Center. Large-crowd negligent-security and concession-area incidents.
Hospital campuses. University Health, Brooke Army Medical Center, Methodist, Baptist, Christus Santa Rosa. Wet-floor, parking-garage, and elevator incident cases.
Theme parks and recreational venues. SeaWorld San Antonio, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Schlitterbahn, the Tobin Greenway trail system.

Texas premises liability law — what San Antonio 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.

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 — relevant for Schlitterbahn, SeaWorld, and Lake McQueeney premises.

Dog bite liability

Texas follows a modified one-bite rule. Texas Health & Safety Code §822.0421.

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. Critical for substantial University Health and Brooke Army trauma stays.

Where San Antonio premises liability cases are heard

Bexar County

Bexar County Justice Center, 300 Dolorosa Street. The 37th, 45th, 57th, 73rd, 131st, 150th, 166th, 224th, 225th, 285th, 288th, 407th, 408th, and 438th District Courts handle the civil docket.

Surrounding counties

Comal (New Braunfels), Guadalupe (Seguin), Kendall (Boerne) — each has its own county courthouse.

Federal court (W.D. Tex.)

United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division, John H. Wood Jr. Federal Courthouse, 655 East Cesar E Chavez Boulevard.

Other San Antonio injury cases we handle

Common questions from San Antonio premises clients

What is the deadline to file a San Antonio 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 San Antonio, Bexar County, VIA Metropolitan Transit, San Antonio Independent School District, the State of Texas — can trigger Texas Tort Claims Act notice deadlines as short as six months.

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. The owner's duty depends on whether the visitor was an invitee, licensee, or trespasser.

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 (a shopper at the Shops at La Cantera, North Star Mall, or the River Center Mall) 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 San Antonio apartment complex, hotel, or bar?

Texas recognizes a duty to provide reasonable security against foreseeable criminal acts by third parties. Whether an assault or robbery was foreseeable depends on prior criminal incidents on the property, the surrounding neighborhood crime statistics, and the nature of the business. Bar and apartment-complex negligent-security cases are common on St. Mary's Strip, downtown, and the South Side.

What if I was bitten by a dog at a San Antonio 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. Texas Health & Safety Code §822.0421 also creates criminal liability for owners of dogs declared dangerous.

Where will my San Antonio premises liability case be filed?

Most Bexar County civil cases are heard at the Bexar County Justice Center, 300 Dolorosa Street, San Antonio, TX 78205. The 37th, 45th, 57th, 73rd, 131st, 150th, 166th, 224th, 225th, 285th, 288th, 407th, 408th, and 438th District Courts handle the civil docket.

How is this different from a San Antonio slip-and-fall claim?

Slip-and-fall is one specific type of premises liability claim. Premises liability is the broader category — it includes slip-and-fall but also falling merchandise, hotel pool drownings, apartment-complex negligent security, swimming pool drownings, dog bites, parking-garage assaults, falls from height, escalator and elevator incidents, and stair collapses. The legal framework (invitee duty, knowledge requirement, comparative fault) is the same. We handle all of them. See also our /san-antonio-slip-and-fall-lawyers/ page for that specific sub-type.

How much does it cost to hire Patterson Law Group for a 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. Our San Antonio office is at 926 Chulie Drive. Se habla español.

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