Houston Premises
Liability Lawyer

Slip and Fall Accident Lawyers Serving Clients in
Houston and Surrounding Areas

713-581-8623 · info@tjhlaw.com 4265 San Felipe #1200 Houston, TX 77027

Premises liability cases hold business owners, city governments, and property owners liable when injuries occur on their properties, including injuries that are the result of negligent maintenance or unsafe premises. If a property owner was aware of a hazard on their property and failed to take steps to resolve it, they may be found negligent and be held responsible for your injuries after an accident.


Building Your Houston Premises Liability Lawsuit

In order to prove liability for negligence in these cases, the following must be established by the plaintiff:

  • There was a dangerous condition present on the property
  • The dangerous condition contributed to or caused an injury
  • The operator of the premises created, knew, or should have been aware of the condition
  • The operator of the premises failed to correct the condition before the injury occurred

Houston slip and fall attorneys at Thomas J. Henry Law are here to speak with you to determine if you have a premises liability case that can be taken to court. We are available 24/7, nights and weekends to evaluate your case.

Common Causes of Premises Liability Claims

At Thomas J. Henry Law, our experienced attorneys have handled various types of premises liability cases. The following are the most common causes of premises liability cases:

  • Slips & falls
  • Negligent security measures
  • Animal bites
  • Improper or inadequate maintenance of properties

Steps to Follow After a Premises Liability Accident

  • Get immediate medical attention for your injuries
  • Report the incident to the owner or manager of the property
  • Request a written copy of the incident report
  • Take pictures of the area where the accident occurred, providing an exact time and date of the incident
  • Get contact information for any witnesses of the accident
  • Call an experienced injury attorney

Premises Liability Accident Statistics

According to the findings of Occupational Health & Safety:

  • The number of risk zones for slips and falls is severely underestimated
    • 46 percent of respondents believe there are only zero to three same-level fall risk areas in their facility
  • Most risk zones are not being addressed
    • 92 percent of organizations place floor mats in entranceways, and yet all nine of the other most dangerous risk zones go uncovered
  • Popular solutions cause falls rather than prevent them
    • About 15 percent of organizations reported that falls in their building are primarily the result of wrinkled, bunched-up, or shifting rubber-backed floor mats
  • Customer walkways are a major problem area
    • Only 31 percent of respondents reported placing floor mats in customer walkways, despite the fact that 24 percent of those respondents experienced falls in those areas

Do You Have a Premises Liability Case? Speak to Our Slip and Fall Lawyers in Houston, TX

Thomas J. Henry has been handling all types of premises liability cases in Houston, across Texas, and the entire United States. Our firm fights diligently on behalf of our severely injured clients to get the compensation they deserve for medical bills and lost wages. Premises liability cases are complex and require an experienced Houston premises liability lawyer on your side.

If you’ve been hurt on dangerous premises, call Thomas J. Henry’s premises liability attorneys in Houston today for a free case review. Our experienced Hosuton premises liability lawyers are available when you need us. Available 24/7, nights and weekends, our personal injury attorneys are ready to provide you and your family with a free legal consultation.

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Your Questions Answered

We have straight answers to difficult questions
to help you make critical decisions, navigate
legal process and help you get justice.

Following an accident, there are always more questions
than answers. At Thomas J. Henry, we’re here to answer
any questions you have about your injury case.

If you or a loved one were injured on someone’s property and believe your injury was the result of the property owner’s failure to provide reasonable protection, following these steps may help build your product liability case.
  • Seek medical attention for your injuries
  • Ensure that you or loved ones’ well being is taken care of before taking any other actions
  • Report the incident to the owner or manager of the property
  • Make sure to get a copy of the incident report
  • Take pictures of the area where the accident happened
  • Photos with a date and time are important, because evidence could be removed
  • Get names and phone numbers of any people who witnessed the accident
  • Witnesses will help prove your story in the future
  • Call an experienced injury attorney
Thomas J. Henry Injury Attorneys has the experience and resources necessary to retrieve the compensation you deserve for your injuries
In most situations, a property owner owes a general duty of care toward those injured on his property. How far this duty of care extends is dependent on the relationship between the property owner and the injured person. In most premises liability cases, plaintiffs will fall into one of three categories:
  • Licensee: A licensee is a visitor whom the property owner permits expressly or implicitly to be on his property without a contractual relationship or trade of benefits. A houseguest is normally considered a licensee.
  • Invitee: An invitee is an individual who visits a property for a reason that benefits both the visitor and the property owner. A common example of an invitee is a shopper visiting a grocery store. In this instance, the shopper benefits from getting groceries and the store benefits from the shopper spending their money. A residential example of an invitee would include a contractor hired by a homeowner to complete repairs on a property. While a transfer of money is common in invitee situations, it is not required.
  • Trespasser: A trespasser is a visitor who comes onto a property without permission of the property owner.
If you are visiting a business as a customer, then you are considered an invitee and the property owner owes you a duty of care. Part of this duty of care is that the owner must exercise ordinary care to keep the premises safe for invitees. This includes protecting invitees from any dangerous conditions the owner knows about or should reasonably know about as well as inspecting the property and either fixing or warning invitees about any dangerous conditions. For example, in a situation in which liquid was spilled, the store would either have to clean up the spill in a timely manner or provide notification, such as a “Caution: Wet Floor” sign, to invitees provided the spill was known about or should have reasonably been known about. If you feel that your injury was the result of a business owner’s failure to fulfill a reasonable duty of care, then you may be entitled to compensation.
Whether you can sue a property owner depends whether the property owner owed you a duty of care and whether the property owner breached that duty of care. The duty of care owed to you by the property owner depends on your relationship with the property owner. Typically, you as a visitor will fall into one of three categories:
  • Licensee: A licensee is a visitor whom the property owner permits expressly or implicitly to be on his property without a contractual relationship or trade of benefits. A houseguest is normally considered a licensee.
  • Invitee: An invitee is an individual who visits a property for a reason that benefits both the visitor and the property owner. A common example of an invitee is a shopper visiting a grocery store. In this instance, the shopper benefits from getting groceries and the store benefits from the shopper spending their money. A residential example of an invitee would include a contractor hired by a homeowner to complete repairs on a property. While a transfer of money is common in invitee situations, it is not required.
  • Trespasser: A trespasser is a visitor who comes onto a property without permission of the property owner.
Once that is established, your attorney will begin to look at the duty of care owed:
  • Duty of Care Owed to Licensees: The property owner is usually only liable for willful or wanton injury to a licensee. This means the property owner must exercise enough care to prevent injury to a visitor who is known to be or could reasonably be expected to be within the range of a dangerous act or condition (i.e. warn the licensee of a known hazard). However, the property owner is not required to inspect the premises or to immediately fix dangerous conditions.
  • Duty of Care Owed to Invitees: The property owner must exercise ordinary care to keep the premises safe. This includes protecting invitees from any dangerous conditions the owner knows about or should reasonably know about. The property owner must also inspect the property and must either fix or warn invitees about any dangerous conditions. An example of this is the “Caution: Wet Floor” signs that is commonly used in retail and grocery stores.
  • Duty of Care Owed to Trespassers: Because there is now true relationship between a trespasser or property owner, the law is much more lenient when it comes to the duty of care owed by the property owner. The property owner is not required to fix any dangerous conditions nor must the property owner warn trespassers about potential hazards. However, a property owner can be held liable for creating dangerous conditions on his property or making dangers conditions worse in order to catch trespassers.
If it is determined that the plaintiff was an invitee of the business owner, then the business owner has a legal duty to exercise ordinary care to keep their premises safe for that invitee. This includes protecting invitees from any dangerous conditions the owner knows about or should reasonably know about as well as regularly inspecting the property in order to fix or warn invitees about any dangerous conditions. Situations involving invitees in which a business owner may have failed to provide a duty of ordinary care and may be liable for a visitor’s injuries include:
  • Injuries caused by a defective sliding door
  • Injuries caused by improperly assembled shelves
  • Injuries caused by improperly assembled and/or poorly maintained ceilings
  • A business owner failing to provide a safe parking lot for customers
  • Slip and fall injuries caused by a wet floor
However, even if a visitor is determined to be a trespasser, a business owner can be held liable for injuries suffered by the trespasser if it is determined that the business owner created dangerous conditions on his property or attempted to make known dangerous conditions worse in order to catch or punish trespassers.
After determining which category an injured falls into, a court will analyze what duty of care is owed by the property owner.  Generally, the duty of care will be as follows:
  • Duty of Care Owed to Licensees: The property owner is usually only liable for willful or wanton injury to a licensee. This means the property owner must exercise enough care to prevent injury to a visitor who is known to be or could reasonably be expected to be within the range of a dangerous act or condition (i.e. warn the licensee of a known hazard). However, the property owner is not required to inspect the premises or to immediately fix dangerous conditions.
  • Duty of Care Owed to Invitees: The property owner must exercise ordinary care to keep the premises safe. This includes protecting invitees from any dangerous conditions the owner knows about or should reasonably know about. The property owner must also inspect the property and must either fix or warn invitees about any dangerous conditions. An example of this is the “Caution: Wet Floor” signs that is commonly used in retail and grocery stores.
  • Duty of Care Owed to Trespassers: Because there is now true relationship between a trespasser or property owner, the law is much more lenient when it comes to the duty of care owed by the property owner. The property owner is not required to fix any dangerous conditions nor must the property owner warn trespassers about potential hazards. However, a property owner can be held liable for creating dangerous conditions on his property or making dangers conditions worse in order to catch trespassers.

Why Choose Us

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No Win, No Fee

Thomas J. Henry offers a "No Fee Promise." We work on a contingency fee basis which means you do not pay our firm any fees unless and until we win your case. Learn more.

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Help with Bills

If you've been hurt, you may have a damaged vehicle or be unable to work. We can help get you a rental car if your vehicle is damaged and even advance money on qualified cases.
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Full-Service Injury Firm

We handle all types of injury cases, including vehicle accidents, slip and falls, medical malpractice, vehicle recalls, product recalls, pharmaceutical cases, mass tort, and more.
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If you've been hurt, you may not be able to come into our offices to speak to an attorney. Don't worry, we will come to you wherever you are – at home, work, or hospital.
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We have 250+ personal injury attorneys available 24/7 to help you and your family. We have the power and resources to handle any case. Call now for your free case review.

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Nationally Recognized

Our firm wins top verdict awards each year and has been featured in Texas Monthly, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Newsweek.com, Forbes, Fortune, Parenting Magazine and more.
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Top Verdicts & Settlements

We win some of the top verdicts, settlements, and judgments in the country. Recent recoveries include $50 million for a trucking accident, $35 million for a trucking accident and $30.2 million for a vehicle recall accident.

Recent Results

This is just a small sampling of the results we have obtained for our clients.
Please click through to view more verdicts, settlements, and judgments.
Trucking Accident

$50 Million

NECK INJURIES

SPINE & BACK INJURIES

Trucking Accident

$35 Million

WRONGFUL DEATH

Product Liability

$30.22 Million

SPINE & BACK INJURIES

Premises Liability

$14.75 Million

TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

Medical Malpractice

$12.7 Million

SPINE & BACK INJURIES

Company Vehicle Accident

$10 Million

NECK INJURIES

SPINE & BACK INJURIES

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