What is a Slip and Fall Injury?

The law classifies a slip and fall injury, sometimes referred to as a trip and fall, as a tort. Simply put, if you slip and fall and are injured on someone else’s property, you have suffered a slip and fall injury. A slip and fall injury can result from falling on a wet floor in a grocery store to slipping and falling on ice in the front of someone’s residence. Slip and fall injuries are a leading cause of non-fatal injuries for Americans of all ages, with the potential of some severe injuries.

Texas Premises Liability Attorneys

Slip and Fall Accident Lawyers Serving Clients Nationwide from Our Texas Offices in San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Dallas, and Austin

When a property owner neglects to keep their property or properties safe, they are endangering you and those around you. No one should worry about being injured when going about their daily lives.

If you’ve been injured in a premises liability or slip and fall accident, call Thomas J. Henry Law for a FREE case consultation with a Texas slip and fall attorney.

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When a property owner fails to maintain their property or neglects to caution guests of potential dangers, it can prompt mishaps which are typically classified as “slip and falls.” These are among the most common types of accidents cited in premises liability claims. When a slip and fall does occur, victims can sustain serious injuries and may be entitled to financial compensation.

More than one million people need emergency medical care each year in the United States for slip and fall accidents, and the average hospital cost of a slip and fall is more than $30,000. Five percent of the cases have a broken bone and about 20-30 percent get seriously injured. Nearly one-third of adults over 65 fall each year. Slip and fall accidents cost Americans more than $34 billion each year.

The majority of slip and falls can be broken into the following two categories: how they occur and where they occur. Common locations where Slip and Fall Accidents typically occur are grocery stores, small businesses, private homes, hotels and resorts, and public places and parks. Typically, store owners and homeowners have insurance to cover these kinds of incidents.

How many slip and falls occur include:

Icy walkways
Cluttered floors
Inadequate lighting
Wet or slippery floors
Ditches, trenches or potholes
Damaged sidewalks

Negligent Security Lawsuits

Negligent security is another common type of premises liability accident. Negligent security occurs when property owners fail to provide reasonable or adequate security on their grounds for foreseeable criminal acts, including robbery, rape, assault, or battery. Criminal activity may be considered foreseeable if similar crimes have previously occurred on the premises or in the area.

Negligent security cases can occur in a variety of settings, both residential and commercial:

Apartment building or complex
ATMs
Bars, nightclubs, or lounges
College dorm
Convenience store
Hotel or motel
Movie theaters
Office buildings
Parking garage
Parking lot
Parks and recreational areas
Retail store
Schools
Shopping mall

Every negligent security case is different, and the definition of adequate security will differ depending on the premises and foreseeable crime. Examples of adequate security include security officers, adequate lighting, functioning locks or key-in entry, and security cameras or alarms.

The responsible party in a negligent security lawsuit can be the property owner, security contractors, security personnel, property lessees, business owners, or landlords.

Contact an Experienced Premises Liability Injury Lawyer

If you or a loved one sustained an injury due to the negligence of a property owner, you may be entitled to compensation. Our experienced team of premises liability accident lawyers are available 24/7, nights and weekends to evaluate your claim. Premises liability lawsuits can be complicated, but Thomas J. Henry Law has decades of experience and the legal resources to develop your case properly and put you in the best position possible to achieve real results.

Contact us today for a free case review. Our firm has offices in Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Dallas, and Austin, serving clients across Texas and nationwide.

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866-517-5659

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Your Premises Liability Questions Answered

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

Following a slip and fall 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.

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No matter the injury or the accident, if you or a loved one were harmed due to the negligence of an individual or company, Thomas J. Henry is here to assist you.