Can You Sue a Store After a Slip and Fall in Texas?
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Can You Sue a Store After a Slip and Fall in Texas?
Yes, you may be able to sue a store after a slip and fall in Texas—but an injury alone does not establish liability. Your claim depends on the dangerous condition, the store’s knowledge, its response, and whether that failure caused your injury.
A grocery-store spill, leaking freezer, or damaged floor can lead to painful injuries and expensive treatment. If you were hurt while shopping in Dallas–Fort Worth or elsewhere in Texas, MLF Legal, PLLC’s personal injury attorneys can review what happened and explain your options.
What Must You Prove Against the Store?
A customer shopping in an area open to customers is generally a business invitee. For a typical premises liability claim, you must establish:
- The store had actual or constructive knowledge of the condition.
- The condition presented an unreasonable risk of harm.
- The store failed to use reasonable care to reduce or eliminate the risk.
- That failure proximately caused your injury.
An adequate warning or making the condition reasonably safe may satisfy the applicable duty. The Texas Supreme Court discusses these principles in Austin v. Kroger Texas, L.P.. txcourts.gov
The investigation should identify the specific hazard and connect it to the fall. “I fell in the store” is a starting point, not proof of every element.
Did the Store Know About the Hazard?
Knowledge is often the central dispute in a store slip and fall claim.
Actual Knowledge
Evidence that an employee saw the condition or received a report about it may help establish actual knowledge. Relevant information could include a customer’s complaint, an employee’s statement, or records concerning the same leaking equipment.
The evidence must relate to the condition involved in your accident. Awareness that spills sometimes occur is different from awareness of the particular hazard.
Constructive Knowledge
Constructive knowledge can involve proof that the condition existed long enough to be discovered through reasonable inspection. The timeline can be critical, especially for a temporary spill.
Video, witnesses, and inspection records may help establish when the hazard appeared. An employee simply being nearby does not necessarily establish how long it existed or that it should have been discovered.
The Texas Supreme Court discusses the difference between actual and constructive knowledge in its opinion in No. 23-0041.
Does It Matter Who Caused the Spill?
It can. A spill created by another customer moments before your fall raises different notice questions from a condition an employee observed and left unaddressed.
Consider these hypothetical situations:
- A shopper drops a drink immediately before another customer falls. Investigators would need to determine whether the store knew about it or had a reasonable opportunity to discover it.
- An employee receives a report of a spill before the fall. The report’s timing and the employee’s response may be important.
- A freezer leak appears repeatedly in maintenance records. Those records may warrant investigation into whether management knew about the relevant condition.
None of these examples determines liability by itself. The complete timeline and surrounding circumstances matter.
What Evidence Can Help Your Store Injury Claim?
Useful evidence may include:
- Photographs showing the hazard and surrounding area.
- Surveillance footage from before and during the fall.
- Witness contact information and statements.
- The store’s incident report.
- Cleaning, inspection, and maintenance records.
- Earlier complaints about the relevant condition.
- Medical records and documentation of missed work.
Photographs showing a puddle after a fall can help identify the condition, but they may not establish how long it was there beforehand. This is why evidence addressing notice is especially valuable.
A lawyer can request preservation of relevant records. A request does not guarantee that video exists or that the store will voluntarily release it.
What if There Was a Wet-Floor Sign?
A warning sign does not automatically decide the case. Its adequacy and relationship to the hazard matter.
Questions may include whether the sign was visible from your approach, whether it identified the relevant danger, and whether it was present before the fall. Preserve photographs of its location when safe.
What if the Store Says the Danger Was Obvious?
Texas generally limits the duty to protect invitees from conditions that are open and obvious or already known to them, subject to limited exceptions.
This issue concerns the store’s duty and is distinct from assigning a percentage of fault. Have the specific condition and circumstances reviewed before assuming that a claim can or cannot proceed.
Can You Recover if You Were Partly at Fault?
In cases governed by Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 33, responsibility greater than 50% bars recovery. Otherwise, recoverable damages are reduced by your percentage of responsibility.
For illustration, a $100,000 damages finding with 20% claimant responsibility would become $80,000 before other applicable adjustments. This example is not a prediction of any claim’s value.
What Should You Do After Falling in a Store?
Your health comes first. Seek medical attention and call 911 when emergency assistance is needed.
When reasonably possible:
- Report the accident to a manager and request a copy of the incident report.
- Photograph the condition, surrounding area, and warnings without putting yourself at risk.
- Collect witness names and contact information.
- Keep your footwear, clothing, receipts, and medical records.
- Write down your recollection while it is fresh.
- Contact an attorney promptly to discuss evidence preservation and deadlines.
Before signing a settlement release, understand which claims it resolves and whether your treatment needs are clear.
Who Should the Claim Be Against?
The name on the storefront does not always identify the correct legal defendant. A retailer, property owner, management company, or contractor may have different responsibilities.
For a fall inside the store, operations and cleaning records may matter. For an incident in a shared parking area, leases and maintenance agreements may help identify control. An attorney should investigate the responsible entities rather than assume every party connected to the property is liable.
How Long Do You Have to Sue a Store in Texas?
Many Texas personal injury lawsuits must be filed within two years after the claim accrues, often the injury date, under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003. Exceptions can affect the deadline.
Reporting the fall to the store or opening an insurance claim is not the same as filing a lawsuit. Do not assume settlement discussions extend the deadline. Evidence preservation should begin well before the filing period ends.
Contact MLF Legal About a Store Slip and Fall
A store injury claim requires more than proof that you fell. It requires an investigation into the hazard, the store’s knowledge, its response, and your injuries.
MLF Legal can review your accident, identify relevant evidence, and explain the options for pursuing compensation.
Contact the premises liability lawyers at MLF Legal, PLLC to discuss a store slip and fall in Dallas–Fort Worth or elsewhere in Texas.
FAQs: Can You Sue a Store After a Slip and Fall in Texas?
A purchase is not automatically required. Your purpose for entering and whether you were in an area within the scope of the store’s invitation matter.
An attorney can request preservation and evaluate available methods of obtaining the footage. Preserve your own evidence, and do not assume a refusal means no video exists.
No. It may document the accident, but liability requires evidence supporting the legal elements of the claim.
Understand whether the offer requires a release or other agreement. A payment and a settlement release can have different consequences. Have the terms reviewed before signing.
Not necessarily. Some claims resolve through negotiations. Others require litigation. The evidence, defenses, and settlement terms determine the appropriate approach.
Injured at work in Texas and your employer doesn’t have workers’ comp?
You may have the right to sue and recover full compensation.
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