Houston Premises Liability Attorney
If you were hurt by an unsafe condition on someone else's property in Houston, you may have a premises liability claim. That covers a fall in a grocery store, a broken stair in your apartment building, bad lighting in a parking garage, or an injury at a business you were visiting. Texas law puts a duty on property owners to keep their property reasonably safe for the people they allow on it.
Why Most Houston Attorneys Turn Down Premises Cases
Premises cases are harder to win in Texas than most injury cases, and a lot of Houston attorneys won't take them. I built a practice on them.
I started my career defending insurance companies, so I know how the other side evaluates a premises claim and where they will push back. That is most of the reason I take these cases when other firms pass. A large share of my work is falls and injuries at big-box stores and other commercial properties.
About 25 years practicing law
Premises liability is my signature practice area
Years defending insurance companies before I switched sides
What You Have to Prove in a Texas Premises Liability Case
First, this assumes you were on the property lawfully, as a customer, a tenant, a guest, or someone there on business. Texas owes trespassers far less. Assuming you were there lawfully, you generally have to prove three things about the property owner.
They knew or should have known about the hazard.
A puddle that sat on the floor for an hour is a different case from one spilled thirty seconds before you walked through it. How long the condition was there is often the whole case.
They didn't fix it or warn you about it.
A wet floor sign changes the analysis. So does a cone, a barrier, or an employee standing there telling people to walk around.
The hazard wasn't open and obvious.
Texas doesn't let you recover for something any reasonable person would have seen and avoided. Nobody gets to sue for walking into the Grand Canyon.
That third one is where a lot of these cases die, and it is a big part of why other attorneys avoid them. Whether something was open and obvious is usually an argument, not a fact, and it helps to have someone who has made that argument before.
Evidence Wins These Cases, and It Disappears Fast
The most useful thing in a premises case is usually video. Most stores have cameras, and the footage shows how long the hazard was there and whether anyone walked past it without doing anything. Most stores also overwrite that footage on a schedule, sometimes within a couple of weeks.
That is why I tell people to call early. The sooner I am involved, the better the chance of getting the video before it is gone, along with the incident report and statements from anyone who saw what happened. In most Texas injury cases you have two years from the date of the injury to file, but waiting anywhere near that long usually means the evidence is long gone.
Call (832) 243-4953Slip and Fall Claims, and What Else Counts
The most common premises case by far is a slip, trip, or fall. If that is what happened to you, I have more detail on Houston slip and fall claims. Everything on this page applies to those cases too, because a fall claim is a premises claim.
Premises liability also covers injuries that have nothing to do with falling. Something falling on you from a shelf, an assault in a parking lot with no working lights, a swimming pool accident, an injury on a construction site, or a dog bite on someone's property. You can see everything I handle on my practice areas page.
How My Fee Works
You don't pay me anything up front, and you don't owe me a fee unless I win your case. My fee comes out of the recovery. The percentage goes up because filing suit and handling an appeal take substantially more time and work.
if your case settles before I file a lawsuit
if I file suit
if the case goes to appeal
Contact a Premises Liability Attorney in Houston
If you were hurt on someone else's property in Houston, call me. Someone answers the phone 24 hours a day, I'll call you back myself, and the consultation is free. Bring me whatever you have, photos, the incident report, the name of the store, and I'll tell you honestly whether you have a case worth pursuing.
Call (832) 243-4953
More cases I handle
Car Accidents 
Truck Accidents Slip & Fall Injuries 
Swimming Pool Accidents 
Cattle & Livestock Accidents Distracted Driver Accidents 
Dog Bites & Animal Attacks 
Gun & Shooting Accidents 
Boating Accidents 
Construction Accidents 
Oilfield Accidents Workplace Accidents 
Medical Malpractice 
Health Care Worker Claims 
Product Liability