If You Fall on Private Property, You Can Sue if the Accident was Due to Someone Else’s Negligence

Property owners are responsible for making sure their premises are safe and properly maintained. They must fix dangerous conditions to prevent injury to others. When a property owner fails to do so, and you are injured as a result, you may be able to win a damage award that covers your losses through a premises liability lawsuit.

Injuries from falls can be serious and even fatal. Medical bills and other expenses mount at a time when you may be unable to work. Texas premises liability law is complicated, and insurance companies will try to get you to settle for the lowest amount possible. They’ll even try to put the blame for the accident on you, so it’s hard to know what to do and where to turn.

Fortunately, help is available from the Houston premises liability lawyers at Terry Bryant Accident & Injury Law. Our attorneys know the intricacies of the law and understand the tactics insurance companies use to avoid paying claims, and they are fully prepared to advocate for you for the compensation you deserve. Let us take the burden off you by handling your legal claim and the communication with insurance adjusters, so you can concentrate on physical, mental, and emotional recovery.

We offer a free and confidential consultation. There are no costs to you unless and until you win your case. Call us now at (713) 973-8888 or toll-free 1 (800) 444-5000 to get started.

Injuries You Might Suffer from If You Are Injured on Someone Else’s Property in Texas

The injuries you might sustain vary widely, depending on the type of accident. If you fall inside on carpeting, you are less likely to suffer catastrophic injuries unless you bang your head on a sharp piece of furniture. If you trip on a broken concrete step, you could fall and hit your head on the concrete and suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Some of the other injuries you might sustain include:

• Cuts, scrapes, bruises, bumps, and punctures
• Strains, sprains, pulled and torn muscles, and other soft tissue injuries
• Simple and compound fractures
• Face and eye injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
• Internal injuries, such as punctured lung from a broken rib
• Head, neck, and shoulder injuries
• Back and spinal cord injuries (SCIs).

Can You Sue if You Fall on Private Property?

Yes, you can sue someone if you fall on their private property, though in most cases you won’t be suing that person personally—you will be suing that person’s homeowner’s insurance company.

In a successful lawsuit, our premises liability lawyers can win an award for both your monetary costs, called “special damages,” as well as your non-economic damages, called “general damages.” Economic damages would cover your calculable costs and bills, and non-economic damages are for intangibles, such as pain and suffering, that negatively impact your life.

Economic Damages

Most people who suffer injuries because of another’s negligence can recover economic damages, including:

• Medical expenses, such as doctors’ appointments, surgeries, follow-up appointments, prescriptions, prescribed over-the-counter medications and equipment, and ambulatory aids
• Home health care expenses, and nursing home or rehabilitative home expenses
• Accessibility equipment for your vehicle and home, including but not limited to wheelchair ramps and lifts, handrails, grab bars, hand controls for your vehicle, and widened doorways in your home
• Lost wages and loss of future earning capacity
• Death-related expenses if the fall took the life of a loved one, including funeral and burial expenses, cremation expenses, certain probate court costs, and probate attorney’s fees and costs.

Non-Economic Damages

Not everyone recovers non-economic damages. Generally, if you lost a loved one or if your injuries cause long-term or permanent disabilities, you might recover non-economic damages, including:

• Pain and suffering, including emotional distress
• Loss of quality of life if you have to make life-long changes, such as taking prescriptions or using ambulatory aids
• Loss of companionship if you can no longer enjoy time with your family or attend family activities and events
• Loss of consortium if you can no longer enjoy a physical relationship with your spouse
• Inconvenience if you have to hire someone to do the chores you usually do, including but not limited to lawn maintenance, house cleaning, grocery shopping, and home repair and maintenance
• Excessive scarring and/or disfigurement
• Amputation of a digit or limb.

Punitive Damages

In rare situations when the fall was caused by actions that were wantonly reckless and grossly negligent, you may also be awarded punitive damages. Texas law puts caps on the amount of punitive damages. While it is often difficult to recover punitive damages, the extra time and effort it takes is worth it if your injuries cause long-term or permanent disabilities. Unlike compensatory damages, which make you whole again, punitive damages are punishment given to the defendant for their wantonly reckless and grossly negligent actions or inactions.

Get a free and confidential slip and fall case evaluation right now by calling (713) 973-8888 or toll-free 1 (800) 444-5000.

Proving Negligence Is Essential to Winning Your Case

Texas property owners and residents have a duty of care to prevent injuries to others, including invited guests, customers, visitors, and even minors who trespass onto the property. If a property owner knows about a hazard, or should know about a hazard, and does not fix it or warn about the danger, they may be found negligent. However, not every fall is the responsibility of the property owner. To win your case, our attorneys would have to prove that the property owner was negligent by showing that:

• The property owner knew about the hazard or should have known about the hazard
• The property owner violated that duty by failing to fix or warn about the hazard
• This violation caused the accident
• You suffered damages as a result.

Examples of negligence leading to falls would be a property owner who failed to:

• Fix a broken staircase, loose tiles, ripped carpet, etc.
• Remove ice built up on the floor of a walk-in freezer
• Clean up or warn about known spills on a floor where ample time has passed.

Classifications of Visitors to Property

Proving negligence is further complicated because Texas classifies visitors to property as invitees, licensees, or trespassers. There are different degrees of responsibility a property owner owes to each category.

• An invitee is someone who enters the property for mutual benefit or to benefit the property owner (such as a customer in a store) and is owed the highest duty of care.
• A licensee is a visitor on the property with the permission of the property owner (such as a guest) and is owed the duty to be warned of any hazards.
• A trespasser is on a property without the owner’s permission, and the owner only needs to refrain from acts of gross negligence. The duty is higher for trespassing children since children are not able to recognize inherent dangers.

To prove a property owner’s negligence, our attorneys will investigate the case and gather evidence including:

• Police, ambulance, hospital, and accident reports and eyewitness statements
• Photographs and videos of the accident scene
• Medical statements of your condition and the care you will need in the future
• Statements from witnesses, if any, usually by deposition
• Repair bills from the homeowner, if any.

Typically property owners and their insurers will fight your claim by arguing that you are to blame for your accident. Texas has a “modified comparative negligence rule” (Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code Chapter 33, Subchapter A), where damage awards are reduced according to the percentage you are found to be at fault. However, as long as you are 50% or less at fault, our attorneys will still be able to get you the percentage of the award that the property owner was at fault. For example, if you are 10% to blame for your fall and the award is for $50,000, you will still be able to collect $45,000.

Can Someone Sue Me if They Fall in My House?

Residential property owners also have a duty to maintain their homes and provide reasonable care to keep their property safe from dangers to anyone invited to or visiting the premises. If you fail to do so, and someone falls and is injured in your house, they can sue you.

Whether the lawsuit will be successful depends on how the person was injured and their status—whether they were an invitee, licensee, or trespasser. In general, you have a duty to warn invited guests of any hidden dangers to be found on your property. The duty is less for licensees than invitees and even less for trespassers, so this is an important consideration.

Call Our Texas Premises Liability Lawyers for Help

If you or a loved one has been injured on someone else’s property, it is important to contact Terry Bryant Accident & Injury Law as soon as possible while evidence is fresh, and witnesses can be found. In addition, Texas sets a deadline for filing your case that is typically two years from the time of the accident (Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code Section 16.003). (*However, always speak directly to an attorney to learn the exact deadlines that apply to your potential claims.)

Our legal team is here to take the burden off of you by handling all aspects of your case. This includes filing everything properly and in a timely manner, negotiating with insurance companies and their lawyers for a fair settlement, gathering evidence to prove negligence, obtaining expert testimony to prove you were not responsible for the fall, and taking your case to court if necessary.

Don’t delay. Call Terry Bryant Accident & Injury Law now at (713) 973-8888 or toll-free 1 (800) 444-5000 for a free and confidential premises liability case review.