If you’ve been injured due to a hazardous condition on someone else’s property, such as a grocery store, apartment complex, or other commercial or residential location in areas like Bishop Arts District, Trinity Groves, Preston Center, or the retail and apartment corridors along LBJ Freeway and Central Expressway, you may have grounds to hold the property owner or occupier legally responsible. Under Texas premises liability law, the duty a property owner owes depends on the visitor’s legal status.
For most customers, tenants, and guests lawfully on the property, that duty includes maintaining reasonably safe conditions and warning of hazards the owner knew or should have known about. When an owner fails to meet that duty, and the failure causes injury, they can be held liable for damages, including medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
The experienced Dallas slip and fall attorneys at Crowe Arnold & Majors, LLP, have a proven track record of representing people injured as a result of another person’s negligence. Contact us to schedule a free consultation and learn more about pursuing your rights.
What Is Premises Liability Under Texas Law?
Premises liability is the area of law that holds property owners responsible when someone is hurt by a condition on their property that poses an unreasonable risk of harm.
In Texas, owners are not absolutely liable for every injury that happens on their property. However, when a condition poses an unreasonable risk, and the owner knows about it, or should have discovered it through reasonable inspection, they have a duty to either warn visitors of the danger or fix it. Failing to do either can result in liability.
That standard applies broadly to shopping centers, apartment complexes, restaurants, and office buildings alike. When an owner lets maintenance slide, skips routine inspections, or ignores a known hazard to save money, and someone is hurt as a result, that owner may be legally responsible for the harm that follows.
How Texas Classifies Visitors in Premises Liability Cases
Not every visitor is owed the same duty of care. Texas law classifies visitors into three categories, and the property owner’s responsibility changes depending on which one applies:
Invitees
Invitees are on the property for the mutual benefit of both parties, such as customers in a store, guests at a hotel, or tenants and their guests in an apartment complex’s common areas. Property owners owe invitees the highest duty of care: to reasonably inspect for hazards that pose an unreasonable risk of harm, and to either fix or warn of any such hazard the owner actually knows about or should have discovered through that inspection.
Licensees
Licensees have permission to be on the property. However, they are there for their own purposes: a friend visiting someone’s home, a guest at a social gathering, someone asking to use a bathroom or borrow a phone, or a person who is allowed to cross the land or hunt and fish on it. If a licensee doesn’t know about a condition that poses an unreasonable risk of harm, the owner must either warn them of it or make it safe. Unlike with invitees, however, owners aren’t required to regularly inspect for hazards.
Trespassers
Property owners generally owe little duty to someone on their property without permission, aside from not injuring them willfully, wantonly, or through gross negligence. An exception exists for children. Property owners must take reasonable precautions around features, like an unfenced pool, that could foreseeably attract a young child onto the property.
Your legal status when you were injured determines whether you have a claim and what has to be proven to establish it. It’s one of the first things we examine when reviewing a case. That means asking why you were on the property, whether you had permission to be there, and what the owner knew, or should have known, about the hazard that caused your injury.
“Property owners have a responsibility to keep the people who walk through their doors safe. When they cut corners, we work to make sure our clients aren’t the ones who pay for it.” – Crowe Arnold & Majors, LLP
Meet the Attorneys Who Stand With You
At Crowe Arnold & Majors, LLP, our attorneys bring decades of legal experience and a deep commitment to the people we serve. We understand that behind every case is a person—someone whose life has been disrupted by trauma, loss, or uncertainty. We don’t take that lightly. Our team is here to support you with the legal skill, empathy, and dedication you deserve. From board-certified expertise to high-stakes trial success, we’re proud to advocate for victims of serious injury and abuse with professionalism, compassion, and relentless determination.
John W. Arnold,
Partner, Trial and Appellate Attorney
With over 25 years of experience, John is a seasoned trial and appellate attorney known for delivering results.
David W. Crowe
Partner, Personal Injury
For more than 30 years, David has been a powerful advocate and fighting for individuals harmed by negligence and abuse.
D.G. Majors
Trial Attorney, Personal Injury and Product Liability
D.G. is a trial lawyer with a strong track record of results in personal injury, product liability, and commercial litigation.
Common Types of Premises Liability Accidents in Dallas
Dallas is a fast-growing, heavily trafficked city, and that growth comes with real risk. Some of the most common locations for premises liability cases include:
- Slips and falls in retail stores, restaurants, and grocery aisles across busy shopping corridors like Northpark Center, the Galleria, and Deep Ellum, often caused by spills, uneven flooring, or wet surfaces without a warning sign.
- Assaults or robberies tied to inadequate security claims at apartment complexes, parking garages, or nightlife venues in high-traffic areas like Deep Ellum, Uptown, and Lower Greenville, where poor lighting or broken gates played a role
- Equipment malfunctions leading to elevator and escalator accident injuries in downtown Dallas high-rises, hotels, and office towers, from sudden stops to door failures caused by poor maintenance
- Drownings or near-drownings that fall under swimming pool and water park accidents at apartment and community pools throughout Dallas, often linked to missing fences, gates, or a lack of supervision.
- Falls, crowd crush, or defective seating that result in stadium and venue injuries at venues like American Airlines Center, Globe Life Field, and AT&T Stadium during concerts, sporting events, or festivals
- Construction accidents involving unsecured equipment, unmarked holes, or falling debris on active job sites across the fast-developing corridors of North Texas, including Uptown, Deep Ellum, and the Frisco–Plano growth areas
- Apartment complex hazards, including broken security gates, dim stairwells and parking areas, and deferred maintenance in high-density parts of Dallas, Arlington, and Garland
Whatever the circumstances, we investigate the facts, preserve evidence before it disappears, and build the case needed to hold the responsible party accountable.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Property Injury in Texas?
More than one party can be held responsible for a property injury, depending on who controlled the premises at the time.
Liability can extend to the property owner, a business tenant leasing the space, a property management company, or a maintenance contractor hired to keep the property safe. However, when a governmental entity, a city, county, or school district, for example, owns the property involved, such as a public park or municipal building, different rules apply.
Texas Tort Claims Act
Claims against a government entity are governed by the Texas Tort Claims Act, which requires written notice of claim, generally within six months of the incident, though some local governments require notice in as little as 90 days. Missing that deadline can bar the claim entirely, regardless of the two-year statute of limitations that otherwise applies.
Because more than one party may share responsibility, we examine leases, maintenance contracts, and internal records to determine who is legally accountable.
No Fees Unless We Win!
What to Do After an Injury on Someone Else’s Property
What you do in the hours and days after an injury can protect both your health and your legal rights:
- Get medical attention right away, even if the injury seems minor at first; this creates a medical record that ties your injury to the incident.
- Take photos of the hazard, your injuries, and the surrounding area before conditions change.
- Report the incident to the property owner, manager, or staff on site and ask for a written record.
- Get contact information from anyone who witnessed what happened because an independent account from someone with no stake in the outcome carries real weight if the owner disputes your version of events.
- Save your medical bills, and preserve the clothing and shoes you were wearing in a paper bag, since they may become evidence.
- Track your expenses as they come in, such as lost wages, mileage to medical appointments, and any out-of-pocket costs related to your recovery, all of which factor into what you may be owed.
Surveillance footage is often deleted within days, sometimes within hours, so it’s wise to consult with our team as soon as possible. Once retained, we act quickly to send a spoliation letter demanding the property owner preserve surveillance footage, obtain maintenance records and incident reports, and secure witness statements before memories fade. The longer you wait, the harder it can become to recover the evidence that a strong claim depends on.
What Compensation Is Available in a Dallas Premises Liability Case?
Texas law allows injured victims to pursue economic damages. These are objectively verifiable losses such as past and future medical expenses, lost wages, loss of future earning capacity, and out-of-pocket recovery costs like assistive equipment or home modifications.
Non-economic damages may also be available, compensating for losses that don’t come with a receipt but are just as real: pain and suffering, physical impairment, disfigurement, and the toll an injury takes on daily life.
In rare cases involving gross negligence or intentional misconduct, such as a property owner who ignored repeated warnings about a known danger, Texas law also allows for exemplary damages, meant to punish that conduct rather than compensate for it. These require clear and convincing evidence and are the exception, not the rule.
Settlement involving propane explosion resulting in severe burns.
How Comparative Negligence Affects Your Claim in Texas
Insurance companies often argue that the injured person was at least partly responsible for what happened. Texas follows a rule called modified comparative negligence, sometimes referred to as the 51% bar rule.
Under this rule, you can still recover compensation as long as a jury finds you 50% or less at fault, though your award is reduced by your share of the blame. If you’re found 51% or more responsible, state law bars you from recovering anything.
Because so much can ride on that percentage, a premises liability attorney in Dallas, Texas, who pushes back on unfair fault allocation can make the difference in what you recover.
Why Crowe Arnold & Majors Handles Premises Liability Cases Differently
Property owners and their insurers typically have significant resources and legal teams working to limit what they pay out. Crowe Arnold & Majors has spent decades handling injury cases across Dallas, DFW, and the wider North Texas region, including Plano, Irving, and Richardson.
Our Dallas premises liability lawyers know how to investigate a property, preserve fading evidence, and push back against lowball offers. Unlike firms that settle quickly to move on to the next case, we take the time to build each claim thoroughly and aren’t afraid to take a case to trial when that’s what it takes to get a fair result.
See our case results here.
Injured on Someone Else’s Property? Talk to a Dallas Premises Liability Attorney Today
If a property owner’s negligence injured you, you don’t have to face their insurance company alone. Crowe Arnold & Majors, LLP has spent decades holding negligent property owners accountable across Dallas and North Texas. We’ll investigate what happened, preserve the evidence before it disappears, and fight for the full compensation you’re owed.
Schedule a free, confidential consultation. There’s no fee unless we recover for you.
Plus no fees unless we win!
Our Dallas Location
You can find our office in Bank of America Plaza at 901 Main Street in downtown Dallas. We’re near Dealey Plaza, the JFK Memorial, Renaissance Tower, and the AT&T Discovery District.
6550 Bank of America Plaza
901 Main St.
P: 214-231-0555
