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Houston Slip and Fall Lawyer

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  • Legacy Experience – Over 30 Years
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  • Legacy Experience – Over 30 Years
  • White Glove Service
  • Personalized Support and Attention

Houston Slip and Fall LawyerA fall on someone else’s property can cost a household a paycheck before anyone settles who pays. If you are looking for a Houston slip and fall lawyer, four questions shape the case: who controlled the property, which deadline applies, whether an employer without workers’ compensation is involved, and how much of the fault Texas law assigns to the person who fell.

Sharma Injury Law has represented injured people in the Houston area since 1994, and slip and fall claims are part of the work our family firm handles. When you call 281-893-8644, you talk directly with an attorney, one on one. You can also contact us online to tell us what happened.

Why Houston Fall Victims Choose Sharma Injury Law

A fall case often turns on evidence that can disappear and a deadline that depends on who owns the property. Our attorneys stay closely involved from start to finish, so those questions reach a lawyer early.

What working with us means for your case:

  • A family practice: Bash Sharma founded the firm and practices alongside his daughters, attorneys Sharda, Mala, and Anjali Sharma.
  • No pressure: We never rush a client toward a decision they are not comfortable with.
  • Recognized attorneys: Mala, Sharda, and Anjali Sharma have each been recognized by Super Lawyers as Rising Stars. That recognition does not guarantee an outcome or signal a board certification.

Who Is Responsible When You Fall on Someone Else’s Property in Houston?

Who Is Responsible When You Fall on Someone Else's Property in Houston?Responsibility for a Houston fall depends on who controlled the property and what that owner or occupier knew about the hazard.
The same kind of fall can be governed by different rules, depending on where it happened:

 

  • Private property: A wet grocery aisle, a broken apartment stair, or a cracked walkway at a business usually leads to a premises liability claim, meaning a claim against whoever controls the property for an unsafe condition on it.
  • Public property: A fall on property belonging to the City of Houston, Harris County, or another governmental unit is judged under a separate set of Texas rules.
  • Your own workplace: When the fall happened on the job and the employer carries no workers’ compensation insurance, the claim is against the employer.

For a customer or other business visitor, Texas courts have held that the owner is responsible for a dangerous condition it knew about or reasonably should have known about. In a spill case, that often comes down to evidence of how long the hazard sat there before the fall.

How Long Do You Have to File a Slip and Fall Claim in Texas?

The deadline follows the same property categories, with public property split by owner because the City of Houston sets its own notice period:

Where you fell Deadline Authority
Private property (store, restaurant, apartment complex), or your own workplace when the employer has no workers’ compensation Suit not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues Section 16.003, Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code
Public property owned by the City of Houston Written notice, signed before a notary, to the mayor and city council within 90 days, stating when, where, and how the injury happened City of Houston Charter, Article IX, Section 11
Other public property (Harris County, a state agency) Written notice to that unit within six months, describing the injury, the time and place, and the incident Section 101.101, Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code

 

In a fall case, the two-year clock usually starts on the day of the fall, because Texas courts generally treat a claim as accruing, or legally beginning, when the injury happens. The discovery rule, which can delay that start when an injury could not have been known, is a narrow exception.

Both notice rules have one exception: written notice is not required when the governmental unit already has actual notice of the death, injury, or property damage. Texas law also approves a city charter’s own notice period, which is why Houston’s 90-day deadline, not the six-month statewide rule, applies to a fall on city property.

Falls on City of Houston or Harris County Property Follow Different Rules

Falls on City of Houston or Harris County Property Follow Different RulesTexas law limits what a governmental unit owes someone hurt by a defect on its property. Under Section 101.022 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, the unit owes only the duty a private person owes a licensee on private property, unless the injured person paid to use the premises. Three terms explain how that limit works:

  • Governmental unit: A public body such as the State of Texas, a state agency, a city like Houston, or a county like Harris County.
  • Licensee: Someone on property with permission but not for the owner’s business, such as a social guest, who is owed a narrower duty than a customer.
  • Special defect: An unusual hazard, such as an excavation or obstruction on a highway, road, or street, that the limit does not reach.

A governmental unit must still warn of special defects, and of missing, damaged, or malfunctioning traffic signs, signals, or warning devices.

What If You Fell at Work and Your Employer Has No Workers’ Compensation?

A Texas employer that does not carry workers’ compensation insurance, commonly called a non-subscriber, loses three defenses when an employee is hurt on the job. Under Section 406.033 of the Texas Labor Code, that employer cannot argue:

  • That the employee was contributorily negligent, meaning partly at fault
  • That the employee assumed the risk of injury
  • That a fellow employee’s negligence caused the injury

The employer can still defend by showing that the employee meant to cause the injury or was intoxicated, and the worker still has to prove negligence by the employer or by an agent or servant acting within the general scope of employment.

When an employer has opted out of workers’ compensation, our attorneys can help with a non-subscriber work injury case. Claims inside the Texas workers’ compensation system fall outside our practice.

Can You Still Recover if You Were Partly at Fault for the Fall?

Can You Still Recover if You Were Partly at Fault for the Fall?Texas lets a person who shares some of the fault recover damages, within a limit. Under Section 33.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, a claimant whose percentage of responsibility is greater than 50% may not recover damages. Below that line, Section 33.012 of the same code reduces the damages by the claimant’s own percentage.

For example, if a jury found $100,000 in damages and assigned the injured person 20% of the responsibility, the recovery would be reduced to $80,000.

What Documenting a Fall Looks Like in the First Days

Proof of the hazard, and of how long it was there, is often the center of a fall case. Evidence that helps show both includes:

  • Photos of the hazard and the area around it, taken before anyone cleans it up
  • A copy of the incident report and the name of the person who took it
  • Names and phone numbers of anyone who saw the fall or the hazard
  • Medical records and bills, along with the shoes worn at the time
  • A note of the date, the time, and the exact spot

Floors get mopped and surveillance video can be recorded over, so this kind of proof is easiest to gather early.

Houston Slip and Fall FAQs

What If My Child Was the One Who Fell?

Under Section 16.001 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, a person younger than 18 is treated as being under a legal disability, so the time before a child turns 18 is not counted in the two-year limitations period. The pause covers the deadline to file suit; whether it affects the notice deadline for a governmental unit is a separate question, so a child’s fall on public property is worth raising early.

What If I Fell at a Friend’s or Relative’s House?

Texas courts have held that a host owes a social guest, who is usually a licensee, a duty to warn about or make safe a dangerous condition the host actually knew about and the guest did not. Because that standard turns on the host’s actual knowledge, what the host knew before the fall carries more weight than what the host should have noticed.

What If the Property Owner Says the Hazard Was Obvious?

Texas courts have held that a property owner generally does not have to warn a customer about a hazard that is open and obvious or that the customer already knew about. Whether a particular hazard was obvious depends on the facts, such as where it was and whether anything hid it from view.

Talk With a Houston Slip and Fall Lawyer

Medical bills and missed work pile up fast after a fall, often before anyone admits fault. Sharma Injury Law can look at what happened and which deadline applies, and you will talk directly with an attorney, one on one.

Call 281-893-8644 or contact us today to speak with a Houston slip and fall lawyer at our firm while the proof still exists.

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Get the Support You Need From a Houston Injury Lawyer

Whether your injury occurred on a Houston highway, at a local business, or elsewhere in Harris County, acting promptly protects your right to pursue fair compensation. Evidence disappears, witnesses move on, and the statute of limitations does not pause while you weigh your options.

Bash Sharma founded this firm more than 30 years ago on a straightforward idea: that injured people in Houston deserve the same quality of representation as anyone else, regardless of their circumstances. His daughters carry that commitment forward today.

When you call Sharma Injury Law, you are not reaching a call center or a volume practice. You are reaching a family that has spent three decades fighting for people in situations just like yours. Call us today at 281-893-8644 to schedule a consultation, or connect with us online to get started.

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Sharma Injury Law – Established in 1994