Dallas Premises Liability Lawyer

A wet floor with no warning sign. A dimly lit parking lot. Broken stairs with a missing handrail. An apartment complex that ignored security concerns after repeated complaints. 

When a dangerous condition on someone else's property causes you harm, the property owner may be legally responsible, and you may be able to recover compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain. A Dallas premises liability lawyer can help you understand your rights and pursue the compensation you deserve.

At the Law Office of Javier Perez, PLLC, we represent people injured by property owner negligence across Dallas and the Dallas–Fort Worth area. Call for a free consultation. You don't pay unless we win your premises liability case. Se habla español. Bilingual staff ready to help.

Dallas Premises Liability Guide

Why Choose Our Dallas Premises Liability Law Firm?

You're lying on the floor of a grocery store with a broken wrist, or limping out of a parking lot after being attacked because the lights didn't work, and already someone's asking you to sign something, give a statement, or accept blame. That pressure starts immediately. We step in and handle it.

• We can document the evidence before it disappears. Security footage gets erased. Spills get cleaned up. Maintenance logs vanish. We send preservation letters immediately, request incident reports, photograph the scene, and interview witnesses while memories are fresh.
• We may prove the property owner knew or should have known. Insurance companies claim they had no notice of the hazard. We pull maintenance schedules, prior complaints, inspection logs, and neighborhood crime data to show the owner failed to meet their duty of care.
• We can handle the insurance adjuster. Adjusters will ask you to give a recorded statement, admit partial fault, or accept a low settlement before you know the full cost of your injury. We deal with those calls and pressure tactics. You don't have to face them alone.
• We can calculate the cost of your injury. A slip and fall that seemed minor at first may require months of physical therapy, lost work time, and ongoing pain management. We work with medical experts as needed to document long-term impact and fight for compensation that covers future needs.
• We're prepared to take your case to court if needed. We've litigated hundreds of personal injury cases in state and federal courts across Texas. Our lead attorney, Javier Perez, is Board Certified in Labor & Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization—a distinction held by fewer than 10% of Texas attorneys. That same meticulous approach to evidence and advocacy guides our personal injury practice.
• We serve Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding communities with bilingual support. Featured on Univision and active in the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association, our firm understands the cultural and practical barriers that can keep people from pursuing justice after a premises injury.

We offer free consultations and handle premises liability cases on a contingency fee basis. You don't pay unless we win.

Not sure if you have a case? Call 214-499-0667 and talk with our team.

What Is Premises Liability in Texas?

Premises liability is the legal principle that property owners, occupiers, or managers must keep their property reasonably safe for visitors. When a dangerous condition exists, and the owner knew or should have known about it, victims injured by that hazard may recover compensation.

Texas law divides visitors into three categories:

Invitees

Invitees are people invited onto the property for business purposes. Shoppers in a grocery store, hotel guests, restaurant patrons, and retail customers fall into this category. Property owners owe invitees the highest duty of care: they must inspect the property, fix hazards, and warn visitors of dangers they cannot immediately correct, unless that danger is open and obvious.

Licensees

Licensees are social guests or people on the property with permission. Owners must warn licensees of known hazards, but are not required to inspect for dangers.

Trespassers

Trespassers generally cannot recover compensation unless the property owner acted with willful, wanton, or grossly negligent conduct. An exception exists for child trespassers injured by an "attractive nuisance" like an unsecured pool or construction equipment.

Texas Premises Liability Law: Duty of Care and Notice

Texas premises liability law centers on the property owner's duty of care and whether they had notice of the dangerous condition.

Duty of Care

Duty of care depends on your status as a visitor. Invitees (customers, guests, tenants) receive the highest protection. The property owner must inspect the premises, fix hazards, and provide warnings.

Actual or Constructive Notice

Notice is critical. Actual notice means the property owner knew about the hazard because someone reported it, they created it, or they personally observed it. Constructive notice means the hazard existed long enough that a reasonable inspection would have discovered it. 

Common Types of Premises Liability Cases in Dallas

Premises liability covers any injury caused by a dangerous condition on someone else's property. Below are the most common scenarios we handle in the Dallas–Fort Worth area.

Slip and Fall / Trip and Fall

Slip and fall cases arise when a hazard on the floor causes someone to lose footing. Wet floors without warning signs, spilled liquids in grocery store aisles, grease in restaurant kitchens, and ice near building entrances all create slip hazards.

Trip and fall cases involve obstacles or uneven surfaces. Broken pavement in parking lots, torn carpet, extension cords across walkways, unmarked steps, and potholes cause people to trip and suffer serious injury.

Property owners sometimes claim the hazard was "open and obvious" or that the victim wasn't paying attention. We gather security footage, photos, incident reports, and prior complaints to show the danger was not obvious and that the owner failed to fix or warn about it.

Negligent Security

Negligent security cases arise when inadequate security measures allow a crime to occur. Poorly lit parking lots, apartment complexes with broken gates or no security cameras, nightclubs without enough staff, and hotels that ignore prior crime patterns may give rise to premises liability claims.

Texas law does not make property owners liable for every crime. However, if the owner knew or should have known that criminal activity was likely (based on prior incidents or specific threats) and failed to take reasonable precautions, they may be held responsible.

We investigate crime history at the property, lighting conditions, security camera placement, gate functionality, staffing levels, and prior complaints.

Store and Retail Injuries

Grocery stores, big-box retailers, and shopping centers see high foot traffic and frequent hazards. Falling merchandise, unstable displays, wet floors from produce misting systems, spills that go uncleaned, and narrow aisles with protruding shelves all create injury risks.

Store owners must inspect aisles regularly, clean up spills promptly, secure merchandise properly, and warn customers of temporary hazards.

Apartment Complex and Hotel Injuries

Residents and guests trust property owners to maintain safe common areas. Broken stairs, missing handrails, poorly lit hallways, defective balconies, unsafe pools, malfunctioning elevators, and slippery lobby floors all violate that trust.

Apartment complex cases often involve negligent maintenance. Landlords may ignore repair requests, delay fixing known hazards, or fail to inspect common areas.

Hotels owe guests a high duty of care because guests are paying for a safe, functional space.

Construction Site Premises Liability

Construction sites present unique hazards: exposed wiring, unsecured equipment, open trenches, missing barriers, falling debris, and unstable scaffolding. Depending on whether the employer subscribes, workers injured on the job could pursue workers' compensation, and non-employees may file premises liability claims if injured by a dangerous condition.

Pool Accidents and Drowning

Pools subject to Texas pool-yard enclosure rules and local ordinances should have proper fencing, functional gates and locks, post depth markers, safety rules, and be supervised or have restricted access. Apartment complexes, hotels, and private property owners who fail to secure pools may be liable if a child or adult drowns or suffers near-drowning injuries.

"Attractive nuisance" claims protect children who trespass onto property to access a pool or other dangerous feature. Even if the child was not invited, the property owner may be held responsible if the hazard was not properly secured.

Dog Bites

Texas follows a "one-bite rule" for dog attacks. If a dog has previously bitten someone or shown aggressive behavior, the owner may be strictly liable if they knew the dog was dangerous; otherwise, negligence may apply. Even without prior incidents, property owners who allow dangerous dogs to roam unleashed or fail to secure fencing may be held liable if the dog attacks a visitor.

How Do I Prove a Premises Liability Case in Dallas?

Texas premises liability cases require proof of four elements:

1. The property owner owed you a duty of care. If you were an invited customer, guest, or tenant, the owner owed you a duty to maintain reasonably safe conditions.
2. A dangerous condition existed on the property. The hazard must pose an unreasonable risk of harm, not just a minor imperfection.
3. The property owner knew or should have known about the condition. Actual knowledge means the owner was aware of the hazard. Constructive knowledge means the hazard existed long enough that the owner should have discovered it through reasonable inspection.
4. The dangerous condition caused your injury. You must show a direct link between the hazard and the harm you suffered.

We collect photographs and video of the hazard, incident reports filed with the property owner or store, witness statements, maintenance logs and inspection records, prior complaints about the same condition, medical records documenting your injuries, and police reports for negligent security cases.

What Damages Can I Recover After a Premises Liability Injury?

Texas law allows premises liability victims to pursue both economic and non-economic damages.

• Economic damages include medical bills (emergency room visits, surgery, physical therapy, future care), lost wages and reduced earning ability if the injury prevents you from working, and property damage if personal belongings were damaged in the fall.
• Non-economic damages include physical pain and ongoing discomfort, emotional distress and trauma (especially in negligent security cases), loss of enjoyment of daily activities, and disfigurement or scarring.

If the property owner's conduct was especially reckless, such as ignoring repeated complaints, concealing known hazards, or acting with gross negligence, punitive damages may also be available.

What to Do After a Slip and Fall or Premises Injury in Dallas

• Report the incident. Tell the property owner, manager, or staff what happened. Ask them to complete an incident report and request a copy. If they refuse, write down the names of the people you spoke with and the time you reported the fall.
• Document the scene. Take photos of the hazard from multiple angles. Capture wet floors, broken pavement, poor lighting, missing warning signs, or any other condition that caused your fall. If the hazard is temporary, photograph it before it's cleaned up.
• Get witness information. If anyone saw the fall, ask for their name and phone number.
• Seek medical care immediately. Even if you feel okay, some injuries may not show symptoms right away. A doctor's evaluation creates a medical record linking your injury to the fall.
• Keep all receipts and records. Save medical bills, prescriptions, parking receipts from doctor visits, and pay stubs showing lost work time.
• Do not give a recorded statement to the property owner's insurance company. Politely decline and refer them to our firm.

FAQ for Dallas Premises Liability Lawyer

One Conversation Takes the Weight Off Your Shoulders

Recovery takes time. Legal questions shouldn't add to your stress. You've already dealt with the fall, the injury, and the questions from the property owner's insurance company. Our job is the paperwork, the phone calls, and the worry about medical bills.

Our bilingual team is available to walk you through your options, explain what happens next, and take over the parts of this process that feel overwhelming.

In your time of need, Javier Perez is on your side. Contact a Dallas personal injury lawyer for a free consultation. You don't pay unless we win your premises liability case.

Schedule A Free Consultation