Under Texas law, a fall on someone else’s property isn’t automatically that owner’s fault. The state sets clear rules for when a business or landlord owes anything. Our team at The Texas Chongo Personal Injury Lawyers handles these claims throughout Irving, and every case opens with the same question: What did the property owner know, and when did they know it?
Were you hurt at a store, restaurant, apartment complex, hotel, or job site in Irving? An Irving slip and fall accident lawyer at our firm can review the incident and explain where your claim stands. Call (972) 529-3476 for a free case evaluation.
Premises cases turn on evidence that disappears quickly. Surveillance video gets overwritten, floors get cleaned, and incident reports get filed where nobody looks at them again. Our attorneys move on those records early and build the claim around what the property’s own paperwork shows.
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We handle these claims on a contingency fee basis under a signed agreement.
Located minutes from major Irving commercial corridors, including SH 114, SH 183, and the Las Colinas business district, our local presence lets us conduct same-week site inspections and file in-person records requests immediately.
This distinction decides cases, and it catches people off guard. In United Scaffolding, Inc. v. Levine, the Texas Supreme Court explained that when an injury results from a contemporaneous, negligent activity on the property, ordinary negligence principles apply. When the injury results from the property’s condition rather than an activity, premises liability principles apply instead.
A slip and fall almost always falls under premises liability. The harm comes from a condition, such as standing water or a broken step, and not from something a worker happened to be doing at that moment.
Because premises liability governs fall claims, an injured plaintiff cannot simply prove the owner was generally careless. Under Levine, you must establish four specific elements:
Property owners often argue that nobody reported the spill, so nobody knew about it. That argument does not always work.
In Corbin v. Safeway Stores, the Texas Supreme Court considered a self-service grape display sitting above a hard floor. The store acknowledged full awareness of every circumstance under which it ran that display, and that the setup carried an unusually high risk of customers falling.
The court held that a store can be responsible for the risk its own operating method creates, without proof that anyone knew a specific grape was on the floor that day. That same opinion confirmed a broader rule: An occupier has constructive knowledge of any premises defect or dangerous condition that a reasonably careful inspection would reveal.
Not every hazard supports a claim, and we say so directly rather than letting someone build expectations on weak facts. In Scott and White Memorial Hospital v. Fair, the Texas Supreme Court held that naturally occurring ice accumulating without unnatural contact is not an unreasonably dangerous condition.
That ruling matters during North Texas winter storms. Ice that formed on an outdoor walkway from freezing rain alone is treated differently from ice that formed because a downspout, sprinkler line, or ice machine pushed water across the surface. The second situation involves a property condition, and it can support a claim.
Falls on stairs, ramps, and thresholds frequently trace back to construction that never met the required standard. Texas addresses this through the Elimination of Architectural Barriers program in Government Code Chapter 469, administered by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation under the Texas Accessibility Standards.
Chapter 469 applies to commercial facilities, retail complexes, hotels, warehouses, and medical offices.
Missing TDLR registrations, failed accessibility inspections, or structural variances serve as powerful evidence of a defective building condition in a fall claim.
Irving’s property mix shapes the pattern of these claims. Our attorneys regularly handle falls at:
The city runs its own health inspection program covering food establishments, childcare facilities, and nursing homes. Under Section 18-1 of the Irving Code of Ordinances, Irving adopts the Texas Food Establishment Rules in Chapter 228 as its local food code.
Those inspections produce written findings, and the city publishes Food Establishment Scores through a public dashboard. After a fall at a restaurant or grocery store, an earlier inspection noting floor, drainage, or maintenance problems can help show the owner knew about a recurring condition.
Under CPRC § 16.003, Texas enforces a strict two-year statute of limitations for slip-and-fall claims, running from the exact date of the incident. If the fall occurred on government-owned property, administrative notice requirements can shorten this window to a matter of months.
Under CPRC § 33.001, Texas follows a 51% bar rule:
Property owners routinely claim that a hazard was “open and obvious” or that a victim was distracted. We secure early video and physical evidence to combat these comparative negligence defenses.
In most cases, you have two years from the date of the fall under CPRC § 16.003. If the incident occurred on city, county, or state property, much shorter formal notice deadlines apply.
Under Texas law, courts evaluate whether a hazard was open and obvious when assessing comparative responsibility and unreasonable risk. It does not automatically destroy your claim. We evaluate lighting, visual distractions, lack of warning signs, and floor conditions to counter this defense.
It depends on where the ice came from. Texas courts treat naturally accumulated ice differently from ice created by a leaking pipe, a misdirected sprinkler, or poor drainage. We investigate the source before anyone concludes the claim.
Texas applies a 51 percent bar. Your recovery drops by your share of responsibility, and it disappears only when that share climbs above 50 percent. Property owners raise this issue in nearly every premises case, which is why documenting the condition promptly matters so much.
Surveillance video, incident reports, sweep and inspection logs, work orders, and same-day photographs carry the most weight. City inspection records and accessibility filings add a second layer. Much of this material survives only when someone requests it in writing quickly.
We handle these cases on a contingency fee basis under a signed agreement, and the case evaluation costs nothing. You can call, describe what happened, and get straight answers before deciding whether to move forward.
Property owners and their insurers start working on these claims immediately, and the records that decide them run on a clock. Our firm investigates what the property knew, what its documentation shows, and whether the construction met Texas standards.
Attorney David Sanchez is board certified in personal injury trial law and has tried more than 100 jury trials. To speak with an Irving slip and fall accident lawyer about your case, call The Texas Chongo Personal Injury Lawyers at (972) 529-3476 for a free case evaluation. We serve injured people throughout Irving in English and Spanish.
