Slip and Fall Lawyers in San Antonio, Texas - Premises Liability in Retail Stores

San Antonio, Texas is a shopping mecca, whether you spend the day strolling the River Walk or taking a designer tour through La Cantera or North Star Mall. Most shopping trips result in filled bags and perhaps a lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. Unfortunately, shoppers can also suffer accidents and become seriously injured if they slip on wet, broken, or uneven flooring.

Every day, the San Antonio personal injury attorneys at Carabin Shaw see the devastating effects of slip and fall accidents. We help victims seek necessary compensation for their medical bills and other losses. If you have been injured in a retail store, our compassionate professionals offer free case reviews in Spanish or English. Call us 24/7 at 800-862-1260.

Slips and falls account for over 1 million visits to emergency rooms every year. Fractures are a common consequence of these accidents, but they can also lead to debilitating injuries like spinal cord or brain damage. Frequent causes of slip-and-fall accidents in stores include:

• Recent mopping or cleaning
• Water tracked from outdoors
• Liquid or food spills
• Loose rugs or carpets
• Floor cracks or uneven areas
• Water from leaky ceilings
• Stairs missing handrails

Retail operators may not be able to prevent a hazardous situation, but they can warn shoppers and other visitors to their business about it. When they fail to fix the problem or provide a proper warning, an accident victim and their local lawyer may hold them liable.

Premises liability holds property owners responsible for accidents that occur on their premises. Property owners have a legal obligation to maintain a safe environment on their premises. A case may arise where the owner fails to maintain the property, leading to a hazardous condition that injures a visitor.

Premises liability requires the accident victim to prove the property owner was negligent in some way. Negligence involves these elements:

• A hazard existed that presented a risk to visitors
• The owner knew about the risk
• The owner failed to fix or reduce the risk
• The visitor was injured as a direct result of that risk

The owner of a mall or retail building may not be operating the store where you were injured. In this case, the manager or owner of the store may be liable rather than the property owner.

It is also possible that the property and store owner may be responsible for an accident. Under Texas’s proportionate responsibility rule, you can hold both parties liable for your injuries, allowing you and your attorney to maximize damages.

Property owners and operators do not owe the same duty of care to everyone who enters their stores. There are three separate types of visitors under Texas law:

Invitees are those to whom the owner has extended an invitation to their property, such as shoppers. The owner owes invitees the highest duty of care, taking reasonable steps to keep their premises safe and warning them about dangers that cannot be immediately rectified.

Licensees are social guests who might have the owner’s permission to use the property for non-business purposes. In this case, the owner must warn of known dangers on the premises but is not obligated to repair them.

Trespassers enter a property without the owner’s permission. The owner owes adult trespassers no duty of care, although the rules vary somewhat for children.

An accident victim may file a claim with the store’s insurance company without the need for legal representation. Unfortunately, insurance providers seek ways to reduce or deny claims, putting victims at a disadvantage. Our slip and fall lawyers in San Antonio, TX, advise clients to avoid speaking with insurance companies alone and instead allow our legal team to handle negotiations.

If you are hurt in a retail store accident, don’t wait to get legal help. Our Texas lawyers offer our services on a contingency-fee basis, so you don’t pay any fees upfront. Check our reviews to see how we help accident victims like you, and then call us toll-free at 800-862-1260.

For more information:

• NFSI
• Cornell Law
• Texas Statutes 33