A spilled drink in a grocery aisle on Fairmont Parkway or a broken step outside an apartment can put you in the hospital in a second. What follows is often slower and harder: bills, missed work, and a store or landlord that says the fall was your fault. A slip and fall accident lawyer in La Porte can help you deal with the consequences of your accident.
Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers has helped injured Texans since 2008, and fall cases are part of the work we do as a personal injury lawyer in La Porte. We prepare every case as if it may go to trial, which gives property owners and their insurers a reason to take your claim seriously. Get Brian by calling us for a free consultation.
What Do You Have to Prove After a Slip and Fall in Texas?
After a slip and fall in Texas, you have to prove the owner knew or should have known of an unreasonable hazard, failed to fix or warn about it, and caused your injury, under Keetch v. Kroger Co. (Tex. 1992).
The “should have known” part trips up many claims. In Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Reece (Tex. 2002), the Texas Supreme Court held that you need proof of how long the hazard was there before the owner can be charged with knowing about it. A store employee simply walking past a spill isn’t enough on its own.
Because of that rule, a common belief turns out to be wrong: a store isn’t automatically responsible because you fell inside it. Proof of timing, such as video, a dirty or dried spill, or cart tracks through it, often decides the case.
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How Our Slip and Fall Accident Lawyers in La Porte Start Your Case
Evidence in a fall case can disappear within days. That’s why our first step is a letter telling the owner to preserve the video, cleaning logs, and incident reports. Those records show what the owner knew and when, which is the heart of a Texas fall claim.
Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers handles this work from our main office in Houston, home of our Houston personal injury lawyer team. A La Porte client gets the same trial lawyers and the same preparation as a client downtown.
La Porte Slip And Fall Accident Lawyer Near Me (713) 500-5000
Hazards Behind Falls in La Porte
Falls happen anywhere people walk, but certain hazards come up again and again in La Porte claims. Some of the conditions we see often include:
- Wet floors from spills, leaking coolers, or rain tracked in at the entrance
- Loose or missing handrails on stairs and balconies
- Broken sidewalks and uneven parking lot pavement
- Poor lighting in stairwells and apartment walkways
- Merchandise or cords left in store aisles
Each of these can point to a different responsible party. A spill inside a store along Spencer Highway is usually the store’s problem, while a cracked public sidewalk may belong to the City of La Porte.
Who falls matters as much as where, and older La Porte residents face the greatest danger. Over 14 million adults 65 and older, about 1 in 4, report falling each year, and their fall death rate rose from 64.7 to 78.4 per 100,000 between 2018 and 2024, according to the CDC.
Even so, a fall can cause serious harm at any age. Our firm has recovered a $2 million settlement for a client hurt by a defective step and handrail design, whose injuries included a mild traumatic brain injury and spinal symptoms. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
Does a Wet Floor Sign End Your Claim?
A wet floor sign doesn’t automatically end your claim in Texas, though it can matter, because an owner can meet its duty by adequately warning visitors of a hazard. The fight is usually over whether the warning was adequate.
So photograph any signs you saw, or note that there were none, as soon as you’re able. Those pictures often matter more than anything the store writes in its own incident report.
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Why Your Status as a Visitor Matters
Texas law sets the owner’s duty by the reason you were on the property, so the same wet floor can lead to very different claims. Here is how that plays out in a typical fall:
- A shopper or customer is usually an invitee. The store has to use reasonable care to find and fix or warn about hazards it knew or should have known about.
- A guest at someone’s home is usually a licensee. The owner only has to warn about or fix dangers it actually knew about, as the court explained in State v. Williams (Tex. 1996).
- Someone without permission is a trespasser. The owner generally only has to avoid hurting that person on purpose or through gross negligence.
Store falls usually involve invitees, which gives you the strongest protection. A fall at a friend’s house or on public property often brings in the licensee standard instead, and that’s harder to meet.
With the licensee standard, the case turns on what the owner actually knew. Texts, repair requests, or earlier complaints about the same step or spill can supply that proof, so it’s worth gathering them early.
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Deadlines for a La Porte Slip and Fall Claim
The deadline to file a slip and fall lawsuit in Texas is generally two years from the date of the fall under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a).
That timeline gets much shorter when the government owns the property. For a fall on a city sidewalk or in a city building, the La Porte City Charter requires written notice to the City Secretary’s Office within 180 days under Section 1.06.
Government falls also follow a tougher standard. Under § 101.022, a city or county generally owes you only the duty owed to a licensee, unless you paid to use the property.
Why La Porte Clients Choose Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers
The Houston Chronicle named Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers to its Best of the Best 2025 list in the Personal Injury Litigation category. We get a large share of our new clients through referrals from past clients.
When you call, a real person answers. You can reach your legal team directly, and we respond quickly when you have questions about your case. If the insurer refuses to be fair, we take the case to court ourselves rather than passing it to another firm. At this link, you can learn more about the people behind Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers.
Get Help From a La Porte Slip and Fall Lawyer
The property owner’s insurer likely started building its defense the day you fell. A slip and fall accident lawyer in La Porte can start building yours now, while the video and witnesses are still within reach.
Our team is available 24/7, and we can come to you if getting around is hard after your injury. Call us now for a free consultation, and we’ll tell you what we think your claim needs.
Call or Text (713) 500-5000 or Complete a Case Evaluation Form