Getting hurt on someone else's property leaves you with bills you did not plan for and a story nobody seems to want to hear.
Scott Templeton is a San Angelo premises liability lawyer who represents people injured by unsafe conditions on private and commercial property across Tom Green County and West Texas. Templeton Law Firm handles the insurance company, the records, and the deadlines so you can put your attention back on healing.
Call (325) 482-9120 for a free case review, or contact the firm online.
Does a Texas Property Owner Owe You a Duty of Care?
It depends on why you were on the property. Texas sorts visitors into three categories, and each one comes with a different level of legal protection. Figuring out which one applies to you is the first real question in any premises case.
| Your status | Who it covers | What the owner owes you |
| Invitee | Customers, tenants, delivery drivers, anyone there for the owner's benefit | Reasonable care to find and fix or warn about dangers the owner knew about or should have found |
| Licensee | Social guests and others there with permission but not for business | A warning about, or repair of, dangers the owner actually knew about and the guest did not |
| Trespasser | Anyone on the property without permission | Only a duty not to injure them willfully, wantonly, or through gross negligence |
Most claims that succeed in Texas are invitee claims. Shoppers, apartment tenants, hotel guests, and people visiting a business office normally qualify.
What Do You Have to Prove in a Texas Premises Liability Case?
Four things. A Texas invitee has to show the owner knew about the dangerous condition or should have known about it, that the condition created an unreasonable risk of harm, that the owner failed to take reasonable steps to fix it or warn about it, and that this failure caused the injury.
The Texas Supreme Court laid out that four part test in Keetch v. Kroger Co. and has applied it ever since, including in Austin v. Kroger Texas, L.P.. Owners are not automatically responsible every time somebody falls. They are responsible when they had a fair chance to catch the problem and did nothing.
How Long Does a Hazard Have to Sit There Before It Counts?
Long enough that a careful owner would have found it. Texas courts call this the time notice rule, and it is where a lot of otherwise good claims fall apart.
Proving an employee was standing near the hazard is not enough on its own, as the Texas Supreme Court held in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Reece. There has to be evidence about time. Maintenance logs, work orders, and inspection records answer that question, and they do not stay available forever.
What Types of Premises Cases Does Templeton Law Firm Handle?
Anything where a property condition or a property owner's choices caused an injury. That includes falls caused by wet floors, broken stairs, and poor lighting, injuries from falling merchandise or unsecured equipment, swimming pool and gate failures at apartment complexes, dog attacks where a landlord knew a dangerous animal was on the property, and injuries tied to missing or broken security measures.
Two of these have enough moving parts to deserve their own treatment. Floor and walkway hazards are covered on the San Angelo slip and fall accident page, and injuries caused by crime on poorly protected property are covered on the negligent security page. Everything else fits within the firm's broader San Angelo personal injury practice.
Not sure which category your case falls into? Call (325) 482-9120 for a free case review.
Can You Still Recover if You Were Partly at Fault?
Yes, as long as your share of the blame is not more than 50 percent. Texas uses a system called proportionate responsibility, set out in Chapter 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
A jury assigns a percentage of responsibility to each party. If you are found 20 percent at fault, your award drops by 20 percent. At exactly 50 percent you still recover half. Above 50 percent you recover nothing. Insurance adjusters know this rule cold, which is why so many early phone calls are built around getting you to say something that shifts blame onto you.
What if You Were Hurt on a Ranch or a Hunting Lease?
The rules tighten considerably. Under Chapter 75 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, a landowner who opens property for recreation owes visitors no more care than they would owe a trespasser. That usually means proving gross negligence, malice, or bad faith rather than ordinary carelessness.
That protection is not automatic. It applies only when the landowner does not charge for entry, or when the prior year's recreational charges stayed under a statutory limit tied to the property's taxes, so a commercial hunting lease can fall outside it.
That matters in this part of Texas, where hunting leases, fishing access, and working ranchland are ordinary weekend activity. A recreational use defense does not end a case, but it changes what has to be proven, and it should be identified early rather than in the middle of litigation.
What if You Were Hurt Working as a Contractor on Someone Else's Property?
Your path is narrower, but it is not closed. Chapter 95 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code shields property owners from claims by contractors and their employees who were building, repairing, or modifying something on the property.
The shield drops in one situation. The owner kept control over how the work was done, beyond simply starting, stopping, or inspecting it, and the owner actually knew about the danger and failed to give an adequate warning. Chapter 95 also applies only when the injury came from the improvement you were actually working on.
Oilfield yards, warehouses, and job sites around the Concho Valley generate these claims regularly. They hinge on contract language and daily job site practice rather than on the injury itself.
How Long Do You Have to File a Premises Liability Claim in Texas?
Two years from the date of the injury, under Section 16.003 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Miss it and the claim is generally gone no matter how strong the facts are.
A few situations run on different clocks. Claims arising from a sexual assault carry a longer period, and claims against a city, county, or school district carry short written notice requirements that can expire in months rather than years. Confirm your specific deadline with a lawyer rather than assuming two years applies.
Who Handles Your Case, and Where Will It Be Filed?
I do, and it stays local. I was born and raised in San Angelo, earned my undergraduate degree at Angelo State University, and have been licensed to practice in Texas since 1998, which is more than 25 years of trial and negotiation work in West Texas.
Premises suits filed here go to the 51st, 119th, 340th, or 391st District Courts in Tom Green County, with appeals heading to the Third Court of Appeals in Austin. I know how those dockets move. My staff and I work in English and Spanish, and I take the calls myself.
Unsafe Property Should Not Cost You Your Livelihood
An injury on someone else's property can quietly reshape your finances long after the bruises fade. You should not have to untangle contracts, insurance policies, and medical bills while you are still trying to get back to work.
Templeton Law Firm sits at 905 S. Abe Street in San Angelo, weekdays from 9 AM to 5 PM. Consultations on injury claims are free, and injury clients pay no attorney fee unless there is a recovery. Call (325) 482-9120, email scott@templetonlawfirm.com, or schedule a free consultation about your premises injury.
Premises Liability Questions San Angelo Clients Ask
Does signing a waiver at a gym or event stop me from suing?
Not always. Texas courts enforce waivers only when the language is conspicuous and clearly spells out that you are releasing the business from its own negligence. Waivers also do not usually cover gross negligence. Bring the document in rather than assuming it closed the door.
The property owner's insurance adjuster already called me. Was that a problem?
It can be. Adjusters often ask for a recorded statement within days, before you know the full extent of your injuries, and those recordings get used later to argue you were distracted or already hurt. You are allowed to decline and refer them to your lawyer.
I did not report the injury the same day. Is my claim finished?
No, though it gets harder. Late reports invite the argument that the injury happened somewhere else. Medical records, text messages to family, and photographs taken that day all help rebuild the timeline, and a delay of hours or days is very different from a delay of months.
The business rents the building. Do I sue the tenant or the landlord?
Usually whoever controlled the dangerous area. A tenant that runs the store typically controls the sales floor, while a landlord may control the parking lot, stairwells, roof, and common areas. Lease language settles a lot of this, and both can end up as defendants.