Fort Worth Premises Liability Lawyer

Injured on Someone Else’s Property? We’ve Fought These Cases Since 1976.

Law Office of James M. Stanley has represented injured Texans in Fort Worth and Tarrant County for nearly 50 years. When a property owner’s negligence puts you in the hospital, we take the legal burden off your shoulders so you can focus on getting better. Our premises liability attorneys handle everything from the initial investigation through insurance negotiation and, when necessary, courtroom litigation. If you can’t travel because of your injuries, we come to you. We make home and hospital visits and are available 24/7. Contact us today for a free and confidential consultation at (817) 591-4222.

What Is Premises Liability Under Texas Law?

Premises liability is a form of negligence law built on the property owner’s duty of care: the legal obligation to maintain reasonably safe conditions for visitors. What that duty requires depends on the category of visitor involved.

Texas law recognizes three visitor categories:

• Invitees enter the property by invitation or for a commercial purpose, such as customers or tenants. Owners owe invitees the highest duty: they must actively inspect the property, remedy hazards, and warn of dangers they can’t immediately fix.
• Licensees enter with the owner’s permission but without a formal invitation. The owner must warn licensees of known hazards but isn’t required to inspect for unknown ones.
• Trespassers enter without permission. Owners generally owe trespassers only the duty to refrain from intentional or wanton injury.

There is an important exception for children. Under the attractive nuisance doctrine, a property owner can be held liable for injuries to a child trespasser when a dangerous artificial condition on the property, such as an unfenced swimming pool or construction equipment, foreseeably draws children in. Determining your legal status as a visitor and the duty the owner owed you is one of the first things we assess in any premises liability claim. Our background in personal injury law and our familiarity with how we approach each case give our clients a clear starting point.

Proving a Property Owner’s Negligence

Bringing a premises liability claim requires more than showing you were injured on someone else’s property. You must establish that the owner knew about the dangerous condition, or reasonably should have known about it, and failed to fix it or warn you before you were hurt. That causal connection between the hazard and your injury is central to the claim.

Liability doesn’t always rest with the property’s title holder alone. Depending on the facts, responsibility can extend to property management companies, maintenance contractors, tenants who controlled the portion of the premises where the injury occurred, and in some circumstances government entities responsible for public property. Under Texas proportionate responsibility law, liability is divided by percentage of fault among all parties who contributed to the accident.

Common Premises Liability Claims We Handle in Fort Worth

Premises liability cases arise from a wide range of conditions and locations across Tarrant County. The following are the claim types we see most often:

• Slip and Fall Accidents: Wet floors, uneven surfaces, broken steps, and inadequate lighting are among the most common causes of serious injuries on commercial and residential properties. We work to establish that the owner knew or should have known about the condition and failed to act.
• Dog Bites: Texas dog owners can be held liable when they knew or had reason to know their dog had dangerous tendencies and failed to take reasonable precautions. We gather the evidence needed to establish that prior knowledge.
• Swimming Pool Accidents: Missing drain covers, inadequate fencing, lack of posted depth markers, and absent supervision can all support a claim when someone is injured at a private or public pool.
• Fires: When a property owner fails to install or maintain required fire safety measures, fire-related injuries may give rise to a liability claim. We investigate what safety obligations applied and where the owner fell short.
• Negligent Security: When inadequate lighting, absent security personnel, or a lack of surveillance allows a foreseeable criminal act to occur, the property owner may bear responsibility for the resulting injuries.

As Fort Worth premises liability lawyers, we also handle attractive nuisance claims involving child injuries and negotiate with insurance companies to pursue compensation for every client.

Texas Statute of Limitations for Premises Liability Claims

Texas law gives injured parties two years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit against the property owner and other liable parties under Tex. Civ. Prac. and Rem. Code §16.003. Missing that deadline typically results in dismissal with no right to seek compensation through the courts.

If the property is owned or operated by a government entity, the timeline can be much shorter. Written notice of your claim may be required within 180 days or less of the incident. Waiting also puts evidence at risk: security footage gets overwritten, witnesses’ memories fade, and physical conditions at the scene change. Consulting a premises liability attorney in Fort Worth early gives us the best opportunity to preserve what matters most to your case.

What to Do After an Injury on Someone Else’s Property

The steps you take in the hours and days following an injury can significantly affect the strength of your claim. Here is what we advise:

• Get Medical Attention: Seek care promptly, even if injuries seem minor at first. Describe all pain and symptoms fully so your medical records accurately reflect what happened.
• Report the Incident: Notify the property owner, manager, or relevant authority as soon as possible and request a written record of the report.
• Document the Scene: Photograph or video the hazard, its location, and your visible injuries before conditions change or the hazard is repaired.
• Collect Witness Information: Get the names and contact details of anyone who saw the accident or the condition that caused it.
• Don’t Speak to Adjusters Alone: Avoid giving recorded statements to insurance adjusters or accepting any settlement offer before consulting an attorney. Early settlement offers may not reflect the full value of a claim.

Compensation Available in a Texas Premises Liability Claim

A premises liability claim can recover both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include past and future medical expenses, lost wages during recovery, reduced future earning capacity, rehabilitation costs, and any property damage resulting from the incident. Non-economic damages address pain and suffering, emotional distress, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium.

In cases involving gross negligence, punitive damages may also be available. The full value of a claim depends on the nature and severity of the injuries, the strength of the evidence, and how fault is ultimately allocated.

How Texas Modified Comparative Negligence Affects Your Claim

Texas follows a modified comparative negligence rule under Tex. Civ. Prac. and Rem. Code §33.001. If a jury finds you more than 50% responsible for the accident, you can’t recover any compensation. If your share of fault is 50% or less, your compensation is reduced proportionally.

Property owners and their insurers frequently argue that the injured party was careless or ignored an obvious hazard, a common tactic to reduce or eliminate a payout. We counter those arguments by building an evidence record that accurately reflects what the owner knew, what warnings were or were not given, and what a reasonable person in your position would have done.

How We Handle Your Premises Liability Claim

When you hire Law Office of James M. Stanley as your premises liability attorney in Fort Worth, we take over the legal work so you don’t have to manage it while you recover. We begin by investigating the accident: collecting photographs, obtaining witness statements, reviewing incident reports, and identifying every party who may share liability. From there, we build the evidentiary record needed to support your claim and prepare the demand letters and filings that move your case forward.

We negotiate directly with insurance companies on your behalf, pursuing compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and any lasting disability. When insurers won’t offer a fair settlement, we’re prepared to represent you in Tarrant County civil courts. We also help facilitate access to quality medical care during your recovery so that treatment gaps don’t undermine your claim later. Our team has been doing this work in Fort Worth since 1976, and we bring that depth of experience to every case we take on. Hablamos español.

Speak with a Fort Worth Premises Liability Attorney Today

If you were injured on someone else’s property, don’t wait to get legal guidance. The two-year statute of limitations starts running from the date of injury, and evidence disappears quickly. Law Office of James M. Stanley offers free, confidential consultations for premises liability cases throughout Fort Worth and Tarrant County. We’re available 24/7, and if your injuries prevent you from coming to us, we can come to you.