Dallas Premises Liability Lawyers
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Texas law puts a duty on property owners to keep their premises reasonably safe, and a premises liability claim is how you hold an owner accountable when they ignore that duty and you get hurt.
That is the work of a Dallas premises liability lawyer, and at Tate Law Offices we take these cases with no fee unless we win. You can reach us at (903) 892-4440 around the clock for a free consultation.
Unsafe property covers far more than a wet floor. It is the apartment stairwell with a rotted step, the parking garage so dark it invites an assault, the store shelf stacked so high a box comes down on a shopper. What these share is an owner who controlled the property, knew or should have known about the danger, and let it stand.
The catch is that the proof of all that sits in the owner’s own hands, in maintenance logs and security footage, which is exactly why these cases are harder to win alone and why we move quickly to pull that evidence before it disappears.
What Counts as a Premises Liability Case?
Any injury caused by a dangerous condition on property someone else controlled can be a premises liability case. The category is broad, and the table below shows the main types we handle across Dallas.
Type of Case | What It Involves |
Falls from spills, wet floors, or trip hazards | |
Negligent security | Assaults made possible by poor lighting or missing security |
Falling objects | Merchandise or debris that falls on a customer |
Stairway and structural defects | Broken steps, missing handrails, unsafe structures |
Swimming pool hazards | Unguarded or poorly maintained pools |
Poor maintenance | Hazards left unrepaired across a property |
Each type calls for different proof and sometimes a different responsible party, from a store to a landlord to a management company. Naming the kind of case you have is the first step toward knowing whose records to demand and whose insurance is on the hook.
Why Choose Tate Law Offices as Your
Dallas Premises Liability Lawyer
A premises case is harder to prove than a car wreck, and that is the whole reason the right firm matters. There is no officer at the scene assigning fault and no crash report to lean on. Instead, the evidence that decides the case, the video, the inspection records, the prior complaints, sits with the very business you are making a claim against, and it does not stay around long.
- We go after the owner’s own records fast, before footage is overwritten and maintenance logs are cycled out.
- We know how to prove an owner knew, which is the element these cases live or die on and the one insurers fight hardest.
- We advance every cost and are paid only from the recovery, so the financial risk of pursuing the claim is ours, not yours.
The Tate and Rehmet families built this firm to take on exactly this kind of fight, where the other side controls the evidence and is counting on you not to press. Pressing, correctly and early, is the entire point.
What Duty Does a Property Owner Owe You?
It depends on why you were on the property, because Texas sorts visitors into three groups and owes each a different level of care. Your status when you were hurt sets the standard the owner had to meet.
- Invitees, such as customers and tenants, are owed the most: the owner must inspect for hazards and fix or warn about them.
- Licensees, such as social guests, are owed a warning about known dangers that are not obvious.
- Trespassers are owed only that the owner not injure them willfully or through gross recklessness.
Most injury claims involve invitees, who are owed the highest duty of care, and in every category the owner must have known or should have known about the hazard for liability to attach. Establishing your status, and that the owner had that knowledge, is where a premises case begins.
What Is an Unsafe Property Injury Claim Worth?
It depends on two things above all: how badly you were hurt, and how clearly the owner’s negligence can be shown. Premises injuries run the full range, from a sprained wrist to a spinal cord injury to the aftermath of a violent assault, and the value tracks that severity, as injury data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention makes plain for falls in particular.
Severity alone does not settle a case, though, because premises claims also rise and fall on liability. A serious injury backed by solid proof that the owner ignored a known hazard is worth far more than the same injury where notice is murky.
That is why we build both halves at the same time, documenting your medical picture while nailing down what the owner knew and when. Because our fee is a share of the result, we have no reason to undersell either one.
What Texas Law Applies to Your Claim?
Texas is a fault-based state, so a negligent property owner and its insurer are responsible for your damages, and two rules shape nearly every premises claim. Both come up in almost every case.
How Long Do You Have to File a Premises Liability Claim in Texas?
Two years from the date of the injury, under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.003. Miss that deadline and the court will almost certainly dismiss your case no matter how clear the owner’s negligence was.
You can read the statute on Texas Legislature Online. Because the video and records that prove these cases vanish quickly, the real deadline to start is much earlier than two years.
Can You Recover If You Were Partly at Fault?
Yes, as long as your share of the blame is 50 percent or less. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault and barred only if that share exceeds half, which is why owners so often argue you were careless or ignored an obvious danger. Solid evidence of the hazard and the owner’s failure to address it is what keeps that argument from carrying the day.
Talk to a Dallas Premises Liability Lawyer
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Dallas premises liability lawyer cost?
Nothing unless we win. Our fee is a percentage of the recovery, set in writing before we start, and we advance the case costs along the way. If the claim does not succeed, you owe no attorney fee.
I was hurt in my apartment complex. Who is responsible?
Possibly the landlord, the property manager, or a maintenance company, depending on who controlled the area and the hazard. Complexes generate claims from broken stairs, poor lighting, and inadequate security, and more than one party may share the blame and carry its own insurance. We identify each one during the investigation.
What is negligent security?
It is a premises claim based on a property owner failing to take reasonable steps to prevent a foreseeable crime. When poor lighting, broken locks, or absent security let an assault happen in a place where trouble was predictable, the owner can share responsibility for the harm. These cases turn on what the owner knew about prior incidents in the area.
What if the property says I was not allowed to be there?
Your visitor status matters, but it rarely ends the case on its own. Owners often overstate it to avoid responsibility, and even limited duties can apply. Whether you were an invitee, a licensee, or something else is a fact the evidence decides, not the owner’s say-so.
Will my case go to trial?
Usually not. Most premises claims settle once the proof of the hazard and your injuries is clear, though we prepare every case as if it will be tried. If a fair settlement never comes, we are ready to take it to a Dallas County jury.
How long will it take?
It depends on your injuries and how the insurer behaves. Simpler claims can resolve in months, while serious cases can take a year or more. We will not push a settlement before your recovery is clear.
Legally Reviewed By
Tim Tate, of Tate Law Offices, PC, has represented victims of injuries day-in and day-out throughout the state of Texas as well as in numerous other states throughout America over the last two decades. In addition to being licensed as an Attorney at Law by the Supreme Court of Texas, Tim is a member of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and the American Association for Justice, both of which advocate and advance the rights of injured victims against insurance companies.
