Given how car-centric life is in the United States, people often assume that auto accidents are the most common cause of preventable personal injuries nationwide. While this may be true, slipping and tripping accidents are alongside traffic wrecks in terms of the total number of incidents that occur each year and the number of serious injuries they cause.
If you slipped, tripped, or fell on someone else’s land because of a hazard you were not warned about in advance, you may have grounds for legal action. An Austin slip and fall lawyer can help you pursue a claim. Our personal injury attorneys have extensive experience handling cases on behalf of individuals like you. Once retained, we can leverage that expertise to ensure you receive fair compensation for the harm you have unfairly sustained.
The fact that a slip and fall injury occurred on land owned by someone else does not automatically make that landowner legally at fault for your injury. Civil liability for slipping and tripping accidents revolves around legal negligence—specifically, whether you can prove that the landowner you are suing violated a duty of care owed to you.
The nature of this duty depends on the type of property and the reason why you were on this land. Landowners with direct knowledge of hazardous conditions on their property must provide a warning to lawful visitors, act reasonably quickly to fix or cordon off the hazard, and (under certain circumstances) regularly inspect their property for undiscovered hazards. An Austin attorney can explain how a failure to do any of these things can qualify as grounds for a lawsuit if it directly led to you tripping and falling.
Of course, slip and fall victims are not immune from being civilly liable for their own accidents based on reckless or careless behavior. For example, if you wore shoes with no tread or ran through an area where you should have been walking, you may be partially at fault for your injuries. If a court imposes a percentage of comparative fault against you due to this kind of negligence, you would be subject to a proportional reduction in compensation or may be barred from recovery altogether under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 33.001.
Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003, you generally have a maximum of two years after suffering a slip and fall injury in Austin to file suit either alone or with a qualified lawyer’s help. If this deadline is missed, you will likely be time-barred from ever seeking compensation for your injury.
A sudden loss of footing can lead to a serious injury for individuals in any physical condition. However, it can be particularly hazardous for young children, older adults, and people already dealing with chronic injuries or illnesses. Regardless of who you were before an accident like this, your life after it depends on the actions you take right now to enforce your right to civil recovery.
Representation from an Austin slip and fall lawyer will dramatically improve your chances of securing a favorable result from a civil claim and maximizing the compensation you receive. Call Fleming Law Accident & Injury Attorneys today to set up a consultation and discuss your legal options.
(713) 221-6800 
