Slip and fall and trip and fall claims fall under Texas premises liability law, which holds property owners and occupiers responsible for keeping their property reasonably safe. A property owner is not automatically liable for every fall, and your legal status at the time of the fall decides how much protection the law gives you.

Your status as a visitor

• Invitee: someone on the property for the mutual benefit of both parties, like a customer at a Pearland grocery store. Invitees get the most protection: the owner must use ordinary care to protect them from known hazards and from hazards a reasonable inspection would have revealed.
• Licensee: someone there with permission but mainly for their own benefit, like a social guest. The owner must warn of known dangers but need not inspect for unknown ones.
• Trespasser: someone with no permission. The owner generally must only avoid injuring them willfully, wantonly, or through gross negligence.

What you must prove

1. A dangerous condition existed on the property.
2. The owner knew about it, or reasonably should have discovered it through proper inspection.
3. The owner failed to fix the condition or warn you about it.
4. That failure directly caused your fall and your damages, such as medical bills, lost wages, or pain and suffering.

Actual vs. constructive knowledge

Actual knowledge means the owner or employees knew the danger existed. Constructive knowledge means the hazard was present long enough that reasonable inspections would have found it. If a spill at a Pearland restaurant sat on the floor for 30 minutes before you slipped, the owner likely had constructive knowledge, and that can make or break your case.