Plano Slip and Fall Lawyer
Injured at Stonebriar Centre, Legacy West, Willow Bend, a Plano restaurant, hotel, or any retail property? Texas premises-liability law under Wal-Mart Stores v. Reece and Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Chapter 95 controls — the property owner's actual or constructive knowledge of the hazard is the decisive element. Free consultation, no fee unless we win.
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Plano slip and fall law — quick answers
- Statute of limitations? Two years under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.003. Six-month notice deadlines when a governmental entity is involved under §101.101.
- What you must prove? Actual or constructive knowledge of the hazard, unreasonable risk, failure to exercise reasonable care, proximate cause — per Wal-Mart Stores v. Reece (Tex. 2002).
- Visitor classification? Invitees (retail customers) get the highest duty of care. Licensees lower. Trespassers lowest.
- Comparative fault? 50% or less at fault under §33.001 — recovery reduced by your fault percentage.
- Damages? Medical, lost wages, pain and suffering, impairment, disfigurement; exemplary damages under §41.003 in gross-negligence cases.
- Courts? Collin County District Courts at the McKinney courthouse, or E.D. Tex. Sherman Division for federal cases.
Plano slip and fall claims — what makes them win or lose
Most Plano slip and fall cases turn on a single legal question: did the property owner have actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous condition before the fall? The Texas Supreme Court set the framework in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Reece, 81 S.W.3d 812 (Tex. 2002). To prove constructive knowledge, you generally need evidence that the dangerous condition existed long enough that a reasonable property owner should have known about it — through routine inspections, surveillance review, or staff observation.
In Plano, the typical evidence sources we pursue include: store surveillance video (most Stonebriar, Legacy West, and Willow Bend tenants record continuously but overwrite within 30 days), cleaning and inspection logs that document the last time the area was checked, prior incident reports for the same store, employee depositions about hazard-spotting training, and weather records when wet-floor entrance falls are involved.
For falls on construction premises, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Chapter 95 imposes additional limits on contractor liability that we navigate carefully. Chapter 95 applies to certain claims by contractors and their employees on the property owner's premises — not to ordinary retail customers.
Common Plano slip and fall patterns
- Wet-floor falls at Stonebriar Centre and Legacy West. Spills, leaks, melted ice, mopping in progress without warning signage. The constructive-knowledge analysis hinges on duration and inspection logs.
- Restaurant slip-and-falls. Kitchen-area grease tracked into customer areas; ice machine leaks; bus station spills. Common at Plano restaurants along Preston Road, Legacy Drive, and Park Boulevard.
- Grocery store falls. Produce-section misting overspray, broken bottles in aisles, freezer-section condensation. Texas Supreme Court has addressed grocery-store premises duty in multiple opinions.
- Hotel and short-term-rental falls. Plano's hotel corridor along the Dallas North Tollway and Legacy West produces a regular stream of pool-deck, lobby, and bathroom fall cases.
- Parking-lot and entrance falls. Snow and ice removal failures, broken pavement, missing speed bump markings, inadequate lighting. Tex. Health & Safety Code §469 requires accessibility compliance.
- Stairwell and elevator falls. Code-violation handrails, missing nosings, defective treads. Plano building-code compliance becomes relevant when historical occupancy permits are pulled.
Texas premises liability law — what Plano slip and fall victims should know
Two-year statute of limitations (§16.003)
Two years from the date of the fall. Government-property claims may have six-month notice deadlines under §101.101 of the Texas Tort Claims Act.
Wal-Mart v. Reece elements
You must prove: (1) the owner had actual or constructive knowledge of the condition; (2) the condition posed an unreasonable risk; (3) the owner did not exercise reasonable care; (4) the failure proximately caused your injury.
Modified comparative fault (§33.001)
51% bar — you can recover if you were 50% or less at fault. The defense will argue you should have seen the hazard. We counter with surveillance footage and contemporaneous incident reports.
Paid or incurred medicals (§41.0105)
Limits medical-bill recovery to amounts actually paid or incurred. Hip-fracture and TBI cases routinely run into six figures.
Exemplary damages (§41.003)
Available on clear and convincing evidence of gross negligence — for example, the property owner had been put on notice of multiple prior falls at the same hazard and did nothing.
Chapter 95 (construction premises)
Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Chapter 95 limits property-owner liability for certain contractor injuries. Does not apply to ordinary retail customers.
Where Plano slip and fall cases are heard
Collin County District Courts
Collin County Courthouse, 2100 Bloomdale Road, McKinney. The 199th, 219th, 296th, 366th, 380th, 401st, and 416th District Courts handle the civil docket.
Surrounding counties
Dallas County cases at the George L. Allen Sr. Courts Building in downtown Dallas. Denton County cases at the Denton County Courts Building. Venue under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §15.002 is typically where the incident occurred or where the defendant resides.
Federal court (E.D. Tex., Sherman Division)
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division. Available where there is complete diversity of citizenship and more than $75,000 in controversy under 28 U.S.C. §1332.
Stowers leverage
When the at-fault commercial-property carrier refuses a reasonable within-limits demand on a serious-injury fall, the Texas Stowers doctrine exposes the insurer to liability for any excess judgment.
Other Plano injury cases we handle
Common questions from Plano slip and fall clients
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Slipped and fell at a Plano property? Talk to a Texas trial lawyer today.
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Legally reviewed by Travis Patterson, Managing Partner of Patterson Law Group.