North Texas Premises Liability Attorneys
Banner, Briley & White
Property accidents fall under an area of tort law known as "premises liability." Generally speaking, these cases involve a wide variety of accidents — products falling from store shelves; slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall accidents; pool drowning cases; injuries caused by falling trees, holes on property or uneven curbs and sidewalks; and injuries and assaults that are directly connected to inadequate security measures being taken by landlords or property owners.
At Banner, Briley & White, we have represented many individuals from Wichita Falls and the surrounding areas of North Texas who have been injured by falls, slips and other premises liability hazards. Our goal in these cases is to assist those injured individuals in bringing their claims and to see that they are fairly compensated for their injuries. We only accept cases we believe in, and we fight hard from start to finish for those we represent.
Even a "Good" Premises Liability Case Is a Tough Case to Win
In general, a property owner must have been aware of the hazardous condition before the accident occurred, or the injured party must show that the property owner should have known that a dangerous condition existed on the property.
In practical application, this burden of proof is tougher to meet than you might think.
For example, if you were shopping in a grocery store in Wichita Falls, Texas, and slipped and fell in a puddle of soda pop on the floor, the grocery store would be liable if it knew or should have known that the soda pop was on the floor. If some other customer dropped a can of soda pop on the floor, but the grocery store had no knowledge of the soda pop being there, then the grocery store would probably not be found liable for any damages you suffered.
On the other hand, suppose that a customer walked into a restaurant in Wichita Falls, Texas, to buy a sandwich. Unbeknownst to the customer, an employee had just mopped the floor in the restaurant minutes before. Suppose, also, that the employee’s boss had instructed the employee to mop the floor even though there was no wet floor sign in the building. The sandwich customer did not notice the wet floor, and no wet floor sign was set out by the employee. The customer falls and is injured, suffering severe injuries and losing several weeks of work.
In this case, the restaurant owner knew of the danger existing on its property — specifically a wet floor. The restaurant was aware that a wet floor is dangerous for customers, and may cause serious injury to someone who falls. Falls are likely to occur when a floor is wet. However, even with these facts present, insurance companies have several arguments to make to avoid paying damages to the customer.
Negligent Security
A property owner's negligence with regard to security measures can lead to assaults, robbery, sexual assault and homicide. In these cases, the negligence we're talking about can involve a number of different actions or inactions, including security guard operations, hiring, screening, training needs and supervision — and inadequate alarm systems.
Negligent security lawsuits can stem from incidents at residential or commercial buildings, at shopping centers and parking facilities, at hotels and casinos, at amusement parks, at airports, at healthcare facilities, at nightclubs and bars, and at universities and public schools as well.
If you or a family member has suffered a violent attack, it is worth determining whether the criminal activity could have been prevented by better security measures. When injuries arise as a result of negligent security, a premises liability case help the victim gain compensation.
Getting Started
Our firm handles property accident cases on a contingency basis. This means it will cost you nothing to get us started on your case. We collect a fee only if you receive compensation from those responsible for your injuries.
To arrange for a free consultation, call our Wichita Falls, Texas, offices at 940-692-5000.
