Unreasonable Risks Of Harm In Texas Premises Liability Cases

In the typical Texas slip-and-fall or trip-and-fall case occurring on a business owner's premises, the plaintiff is a business patron (invitee). This class of plaintiff is afforded the widest protection in a premises case. To recover damages in a slip-and-fall case or trip-and-fall case, a plaintiff who is an invitee must prove:

1. Actual or constructive knowledge of some condition on the premises by the owner/operator;
2. That the condition posed an unreasonable risk of harm;
3. That the owner/operator did not exercise reasonable care to reduce or eliminate the risk; and
4. That the owner/operator's failure to use such care proximately caused the plaintiff's injuries.

A condition poses an unreasonable risk of harm for premises-defect purposes when there is a "sufficient probability of a harmful event occurring that a reasonably prudent person would have foreseen it or some similar event as likely to happen."