Houston Slip and Fall Lawyer

We Have the Experience That Counts

Buckingham & Vega Vega’s Houston personal injury lawyers have been practicing personal injury trial law for over 25 years. When injuries happen because of dangerous conditions, our legal team represents those who suffered devastating injuries that never should have occurred.

We have a track record of successfully litigating fall accident cases in the Houston area for decades. Learn more about how our award-winning personal injury lawyers obtain multi-million-dollar settlements and judgments for clients.

We Don’t Make Empty Promises

It’s easy for a law firm to tell you they can make it like the slip and fall accident never happened. But that’s an empty promise. What happened to you can never be reversed, and we never try to minimize the pain of the life-altering injuries you suffered.

When you hire a Buckingham & Vega Law Firm slip and fall attorney, you get a legal advocate who cares personally about the outcome of your case. We don’t try to change the past. But we do fight hard to change the future—for you, and for everyone else who visits the property where you were hurt.

The only promises we make to our clients are those we are sure we can keep. Our fall accident attorneys will:

• Evaluate the full magnitude of your fall injuries and calculate the highest compensation for both current and future losses
• Deeply research the circumstances of your personal injury to determine liability
• Hold the appropriate party accountable for wrongdoing, whether it is the property owner, manager, or another entity
• Keep in touch with you through the entirety of your slip and fall accident case
• Negotiate with insurance companies and handle your insurer communications
• Meet deadlines, accurately file documents, and get the evidence needed to support your injury claim or fall lawsuit
• Be a trustworthy source of legal advice for any questions or problems you may face
• Treat you and your family with the dignity and respect you deserve

You shouldn't wonder how you'll afford medical care after a slip and fall accident. We use our experience in premises liability law to win you back your financial security. Call today for free legal advice from a top Houston slip and fall attorney. Call us at (505) 388-0066 or fill out this form.

Common Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents

When the owner or manager of a property breaches a duty of care to keep premises safe, slip and fall accidents can happen. Breaching this duty of care may involve failing to fix, clean up, or prevent a fall hazard. If a business owner fails to conduct routine inspections, for example, a broken stair tread or liquid spill may be left unaddressed.

A property owner’s negligence can lead to serious fall-related injuries—both indoors and outdoors. Some of the most common causes of slip and fall accidents in Houston are:

• Spills on floors
• Wet areas from mopping or cleaning without a warning sign
• Puddled water from rain, shoes, or umbrellas left near doorways
• Obstacles in walking paths
• Loose rugs or unsecured rugs on slick surfaces
• Slippery liquid on walking surfaces (like oil or floor cleaner)
• Poor lighting near stairs or other walking paths
• Uneven flooring
• Torn or lumpy carpeting
• Damaged stairs
• Broken handrails
• Defective children’s playground equipment
• Unsecured wires or cords
• Slippery access ramps
• Crumbled pavement and potholes

Where Do Most Slip and Fall Accidents Happen in Houston?

Fall accidents occur anywhere poor footing causes a person to lose their balance and suffer injury. In Houston, TX, the fall accident lawyers from Buckingham & Vega Vega provide expert legal representation to injury victims harmed on someone else’s property, such as:

Examples of Common Slip and Fall Accidents in Houston

Fall hazards can exist in the places you least expect them. At our personal injury law firm, we handle slip and fall cases such as these:

• A child suffers a head injury due to faulty playground equipment
• A fall occurs in a hotel because a loose handrail gave way on a staircase
• An older adult suffers broken bones because electrical wires crossed nursing home walking areas
• A pedestrian requires medical treatment after falling into an uncovered sidewalk drain

Workplace Fall Injuries

Buckingham & Vega Vega also specialized in representing victims of workplace fall injuries. Falls are one of the leading causes of at-work injuries and fatalities in the United States. The numbers are even higher in and around our Houston area, where a high percentage of our workers labor on oil fields or construction sites.

Although serious injuries can occur in any occupation, those who work in the construction, oil and gas, and manufacturing industries are particularly at-risk for fall-related injuries.

These and other workplace hazards can lead to slip and fall incidents on the job:

• Defective and poorly-maintained equipment
• Scaffolding or ladder failure
• Oil spills
• Improper safety equipment
• Inadequate safety training
• Lack of supervision
• Extension cords, tools, air hoses, and other trip hazards left in walking paths
• Slick surfaces
• Poor lighting

Fall hazards are foreseeable and preventable. When working in an industry known for its dangers, it’s imperative for supervisors to create the safest possible working conditions.

Companies have a duty to provide safe equipment, proper training, and effective emergency protocol. It may be your employer or another party (such as a machine parts manufacturer or third-party employee) who is liable in your fall case. Be sure to speak with an experienced Houston slip and fall lawyer to learn about your legal options after a workplace fall injury.

Houston Slip and Fall Accidents Cause Serious Injuries

Fall accident victims may suffer a number of serious injuries. Depending on the type of fall, the dangerous conditions that caused the accident, and the individual’s overall health condition, a fall victim may suffer:

Slip and Falls: A Threat to Older Adults in Texas

Every year, about three million older adults are treated in emergency rooms for fall-related injuries. Over 30,000 preventable deaths result from these slip and fall accidents. As injury attorneys, we believe it is our responsibility to do what we can to reduce these troubling statistics.

Due to pre-existing health conditions, elder fall victims have a much more difficult path to recovery, even with proper medical treatment. A fall victim over 65 years of age is more susceptible to head injury or traumatic brain injury, broken bones, hip fractures, organ damage, and other types of serious injury.

If an older adult you know suffered injuries due to a dangerous condition at their nursing home or assisted living facility, we can represent your family in seeking justice.

As fall accident lawyers in Houston, we advocate for victims in many different types of slip and fall cases. There is no slip and fall case too big or too small for a free consultation with our personal injury lawyers. Learn about your rights and legal options today. Call us at (505) 388-0066 or fill out this form.

Damages After a Slip and Fall Accident

Victims of fall accidents, slip and fall accidents, trip accidents, and other preventable incidents caused by dangerous conditions may be entitled to recover damages. The legal term “damages” refers to the monetary award at-fault parties owe to the injured victims of their negligent actions.

Our experience in personal injury trial law has shown us that most plaintiffs (those seeking damages after a personal injury) are eligible for more compensation than they realize.

The outline below gives examples of some of the damages available to victims of a slip and fall accident. An experienced slip and fall attorney will be able to provide more information about the exact damages that apply in your case.

Economic Damages

Economic damages are the tangible losses connected with a specific monetary amount. These include medical bills and the earnings you lost during the time you weren’t able to work. Most slip and fall accident victims find that medical expenses comprise the majority of their economic damages.

Medical Expenses

• Ambulance rides
• ER visits
• X-rays, medical imaging, and other diagnostic tests
• Doctor’s appointments
• Appointments with specialists like orthopedic physicians
• Surgery or other medical interventions
• Physical therapy
• Prescription medications
• Wheelchair access ramps or other accommodations to a home or vehicle after permanent disability

Other Economic Losses

Noneconomic Damages

Damages that aren’t associated with a specific amount of money are referred to as noneconomic. When handling fall claims, attorneys need to pay attention to all the ways a person’s life is altered by the injury, not just the bills they have accumulated. Noneconomic damages can include:

Who Is Liable for a Houston Slip and Fall Accident?

Personal injury cases like slip and fall accidents give victims the opportunity to seek compensation from the party that caused their injuries. Texas law recognizes that one or more person, company, government body, or other entity could be liable for your injuries in a slip and fall accident case.

You may believe that the property owner is the only one responsible for your injuries. But there may be other factors involved. A negligent manufacturer, for example, may have created a defective product that caused an elevator to give out without warning.

Factors like these can make determining liability more involved and intensive than it initially seems. Your Houston slip and fall lawyers from Buckingham & Vega Vega have the legal proficiency to research the cause of the accident and accurately hold the responsible party accountable.

Your slip and fall accident case may involve the negligent actions of:

The Duty of Texas Property Owners To Keep You Safe

Before you can file a personal injury claim for a fall injury, you and your lawyer must be able to prove that certain conditions existed. The level of duty a Texas property owner owes you depends on what type of visitor you are, which we will discuss further below.

In general, you may have a slip and fall accident claim if:

• There was a dangerous condition that posed an unreasonable risk
• The party responsible for the property knew about or should have foreseen the risk
• The responsible party breached a duty of care to fix or warn of the dangerous condition
• The breach of duty was the direct cause of your injuries

Your slip and fall lawyers from our law office will examine to circumstances of your incident to determine if a property owner or other party breached a duty of care. If negligence was the cause of your slip and fall accident, we will work to gather the evidence needed to support your accident claim.

The Three Types of Property Visitors Under Texas Law

Visitors to a property are generally classified into three categories in personal injury law: invitees, licensees, and trespassers.

Invitees

Customers, guests, visitors, friends, and other people specifically invited by the owner are known as invitees. This category of visitor enters the property with the knowledge of the owner. Their presence is of mutual benefit to both parties. Hotel guests and restaurant patrons are common examples of invitees. The owner of the property owes these individuals the highest duty of care.

Licensees

Licensees are people who visit the property for reasons other than business or commercial reasons. A social guest to someone’s residence is usually considered a licensee. The owner of the premises must warn licensees of any concealed dangerous condition, such as a broken front step that the owner is aware of. If you are injured as a licensee on someone else’s property, there are certain criteria you and your lawyer will need to prove in order to file a slip and fall claim.

Trespassers

Trespassers are individuals who do not have permission to be on the property. Because this category of visitor has not been invited, property owners generally do not owe trespassers the same duty of care they owe invitees and licensees. However, property owners are not legally allowed to cause intentional harm to trespassers. There are rare and specific instances in which the property owner may be liable for a trespasser’s slip and fall accident.

Filing a Personal Injury Claim After a Fall Accident

In order to obtain the compensation you are entitled to after a slip and fall accident, you and your fall lawyers will work together to file a personal injury claim. This claim will request that the at-fault party and their insurer compensate you for the specific amount listed in the claim. This compensation amount will reflect your total losses in economic and noneconomic damages.

The insurance company will demand evidence to support your claim. They will likely dispute various aspects of your right to compensation and the amount requested. This is where getting full and fair compensation can get tricky. If the defendant and their insurer are not willing to come to a fair settlement, your legal representative can help you take your case to trial, where the verdict will be decided by a judge.

Because a slip and fall accident is a type of premises liability legal case, there are also some challenging aspects to proving the owner’s duty of care, the rights owed to you as a visitor, and the category of visitor you fall under.

What Is a Premises Liability Case?

In civil law, premises liability cases are those that deal with accidents that occur due to dangerous conditions on another’s property. For the reasons mentioned above, these cases can be particularly difficult to successfully litigate. A premises liability attorney needs to prove that the entity responsible for maintaining the property acted negligently and failed to exercise reasonable care.

In addition to slip and fall incidents, injuries resulting from drowning, electrocution, dog bites, and negligent security often fall under the umbrella practice area of premises liability law.

What Evidence Do You Need to Prove a Slip and Fall Case?

Your Houston slip and fall lawyer from Buckingham & Vega Vega will put in the hard work needed to get strong evidence. This will help to prove the extent of your injuries and exactly how they happened. Without evidence like that listed below, your chance of recovering full and fair compensation is low.

We’ll help you find and use:

• Security camera footage
• Photos of the accident site and your injuries
• Records of past incidents at the property
• Logs showing when the property was inspected and maintained
• Medical reports from your treating physicians
• Eyewitness accounts of the incident
• Testimony of medical experts
• Your account of what happened in notes, the incident report filed at the time of the accident, health journals, and oral testimony

How Long After a Slip and Fall Can You File a Claim?

If you suffered a slip and fall accident in Houston, you have a limited amount of time to take legal action. Under Texas law, you generally have two years from the date you suffered injuries. This deadline is referred to as a statute of limitations. You are usually rendered ineligible to obtain compensation after a Houston slip and fall accident if you fail to meet the Texas statute of limitations.

However, there are exceptions to the statute of limitations which could allow you more or less time. The best way to make sure you have adequate time to take legal action is to speak with qualified fall lawyers as soon as possible after your accident.

How Much Is the Average Slip and Fall Settlement in Houston?

No slip and fall attorney can honestly tell you how much your claim is worth without meeting to discuss your case. There are several factors that determine the appropriate value of your slip and fall settlement. Your economic and noneconomic damages are the main contributing factor to the amount of settlement you are entitled to. In simple terms, the more you lost, the more you should be compensated.

That being said, the slip and fall lawyer you choose to represent you has a huge influence on your settlement amount. You’ll only receive full compensation if your lawyer can successfully:

• Calculate the full value of all current and future damages, both economic and noneconomic
• Use the right evidence to fully support your claim
• Meet all deadlines and follow all applicable state and federal laws to prevent your claim from being denied
• Negotiate a fair settlement with insurance companies
• Win a favorable verdict in court if the defendant and their insurer refuse to provide a fair settlement amount

Fall accident victims have a fierce advocate in Houston, TX. The Buckingham & Vega Vega fall lawyers are ready to answer your questions. Contact us by phone or online to schedule a free, no-obligation case evaluation. Call us at (505) 388-0066 or fill out this form.

What To Do After a Houston Slip and Fall Accident

If you slipped, tripped, or fell on someone else’s property in Houston, there are steps you can take to prioritize your wellbeing and give your legal claim the best chance for a successful outcome.

Seek Medical Care

Your health is most important. Schedule an appointment with your physician as soon as you can following a fall. Even if your injuries appear minor, your doctor can run tests to rule out any hidden injuries like organ damage or latent soft tissue injury.

Document Evidence

Preserve the accident scene before time, weather, and clean-up crews wipe away important evidence of your fall. Take pictures of the fall hazard and surrounding conditions, and any other factors that may be relevant to your accident, such as poor lighting.

Report the Accident to the Manager or Property Owner

As soon as the accident occurs, report it to the individual in charge of the premises. That may be a manager, landlord, or site supervisor. You will likely be asked to fill out an incident report form. Be as detailed as you can when filling out the report, and be sure to ask for a copy of the document.

Call a Houston Slip and Fall Lawyer

Reach out to a firm of trusted fall accident lawyers to look into your legal options. Don’t wait to contact a legal advocate. A successful slip and fall accident case takes time. The clock on the statute of limitations begins from the moment of your injury.

The sooner your lawyer can begin working on your case, the better your opportunity for a fair settlement.

We Handle All Types of Slip, Trip, and Fall Accidents in Houston, TX

No matter what type of slip and fall accident you or a loved one suffered, we are confident that the Buckingham & Vega Vega fall attorneys are well positioned to win your case. With skill, dedication, and understanding, we will walk with you and your family through every phase of the legal process.

If you or a family member were involved in one of the accident types listed below, we are ready to help you seek recovery.

• Outdoor pedestrian accident
• Workplace fall
• Nursing home fall accident
• Customer, guest, or tenant slip and fall
• Children’s playground incident
• Fall accident at a large, public event
• Slip and fall on private property
• Any other type of Houston slip and fall accident

Let us begin helping you today. A free consultation with a qualified attorney can change the course of your life after a fall occurs. There is never a fee to begin discussing your legal claim with our injury attorneys.

We welcome you to reach out to our office via phone or online contact form. A member of our legal team will be in touch soon to schedule your free case evaluation.