How to File a Slip and Fall Claim in Texas
There is no form and no agency to file it with. A premises claim is a demand made on an occupier's insurer, and how it is assembled decides how it is received.
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Notify the occupier, in writing
Report the fall to the business at the time if you can, and follow it in writing the same day or as soon as possible. An email describing the date, time, location and what caused the fall creates a dated record that does not depend on the business having completed a report.
Ask for the name of their liability insurer and a claim reference. Businesses usually pass the matter to a carrier or a third-party administrator quickly.
Send a preservation demand immediately
This is the step with no equivalent in a vehicle claim and the one most often missed. Ask in writing that the occupier preserve camera footage for a defined window, the incident report, inspection and sweep logs for the day, and any prior incident reports for the same location.
Footage is retained on a short automatic cycle. Once notice is given, destroying identified material can carry consequences in court; before that, the same deletion is routine.
Get treatment and let the record build
See a doctor within days and describe the fall, where it happened and what caused it. That connection in the medical record is what links the injury to the incident.
Attend consistently. Gaps do more damage than anything else within your control, because an insurer reads them as recovery.
Assemble the claim before presenting it
A demand is a document, not a phone call. It sets out the liability analysis, the medical records and bills, the wage loss documentation, and the account of what the injury has cost day to day.
Presenting it before treatment stabilizes means presenting the optimistic version of the injury. Value cannot be assessed sensibly until a doctor can say what is permanent.
What the adjuster will do
Request a recorded statement, which you are not obliged to give. Request a broad medical authorization, which should be limited to relevant records and the relevant period. And frequently make an early offer, which reflects how quickly they want the file closed.
None of that is improper. It does mean the process is adverse from the first call, and treating it as neutral is a mistake people make once.
If it does not resolve
Suit has to be filed within two years of the injury. Where the premises is owned or controlled by a governmental unit, formal written notice is required within months, and that deadline arrives long before the claim is ready.
Filing preserves the claim and compels the records that decide the notice question. It commits nobody to a trial, and most filed premises cases still resolve at mediation.
Summary
| Step | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Report to the occupier in writing | Same day if possible | Creates a dated record |
| Preservation demand | First week | Footage is overwritten on a short cycle |
| Medical assessment naming the fall | Within days | Links injury to incident |
| Consistent treatment | Throughout | Gaps are read as recovery |
| Assemble the demand | After stabilization | Value is unknown before it |
| Governmental notice | Within months | Bars the claim if missed |
| File suit | Within 2 years | Preserves the claim, compels records |
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Frequently asked questions
No. A premises claim is a demand made on the occupier's liability insurer, not a filing with any agency. What matters is how it is assembled and when it is presented.
Report the fall to the business in writing the same day if you can, and send a preservation demand asking them to retain camera footage, the incident report, inspection logs for the day and any prior incident reports for the same location.
After treatment stabilizes, because value cannot be assessed sensibly until a doctor can say what is permanent. Presenting earlier means presenting the optimistic version of the injury.
No. You are not obliged to give a recorded statement, and any medical authorization should be limited to relevant records for the relevant period rather than your entire history.
Talk it through with a lawyer
A free consultation covers whether you have a claim, what the deadline is, and what insurance is actually available.
Contingency fee. You pay nothing unless we win.