Alabama & Texas Slip and Fall Lawyer
Hurt in a Slip and Fall in Alabama or Texas?
A fall can happen in seconds — in a grocery store aisle, on a broken staircase, in a poorly lit parking lot — but the injuries can last a lifetime: broken hips, shattered wrists, back injuries, and traumatic brain injuries. Too often, property owners and their insurers respond by blaming the victim.
At John C. Hubbard, LLC, we handle premises liability claims against stores, restaurants, landlords, and other property owners in Birmingham and across Alabama and Texas. We investigate the hazard, track down inspection and maintenance records, secure camera footage before it disappears, and build the case that the owner knew — or should have known — about the danger. You pay nothing up front, and there’s no attorney’s fee unless we recover for you.
Your consultation is free. Call 205-378-8121 or contact us online today.
Common Hazards That Cause Falls
Slip, trip, and fall injuries happen in many ways. We handle cases involving:
Wet & Slippery Floors
Spills, leaks, and freshly mopped floors with no warning are among the most common causes of store falls.
Broken Stairs & Handrails
Crumbling steps, loose rails, and uneven risers turn an ordinary staircase into a serious hazard.
Poor Lighting
Dark stairwells, hallways, and parking lots hide hazards that adequate lighting would reveal.
Cluttered Aisles & Walkways
Merchandise, cords, and debris left in walkways are accidents waiting to happen.
Parking Lot & Sidewalk Defects
Potholes, broken curbs, and heaved pavement cause serious trip-and-fall injuries every day.
Missing Warning Signs
When owners know about a hazard and fail to warn customers, they can be held responsible.
Weather-Related Hazards
Owners must take reasonable steps to address slick entryways and walkways during and after bad weather.
Falling Merchandise
Overstocked or poorly stacked shelves in big-box stores can drop heavy items onto shoppers below.
What to Do After a Fall in Alabama
What happens right after a fall can make a real difference in your claim. If you are able:
- Report the fall to the manager, owner, or landlord and ask that it be documented.
- Get medical attention right away, even if the pain seems minor at first.
- Photograph the hazard that caused your fall before it is cleaned up or repaired.
- Collect names and contact information for anyone who saw what happened.
- Talk to an Alabama & Texas slip and fall lawyer before accepting any settlement offer.
Why Slip and Fall Cases Are Harder Than They Look
Premises liability cases turn on what the property owner knew and when. To win, we typically have to show the owner created the hazard, knew about it, or should have discovered it through reasonable care. That takes evidence — inspection logs, camera footage, prior complaints — and it disappears fast.
Alabama’s contributory negligence rule makes these cases especially unforgiving: if the owner can pin even part of the blame on you for not seeing the hazard, your claim can be denied entirely. Insurers lean on this rule hard. Having an experienced attorney investigate early can make all the difference.
Have more questions? Visit our Frequently Asked Questions page or call us for straight answers about your specific situation.
Reviewed by John C. Hubbard, Attorney.
Last reviewed: June 2026.
Hurt in Texas? John C. Hubbard is licensed in Texas and accepts personal injury cases in Texas as well, along with the debt collection and credit reporting problems that often follow an accident. Texas clients can call 832-410-8121.
What you have to prove in an Alabama or Texas fall case
A store is not liable because you fell on its floor. It is liable because it knew, or should have known, about the hazard and did not fix it or warn you. That is the whole case, and it is why fall claims are harder than car wreck claims. In Alabama, a customer is an invitee, and the owner owes a duty to keep the premises reasonably safe and to warn of hidden dangers it knows about. You must show the owner had actual notice of the spill or the broken step, or that it had been there long enough that a reasonable inspection would have found it. Texas requires the same elements: actual or constructive knowledge of the condition, an unreasonable risk of harm, a failure to use reasonable care, and injury caused by that failure. The Texas Supreme Court has held that constructive knowledge requires proof the hazard existed long enough to be found, so a puddle that appeared 30 seconds before you reached it is usually not a case, while a leak that staff walked past for an hour is.
The open and obvious defense
Both states deny recovery when the hazard was open and obvious, on the theory that a reasonable person would have seen and avoided it. Alabama applies the rule strictly, and because Alabama also follows contributory negligence, a jury finding that you should have seen the hazard ends the claim. The defense is weaker when lighting, crowding, displays or a distraction the store created kept you from seeing it, or when the hazard was something you had no reason to expect, like a clear liquid on a polished floor. Texas treats your own carelessness as comparative fault, reducing rather than eliminating recovery unless you were more than half at fault.
Evidence disappears faster in fall cases than in any other
The spill is mopped before you leave. The surveillance video is overwritten in 7 to 30 days unless someone saves it. The incident report goes to the store’s insurer and you never see a copy. The sweep log that shows when the aisle was last checked is the single most important document in the case and the one most likely to be “unavailable” by the time suit is filed. The firm sends a preservation letter to the owner and its property manager within days of being hired, demanding the video, the incident report, the inspection logs and the names of employees on duty. Before you call, write down the date, time, the exact location in the store, what you fell on, who helped you, and whether anyone said “we knew about that” or “we’ve been meaning to fix it.”
Falls on government property
A fall on a city sidewalk, in a county building or at a public school is a different case with a shorter clock. A claim against an Alabama city must be presented to the clerk within six months of the injury (Ala. Code § 11-47-23), and damages against cities and counties are capped by statute. A Texas governmental unit must receive written notice within six months, and some city charters require it within 90 days.
Deadlines and venue
Two years from the fall to file suit in both states. Falls in Birmingham, Hoover, Vestavia Hills and the rest of Jefferson County are filed in the Jefferson County Circuit Court; Shelby County falls in Columbiana; Houston falls in the Harris County district courts. National retailers often remove the case to federal court, and the firm handles it there.
What to send with your intake
Photos of the hazard and your shoes, the name of the store and the manager you spoke to, any incident number you were given, the places you have treated, and the names of anyone who was with you. The case review is free, and there is no attorney’s fee unless money is recovered. Se habla español.
Start your case here
Answer the questions below and John will review your summary, usually the same business day. It takes about three minutes.