Winning a slip and fall case in Texas comes down to proof. You must show the property owner knew, or should have known, about a dangerous condition and failed to fix it or warn you. That proof lives in real-world evidence: video, photos, reports, medical records, logs, and witnesses.
Texas follows a modified comparative fault rule, so any percentage of blame placed on you reduces your recovery under Texas law. Strong evidence keeps that blame in check and ties the hazard to your injuries.
If you want help gathering or preserving evidence right now, call Cowen | Rodriguez | Peacock at (210) 941-1301 for a free consultation.
Key Takeaways for San Antonio Slip and Fall Evidence
- Video and incident reports carry the most weight. Surveillance and the business’s own paperwork show what happened, when it happened, and who knew about it.
- Move fast to preserve evidence. Many stores overwrite footage within days; a preservation letter helps stop deletion and protects your right to use it later.
- Your medical timeline matters. Prompt care and consistent treatment link the fall to your injuries and help measure both current and future losses.
What Do You Have to Prove in a Texas Slip and Fall?
Texas law requires proof that the property owner had actual or constructive knowledge of the hazard and failed to act. The Texas Supreme Court (through Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Reece) has explained that to prove constructive knowledge, you need evidence the spill or defect existed long enough that the owner should have discovered it in a reasonable inspection window.
You are also responsible for proving each element of negligence:
- Duty: As a customer or invited guest, the owner must keep the area reasonably safe.
- Breach: The owner failed to fix a hazard or warn about it.
- Causation: The hazard triggered your fall and injuries.
- Damages: Medical bills, lost income, pain, and other losses flowed from the fall.
There is another hurdle: when a hazard is “open and obvious,” a landowner usually has no duty to warn, with limited exceptions like the “necessary-use” situation discussed in Austin v. Kroger Texas. Evidence that shows poor lighting, hidden defects, or a required path that left no safe alternative helps address this defense.
What Evidence Carries the Most Weight?
Surveillance Video
Video answers the big questions: what the hazard was, how long it was there, whether employees walked past it, and how the fall unfolded. For example, footage from a grocery aisle might show a leak running for 25 minutes with no caution signs. That timeline supports constructive knowledge under Reece.
Stores usually overwrite digital video within days. A preservation request stops the clock. In Texas, courts address spoliation (destruction of evidence) as an evidence issue; the Supreme Court described how trial courts handle spoliation in Brookshire Brothers, Ltd. v. Aldridge. Sending a written preservation letter quickly helps protect your access to the footage.
Incident Reports
Businesses create internal incident reports that list the date, time, location, and a short account. They may name employees who responded. This confirms the event happened on their property and helps identify witnesses and timelines.
Keep your statement factual and simple. Here’s a practical way to frame it:
- Instead of: “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
- Try: “I stepped forward and slipped on a clear liquid near the freezer end-cap.”
Photos and Short Smartphone Videos
Hazards disappear fast—liquid dries, signs appear, shelves get restocked. Photos and short clips freeze the scene: the exact spot, the hazard, the lighting, your shoes, and any missing warnings. Snap wide shots to show context and close-ups for detail. Turn on the timestamp.
Your Footwear and Clothing
Save the shoes and clothing you wore, unwashed and in a bag. Tread patterns, trapped debris, or liquid stains will help expert understand how the fall happened. Don’t toss or clean them.
How Do Medical Records Prove the Injury Link and Losses?
Your medical file creates the timeline and shows the true cost of your injuries—today and down the road. Immediate care also picks up hidden problems, like a traumatic brain injury or concussion that may take weeks to fully manifest.
Records to gather and why they matter:
- ER and clinic notes: They should mention the slip and fall, location, and immediate symptoms. This ties the event to the injuries.
- Imaging (X-ray, MRI, CT): Objective proof of fractures, tears, or disc injuries.
- Treatment plans: Physical therapy, injections, surgery, etc.
- Work restrictions: Doctor’s notes that explain limits and time off work.
- Prognosis and future care: Helps calculate future medical costs and lost earning capacity.
We gather your records and bills, coordinate with your providers, and, when needed, consult medical experts to explain how the fall caused the condition and what recovery realistically looks like.
What Other Documents Strengthen a Slip and Fall Case?
Witness Statements and Contact Info
Independent witnesses add credibility to the details of your claim, which includes shoppers, delivery drivers, or employees who noticed the spill or missing signs.
Pay Records and Employer Letters
To prove lost income, we compile pay stubs, W-2s or 1099s, a letter from your employer, and, if needed, tax returns. For future losses, we may use your job history and medical restrictions to estimate reduced earning power.
Cleaning Logs and Inspection Records
If policy calls for hourly floor checks but the aisle went three hours without one, that gap speaks loudly. We’ll uncover these records through discovery if we end up having to file a lawsuit.
Training Manuals and Safety Policies
Written policies show what the business expects from staff. If employees skipped required floor sweeps or failed to place a warning sign as policy requires, that supports a breach of duty.
Maintenance Work Orders and Vendor Contracts
Leaky coolers, uneven mats, or broken tiles leave a paper trail. Work orders, vendor emails, and contractor logs help show prior knowledge of the spill.
Receipts or Loyalty App Records
A receipt or app log confirms your status as an invitee (a customer), which means the highest duty of care owed by the business.
Phone Metadata and Location Data
Timestamped photos and location data from your phone help confirm when and where the fall occurred, supporting your timeline of the events.
What Changes if the Fall Happened on Public Property?
Claims against a city, county, or state agency follow different rules. The Texas Tort Claims Act requires written notice (typically within six months) describing the damage or injury, the time and place, and the incident. Some local governments ask for even earlier notice by local rule.
The law also limits what types of claims are allowed and sets damage caps. Evidence you gather looks similar—photos, witnesses, medical records—but the process to request video or maintenance records includes Texas Public Information Act requests. We prepare and submit those requests to secure traffic camera footage, maintenance logs, and prior complaints.
What Defenses Should You Expect and How Does Evidence Protect You?
- “No notice” of the hazard: Surveillance, cleaning logs, and prior complaints help prove the hazard existed long enough to be discovered.
- “Open and obvious” hazard: Photos showing glare, shadows, colorless liquids, or a required path through the area counter this. In some cases, the necessary-use doctrine from Austin v. Kroger helps if you had no safe alternative.
- “You weren’t watching your step”: Video and witness accounts that show a hidden hazard, poor lighting, or distractions created by the store layout (e.g., end-cap displays) push back on this claim.
- “Pre-existing injury” or “treatment gap”: Immediate and consistent medical records connect the dots. Doctor notes and imaging close the gap.
- “The shoes caused it”: Preserving footwear lets experts test tread wear and contamination.
- “Weather did it” (rain, snow tracked inside): Inspection logs, mats, cones, and staffing plans show whether the store adjusted to conditions.
Do Expert Witnesses Help?
In some cases, yes. Experts translate technical details into everyday language:
- Human factors experts: Explain visibility, attention, and why a clear liquid on glossy tile is hard to see.
- Safety and building code experts: Compare site conditions to industry practices and codes. Accessibility standards, such as surface slip resistance or slope limits in the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, may be relevant if the path served people with mobility aids.
- Biomechanical engineers: Analyze how a fall likely occurred given the injuries and markings on footwear.
- Medical experts: Clarify causation and future care needs.
How Do You Preserve Video and Other Digital Evidence?
Here’s the simple sequence we use:
- Send a preservation letter immediately. We identify cameras by location and ask the business to save footage for a defined window before and after the fall, plus any audit trails.
- Follow up with requests for incident reports and photos. Many businesses take their own pictures. We ask for those too.
- If needed, file suit to issue subpoenas. Subpoenas and discovery requests pull logs, training materials, and work orders.
- Check neighboring cameras. We contact nearby businesses or request public camera footage using the Texas Public Information Act when it’s a public camera.
How Do Workers’ Compensation and Non-Subscriber Claims Differ in Texas?
If you were injured in a fall at work, your legal options depend on whether your employer carries Texas workers’ compensation insurance.
Subscriber Employers:
If your employer carries coverage under the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act (Texas Labor Code § 406.031), you generally cannot sue them for negligence. Instead, your claim goes through the workers’ compensation system.
These benefits cover medical treatment and a portion of lost wages, but not pain and suffering. Fault doesn’t matter; you qualify for benefits even if the fall was partly your own doing.
Non-Subscriber Employers:
If your employer opted out of the workers’ compensation system (a “non-subscriber”), you can file a personal injury lawsuit directly against the employer. In these cases, fault does matter and the burden is on you to prove negligence.
Texas law also removes key defenses for non-subscribers. For example, they cannot argue you assumed the risk or blame you for the actions of a coworker. This often makes non-subscriber claims more favorable to injured workers, but again, only if you can prove the employer’s failure caused your fall.
Let us review your employment status and determine the right path forward. The difference changes everything about your claim.
FAQs About San Antonio Slip and Fall Evidence
Do I need to keep the shoes and clothes I wore?
Yes, store them unwashed in a bag. Tread wear, trapped debris, and liquid stains help experts understand how and why you slipped. If there’s a dispute about footwear being “unsafe,” preserved items will help settle it with facts.
What if I didn’t report the fall right away?
You still have options. Create a written account with date and time as soon as possible, seek medical care, and contact the business to report the incident. Video and witnesses may still exist, and a prompt preservation letter helps secure them.
Will the insurance company see my past medical records?
They typically request records that relate to the injured body parts, both before and after the fall. We review requests for scope and relevance and object to any unreasonable request. Prior records sometimes help by showing you had no similar complaints before the incident.
Are warning signs enough to avoid liability?
Not always. A warning must be placed where it actually alerts customers and must address the specific hazard. If a cone sat 30 feet away or behind a display, photos and video might show it didn’t reasonably warn shoppers using the path where you fell.
Should I give a recorded statement to the store’s insurer?
Keep it short until you’ve gathered the facts. Provide basic information only (date, time, location) and let us share photos, video, and medical records in an organized way later. This reduces the room for misunderstandings.
Does rain tracked inside change my claim?
Wet-weather days call for more frequent floor checks, mats, and clear warnings. Evidence that the store did not adjust its inspection routine or place proper mats helps show a breach of reasonable care despite the weather.
We Move Fast to Lock Down Evidence Before It’s Gone
If we don’t act quickly, the conditions that caused your injury may disappear, along with your chance to prove what happened. That’s why our first move is to preserve the evidence: send letters to demand surveillance footage, request maintenance logs, photograph the scene, and gather witness statements while memories are still fresh.
You don’t need to worry about any of that. We take care of the paperwork, the follow-up, and the legal deadlines. You focus on getting better. Want to understand what your options are for your slip-and-fall case in San Antonio? Call (210) 941-1301 for a free consultation.