The term "premises liability" generally refers liability for damages that occur due to a result of an unreasonably dangerous condition on a property. Texas law requires that the person in control of the property (the “possessor”) has the duty to exercise reasonable care for the protection of persons who come upon the premises by inspecting it for unreasonably dangerous conditions, and making safe or giving adequate warnings of dangerous conditions. Sometimes a possessor of the property will violate a statute or ordinance, such as building codes or ordinances applicable to landlords, and the plaintiff can prove negligence by virtue of the violation.

The “possessor” can be the owner of the property, a property manager, a tenant, a general contractor, etc. The issue is who has the right of control or who has exercised control over the property, particularly the portion of the property that caused the injury.

The most common cases are those involving slip (or trip) and falls resulting from defective conditions, inadequate maintenance or lighting, foreign substances or objects causes a person to fall. The most important issue is proving that the property owner knew or should have known about the dangerous condition prior to the incident.