Spill duration and inspection timing in a warehouse-club injury claim.
How Long Must a Spill Be on a Costco Floor Before Costco Is Liable
Short answer: Texas law sets no fixed number of minutes. The evidence must allow a factfinder to assess whether the condition existed long enough that a reasonable premises operator should have discovered and addressed it under the circumstances.
The answer depends on location, visibility, size, employee proximity, inspection practices, traffic, and source. A spill visible on complete, authenticated footage for a meaningful interval may support a timeline. If the camera first shows the location moments before the fall, its silence about earlier time proves little. A sweep log can help only when the entry’s time, scope, and reliability are known. Ask whether it records an actual inspection or merely a completed task.
The Supreme Court in Reece rejected constructive knowledge without evidence of how long the hazard was there; Gonzalez rejected speculative inferences from dirt and tracks. In Peterson (2026), the Court reaffirmed the need for evidence of duration at the time and place of the puddle. Conversely, evidence that an employee caused the spill or had an actual warning before the injury may make the constructive-duration route unnecessary. See proving notice and inspection records.
Measure the interval the evidence actually proves
Texas does not use a five-, ten- or twenty-minute rule. Reece asks whether the condition existed long enough to afford a reasonable opportunity to discover it, considered with conspicuity and the employee’s proximity. The interval from the last inspection to the injury is usually an outer bound on when a new hazard might have arisen. It is not a proved duration. A source image showing an identifiable object on the floor at 10:03 followed by a fall at 10:21 can establish at least 18 minutes, provided the object remained the same and the timestamps are reliable.
Why physical appearance is difficult
A puddle’s size, tracks or dirt may suggest inquiry into how it formed, but a factfinder needs a reliable basis to translate appearance into elapsed time. A large puddle can form quickly. A footprint may be made seconds before a fall. Gonzalez rejects speculation based on the apparent dirtiness of macaroni; Peterson rejects prior problems elsewhere as a substitute for duration of the actual puddle. An expert who estimates age should disclose measured inputs, source rate, environmental conditions and alternatives; assertion dressed as measurement is vulnerable to Rule 702 challenge.
Example and competing account
Suppose a camera records a worker inspecting an aisle at 11:00 and a fall at 11:24. The defense says a shopper spilled a drink at 11:23. Unless a camera, witness or source event fixes an earlier appearance, the plaintiff cannot simply call it a 24-minute spill. But if a second view shows a fixed reflective pattern at 11:06 and a demonstrably identical pattern at the fall, test the camera resolution, lighting changes and clock offsets. An actual pre-fall warning to an employee or employee creation may establish knowledge without proving a constructive-notice interval.
Practical proof chart
Record five events separately: last proven absence, first proven presence, first employee encounter, first warning and fall. Attribute each to an authenticated exhibit and distinguish approximate witness estimates from system timestamps. Explain how the condition could be seen and addressed during the proved interval. This approach prepares both a meaningful demand and an admissible response to a notice-focused motion.
Investigation and courtroom application
Counsel should decide whether the asserted interval is a minimum, maximum or estimate. A camera view that is dark between 9:00 and 9:20 cannot establish absence during that gap. A spill that appears continuously from 9:12 until a 9:27 fall may establish 15 minutes, if the same floor patch remains visible and no intervening event changes it. Ask a custodian whether motion detection, missing frames or a reset affects that calculation. When presenting a still pair, disclose what happened between the frames. At mediation, show the best defense account alongside the plaintiff’s: the material might have arrived later or an apparent stain might be glare. If an expert attempts to calculate age from spread, ask for source rate, floor slope, fluid properties and uncertainty. The legal question is reasonable opportunity to discover, not arithmetic alone, and a short but conspicuous hazard near staff may differ from a longer subtle condition.
For the broader claims framework, see the Texas Costco injury claims and litigation guide and how to litigate a Costco injury case in Texas.
ABOUT THE ATTORNEY
Aaron A. Herbert
Founding Attorney
Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law
Aaron founded The Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert in 2010 to focus on developing each client's case and seeking its maximum value. For over a decade, he has represented people seriously injured in major accidents and industrial catastrophes, pursuing trial verdicts and settlements while working to reduce the stress of litigation.
Education
- Texas A&M University · B.S., Criminal Justice, 1999
- University of Oklahoma College of Law · J.D., 2002; graduated in the top of his class
Trial experience & approach
Aaron earned numerous jury verdicts at boutique personal injury litigation firms. According to his biography, he spent a year as the top-earning litigation attorney at a firm that frequently appeared in verdict searches as having one of the highest numbers of trial wins in Texas. At another Dallas personal injury firm, he moved from managing pre-litigation attorney to managing litigation attorney over seven years as the firm grew into one of Dallas's largest personal injury firms.
His biography describes a reputation as one of America's most aggressive trial lawyers, with noteworthy recoveries from judges and juries and substantial pretrial settlements. Most of those settlements included confidentiality agreements requested by the defense. Aaron has said the recoveries were justified by the injuries and losses involved, which no amount of money could make someone choose to experience.
His approach combines passion, preparation, persistence and courtroom imagination. He believes a well-supported, engaged and motivated team working cooperatively helps deliver strong representation, with the goal of achieving the best possible result for every client.
Dallas roots, military service & publication
Born and raised in Dallas, Aaron enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after high school and later received an Honorable Discharge. He completed his university and law degrees after his military service and became a lifelong Sooners football fan in law school.
Publication: “Litigating Dog Bite Cases,” Texas Dog Law Seminar, Dallas, 2009.
Professional affiliations & recognition
Professional affiliations and recognition listed in Aaron’s biography:
- State Bar of Texas
- American Bar Association
- Association of Trial Lawyers of America (now American Association for Justice)
- Texas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Bar Association
- Tarrant County Bar Association
- Million Dollar Advocates Forum
- The National Trial Lawyers – Top 100 Trial Lawyers
Trial experience & approach
Aaron earned numerous jury verdicts at boutique personal injury litigation firms. According to his biography, he spent a year as the top-earning litigation attorney at a firm that frequently appeared in verdict searches as having one of the highest numbers of trial wins in Texas. At another Dallas personal injury firm, he moved from managing pre-litigation attorney to managing litigation attorney over seven years as the firm grew into one of Dallas's largest personal injury firms.
His biography describes a reputation as one of America's most aggressive trial lawyers, with noteworthy recoveries from judges and juries and substantial pretrial settlements. Most of those settlements included confidentiality agreements requested by the defense. Aaron has said the recoveries were justified by the injuries and losses involved, which no amount of money could make someone choose to experience.
His approach combines passion, preparation, persistence and courtroom imagination. He believes a well-supported, engaged and motivated team working cooperatively helps deliver strong representation, with the goal of achieving the best possible result for every client.
Dallas roots, military service & publication
Born and raised in Dallas, Aaron enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after high school and later received an Honorable Discharge. He completed his university and law degrees after his military service and became a lifelong Sooners football fan in law school.
Publication: “Litigating Dog Bite Cases,” Texas Dog Law Seminar, Dallas, 2009.
Professional affiliations & recognition
Professional affiliations and recognition listed in Aaron’s biography:
- State Bar of Texas
- American Bar Association
- Association of Trial Lawyers of America (now American Association for Justice)
- Texas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Trial Lawyers Association
- Dallas Bar Association
- Tarrant County Bar Association
- Million Dollar Advocates Forum
- The National Trial Lawyers – Top 100 Trial Lawyers