Texas Slip Trip and Fall Statistics at Walmart, Costco and Other Retail Properties

Quick answer

No public dataset counts how many Texas shoppers are hurt each year because Walmart, Costco or another retailer let a hazard sit on the floor. The numbers that do exist measure other things, and each one needs its population, year and source beside it.

A fractured hip or a head injury from a fall at a store can change a family's routine for months. Statistics explain why that kind of fall deserves attention. They cannot show what happened in one aisle on one afternoon.

What Texas fall statistics actually measure

Each data system answers its own question, so its numbers cannot be swapped for another's.

A person can fall and walk away unhurt. An injury can happen with no negligence at all. A lawsuit can be filed and then lost, and a settlement can resolve a claim with no admission of fault. Treating those events as one number produces a misleading statistic.

Key figures at a glance

Read every figure with its population and period. Several rows overlap, so they cannot be added together.

DART means a case involving days away from work, restricted duties or a job transfer. A hospital visit is an encounter, not a unique patient.

Texas older adult falls and deaths

CDC's 2023 report gives directly comparable Texas figures for adults 65 and older, all from Table 2 of that report. [1]

Texas's age-adjusted fall death rate for this age group was lower than the national rate in 2021. An age-adjusted rate allows fair comparison between places with different age mixes; it is not a raw count of deaths. The survey percentage counts people who reported a fall, not the number of falls, and it says nothing about where those falls happened. [1]

For a family, the lesson is simple. When an older relative falls in a store, take it seriously. Someone who walked in on their own may need real help afterward. A damages claim, though, rests on that person's actual health before and after the fall, not on assumptions about age.

Texas workplace slip, trip and fall injuries

The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation (TDI-DWC) reports worker injuries that led to days away from work, a job transfer or restricted duty. [2]

The same report lists 30,310 cases (an annualized rate of 16.9) where floors, walkways or ground surfaces were the injury source. That source category overlaps the event rows above, so it must not be added to them. The counts cover two years combined, while the rates are annualized. The three subcategories add to 46,970 rather than 47,650 because of rounding and unlisted subcategories. The report has no separate falls figure for Texas retail workers. Calling these "annual customer injuries" would misdescribe the report, and none of these cases is a court finding of negligence. [2]

A worker and a shopper can trip on the same pallet and still face different legal paths.

Texas occupational fatalities in 2024

Texas recorded 557 fatal occupational injuries in 2024. Falls, slips and trips caused 77 of them, about 14% (77 of 557 is 13.8%), and 61 of those were falls to a lower level. These are statewide figures across all industries. They are not customer deaths and are not deaths tied to Walmart or any other retailer. [3]

That difference matters at home improvement stores. A shopper who trips on packaging in an aisle and a contractor who falls from a raised work area can both be badly hurt, but the investigation and the duties involved are very different.

National severity research

National data show how serious a fall can be, especially for older adults. None of it measures injuries inside stores.

These figures come from CDC's Facts About Older Adult Falls page, reviewed September 8, 2026. The page does not give a single data year, so they should not be labeled as 2026 counts. CDC also names falls as the most common cause of traumatic brain injury in older adults and advises anyone who hits their head in a fall to see a doctor promptly, especially if they take blood thinners. [5]

Note the direction of the hip fracture figures. They show that most hip fractures come from falls. They do not show that most falls cause hip fractures. Reversing that denominator changes the claim completely.

Fall burden increases with age

An NCHS analysis of 2014–2017 emergency visits found that unintentional falls were mentioned in 13% of visits by adults 60 and older. [6]

These are shares of emergency visits, not yearly chances of falling or store injury rates. The research is a reason to treat an older customer's fall seriously. It does not show whether a particular fall was preventable.

What the National Floor Safety Institute reports

The National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) works on walkway safety, testing and prevention. Its stated mission is "to aid in the prevention of slips, trips, and falls through education, research and standards development." [4]

These are NFSI's summaries of other organizations' data, and neither figure is Texas retail data. A count of all falls also should not be relabeled as a count of slips alone.

Retail and grocery store research

NIOSH's October 2012 guide on wholesale and retail trade is the most direct federal source on store floors, though it covers workers rather than shoppers. [7]

These are historical worker figures based on 2010 Bureau of Labor Statistics data for days-away-from-work cases. They are not current customer rates, and the NIOSH guidance is safety context rather than proof of any customer's claim. [7]

In practice, the investigation should look at how the department actually ran.

How many Texas retail properties are there

The 2022 Economic Census counts 84,000 retail trade establishments in Texas, run by 49,540 firms. [20, 21] That shows the scale of Texas retail. It is not a count of walk-in stores open today.

The rows have different dates and definitions, so this is not a single October 2026 inventory. Walmart's four formats add to 591, four short of its stated 595 total, and its page does not explain the gap; its fiscal 2023 Form 10-K listed 601 Texas units as of January 31, 2023. [22] The format rows sit inside the Walmart total, and chain stores sit inside the census total, so neither should be added on top. An establishment is a business location, not a whole company or a separate parcel, and a parking lot shared by several tenants is not several stores.

These counts show hundreds of large stores within a much larger retail sector. They do not show which stores have unsafe floors, how often customers fall, or whether one chain is riskier than another. Traffic, hours, layout, staffing, weather and reporting practices all differ.

Daily averages are not daily probabilities

"How often does this happen every day?" can mean three different things, and each needs different evidence.

Simple division turns the yearly counts into daily averages. These averages are author calculations, not figures printed in the sources. [2, 26]

The store figure comes from a 2015 study by Kim and colleagues. It covers many injury types, not only slips and falls, and it is national and historical. None of these averages proves that a fall happened every single day, or tells you what share of Texas stores had a fall on a given day. [26]

Can a daily accident probability be calculated for one store?

Not reliably for Texas retail customers with the public sources reviewed here. A real probability would need customer incident counts for the same stores and period, operating days and, ideally, customer visits. Without them, any daily percentage assigned to Walmart or another chain would be false precision.

A worked model shows how the math would go if a rate existed. It uses the historical national NIOSH rate of 28.3 days-away-from-work slip, trip and fall injuries per 10,000 grocery and meat-handling workers (2010 data, not a Texas rate), spread over 365 days, and assumes injuries happen independently at a steady average rate (a Poisson model). [7, 27]

How the model works: expected injuries per day (lambda) equal the yearly rate times the workforce, divided by 365. The chance of at least one event is 1 minus e to the power of negative lambda. The chance of two or more is 1 minus e to the negative lambda times (1 plus lambda). With 100 full-time workers, lambda is about 0.000775, which gives the 0.07750% in the table. [27]

Real falls cluster during rain, cleanup, crowds or a leak nobody fixed, and that breaks the model's assumptions. Lost-workday injuries also leave out many minor ones. A low modeled number cannot show that a store is safe or that customer falls are rare.

What repeated incidents mean for one claim

Many injuries across a large statewide chain are a different thing from repeated falls at one entrance or one cooler.

Counsel would ask for store-specific incident dates, locations, mechanisms, complaints, inspections and fixes, within the limits of relevance and discovery. The size of Texas retail makes good prevention systems and quick investigation important. It does not support a numerical daily customer fall probability, and the number of stores does not prove negligence.

Walmart and Costco liability reserves are not fall statistics

Both companies report large self-insurance balances. Those balances cover many kinds of risk, and neither company reports a separate customer-injury or slip-and-fall figure. [28, 29]

These balances are estimated obligations owed on the reporting date, not yearly accident spending. The change from one year to the next is not an annual injury cost or a settlement total. The two companies also report on different dates, so their balances should not be added into one combined figure. Walmart describes stop-loss coverage for general liability, workers' compensation and auto liability. Costco describes a captive insurance subsidiary and reinsurance, and nets captive premiums against its premium costs in selling, general and administrative expenses. Neither breaks out premiums for customer injuries. [28, 29]

Walmart falls and the importance of notice

Walmart is the largest retailer in this research, and a claim against it often turns on evidence the customer does not hold, such as video, incident reports, employee messages and inspection or maintenance records. For more on that evidence, see the Walmart injury claims hub.

Those rules shape the request for evidence. A short clip of the fall may show the event but not the timeline that decides the case. Earlier footage may show when the liquid appeared, whether employees walked past it, or whether store activity caused it, depending on camera angles and image quality. Read more on how long a spill must be on a Walmart floor and whether an employee walking past proves notice.

An attorney looking into a Walmart fall should build a timeline rather than collect a photo and a stack of bills. What was on the floor before the fall? Who could see it? What did employees know, and what did they do? Each answer should rest on a witness, a record or other admissible evidence. See also what evidence can prove constructive notice.

Costco warehouse stores and customer pathways

A Costco claim depends on the exact route the member walked. The Costco injury claims hub covers the full process.

These are lines of inquiry, not claims that Costco warehouses routinely have such hazards or a higher fall rate. Public sources give no reliable Texas customer fall rate for Costco, and any claim count would need a fair denominator before comparing it with other stores.

Warehouse layouts make wide photos important. A close-up can show an object without showing whether it was in the aisle or visible from the customer's approach. Wide shots, witness accounts and video help explain the scene. Counsel should also identify which company ran the premises and controlled the condition. If an outside vendor ran a demonstration or serviced equipment, its role may matter too. For more, see how to prove Costco knew about a spill and what evidence to preserve after a Costco fall.

Grocery stores and recurring sources of moisture

A grocery store investigation starts with where the substance came from. A photo of a wet floor does not show who caused it or how long it was there.

If a shopper heard an employee say "this keeps happening," record the exact words, who said them and when. That account still has to be tested against other evidence. A history of leaks in one department may mean little for an unrelated spill elsewhere, so discovery should tie earlier incidents to the same spot, equipment or cause.

The strongest grocery case uses specific evidence to explain the hazard and the store's chance to fix it. General statements that grocery floors get wet cannot fill that gap. See Texas grocery store fall claims and how Texas law decides grocery store liability.

Home Depot and Lowe's aisles, garden centers and loading areas

The sources reviewed give no Texas injury count for Home Depot or Lowe's, so nothing supports calling either one statistically more dangerous than other stores.

For a trip hazard, photos should show size, color contrast, lighting and the direction of travel. For a slippery surface, a qualified expert may be able to evaluate the floor, but a later test must account for changes in moisture, cleaning, weather or product placement. Testing a clean, dry floor weeks later may not recreate a wet one. An expert should explain what the test can and cannot show.

Parking lots, sidewalks and entrances

A customer's route runs from the car to the door, not just through the aisles.

Photograph the approach, not just the spot where the person landed. A daylight photo taken later may not show what someone could see at night. Responsibility can fall on an operator, landlord, manager or contractor; leases and service contracts help, but the actual arrangement and conduct matter. Read more on suing for a parking lot injury.

No source reviewed gives a statewide count of negligent retail parking-lot falls, and crash or pedestrian-strike totals are not fall statistics. Rain alone does not prove negligence. The question is the condition at that time, what the owner knew, what it did, and whether the law required it to act.

The financial consequences of falls

Two national cost estimates are often quoted. They measure different things and should not be added together.

Neither figure reflects Texas retail costs or lawsuit payments, and neither is a schedule of customer settlements.

For one injured person, value depends on a supported account of the harm. That may include medical bills, lost wages, future care, impairment, pain and changes to daily life. Whether a given category is recoverable depends on the claim and Texas law. [17] An early offer may arrive before the medical course is clear. Before weighing it, counsel should consider the diagnosis, treatment plan, unmet needs, liability evidence and any liens. See how Texas injury claims are valued.

Texas premises liability and the evidence required

For an ordinary invitee claim, Texas courts list four elements. The Dallas Court of Appeals recited them in a Walmart fall case, Nicholson v. Wal-Mart Stores Texas, LLC, and decided that case on the knowledge element. [12]

Nicholson also shows that pointing to a missed sweep is not enough. The court held that a failure to follow a sweep policy did not supply the temporal proof the time-notice rule requires. [12]

Visitor status needs its own analysis. A vendor, repair worker or other worker is not automatically a licensee just because they came to work rather than shop. Texas treats someone who enters with the owner's knowledge and for the mutual benefit of both as an invitee, so the purpose of the visit and the relationship to the property matter. [30]

Reporting a fall to the store or talking with an adjuster does not pause the filing deadline. See the two-year filing deadline for Texas injury cases.

Preserve evidence before the scene changes

After getting medical help, report the fall accurately, with the time and place.

A preservation letter should name the store, location, date, approximate time and the records wanted. Depending on the facts, counsel may ask for video before and after the fall, incident reports, inspection entries, messages, cleaning logs and repair records. A request does not guarantee every record exists or can be obtained in discovery. See Walmart evidence preservation.

Brookshire Brothers, Ltd. v. Aldridge (Tex. 2014), a grocery-store fall case, is the leading Texas decision on lost evidence. The trial judge decides whether evidence was spoliated and picks the remedy. A spoliation jury instruction is reserved for intentional destruction, or negligent loss that leaves the other side with no meaningful way to present its case. Missing video does not automatically prove liability. [14] See Walmart surveillance video and spoliation.

How statistics can help a case

Statistics explain the wider burden of falls and point to useful questions. Whether they help in court depends on relevance, foundation and the rules for expert testimony.

Research is most useful when tied to a specific question. Does an expert need to explain traction on a certain floor? Does a treating doctor need to separate a new injury from an old one? Does the evidence show a need for help at home? Each answer needs its own foundation, not a large number. If you are hurt, your lawyer should explain what is known, what is uncertain, what must be preserved and what your medical records show.

Why board certification matters in a retail injury claim

I am Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. TBLS describes certification as requiring substantial experience in the specialty, continuing education and a rigorous exam. [18, 19]

Certification does not guarantee a settlement amount or a verdict. A retailer's size does not create automatic liability, and credentials do not fill gaps in the evidence. In a Walmart, Costco, grocery, Home Depot, Lowe's or parking-lot case, I want the evaluation to cover the responsible party, the condition, notice, precautions and the injury. Where the evidence supports a lawsuit, preparation should plan for discovery, motions, experts and trial.

Frequently asked questions

Talk with Aaron Herbert about a Texas retail fall injury

If you were hurt at Walmart, Costco, a grocery store, Home Depot, Lowe's or another business, The Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert, P.C. can review what happened and the evidence your claim needs. Bring the store location, the date, photos, witness names and any medical records you have.

Call 214-200-4878 or tell us about your case to request a free consultation. The firm advertises "No Fees or Expenses Unless You Recover"; your written agreement sets out the terms. [19] Learn more about our Dallas slip and fall practice.

About the attorney

Aaron A. Herbert is the founding attorney of The Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert, P.C. He has been Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 2008 and licensed in Texas since 2002. He founded the firm in 2010 and represents people seriously injured in major accidents and industrial incidents. He earned a B.S. in Criminal Justice from Texas A&M University in 1999 and a J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 2002. Read Aaron's full biography or verify board certification with TBLS.

Sources

Sources were first reviewed October 12–13, 2026 and rechecked October 21, 2026. Publication dates and data years differ; the article uses only the figures named above.