What Evidence Should Be Preserved After a Walmart Slip-and-Fall in Texas?

Medical needs come first. If someone can safely record the scene while you obtain care, ask them to do so. There is no reason to stay in a dangerous area, move a cone or reenact a fall for a photograph.

The floor may look very different after cleanup. That makes the original photographs and the identities of people who saw the area especially useful. For an overview of why these facts matter, see the Walmart knowledge hub.

Preserve what is already in your possession

• Original photo and video files, before cropping or annotation.
• Receipts and the store's incident number, if one was provided.
• Witness names and contact information.
• Your recollection of employee conversations, with estimates identified as estimates.
• The date and source of each item.

Keep the shoes and relevant clothing in their existing condition and ask counsel how to store them. Do not clean, repair or discard an item that may bear on the fall before obtaining advice. Preserve relevant messages and social-media material too, including material you think is unhelpful. Evidence obligations can apply to both sides.

Identify the store material that answers a disputed question

The footage of the fall is only part of the request. Earlier video may show when liquid appeared, who passed the area and whether anyone reported it. A neighboring camera may show a view blocked on the closest camera.

Other potentially relevant material includes incident reports, photographs taken by employees, inspection entries, cleanup communications and maintenance records concerning a suspected leak. This is an inquiry into what exists at the particular store. It is not a claim that Walmart keeps every listed record in every case.

For electronic records, ask about the information behind a printout where it matters: timestamps, later edits and the meaning of the fields may affect the sequence. A request should connect the records to the incident, rather than demand unrelated store data without limits.

Tell the recipient where to look

“I fell at Walmart last week” leaves too much unanswered. Give the street address, date, approximate time and aisle or other location. A photograph with the spot marked on a copy can help. Counsel can work from those details to identify the recipients and the material the request should cover.

Keep the sent request, delivery information and replies. If nobody responds, record that status; it does not establish either compliance or deletion.

What Texas preservation law does, and does not, promise

In Brookshire Brothers, Ltd. v. Aldridge, 438 S.W.3d 9 (Tex. 2014), the Texas Supreme Court set out the framework for spoliation decisions. The court considers whether there was a duty to preserve, whether that duty was breached and what remedy is appropriate. The existence of a duty depends on the circumstances, including anticipation of litigation and the relevance of the evidence.

The fact that video is missing does not automatically entitle a claimant to a favorable jury instruction. Such an instruction has demanding requirements; the opinion recognizes a limited situation involving negligent loss that irreparably prevents a meaningful claim or defense.

There is also a difference between preservation and production. Material can be retained without being provided voluntarily. Access may require litigation procedures, subject to objections, privacy issues and court rulings. No preservation letter guarantees that every requested item will be disclosed.

Bring the originals and the request history to counsel. The next inquiry is what these items establish about notice and which missing facts need investigation.

For the broader litigation process, read How to Litigate a Walmart Injury Case in Texas.

This is general information about Texas law, not advice for a particular case. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Deadlines, available evidence and the applicable legal duties depend on the facts.