Texas warehouse injury resources
Texas Costco Injury Claims and Litigation Guide
A Costco receipt places you at the warehouse. Photographs may show liquid on the floor or merchandise in the aisle. Neither, on its own, establishes a Texas premises claim. You still have to prove an unreasonably dangerous condition, the operator's actual or constructive knowledge of it, a failure to use reasonable care and a resulting injury. Start by recording what happened as accurately as you can. An injury involving equipment in motion may require a different investigation from a fall over something left on the floor.
The pillar guide follows a Costco case through preservation, the dispute over notice and the steps to trial. The articles linked below address narrower problems: a spill in an aisle, a display that fell, an entrance mat or a cart, for example. Some concern refrigeration or food service, so check whether the location offered that service. Also check who ran it. A vendor or contractor may have controlled the area involved in your injury.
The Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert, P.C., Dallas, Texas.
Texas Bar license #24036761. Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 2008.
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Start with the event and the people responsible
Describe how the injury happened before deciding which claim to investigate. Did you trip over a pallet that had been left in the aisle? Or did an employee strike you while moving equipment? The first situation usually concerns a condition of the premises. The second may concern negligent activity occurring at the time. Find out who controlled the area, display or equipment and what role any vendor or contractor played. Keep your receipt as evidence of the visit. It cannot establish who caused the injury.
What evidence can show Costco knew about a hazard?
| Route to knowledge | What the evidence may show |
|---|---|
| A report to an employee | Suppose a shopper told an employee about the spill before you fell. That report may help prove actual knowledge. |
| An employee who saw or caused it | An employee who saw or created the condition may supply similar evidence. |
| How long it was there | Without actual knowledge, the issue is usually how long the spill was there and whether a reasonable operator should have discovered it. Texas does not resolve that issue with a fixed five- or ten-minute cutoff. |
| Peterson | In H-E-B, LP v. Peterson, the store had experienced earlier leaks. But those leaks were elsewhere, and the inspection policy still did not establish the age of the puddle where the plaintiff fell. |
You may have only a few photographs from the warehouse. Keep the original files, even if one is blurry or seems unhelpful. Where it is safe to gather more evidence after medical needs are addressed, include the route to the hazard and any warnings, as well as the spot itself. Keep your receipt and the shoes you wore.
| Source | What to do |
|---|---|
| An earlier witness | A person who saw the aisle earlier may know something you do not: whether the floor was already wet. Get that person's contact details. |
| Video and inspection entries | Compare the account with any video and inspection entries for that area. |
| Photographs taken afterward | A photograph taken after your fall can show what was there afterward, but leaves the earlier timing unanswered. |
“Inspected” is not a location. A lawyer reviewing the log needs to establish whether it covers the floor where you fell and what the employee examined. Ask about preserving the entries, maintenance records and video promptly. Obtaining them may require discovery.
If video has disappeared, the court must work out more than the fact of its absence. Brookshire Brothers v. Aldridge puts the decision with the judge, including whether there was a duty to preserve, whether it was breached, culpability and resulting prejudice. A sanction must be proportionate. You cannot treat a lost recording as an automatic finding against the store.
Evidence and notice: 1 Proving notice; 2 Time on floor; 3 Preservation; 4 Surveillance; 5 Inspection records; 6 Missing video.
How the warehouse setting changes the investigation
After a pallet or merchandise injury, try to document the arrangement before anyone changes it, provided you can do so safely. A close-up of the object may miss the problem. A wider photograph can show the stack above it or how little space a shopper had to pass. Write down anything you saw immediately before the fall. With carts and powered equipment, identify the unit and its operator, and describe whether it was moving. An obstruction, a mechanical defect and an operator's mistake each call for different evidence.
Water beside refrigeration equipment may suggest a leak. It could also have arrived another way, which is why maintenance history and observations of the source need investigation. In a food-court or sample incident, the people who handled the material may include a vendor.
At an entrance, include the mat and the floor around it in photographs. Outside, the investigation may concern a broken surface, drainage, lighting or the movement of a vehicle. Weather observations can help describe the conditions. They need a connection to this accident, though: rain that morning does not date the water on this patch of floor.
Warehouse-specific events: 7 Pallets and merchandise; 8 Carts and equipment; 9 Refrigeration and condensation; 10 Parking lots and entrances; 11 Samples and food court.
Warnings, member conduct and proof of loss
Find out when any warning cone was put down. A photograph of the cleanup may show a cone that was absent when you approached. Preserve evidence of your view of the hazard at that time.
For a danger that was known or obvious, counsel must examine the premises duty and the limited exceptions addressed in Austin v. Kroger Texas. An allegation about your conduct calls for a separate analysis under Chapter 33, if that chapter applies. A responsibility share above 50 percent bars recovery under it; a lesser share may still reduce what you recover.
Give your lawyer the medical history from before the accident as well as the records since it. Earlier back pain, for example, may require a doctor to distinguish a new injury from aggravation of an existing one. Keep evidence of treatment, work restrictions and lost earnings.
The number at the bottom of a hospital bill is not necessarily the recoverable expense. Section 41.0105 limits recovery of medical expenses to what was actually paid or incurred by or on behalf of the claimant, in addition to other legal limits.
Future care involves a different calculation. It needs support for the likely treatment and a reasonable cost. Adding up today's bills cannot supply that evidence or value all the other losses in a case.
Defenses and recovery: 12 Warnings and open hazards; 13 Member conduct and comparative fault; 14 Medical proof and damages; 15 Claim, lawsuit, and trial.
Use the resources to identify the next question
You need not read every resource before calling a lawyer. A spill may make preservation and notice the pressing issues; an equipment injury may send you to a different warehouse topic. The medical-proof material becomes useful as treatment develops, and the pillar follows discovery, negotiation and trial.
Hurt at a different store? Our other Texas retailer guides cover Walmart, Target, Kroger, Tom Thumb and Albertsons, Home Depot and Ross.
| Deadline question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Do talks with an insurer stop the clock? | An insurer may still be discussing a claim as the filing deadline approaches. Those conversations ordinarily do not extend the time to sue. |
| How long is the limit? | Section 16.003 generally provides two years for a personal-injury suit. Ask counsel to check accrual and any exception in your case. |
| Can a guide answer this? | Reading a guide cannot settle those questions or predict the result. |
This page is general information, not advice for a particular claim.
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