Texas apartment injury claims: a knowledge hub for tenants and guests

Can you sue an apartment complex in Texas?

You may, if the evidence ties a specific duty and failure to how you were hurt.

Does a common area differ from my own unit?

Yes. A landlord generally owes no duty for conditions inside a unit the tenant controls, except for areas it keeps control of, concealed defects it knew about at leasing, and negligent repairs [S26]. In Parker, the duty reached a tenant's guest who fell on a dark common stairway whose lights the landlord controlled [S5-S6].

Does a repair request make the landlord liable?

Not automatically. Section 92.061 keeps injury suits separate from the repair rules [S4], and Timberwalk held those rules govern repair disputes, not injury liability [S28].

Who might be responsible?

The owner, manager, a contractor, a vendor, or a driver, if the evidence connects them.

How long do I have?

Generally two years to sue, with exceptions [S11]. Have the date checked early.

What should I do this week?

Get care, report it in writing, save photos and work orders, and ask a lawyer what to preserve.

Aaron Herbert is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

You can verify it on his State Bar of Texas profile [S1].

Bar number 24036761, licensed November 6, 2002

Both appear on the same profile [S1].

What it doesn't mean

It isn't a certification in apartment claims or a ranking, and it doesn't guarantee a result.

Get safe

Move away from a sagging balcony, fire, exposed wiring, traffic, or an attacker, and call 911 if needed.

Don't go back

Never climb a broken stair or stand under a damaged balcony to take pictures.

Get care

Tell the clinician exactly how it happened and every symptom.

Report it

Tell management when, where, what you saw, and that you were hurt, and keep a copy.

Find witnesses

Include neighbors who reported the same problem earlier.

Wide shots of your route

The walk from the carport to the Building 4 stairs.

The condition up close

The burned-out breezeway light or the cracked tread.

Location markers

The building number, stair flight, or parking space.

Original files

Keep the uncropped originals, since cleanup can erase what was there.

Work orders, portal messages, texts, and inspection notices

Alter physical evidence.

Your incident report or the message you sent

Log in to management systems or enter restricted areas.

Stairs and landings

Uneven treads, a loose handrail, rotted landings, slick surfaces, drainage, or lighting.

Balconies and walkways

Rot, corrosion, weak connections, improper repairs, overloading, or design.

Inside the unit

A falling ceiling, bad wiring, leaks, or a defective appliance, read against the lease and repair history.

Parking areas

Backing drivers, speed, a narrow drive aisle, or faded striping.

Balcony collapse

An engineer checks whether rot under fresh paint was detectable and contributed.

A "fixed" repair

The portal ticket says complete, but the ceiling stain is back.

Pool or elevator

A gate latch that didn't catch differs from a slick deck; a car stopping short differs from a bad door sensor.

Pools at multiunit rental complexes

Health and Safety Code ch. 757 requires a 48-inch enclosure, self-closing, self-latching gates that open outward, latch-height rules, and inspection at least every 31 days under §757.009, which can't be waived; §757.012 allows a private action [S9].

Pools open only to residents

The Virginia Graeme Baker Act, 15 U.S.C. §8003, requires anti-entrapment drain covers [S10].

Elevators

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation oversees them [S21].

Any code violation

It must still be tied to the injury and the right defendant.

Owner

Retained common areas.

Management company

Its own control, notice, or negligent conduct.

Contractor or vendor

A faulty repair, unsafe work, or a condition it created, from a roofer to an elevator service company.

Design professional

A balcony or drainage design flaw.

Driver

Backing, speeding, or distraction.

Completed work

Strakos v. Gehring rejected the accepted-work doctrine, but liability still has to be proved [S23].

Contractor-created conditions

United Scaffolding v. Levine treats these as premises liability, not general negligence [S22].

Lot design

Poor striping is a lead, not a finding of negligent design.

Shared fault

Under Chapter 33, a claimant more than 50 percent responsible recovers nothing, and a lower share reduces damages [S15].

Repair duty (§92.052)

Notice goes where rent is normally paid, the tenant isn't delinquent, and the condition materially affects an ordinary tenant's health or safety; tenant- or guest-caused conditions are excluded except normal wear and tear.

Remedies (§92.056)

Generally a subsequent written notice, unless the first was certified, registered, or tracked, and a reasonable time, presumed 7 days.

Repair and deduct (§92.0561)

Capped at one month's rent or $500, whichever is greater, with more prerequisites.

Injury suits (§92.061)

The statute preserves "any right ... to bring an action for personal injury or property damage" [S4].

A dated complaint

A June 3 email about the loose Building 2 railing, with a photo.

Neighbors' own messages

The tenant in 108 keeps her original ticket without adopting your account.

Temporary hazards

Who saw the water, whether staff caused it, and how long it sat.

A complaint lets you withhold rent

Withholding, breaking a lease, or deducting costs are separate decisions with their own rules [S4].

An open work order means liability

Each accident needs its own proof.

Proximity

How close they were.

Recency

How recent.

Frequency

How often.

Similarity

How alike.

Publicity

How widely known.

Prior incidents

Two garage break-ins in three months.

Access controls

A gate keypad logged as broken for 19 days.

Entry route

A pedestrian gate propped open with a brick.

Required (§92.153)

Window latches, keyed dead bolt or doorknob lock, sliding-door pin lock and handle latch or bar, and a keyless bolting device and door viewer on exterior doors [S4].

Repair (§92.161)

On request within a reasonable time, presumed 7 days, or 72 hours after certain reported break-ins or violent crimes [S4].

Remedies

The statute has its own remedies and defenses.

After an assault

Keep police details and get care, but don't confront a suspect.

Liability

Duty, notice, and causation evidence.

Losses

Medical care, future needs, lost income, earning capacity, pain, and disfigurement.

Reductions

Your share of fault under Chapter 33 [S15].

Collection

Insurance and other assets.

What are the fee terms, in writing?

Fees change what you keep.

How are expenses, liens, and medical balances handled?

They reduce your share.

Are future care and coverage resolved before the release?

A bigger headline isn't always a bigger distribution.

Over 2.5 million units in the 2024 market

Texas A&M's Real Estate Research Center reported it Feb. 11, 2025; a unit is a home, not a complex [S2].

Over 116,000 units delivered in 2024

Same report; a dated market measure [S2].

Complexes or injuries

Neither figure counts them.

A year, place, and property type

Otherwise the numbers can't be compared.

A stated method

Missing data should stay labeled missing.

General liability, umbrella, contractor

Named insured, location, date, exclusions, and endorsements [S17].

Auto

Texas minimum liability is 30/60/25 [S18].

Certificates

A certificate isn't the policy.

Multifamily Guide Part II §506.03

At least $1 million per occurrence and $2 million general aggregate during additional dwelling unit construction [S3].

Limits

A program requirement, not a Texas standard.

§16.003

Two years, subject to accrual and exceptions [S11].

§16.001

Paused while the injured person is under 18 [S11].

§16.008

Architects, engineers, interior designers, and landscape architects: 10-year repose from substantial completion [S11].

§16.009

Builders and repairers: 10-year repose; an injury in the last year allows suit within two years of accrual (§16.009(d)); no protection for a person in actual possession or control [S11].

Chapter 150

A certificate of merit goes with the first pleading asserting the claim against a licensed architect, engineer, land surveyor, or landscape architect (§150.002(a)), with a narrow exception near limitations [S12].

Public housing

Tort Claims Act notice within six months (§101.101) unless a charter or ordinance differs or actual notice applies [S14]; a housing authority is a unit of government (Local Gov't Code §392.006) [S29].

Insurance claim

It doesn't replace timely filing and service.

Discovery

Inspections, depositions, and experts.

Summary judgment

For motions filed on or after March 1, 2026, a response is generally due 21 days after filing [S13].

Resolution

Not every claim should settle or go to a jury.

How to file a Texas apartment injury claim

The full process.

What to do after an apartment injury

First steps.

Who can be liable for an apartment injury

Possible defendants.

Texas apartment stair and slip and fall injury claims

Falls.

Texas apartment balcony and walkway collapse claims

Structural failures.

Negligent apartment construction and repair claims in Texas

Contractor duties.

Apartment repair notice and injury claims in Texas

Chapter 92 and injuries.

Texas apartment assault and negligent security claims

Crime and foreseeability.

Texas apartment pool and child injury claims

Pools and minors.

Texas apartment fire, ceiling collapse, and electrical injury claims

In-unit hazards.

Texas apartment elevator and automatic gate injury claims

Equipment failures.

Texas apartment parking lot collision and pedestrian injury claims

Drivers and lots.

Preserving evidence after a Texas apartment injury

Video and records.

Texas apartment injury liability insurance and policy limits

Coverage.

Texas apartment injury settlement value and lawsuit preparation

Value and trial.

Choosing a Texas apartment injury lawyer: board certification and other questions to ask

Hiring counsel.

Can I sue while still living there?

Potentially. Keep your lease and messages, meet your obligations, and raise retaliation or safety worries early [S4].

Can the owner and manager both be liable?

They may be, depending on each one's duty, control, notice, and conduct; naming both without evidence proves nothing.

Can a guest or delivery worker claim?

Possibly. An invitee is owed ordinary care against an unreasonable risk the owner knew or should have known of; a licensee is owed a warning or fix for a danger the owner actually knew of and the licensee didn't, plus no gross negligence [S27]. Status depends on the facts, and Parker extended a landlord's duty to a tenant's guest on a retained stairway [S5].

What if I knew the stair was dangerous?

Austin v. Kroger says there's generally no duty for known or obvious hazards, except for third-party crime and necessary use [S6]. Don't hide earlier complaints.

How many parties can be responsible?

As many as the evidence supports; fault, releases, and insurance must be coordinated [S15].

Should I take management's payment for my bills?

Have counsel read it first, since a release or rent credit can end other claims.

How do I choose an attorney?

Ask how counsel will preserve evidence, use experts, explain fees, and communicate. Aaron Herbert is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, shown on his State Bar profile [S1].

Lease and location

The lease, plus the spot: the Building 4 breezeway outside unit 412, June 14.

Photos and messages

Twelve phone photos and two portal tickets about the stair light.

Witnesses and medical papers

The neighbor in 410 and the ER discharge sheet.

Anything urgent

Ongoing danger, an adjuster's call, or a near deadline.

Your facts

What happened and who may be responsible.

Next steps

What to preserve and what comes next.

Dallas apartment injury attorney

Dallas apartment claims.

Texas apartment injury lawyer

Statewide apartment claims.

Dallas premises liability lawyer

Dallas property injuries.

Fort Worth premises liability lawyer

Tarrant County property injuries.

How Texas courts decide whether a property owner was negligent

The legal test.

TBLS knowledge hub

Board certification.

[S1] State Bar of Texas, Aaron Alan Herbert profile, Bar number 24036761

License and certification.

[S2] Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center, 2025 Texas Real Estate Forecast

Unit figures.

[S3] Fannie Mae Multifamily Guide Part II §506.03

Program insurance limits.

[S4] Texas Property Code ch. 92

Repairs, §92.061, security devices.

[S5] Parker v. Highland Park, Inc., 565 S.W.2d 512 (Tex. 1978)

Guest on a retained stairway.

[S6] Austin v. Kroger Texas, L.P., 465 S.W.3d 193 (Tex. 2015)

Known dangers and exceptions.

[S7] H-E-B, L.P. v. Peterson, No. 24-0310 (Tex. 2026)

Notice of transient conditions.

[S8] UDR Texas Properties, L.P. v. Petrie, 517 S.W.3d 98 (Tex. 2017)

Crime risk.

[S9] Texas Health and Safety Code ch. 757

Pool enclosures.

[S10] 15 U.S.C. §8003

Drain covers.

[S11] Texas Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code ch. 16

Limitations and repose.

[S12] Texas Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code ch. 150

Certificate of merit.

[S13] Texas Supreme Court Misc. Docket No. 26-9012

Rule 166a, 2026.

[S14] Texas Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code ch. 101

Tort Claims Act notice.

[S15] Texas Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code ch. 33

Proportionate responsibility.

[S17] Texas Department of Insurance, general liability

Commercial coverage.

[S18] Texas Department of Insurance, auto guide

Auto minimums.

[S21] Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, elevators

Elevator oversight.

[S22] United Scaffolding, Inc. v. Levine, 537 S.W.3d 463 (Tex. 2017)

Contractor-created conditions.

[S23] Strakos v. Gehring, 360 S.W.2d 787 (Tex. 1962)

Completed work.

[S26] Johnson County Sheriff's Posse, Inc. v. Endsley, 926 S.W.2d 284 (Tex. 1996)

Lessor duty and exceptions.

[S27] State Dep't of Highways & Pub. Transp. v. Payne, 838 S.W.2d 235 (Tex. 1992)

Invitee and licensee duties.

[S28] Timberwalk Apartments, Partners, Inc. v. Cain, 972 S.W.2d 749 (Tex. 1998)

Repair rules and crime foreseeability.

[S29] Texas Local Government Code §392.006

Housing authorities.