You hire a roofer, electrician, or handyman to fix something at your home or business in Houston. Partway through the job, the worker falls, gets shocked, or trips over something and ends up in the emergency room.
Now you ask yourself: “Am I legally responsible for their injuries?”
Under Houston premises liability law, the answer is: it depends on what caused the injury, what you knew, and how much control you had over the work. In this article, we break down how Texas law treats worker injuries on your property and what both property owners and injured workers should do next.
Why Worker Injuries on Houston Properties Are So Common
Houston and the surrounding areas, including Pasadena and the Bay Area, see constant:
- Home renovations
- Roofing and siding projects
- Electrical and plumbing repairs
- Commercial buildouts and maintenance
Construction and maintenance work ranks among the most dangerous types of jobs. Falls from roofs and ladders, electrical shocks, collapsing structures, and tool accidents cause serious injuries every year in Texas.
Because so many workers come onto private property to perform these jobs, premises liability questions come up all the time when someone gets hurt.
How Premises Liability Works in Texas
Premises liability is the area of law that deals with unsafe conditions on property. In Texas, your duty depends on who is on the property and why they are there.
Most workers on your property—contractors, repair techs, delivery drivers—are treated as invitees. That means:
- They are there with your permission
- You both expect some kind of mutual benefit (you pay them, they fix something)
For invitees, Texas law says you owe a duty of care to:
- Inspect the property for dangerous conditions you know about or should know about
- Fix those hazards or
- Warn workers clearly about hidden dangers they are unlikely to discover on their own
However, you usually do not owe a duty to protect people from open and obvious dangers—things any reasonable person would see and avoid.
Simple Example
- If you know about a rotting deck board that looks normal from the top, and a painter falls through it, that may create liability.
- If a worker trips over a bright orange extension cord in plain sight that they set down themselves, that usually weighs against liability.
Independent Contractors, Handymen, and Chapter 95: A Big Protection for Owners
In many worker‑injury cases, Texas applies a special law: Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 95.
Chapter 95 covers property owner liability when an independent contractor or their employee gets hurt while constructing, repairing, renovating, or modifying an improvement to real property (like your roof, wiring, HVAC system, or structure).
Under Chapter 95, a property owner is not liable for the worker’s injuries unless the worker proves both:
- You exercised or retained control over how the work was performed, not just when it started or stopped; and
- You had actual knowledge of the dangerous condition that caused the injury and failed to adequately warn the worker about it.
In practice, this gives Houston homeowners and business owners strong protection in many contractor‑injury cases.
When Chapter 95 Usually Protects You
People often have strong protection if:
- You hire a licensed roofing company to replace your roof
- You do not tell them how to do the job—you only choose the color and pay the bill
- A worker falls because the company failed to set up fall protection properly
In that situation, the contractor’s own negligence in doing the job usually carries the blame, not the property owner.
When You Can Still Be Liable
Chapter 95 will not save you if:
- You take control of how the work happens
- You know about a hidden danger and keep quiet about it
For example:
- You know a second‑floor balcony rail is loose, but you never fix it or warn the painting crew. A painter leans on it, and it fails.
- You insist the contractor’s crew use your old, visibly damaged ladder, instead of their safer equipment, and someone falls.
If a jury decides you controlled the unsafe condition and knew it was dangerous, you can still face a premises liability claim even when a contractor is involved.
You can read the law yourself in Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 95.
What If the Worker Also Acted Carelessly? Texas’ 51% Rule
Texas uses modified comparative negligence, also called proportionate responsibility. Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 33:
- A jury can assign percentages of fault to everyone involved—property owner, contractor, and injured worker.
- If the injured person is 51% or more at fault, they recover nothing.
- If the injured person is 50% or less at fault, their compensation is reduced by their percentage of responsibility.
So if a worker ignores clear warnings or uses equipment in an obviously unsafe way, that behavior can:
- Reduce the amount they recover
- Or completely bar the claim if they carry most of the blame
Statute of Limitations: How Long Does an Injured Worker Have?
Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003, most personal injury and premises liability claims in Texas have a two‑year statute of limitations.
That means:
- Injured workers usually have two years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit.
- If they miss that deadline, the court can throw out the case, no matter how serious the injuries.
This deadline is one reason we urge both property owners and injured workers to reach out to an experienced Houston personal injury lawyer quickly.
You can see the statute here: Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003.
Insurance: What Property Owners in Houston Should Do After a Worker Injury
If a worker gets hurt on your property, do not panic, but act quickly and carefully.
Right away, you should:
- Get medical help
- Call 911 if the injury looks serious.
- Make sure the worker receives prompt medical care.
- Document the scene
- Take photos and videos of the area, tools, ladders, and any hazards.
- Save any relevant text messages, emails, or contracts.
- Report the incident to your insurance company
- Your homeowners or commercial general liability policy may provide coverage.
- Report the incident promptly, but do not admit fault.
- Avoid recorded statements without advice
- Insurance adjusters work for the insurance company, not for you.
- Speak with a lawyer before giving detailed or recorded statements.
- Preserve evidence
- Do not throw away broken equipment or repair the scene without first documenting it.
- Keep copies of all reports and bills.
For more detail on similar property‑related claims, you can review our page on premises liability cases.
What Injured Workers Should Do After Getting Hurt on Someone’s Property
If you are the worker who got hurt on a job site or at someone’s home or business:
- Get medical care first
- Tell your doctor exactly how the injury happened.
- Follow all treatment instructions.
- Report the injury
- Notify your employer or contractor supervisor in writing.
- If workers’ compensation applies, follow the reporting rules.
- Document everything
- Take photos of the area, equipment, and any unsafe condition.
- Get names and contact details for witnesses.
- Do not sign quick settlements or waivers
- Some property owners or insurers push fast, low offers or releases.
- Talk to a lawyer before you sign anything.
- Call an experienced Houston premises liability attorney
- A lawyer can sort out who is legally responsible, what insurance applies, and what your claim is worth.
We also help clients with related claims, such as workplace injuries and slip and fall accidents.
What Compensation Can Be Available in a Premises Liability Case?
When a worker brings a valid claim against a property owner or another responsible party, they can pursue economic and non‑economic damages, such as:
- Medical expenses (ER visit, surgery, physical therapy, medications)
- Future medical care for ongoing problems
- Lost wages while you cannot work
- Loss of future earning capacity if you cannot return to the same type of work
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish and emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life if injuries change your daily activities
Every case turns on its own facts, the strength of the evidence, and how Texas comparative negligence rules apply.
