Liability · Insurance Term
Negligence
Definition
Negligence is a failure to use reasonable care that causes harm to someone else. It is the legal basis for most injury lawsuits against property owners, such as slip-and-fall claims, and it is what a general liability policy is mainly built to defend.
In Plain English
To win a negligence case, an injured person generally must show four things: you owed them a duty of care, you breached that duty, the breach caused their injury, and they suffered real damages. For a property owner, the duty usually includes fixing or warning about hazards it knew or should have known about.
Most premises liability claims are negligence claims: a broken step, poor lighting, an icy walkway. Your commercial general liability policy usually defends these suits and pays for covered bodily injury or property damage if you are found responsible, up to its limits.
Fault can be shared. Courts may divide responsibility between the injured person, the owner, a tenant or a contractor. That is why contracts, maintenance records and incident reports matter.
Not sure how your policy handles this? Have us review it, or get a quote.
Example
Hypothetical: a customer trips on a pothole in a shopping center parking lot that had been reported to the owner weeks earlier. The customer sues for negligence. A jury might find the owner 80% responsible and the customer 20% responsible for not watching where she walked.
Why It Matters for Texas Property Owners
Texas uses proportionate responsibility under Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 33. An injured person generally cannot recover damages if found more than 50% responsible. Ask an attorney how these rules apply to a specific claim.
What to Watch For
- Inspect parking lots, walkways, stairs and lighting on a regular schedule and keep records.
- Fix reported hazards promptly, or mark them clearly until fixed.
- Write an incident report with photos and witness names after any injury.
- Report incidents to your insurer quickly, even if no claim has been made.
Sources
Last updated October 14, 2026 · Primesure editorial team · How We Write