Texas premises liability law generally divides visitors into three categories: invitees (owed the highest duty of care, such as customers), licensees (social guests), and trespassers (owed the lowest duty).
The property owner’s legal obligations to keep the premises safe depend heavily on which category applies to you, so correctly establishing your status is often one of the first steps in a premises liability case.
A Houston trial lawyer since 2009, representing injured people and their families, and defending the accused in DWI and criminal cases. Jay is an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist, a certified practitioner and instructor of Standardized Field Sobriety Testing, a certified Drug Recognition Expert, and trained in forensic chromatography. He is a member of the National College for DUI Defense, a founding member of the DUI Defense Lawyers Association, and an appointee to the Texas Indigent Defense Commission by Gov. Abbott in 2024.
Last reviewed July 2026 · This article is legal information, not legal advice. Read Jay’s full bio →