How long does a slip and fall lawsuit take?

By Michael Shemtoub, trial attorney, Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.

The claim stage, before any lawsuit

Most fall cases start as a claim with the owner’s insurer or claims administrator. Nothing about this stage has a fixed clock. It usually goes in this order:

1. You get treatment, and your doctors reach a point where they can describe what care you still need.
2. Your lawyer collects the medical records and bills, wage records and the evidence of how you fell.
3. A demand goes to the insurer with those documents.
4. The insurer reviews, asks questions and makes an offer, or denies the claim.

Settling before your doctors can describe the future can leave you paying for later care yourself, so the first step often takes the longest. If the property belongs to a government agency, a formal claim comes before any lawsuit. A California public entity has 45 days to act on that claim, and silence counts as a rejection (Gov. Code 912.4). In Washington, no suit against a local government can be filed until 60 days after the claim is presented (RCW 4.96.020(4)). The filing deadlines themselves are on our slip and fall deadline page.

Court timelines in each state

When a claim does not settle, the lawsuit follows each court system’s own rules.

California’s five-year rule is the outer wall. The California goals describe how the court system should perform overall, and plenty of individual cases take longer because of trial dates, expert schedules or motions.

Texas discovery levels

Texas makes every lawsuit pick a discovery plan, and the plan affects the calendar.

• Level 1 covers expedited actions, which are suits where every claimant pleads for monetary relief of $250,000 or less, excluding interest, statutory or punitive damages and penalties, and attorney fees and costs (Misc. Docket No. 20-9153, amending Rule 169). Discovery lasts 180 days after the first initial disclosures are due (Rule 190.2), and on any party’s request the court must set trial within 90 days after that period ends (Rule 169(d)(2)).
• Level 2 is the default. Discovery runs from when the first initial disclosures are due until the earlier of 30 days before trial or nine months after those disclosures were due (Rule 190.3).
• Level 3 is a plan the court orders to fit the specific suit, on a party’s motion or on its own (Rule 190.4).

A smaller fall case may fit Level 1, which trades a shorter schedule for a $250,000 cap on the judgment the claimant can recover, not counting post-judgment interest, statutory or punitive damages and penalties, or attorney fees and costs (Rule 169(b)). That choice belongs to the injured person and their lawyer, made with the full medical picture in view.

What tends to stretch a fall case

A few things show up again and again in premises cases:

• A fight over notice. Stores may ask the judge to end the case before trial, arguing there is no proof they knew about the hazard. In H-E-B, LP v. Peterson, the trial court granted that kind of motion, the court of appeals reversed it, and the Texas Supreme Court reinstated it in April 2026. Each round of appeal adds months or more.
• More than one possible defendant. A fall in a shopping center parking lot can involve the store, the landlord and a maintenance contractor, and each one points at the others.
• Federal court. Large chains can move cases out of state court, and the fight over where the case belongs comes first. Our store fall section explains removal.
• Surgery or a change in treatment. A new recommendation from a doctor can reset the value of the claim and push back mediation.
• Depositions and expert reports. Scheduling witnesses, doctors and defense experts takes time. Our page on what happens at a deposition explains that step.

What this means for your case

You cannot control the court’s calendar, but you can avoid adding delay. Keep your medical appointments, tell your lawyer when a doctor changes the plan, and answer discovery questions on time. Ask early whether the property might belong to a city, county or state agency, because that adds a claim step with its own waiting period. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. More answers are in our injury FAQs.

Common questions

Related pages

Injury law FAQs

Important: This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; talk to a lawyer about yours. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Last reviewed: November 7, 2026.