Oklahoma City Premises Liability Lawyers
The manager filled out an incident report, asked if you were okay, and somehow made it sound like the answer was your own fault. That framing starts within minutes of a fall, and it does not stop.
Our Oklahoma City premises liability lawyers represent people hurt on property that someone else was responsible for keeping safe: stores, restaurants, apartment complexes, parking lots, hotels, and public buildings across Oklahoma County. AP Injury Lawyers is at 2248 NW 40th Street in Oklahoma City.
There is one thing worth doing this week regardless of who you hire. Ask the property owner in writing to preserve the surveillance footage. Most systems overwrite in days.
If you want help sending that request today, call (405) 336-3000. We answer at any hour and the call is free.
They Are Going to Say You Should Have Seen It
This is the defense that decides Oklahoma premises cases, and it has a name: open and obvious. The argument is that a property owner owes no duty to protect people from dangers that are plainly visible. It is real law in Oklahoma, and it ends more slip and fall claims than any other argument.
It is also not absolute. The Oklahoma Supreme Court said so directly in a case involving a woman who slipped on ice outside a car dealership. She saw the ice. She crossed it anyway because her job required her to enter the building. The Court held the dealership still owed her a duty, because its own malfunctioning sprinkler system had created the ice overnight in freezing temperatures.
Two openings come out of Oklahoma case law, and most claims that survive run through one of them.
The hazard looked safe. Oklahoma courts have repeatedly held that a danger with a deceptively innocent appearance is not open and obvious. Clear ice on gray concrete. A puddle on polished tile that reads as shine. A single step in a hallway with no color change. If a reasonable person would not register it as a hazard, the fact that it was technically visible does not end the case.
The owner created it or knew people would walk into it anyway. A hazard the business itself made, or one the business could foresee customers encountering because there was no other route to the door, can carry a duty despite being obvious.
The question is never simply “could you see it.” It is whether a reasonable person in your position would have appreciated the risk.
What Do You Have to Prove the Owner Knew?
You have to prove notice. Oklahoma courts require evidence that the owner or its employees created the hazard, knew about it, or should have discovered it through reasonable inspection. Without one of those three, there is no recovery even if the hazard clearly caused the fall.
This is where cases are won and lost, and it is why the first two weeks matter so much.
The evidence that establishes notice is almost entirely in the property owner’s hands:
- Surveillance footage showing how long the spill sat there
- Sweep logs and inspection schedules, and whether anyone actually followed them
- Prior incident reports at the same location
- Employee statements about who saw what
- Work orders on a light that had been out for a month
One Oklahoma case turned on the fact that a different person had slipped on the same ice earlier that day and reported it to the office. That single fact converted a losing case into a jury question.
None of this is available to you after the fact unless it was preserved. Stores are not required to keep video they have not been asked to keep.
For businesses with employees, federal workplace safety rules require walking surfaces to be kept clean, dry where feasible, and free of hazards such as spills, snow, and ice, and inspected regularly. That standard does not by itself create a claim, but it is a useful measure of what a reasonable operator does.
Call (405) 336-3000 and we will send a preservation letter the same day.
How Long Do I Have to Sue After a Fall in Oklahoma?
Two years from the date of the injury for a claim against a private property owner, under Oklahoma’s general limitations statute. That is the number that applies to a fall in a store, a restaurant, an apartment complex, or a parking lot.
A fall on public property is a completely different deadline, and this is the trap. If you fell on a city sidewalk, in a public park, at a public school, or inside a state building, the Governmental Tort Claims Act controls. Written notice must be presented within one year of the loss. For a claim against Oklahoma City, that notice goes to the City Clerk’s Office at 200 N. Walker Avenue, and the City publishes claim forms and instructions online.
After notice, the entity has 90 days to act, and if it does nothing the claim is treated as denied. Suit must then be filed within 180 days of that denial. Miss the one year notice and the claim is over, no matter how badly the sidewalk had heaved.
Sidewalk responsibility in Oklahoma City is also not automatic. Per City of Oklahoma City public works guidance, the City maintains sidewalks it constructed and those formally accepted by Council action, while other sidewalks remain the responsibility of the abutting property owner. Determining which one you fell on decides who you are even making a claim against.
Reviews From Our Clients
I always felt like they genuinely cared about me and my recovery, not just my case. They took great care of me from start to finish, and I never felt like I was going through everything alone. If you’ve been in a car accident and need someone you can trust to fight for you while treating you with kindness and respect, I highly recommend them.
From start to finish, working with Austin and his team was an exceptional experience. The entire process was smooth, organized, and stress-free. They handled everything, so we never had to wonder what was happening or what came next. Communication was 10/10 — we were always kept informed and any questions we had were answered promptly.
Most importantly, the outcome exceeded our expectations. We couldn’t be happier with the level of professionalism, responsiveness, and care we received. Highly recommend AP Injury Lawyers to anyone looking for a team that truly delivers.
Austin earned my trust and my case lending me a glimpse of insight to the culture he had created for his law firm. I signed that day, and eight days later he called me to say that the insurance company had agreed to pay policy max. I’m happy with Austin and his crew for doing what I alone had failed to do: bring timely acceptable closure to a tinder issue. I highly recommend APInjury Lawyers, because Austin is at the helm, and I trust him.
Humbly, David Strickland
Also, a great outcome! I worked directly with Tripp, who was kind, supportive, and knowledgeable throughout the entire process. He consistently checked in with me, explained everything clearly, and made sure I understood each step along the way.
I had never been in a situation like this before, and they truly made the process feel easy and stress-free. They handled everything and helped bring me peace of mind during a difficult time. I’m so grateful for their help and would absolutely recommend them to anyone needing an injury attorney.
What About Apartments, Bars, and Property Where You Were Attacked?
Premises liability is broader than wet floors, and three Oklahoma specific rules come up often enough to name.
Apartment complexes and rental property. Oklahoma landlord and tenant law requires a landlord to keep common areas, grounds, facilities, and appurtenances in a clean, safe, and sanitary condition, and to keep electrical, plumbing, heating, and air conditioning systems in good and safe working order. Broken stair treads, unlit breezeways, and failed handrails in common areas fall under that duty.
Bars and restaurants that overserve. Oklahoma recognizes a claim against a commercial vendor that sells alcohol for on premises consumption to a noticeably intoxicated person. The Oklahoma Supreme Court established this and expressly declined to extend it to social hosts. So a bar can face liability where a private party host generally would not.
Attacks by another person on the property. A property owner is not usually responsible for a third party’s crime. The exception is foreseeability. Where the owner knew or had reason to know that such acts were occurring or about to occur, a duty can arise. Oklahoma courts have found this where a landlord retained control over locks, lighting, and alarm systems and had actual notice of repeated assaults on the property. These cases are built on police call histories, prior incidents, and complaints management ignored.
Accessibility failures can also matter. The federal ADA Accessibility Standards require walking surfaces to be stable, firm, and slip resistant, and set technical requirements for ramps and stairways. ADA stands for the Americans with Disabilities Act. Businesses open to the public carry obligations under Title III of that law.
Being Partly at Fault Is Not the Same as Losing
You can be found partly responsible for your own fall and still recover. Oklahoma applies modified comparative negligence: your award is reduced by your percentage of fault, and only barred if your fault is greater than the property owner’s.
The line sits at more than 50 percent. Exactly half still recovers, cut in half. At 51 percent, recovery is gone.
Keep two defenses separate in your mind, because they do different damage. Open and obvious is an argument about duty, and it aims to end the case before a jury ever sees it. Comparative fault is an argument about damages, and it aims to reduce the number. Defense lawyers plead both, and a claim that survives the first still has to withstand the second.
Facts that push your percentage down include poor lighting, a hazard with a deceptively innocent appearance, no warning cone where a policy required one, a sudden change in flooring, and carrying merchandise the store handed you.
Working With This Firm
Austin S. Pieratt leads this firm and took his law degree at Oklahoma City University School of Law. Premises claims are handled here alongside vehicle and wrongful death work, which matters because the same insurers defend all three and the same tactics show up in each.
Several hundred client reviews put the firm at a 5.0 Google rating. Someone answers the phone 24 hours a day.
On a premises case our first moves are the preservation demand, the request for sweep logs and prior incident reports at that location, and photographs of the condition before it gets repaired. Those three things usually decide whether there is a case.
We do not handle nursing home injury, medical malpractice, construction site, or product liability claims. If your case is one of those, we will tell you on the first call.
Frequently Asked Questions
The store made me fill out an incident report. Did I hurt my case?
Probably not, but read what you signed if you kept a copy. An incident report is the store’s document, written for the store’s insurer, and the wording often invites you to describe the fall in a way that sounds like carelessness. It is not a release and it does not waive anything. What matters more is whether the report was preserved, which is a reason to make a written demand quickly.
How much does a slip and fall lawyer cost in Oklahoma City?
Nothing out of pocket. Payment is taken as a percentage of whatever is recovered, and a case that recovers nothing generates no bill. Premises cases usually carry lower case costs than vehicle cases because there is no reconstruction work, though a safety or flooring expert is sometimes needed. If the case does not succeed, you are not billed for the costs the firm has already advanced.
There was a wet floor sign nearby. Does that end my claim?
Not automatically. A warning sign is evidence the business knew about the hazard, which is one of the elements you have to prove anyway. What matters is whether the warning was actually adequate: where the sign sat relative to the spill, whether it was visible from the direction you were walking, and whether it was placed before or after you fell. Photograph its position if you can.
Can I bring a claim if I fell at a friend's house?
Sometimes. As a social guest you are a licensee, which means the duty owed is narrower than what a store owes a customer, but it is not zero. A claim usually runs against the homeowner’s insurance policy rather than against your friend personally. That distinction is worth understanding before you decide not to ask.
The Video Is the Case, and It Will Not Wait
If nothing else comes out of reading this page, send a written request to preserve the footage. Verbal requests to a store manager disappear. Most systems overwrite on a loop measured in days, and once it is gone, the argument about how long that spill sat on the floor becomes your word against a corporate defendant’s.
We send those letters at no cost, even in the first conversation, before anyone decides whether to hire us.
Call or text AP Injury Lawyers at (405) 336-3000. 2248 NW 40th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73112. Available 24 hours.