When you sustain an injury on someone else’s property, such as in a slip and fall, you can hold the owner financially liable for the harm you suffered. However, to successfully recover the compensation you need, you must prove that the property owner knew or should have known about the hazard that harmed you and failed to repair it or warn you about it. This is where a premises liability lawyer comes in.
At Talley, Turner, Stice & Bertman, our award-winning personal injury lawyers can lead you toward your goal of recovering compensation. We pair comprehensive knowledge and trial experience with a devotion to victory. Contact our firm today to schedule a consultation with a highly qualified member of our legal team and to learn more about your options.
Under premises liability law, a property owner or manager is financially liable for the harm caused by a hazardous condition of their property. For example, if you slipped and fell in a puddle on a grocery store floor, the store may be liable for your injuries under premises liability because it should have known about or reasonably expected the hazard and failed to take steps to remedy it or warn you about it.
The two main parties that could be liable under premises liability are the property owner, who is the person or organization who actually owns the property, and the property manager, who could be a tenant or business renting the property. If the owner and manager are different parties, your lawyer may have to look into the fine print of the lease agreement to determine which is responsible for maintaining the property and remedying the hazard that injured you.
Additional parties that could be liable for a slip and fall injury include the property’s maintenance providers, cleaners, or snow removal crew.
Slip and fall accidents can occur due to various hazards present on a property. Some of the most common in Oklahoma include:
Under premises liability law, property owners owe a duty of care to visitors. A duty of care refers to their responsibility to keep their property free from known hazards, and the degree of care they must provide depends on the type of visitor in question:
For a successful slip and fall injury case, you must prove that the property owner owed you a duty of care, that they breached that duty by allowing a known hazard to persist, and that you sustained compensable injuries as a result.
For example, let’s say that you slipped and fell on an icy sidewalk in front of a store. You would have to show that you were on the property legally, which should be relatively straightforward. Then, you would have to show that the property owner should have known the sidewalk was icy due to a snowstorm the day before. And you would have to show that the property owner didn’t take steps to make the sidewalk safe by clearing the snow and ice or putting down rock salt.
After establishing the property owner’s duties and how they failed to uphold them, the final thing to show is that you sustained injuries because of your fall.
To recover the compensation you need, you must support your case with strong evidence. Some of the evidence our lawyers may collect when investigating the incident that caused your injuries includes:
The compensation you could receive through a slip and fall case covers various losses you may have suffered because of your injuries. Losses are the negative consequences of an injury on your life, including:
Oklahoma’s statute of limitations for personal injury cases gives slip and fall victims two years to file lawsuits against the parties responsible for their injuries. You must file your lawsuit before this deadline expires to protect your right to seek compensation in court.
When you hire our lawyers to handle your case, we’ll make sure to file your lawsuit correctly and on time, so you don’t have to worry about a thing.
If you slipped and fell on someone else’s property in Oklahoma, contact Talley, Turner, Stice & Bertman to schedule a consultation with one of our experienced and compassionate premises liability lawyers. During your consultation, we’ll review your slip and fall incident, help you identify who could be liable, and explain your options for seeking compensation for your medical bills and lost wages.
It can be difficult to identify exactly what went wrong in your original case and to fix it through an appeal. Working with an attorney who has already filed and defended many successful appeals in Oklahoma may be critical. Call us at 405-364-8300 or send us a message online to speak with our appellate lawyers in Norman today.
