Property owners must do their due diligence to keep their properties safe to protect visitors to from preventable falls, lacerations, or other accidents. If you experience an accident because of a property owner’s negligence, you may be entitled to collect compensation for the damages sustained. To put yourself in the best position to secure that compensation, connect with an Oklahoma City personal injury attorney from Boettcher, Divenny, Ingle, and Wicker (BDIW).
With a collective 65 years of experience, our team has successfully represented Oklahoma City’s accident victims for decades and is ready to include your case in our winning history.
Types of Premises Liability Claims in Oklahoma City
There is any number of ways people can experience accidents on someone else’s property, and a skilled Oklahoma City premises liability attorney from BDIW can manage the specifics of your case. Some types of accidents, though, are more common than others.
Slips, Trips, or Falls
Slipping on a wet floor or icy walkway, tripping on cracks or ridges in a parking lot, or falling over a misplaced obstacle are all examples of slip, trip, or fall accidents potentially caused by negligent property owners.
These types of accidents can cause broken bones or teeth, head injuries, back injuries, and muscle or other tissue tears, among other injuries.
Security Failures
Some victims of property liability accidents are victimized when the property owner does not take appropriate security measures. For example, owners of clubs with rowdy clientele may fail to hire security guards or bouncers to keep crowds under control and patrons are injured when a fight erupts.
Swimming Pool Accidents
Swimming pools often lead to the most tragic property liability cases, as young children are the most likely to be tempted to enjoy a neighbor’s pool, even without permission. When these children get in, literally over their heads, tire while still in the water, or otherwise find themselves unable to get to safety, they are at great risk of drowning.
In Oklahoma City, residential pool owners must follow the fencing requirements established in the International Building Code (IBC) 305.2.
Workplace Accidents
Workplace injuries can occur at any employment site. Construction workers may fall from scaffolding, be hit by falling objects, or sustain lacerations from sharp equipment. Office workers exposed to mold, slippery floors, or poorly lit hallways can also experience injuries.
Our Team Is Here To Assist You Every Step Of The Way.
SPEAK TO AN ATTORNEY TODAYA Premises Liability Lawyer in Oklahoma City Will Prove the Property Owner’s Negligence
For a claim to have merit, the victim must prove the property owner’s negligence by proving specific elements of that negligence.
Duty of Care
All property owners are obliged to keep their properties reasonably safe and those visiting the area free from harm. This duty is owed to different degrees depending on the relationship between the property owner and the visitor.
Classes of Visitors
Invitees are those invited to the property for the owner’s benefit, such as shoppers in a store, and are owed the highest duty. Licensees visit the owner’s property for social reasons, such as a dinner party, and owners must apprise these visitors of any known dangers, such as loose railings or stairs, and take reasonable measures to keep their property free from danger.
Trespassers enter a property without permission. Property owners do not owe trespassers a duty of care other than to refrain from wantonly and willfully harming them.
Child trespassers also enter properties without permission, and owners do not owe them a duty of care except in cases where their property includes an “attractive nuisance,” such as a swimming pool or trampoline. The owner must take measures to prevent child trespassers from gaining entry and injuring themselves.
Breach of Duty
Once establishing the property owner owed them a duty of care, accident victims must prove the owner breached that duty. For example, a store owner may have failed to mark a wet floor or left tripping hazards in store aisles. A party host may fail to clear their walkway of ice, and a swimming pool owner may have left their pool fence unlocked.
Causation and Damages
The next step is proving the breach of duty caused the accident leading to your injuries and that those injuries cost you measurable damages.
How Partnering with an Oklahoma City Premises Liability Attorney Helps You
Some premises liability cases are more clear-cut than others. Responsible property owners are easily identified as the ones in charge of keeping their properties safe. Other times, additional parties may share that responsibility, and each points the finger at the other.
For example, a business owner may hire another company to shovel and de-ice a parking lot, and when a customer slips and falls, may work to assign that company culpability. When accidents happen at work, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits and a financial award from a third-party personal injury claim.
No matter how or where your accident occurred, an Oklahoma City premises liability lawyer will know how and from whom to pursue a settlement. You can count on your attorney to:
- Examine the accident to definitive identif the negligent party or parties
- Collect evidence to prove that party’s negligence
- Handle all communication with the at-fault party’s insurance adjusters or legal representatives and negotiate and fair settlement
- Represent you at trial proceedings should the at-fault party refuse to settle out of court
Partner with an Oklahoma City Premises Liability Attorney Quickly
Oklahoma’s statute of limitations, or legal deadline, for filing a premises liability injury claim is two years. The sooner you partner with an attorney, the better. A prompt partnership gives your lawyer time to execute a thorough analysis of the accident and build a strong case against the negligent property owner while still filing within that deadline.
BDIW Is Here to Help
To experience the fullest recovery possible from an accident caused by a property owner’s negligence, you need a skilled premises liability attorney in Oklahoma City on your side. Property liability cases can be complicated, but the team at BDIW is more than prepared to work through those complexities with skill and efficiency so you can collect the compensation you need. Connect with us today to schedule a free consultation.
