Hurt in a Slip and Fall in Lawton?
We will fight for compensation for your losses
When you’re on someone else’s property – whether that’s a grocery store, retailer, event venue, professional office, or private home – you have an expectation of safety. When you are injured outside of the home in a preventable accident, you most likely have a premises liability case. The owner or manager of the property is responsible for paying their expenses. But getting their insurance company to pay up is often a challenge.
There is a lot to prove in a premises liability claim and investigating the incident can be complicated. Hoover Rogers Law, LLP can handle your claim while you heal. Our personal injury attorneys have years of experience working on Oklahoma-and-Lawton-area injury cases. Contact our law firm to schedule a free injury case evaluation to learn more about what Hoover Rogers Law can do for you.
What is a premises liability case in Oklahoma?
“Premises liability” describes the standard of care and safety property owners and operators owe individuals when they are on-site. The “duty of care” a person may owe someone else changes depending on the visitor’s status — invitee, licensee, or trespasser.
- An invitee is someone on the property for a business purpose, such as a customer in a retail store or a technician or contractor hired to perform work on the property. The property owner owes the highest duty of care to invitees.
- A licensee is someone on the premises for a social purpose, or “stopping by” with the owner’s knowledge but not their express invitation. Social guests and people going door-to-door for political campaigns are examples of licensees.
- A trespasser is someone on the premises without the property owner’s knowledge or consent. Trespassers have limited rights, but they can still file a premises liability claim in some circumstances. In addition, the duty of care is higher if the trespasser is a child.
Every state has its own premises liability laws. Oklahoma law provides some protection from lawsuits to people who allow others to use their land for recreational purposes like hiking, fishing, and hunting. There is also a limited liability standard for farmers.
Oklahoma observes the modified comparative fault rule with a 51 percent bar. This means that accident fault is divided among all those involved. If you are found to be 50 percent or less at fault in the accident, you may file a claim, but your recovery will be reduced by your percentage of fault.
Lawton’s safety standards for property owners
Lawton has safety codes in addition to the state’s liability laws. For instance, in Lawton, property owners and operators are required to:
- Keep the sidewalks outside their premises free of snow and ice.
- Maintain signs, awnings, and billboards so that they do not become a health hazard.
- Fix or protect others from open wells, excavations, or unused basements that are freely accessible from a public street.
- Not host or entice a large group of people to block traffic or other normal travel.
If the property owner violated a specific local safety code, that may be grounds for a premises liability claim. However, even if there wasn’t a specific code, the property owner still has a general duty to keep the premises safe. Either way, you have to prove that their negligence caused your injury.
We know how to prove your case
To get money for a premises injury, you must prove three things:
- You were injured.
- Your injury was “proximately caused” by something within the control of the property owner or operator.
- Such an injury would not occur under normal circumstances, absent the landowner’s negligence.
It may seem intuitively obvious that your injury was someone else’s fault, but to win in a court of law, we need to show that the specific requirements of Oklahoma law were met. Don’t go it alone. Get a Lawton premises liability lawyer who knows how to win.
You get one shot. An experienced Lawton injury lawyer will make it count.
If you were injured in an accident on someone else’s property, it is important that you contact Hoover Rogers Law, LLP right away. The sooner our attorneys start investigating your claim, the better. Bruises fade, witnesses lose their memories, evidence dries up. Premises claims require immediate and thorough investigation.
Hoover Rogers Law, LLP offers free injury case evaluations to people hurt throughout the Lawton area. At your evaluation, a member of our legal team can explain how the law applies to your situation, the potential value of your claim, and your legal options.
Our attorneys represent injured accident victims on contingency. This means there is no retainer or hourly rate for you to pay. Our fee is a percentage of your final settlement or verdict. If we don’t win, we don’t get paid. Contact Hoover Rogers Law right now to speak with an experienced Lawton premises liability lawyer about your case.