Surveillance Preservation
Retail stores often overwrite security footage within 7-14 days. We send immediate preservation demands to secure video evidence before it's erased.
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Practice Area
Property owners in Oklahoma have a legal duty to keep their premises safe. When they fail — and you get hurt — LHL holds them accountable for every dollar of your damages.
Why Clients Hire Us
What clients usually care about most before choosing counsel.
$100M+
Recovered for Clients
100+
Years Combined Experience
Available
Free Consultation
Contingency
No Fee Unless We Win
Legal Strategy
From intake through trial prep, our premises liability framework emphasizes proof quality, timeline control, and full damages development.
Premises liability law in Oklahoma is built on a simple principle: if you own or control a property, you have a duty to keep it reasonably safe for the people who enter it. But the specific duty owed depends on the legal status of the visitor. Under Oklahoma law, an "invitee" — someone invited onto the property for a business purpose, like a customer in a store — is owed the highest duty of care. The property owner must inspect for hazards and fix or warn about them. A "licensee" — someone with permission to enter, like a social guest — is owed a duty to warn about known hidden dangers. And a trespasser is generally owed no duty at all, with limited exceptions for children under the attractive nuisance doctrine.
The most common premises liability cases in Oklahoma involve slip-and-fall accidents in retail stores, restaurants, and commercial buildings. But premises liability extends far beyond wet floors: negligent security at apartment complexes and parking garages, dangerous conditions at construction sites, dog bites from unrestrained animals, swimming pool accidents, and elevator or escalator malfunctions all fall under this area of law. Oklahoma winters create unique hazards too — property owners must address ice, snow, and water accumulation within a reasonable time after a storm, or face liability for resulting injuries.
Premises liability cases hinge on one critical question: did the property owner know about the dangerous condition, or should they have known? This is known as the "notice" requirement. Insurance companies will argue the owner had no notice — they didn't know the floor was wet, the handrail was broken, or the walkway was icy. Our attorneys gather surveillance footage (which stores often delete within days), maintenance logs, prior incident reports, and employee testimony to prove the owner knew or should have known about the hazard. We also retain safety engineers and building code experts to establish that the property violated applicable safety standards.
Trial Team Availability: Our core litigation attorneys are available across every personal-injury and civil-rights practice area.
What Sets Our Strategy Apart
These case variables most often influence liability exposure, negotiation leverage, and final case value.
Retail stores often overwrite security footage within 7-14 days. We send immediate preservation demands to secure video evidence before it's erased.
We investigate the property owner's inspection logs, maintenance records, and prior complaints to prove they knew or should have known about the hazard.
We retain safety engineers to identify violations of Oklahoma building codes, ADA requirements, and fire safety standards that caused or contributed to your injury.
Ice storms, drainage failures, and inadequate snow removal are common causes of injury in Oklahoma. Property owners must address weather hazards within a reasonable time.
Case Types
These are common premises liability scenarios where early strategy can materially affect case value.
Proving the property owner had notice of the hazard — actual or constructive — is the central challenge in slip-and-fall claims.
Learn about Slip and Fall →Assaults and crimes on poorly secured properties create liability when the owner failed to provide reasonable protection.
Learn about Negligent Security →Oklahoma imposes strict liability on dog owners for bite injuries regardless of the animal's prior behavior history.
Learn about Dog Bites →Drowning and near-drowning cases involve barrier compliance, supervision failures, and attractive nuisance doctrine.
Learn about Swimming Pool Accidents →Multi-contractor worksites create overlapping liability between property owners, general contractors, and subcontractors.
Learn about Construction Site Accidents →Poor lighting, unmarked hazards, and inadequate maintenance in parking areas create foreseeable injury risks.
Learn about Parking Lot Accidents →Mechanical entrapment and sudden-stop injuries involve maintenance contractor liability and inspection record review.
Learn about Elevator & Escalator →Speak with a premises liability attorney today
Frequently Asked Questions
Common Oklahoma premises liability questions on deadlines, proof, insurance tactics, and next steps. Tap a question to expand.
It depends on your legal status. As a business customer ("invitee"), the owner must inspect for hazards and fix or warn you about them. As a social guest ("licensee"), they must warn you about known hidden dangers. These legal classifications determine the strength and scope of your claim.
We establish "notice" through surveillance footage, maintenance logs, employee testimony, and prior incident reports. If the hazard existed long enough that the owner should have discovered it through reasonable inspection, that can also satisfy the notice requirement ("constructive notice").
The statute of limitations is two years from the date of injury (12 O.S. § 95). However, surveillance footage and other critical evidence can disappear within days, so contacting an attorney immediately is essential.
Oklahoma property owners have a duty to address ice and snow accumulation within a reasonable time after a storm. If a business failed to salt, sand, or clear walkways — or failed to warn customers about icy conditions — they may be liable for your injuries.
Yes. Oklahoma landlords have a duty to maintain common areas (stairways, parking lots, hallways) in a safe condition and to repair known hazards in individual units within a reasonable time. If a landlord ignores maintenance requests and you're injured as a result, you may have a premises liability claim.
You can recover medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and property damage. In cases of grossly negligent conduct — such as a property owner who repeatedly ignored safety violations — punitive damages may also be available.
Attorney Team
Connect with our full trial team handling personal-injury and civil-rights matters across Oklahoma.
Managing Partner available for premises liability and related high-stakes litigation.
View Chris Hammons profile →Of Counsel available for premises liability and related high-stakes litigation.
View D. Colby Addison profile →Of Counsel available for premises liability and related high-stakes litigation.
View Jeff Green profile →Of Counsel available for premises liability and related high-stakes litigation.
View Jason M. Hicks profile →Of Counsel available for premises liability and related high-stakes litigation.
View Todd Kernal profile →Next Steps
Choose the path that best matches your situation and timing.
Local strategy and venue context for premises liability claims in Oklahoma City.
Get Oklahoma City Premises Liability guidance →Local strategy and venue context for premises liability claims in Norman.
Get Norman Premises Liability guidance →Local strategy and venue context for premises liability claims in Edmond.
Get Edmond Premises Liability guidance →Local strategy and venue context for premises liability claims in Moore.
Get Moore Premises Liability guidance →Local strategy and venue context for premises liability claims in Midwest City.
Get Midwest City Premises Liability guidance →Local strategy and venue context for premises liability claims in Del City.
Get Del City Premises Liability guidance →Representative premises liability outcome: confidential settlement reported by the firm.
Learn about $10,000,000 Construction Worker Injured on the Job →Local action plan for premises liability claimants in Oklahoma City.
Get Oklahoma City: Slip and Fall Incident Steps guidance →A plain-language framework for evaluating settlement timing, damages categories, and negotiation leverage in Oklahoma injury claims.
Open Oklahoma Personal Injury Settlement Guide →Step-by-step actions to protect health, preserve evidence, and avoid avoidable claim-value mistakes after an Oklahoma motor vehicle accident.
Open What To Do After an Accident in Oklahoma →Key filing deadlines by claim type, including injury, wrongful death, government claims, and specialized actions — with Oklahoma-specific statute citations.
Open Oklahoma Statute of Limitations Guide →Surveillance footage is the most powerful evidence in premises liability cases — and the most perishable. Learn how to preserve it before it’s overwritten.
Read Premises Liability Video Evidence: Why Delay Can Cost Your Case →Read litigation analysis and claim strategy articles related to premises liability cases.
Learn about Premises Liability Insights →Speak with Laird Hammons Laird for a free case review. We will assess liability, damages, and the fastest path to meaningful leverage.