“Labor Omnia Vincit” McKay Law
Trip-and-fall accidents occur faster than you can react—but the impact can change everything. When negligent maintenance in Cushing, OK ignores obvious dangers, customers and guests pay the price. McKay Law advocates for trip-and-fall victims throughout OK. Trip-and-falls are different from slip-and-falls—trip-and-falls happen when your foot catches on something, throwing you forward with no time to brace. These accidents are often caused by uneven sidewalks and pavement, cracked concrete, raised floor mats, exposed cords or cables, torn carpet, loose tiles, missing or broken stair treads, debris in walkways, parking lot potholes, raised thresholds, and poorly marked level changes. Under Oklahoma premises liability law, owners must to exercise reasonable care to protect visitors from foreseeable trip hazards—but holding them accountable demands experience. Establishing liability requires proving the elements of a Oklahoma premises liability claim. Our Cushing premises liability lawyers move fast to preserve evidence—security video, scene photos, employee testimony, and records of past incidents. Many businesses overwrite surveillance footage within 7 to 30 days, so don’t wait. These accidents often cause broken wrists from bracing the fall, fractured arms, facial injuries, broken noses, dental damage, knee injuries, hip fractures, shoulder injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and herniated discs—particularly devastating for older adults. Property owners and their insurers will often try to blame the victim—we know how to counter these defenses. Every trip-and-fall case is handled on a contingency basis—you pay nothing unless we win. Compensation may cover emergency room costs, surgeries, ongoing therapy, missed work, and physical and emotional suffering. Call McKay Law now for a complimentary evaluation with a Cushing, OK trip and fall accident lawyer who will stand up to the businesses and insurers protecting them.
Trip-and-fall accidents happen when a person catches their foot on an obstacle, defect, or uneven surface and falls forward. While slip-and-falls involve sliding, trip-and-falls happen when the foot is suddenly stopped, usually causing the victim to fall forward onto outstretched hands, knees, or face. The injuries can be just as severe as slip-and-falls — with common injuries including wrist breaks, facial fractures, and head trauma. McKay Law advocates for trip-and-fall victims in Cushing and across the state.
The two types of falls work differently and produce different injuries:
Trips cause forward injuries — face, hands, knees. Slip-and-falls typically produce backward-impact injuries — back, hips, head.
Oklahoma recognizes three types of people on property, each carrying a different legal duty:
Oklahoma follows modified comparative fault (Okla. Stat. tit. 23, § 13). You can recover if you bear no more than 50% of the fault, though the award is reduced by your share.
You typically have two years from the date of the fall to file (Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 95). Public property cases require notice within one year. Time matters in these cases because surveillance footage is often overwritten within days or weeks.
We act fast to send preservation letters demanding surveillance video, capture the dangerous condition before it’s repaired, investigate the property’s records, partner with healthcare providers, and prepare every case as if it will go to trial.
A: Trip-and-falls catch your foot and send you forward; slip-and-falls lose traction and send you backward.
A: Zero upfront. No recovery, no fee.
A: Possibly, yes. Government entities and private property owners can be liable for unsafe sidewalks — but special rules apply for public sidewalks.
A: Common defense. This defense often fails when the full circumstances come out.
A: No. Refer them to your attorney.
A: Value turns on injury seriousness, treatment, and permanent restrictions. Wrist fractures, facial injuries, and TBI cases carry significant value.
A: Different rules apply. Government cases demand fast action and strict procedural compliance.
A: 2 years from the date of the fall (Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 95). Different rules apply for public property.
“Trip” and “slip” sound interchangeable — they aren’t, especially in court. Different mechanics, different injuries, different defenses. A local lawyer experienced with trip cases brings the right approach for trip-specific injuries.
The two get conflated constantly, but the mechanics are different and the cases play out differently.
In a slip, the foot loses traction and slides forward. People land on their backs, hips, or tailbones.
Trips occur when a forward step is interrupted. People land on their hands, knees, face, or chest.
These different falls cause different harm.
Trips frequently produce:
Trips have characteristic causes:
The proof requirements track standard premises liability:
The condition must be unreasonably dangerous. Many jurisdictions have established thresholds. A vertical displacement of less than half an inch may not support a case in some jurisdictions, while more substantial defects support claims clearly.
Knew or should have known is essential.
Trip-and-falls have a unique notice advantage compared to slip-and-falls. Slip hazards can be momentary. Trip hazards tend to have substantial history. Demonstrating the owner should have known is typically straightforward.
The defect must have caused the trip. This is sometimes contested when the plaintiff didn’t see what they tripped on.
Medical proof of harm.
The go-to insurance argument. Insurers say the hazard was obvious. How this plays out depends on the jurisdiction, especially when the conditions made the hazard hard to see.
“You should have been looking down”. Comparative negligence may cut damages, they typically allow recovery to continue.
Defense argues that some unevenness is normal. The success of this argument depends on the measurable extent of the hazard.
Defense claims familiarity with the location should have prevented the fall. This argument has weaknesses.
Property owners often repair the defect within days. Visual documentation with size reference provide the best proof.
Insist on documentation. If no record is made, the case becomes harder to prove.
Other customers, neighbors, or employees who saw the fall provide independent corroboration.
Prior incidents establish notice. Your attorney can pursue this through discovery.
Even when injuries seem minor at the scene. Same-day medical documentation creates the medical record insurers need to see.
The liable party varies with location:
Trip-and-fall damages surgical expenses, long-term treatment, missed work, diminished earning capacity, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium where applicable.
Counsel handling these cases earn fees only on recovery. First meetings carry no charge.
Property owners typically repair the defect once a fall is reported. Without immediate evidence, the case can become very difficult to prove. Surveillance footage disappears within weeks. OK’s statute of limitations with multiple deadlines depending on who’s liable creates time pressure. Contacting a Cushing trip-and-fall attorney quickly preserves every angle of the case.
A torn piece of carpet doesn’t look like much — until your toe catches it and the ground rushes up to meet you. Trip-and-fall injuries happen in an instant, but the damage often lasts for years: broken wrists from bracing on impact, fractured hips, dislocated shoulders, concussions, knocked-out teeth, and facial injuries that demand reconstructive surgery. Property owners — whether they run a apartment complex — have a legal obligation to maintain their walkways, parking lots, entrances, and floors in safe condition, and to caution visitors about hazards they can’t reasonably fix right away. When they skip that duty, people get hurt. At McKay Law, we dig into how the hazard came to exist, how long it had been there, whether anyone reported it, and what the property owner did — or never bothered to do — about it.
The insurance company’s first move in a trip-and-fall claim is almost always the same: blame you. They’ll argue you weren’t watching where you were going, that the hazard was open and obvious, that your footwear was wrong, or that you were distracted by your phone. We’ve heard it all, and we know how to dismantle it. When you partner with the McKay Law family, we act quickly to lock down surveillance footage, incident reports, inspection logs, prior complaints, and witness statements before they can get lost. We chase compensation for emergency room visits, surgeries, dental and reconstructive procedures, physical therapy, mobility aids, prescription costs, future medical care, lost wages, and the pain, frustration, and disruption that follow a fall that should have never happened. Phone us now at (866) 679-9651 or reach out online to schedule your free consultation and get a firm that takes these cases seriously behind you.
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