“Labor Omnia Vincit” McKay Law
Falls caused by tripping hazards happen without warning—but the injuries can last a lifetime. When a property owner in Owasso, OK allows tripping hazards to exist, innocent visitors get hurt. McKay Law advocates for trip-and-fall victims throughout OK. While slip-and-fall accidents involve loss of traction—trip-and-falls happen when your foot catches on something, sending you into an uncontrolled forward fall. Common tripping hazards include 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. The law requires property owners to exercise reasonable care to protect visitors from foreseeable trip hazards—but winning your case requires the right evidence. To win a trip-and-fall claim the hazard existed, the owner knew or should have known about it, they failed to fix or warn about it, and that failure caused your injuries. Our Owasso trip and fall accident attorneys act quickly to lock in proof—surveillance footage before it’s erased, photographs of the hazard, incident reports, witness statements, maintenance and inspection records, and prior complaints about the same condition. Important evidence disappears fast, so calling an attorney early is critical. These accidents often cause severe sprains, multiple fractures, concussions, dental and facial damage, and long-term mobility problems—with elderly victims facing increased risk of permanent disability. Property owners and their insurers love to claim the hazard was “open and obvious”—we shut those tactics down with hard evidence. Every trip-and-fall case is handled on a contingency fee basis—no fees unless we recover. Compensation may cover emergency room costs, surgeries, ongoing therapy, missed work, and physical and emotional suffering. Reach out to McKay Law right away for a free consultation with a Owasso, OK trip-and-fall lawyer who will fight to hold the negligent property owner accountable.
Trip-and-falls happen when you catch your foot and pitch forward. Unlike slip-and-falls, where the foot slides, trip-and-falls happen when the foot is abruptly caught, typically producing forward falls onto hands, knees, or face. The injuries can be just as severe as slip-and-falls — especially broken wrists, facial fractures, head injuries, and dental damage. McKay Law advocates for trip-and-fall victims in Owasso and throughout Oklahoma.
The two types of falls work differently and produce different injuries:
Trip-and-fall injuries are usually to the front of the body. Slip-and-falls hit the back and sides.
Oklahoma law classifies visitors into three categories, with property owners owing different duties to each:
Oklahoma uses a modified comparative negligence system (Okla. Stat. tit. 23, § 13). You can still recover if you are 50% or less at fault, though your share reduces the final award.
The deadline in Oklahoma is two years from the date of the fall to file (Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 95). Cases on public sidewalks trigger one-year GTCA notice requirements. Quick action is critical because video evidence vanishes fast.
We get to work immediately to send preservation letters demanding surveillance video, document the hazard with photos, measurements, and expert analysis, investigate the property’s records, coordinate with treating providers, and treat each matter as trial-ready.
A: Different mechanics, different injury patterns.
A: Nothing. No recovery, no fee.
A: Could be a claim. 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: Depends on injury severity, treatment, lost income, and permanent impact. Wrist fractures, facial injuries, and TBI cases carry significant value.
A: Government claims follow special procedures. 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-fall accidents get lumped in with slip-and-falls, but they’re genuinely different cases. Different mechanics, different injuries, different defenses. An attorney familiar with these specific claims knows how to build them on their own terms.
The two get conflated constantly, but the mechanics are different and the cases play out differently.
A slip is loss of friction. The body pitches rearward.
In a trip, the foot catches on something. The body falls in the direction of travel.
These different falls cause different harm.
Common trip-fall injuries are:
Trip hazards have a specific profile:
Like other premises cases, these claims have specific elements:
Minor irregularities don’t necessarily support liability. Some areas have minimum height standards. Tiny defects may not support a case in some jurisdictions, while more substantial defects support claims clearly.
Knew or should have known is essential.
Unlike a fresh spill, trip hazards are typically not transient. Slip cases often struggle on the duration question. Trip hazards tend to have substantial history. The notice element is often stronger in trip cases.
The defect must have caused the trip. Defense counsel may dispute this when the fall wasn’t directly observed.
Medical proof of harm.
The dominant defense argument. Defendants claim the hazard was visible and the plaintiff should have seen it. OK courts apply the doctrine with varying strictness, especially when distractions made the hazard less obvious.
Defense counsel asserts comparative negligence. Shared-fault arguments may impact damages, they typically allow recovery to continue.
Defense counsel claims minor variations don’t support liability. How this argument plays out turns on the measurable extent of the hazard.
“You’ve been here before”. Prior familiarity doesn’t necessarily defeat a claim.
Property owners often repair the defect within days. Pictures with a coin or ruler for scale are essential.
Make sure a record is created. Without contemporaneous documentation, the property owner may deny the fall happened.
Anyone present when the fall occurred strengthen the case significantly.
Prior incidents establish notice. Counsel can investigate prior incidents.
Adrenaline masks injury. Same-day medical documentation creates the medical record insurers need to see.
Different defendants emerge based on the property type:
Recoverable losses include surgical expenses, ongoing care for permanent injuries, past and future income loss, permanent occupational limitations, pain and suffering, and effects on family where applicable.
Counsel handling these cases earn fees only on recovery. First meetings carry no charge.
The hazard often disappears within days. Without photographs taken at the time, the case can become very difficult to prove. Video proof has limited retention. OK’s statute of limitations — particularly the shorter deadlines for government property claims — adds further urgency. Getting an attorney involved fast preserves every angle of the case.
A cracked sidewalk 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 require reconstructive surgery. Property owners — whether they run a retail shop — have a legal obligation to hold their walkways, parking lots, entrances, and floors in safe condition, and to alert visitors about hazards they can’t reasonably fix right away. When they skip that duty, people get hurt. At McKay Law, we examine how the hazard came to exist, how long it had been there, whether anyone reported it, and what the property owner did — or neglected 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 capture surveillance footage, incident reports, inspection logs, prior complaints, and witness statements before they can conveniently disappear. We chase compensation for emergency room visits, surgeries, dental and reconstructive procedures, physical therapy, mobility aids, prescription costs, future medical care, time off work, and the daily hardship that follow a fall that should have never happened. Call us right away at (866) 679-9651 or reach out online to arrange your free consultation and place a firm that takes these cases seriously in your corner.
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