“Labor Omnia Vincit” McKay Law
Trip and fall incidents can happen in a split second—but the impact can change everything. When negligent maintenance in Mustang, OK ignores obvious dangers, innocent visitors get hurt. McKay Law represents trip-and-fall victims throughout OK. Unlike slip-and-falls where you slide on a wet surface—these falls happen when something unexpectedly snags your foot, throwing you forward with no time to brace. Common tripping hazards include sidewalk defects, parking lot hazards, store displays blocking paths, construction debris, and unmarked changes in floor elevation. Under Oklahoma premises liability law, owners must to maintain safe walking surfaces and warn visitors of any hazards—but winning your case requires the right evidence. Establishing liability requires proving 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 Mustang premises liability lawyers act quickly to lock in proof—security video, scene photos, employee testimony, and records of past incidents. Important evidence disappears fast, so time matters. Trip-and-fall injuries 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—with elderly victims facing increased risk of permanent disability. Property owners and their insurers will often try to blame the victim—we shut those tactics down with hard evidence. All of our premises liability claims is handled on a no-win, no-fee basis—zero upfront cost. Compensation may cover hospital costs, rehabilitation, lost income, future medical needs, and the lasting impact on your life. Contact McKay Law today for a free consultation with a Mustang, OK premises liability attorney who will fight to hold the negligent property owner accountable.
Trip-and-falls happen when you catch your foot and pitch forward. Different from slip-and-falls, where the foot loses traction, trip-and-falls happen when the foot is suddenly stopped, generally resulting in forward impact. The injuries are often equally serious — particularly wrist fractures, facial injuries, head trauma, and dental damage. Our firm fights for trip-and-fall victims in Mustang and across the state.
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 different duties owed to each:
Oklahoma follows modified comparative fault (Okla. Stat. tit. 23, § 13). You can recover if you bear no more than 50% of the fault, with damages reduced by your fault percentage.
You typically have 2 years from the date of the fall to file (Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 95). Government cases require notice within one year. Trip-and-fall cases demand fast action because critical video is routinely deleted on rolling cycles.
We move quickly to send preservation letters demanding surveillance video, secure measurements of height differentials and other hazard characteristics, pull maintenance logs and prior incident history, work with treating doctors, and treat each matter as trial-ready.
A: Trips stop your foot and pitch you forward; slips slide your foot and drop you back.
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: We hear this constantly. We push back with evidence about lighting, distractions, and the nature of the hazard.
A: No. Call us first.
A: Case value varies by injury severity, surgery, work loss, and lasting damage. Cases with broken wrists, facial damage, or head injuries can be substantial.
A: Different rules apply. Notice must be given within one year, and damages are capped.
A: 2 years from the date of the fall (Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 95). Government cases require one-year notice.
People confuse trips and slips, but they aren’t the same legal claim. These cases call for a different playbook. A local lawyer experienced with trip cases brings the right approach for trip-specific injuries.
People treat the two as synonyms, though the underlying physics and resulting injuries differ significantly.
In a slip, the foot loses traction and slides forward. The body pitches rearward.
In a trip, the foot catches on something. The body pitches forward.
The injuries from each type differ significantly.
Common trip-fall injuries are:
Trip hazards have a specific profile:
The proof requirements track standard premises liability:
The condition must be unreasonably dangerous. Some areas have minimum height standards. A vertical displacement of less than half an inch may not support a case in some jurisdictions, while anything over an inch typically does.
Awareness of the hazard drives most cases.
Unlike a fresh spill, trip hazards are typically not transient. Slip hazards can be momentary. These conditions are typically long-standing. Demonstrating the owner should have known is typically straightforward.
Causation must be established. Defense counsel may dispute this when the cause isn’t immediately apparent.
Documented injuries are required.
The most common defense in trip-and-fall cases. Defendants claim the hazard was visible and the plaintiff should have seen it. The doctrine has limits in many circumstances, especially when distractions made the hazard less obvious.
Defense counsel asserts comparative negligence. Comparative negligence may cut damages, they rarely eliminate viable claims.
“Sidewalks aren’t perfect”. The success of this argument depends on the size of the displacement.
Defense claims familiarity with the location should have prevented the fall. This defense has limited reach.
Property owners often repair the defect within days. Photos showing the dimensions of the hazard are essential.
Get an incident report on file. If no record is made, the property owner may deny the fall happened.
Other customers, neighbors, or employees who saw the fall strengthen the case significantly.
Prior incidents establish notice. These records often emerge during the case.
Symptoms often develop later. Same-day medical documentation creates the medical record insurers need to see.
Trip-and-fall liability depends on where the fall occurred:
Compensation can cover past and future medical care, physical therapy and rehabilitation, past and future income loss, reduced ability to work, loss of enjoyment of life, and impact on relationships where applicable.
Premises liability lawyers earn fees only on recovery. Free initial consultations are standard.
The hazard often disappears within days. Without contemporaneous documentation, the claim weakens significantly. Surveillance footage has limited retention. OK’s statute of limitations with shorter timelines for some defendants adds further urgency. Getting an attorney involved fast preserves every angle of the case.
An unmarked step 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 office building — have a legal obligation to preserve their walkways, parking lots, entrances, and floors in safe condition, and to notify visitors about hazards they can’t reasonably fix right away. When they ignore 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 come into the McKay Law family, we act quickly to capture surveillance footage, incident reports, inspection logs, prior complaints, and witness statements before they can be deleted. We fight for compensation for emergency room visits, surgeries, dental and reconstructive procedures, physical therapy, mobility aids, prescription costs, future medical care, lost wages, and the ongoing struggle that follow a fall that should have never happened. Contact us now at (866) 679-9651 or reach out online to arrange your free consultation and put a firm that takes these cases seriously behind you.
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