Exercising Reasonable Care: Protecting Visitors from Accidents
When you visit a business establishment for shopping or entertainment purposes, the responsibility falls on the business to exercise reasonable care in ensuring your safety and preventing accidents like slip and falls. Slippery floors, faulty stairs, or broken chairs should not be your responsibility when you are a guest at someone’s place of business. If you suffer injuries due to their negligence, you may be eligible for compensation.
If you have experienced a slip and fall or any other injury on another person’s property and wish to determine your eligibility for damages to cover your medical expenses, reach out to the Tulsa slip and fall lawyer at Seventh Street Tulsa Law Firm today.
Premises Liability under Oklahoma Law
In Oklahoma, premises liability law is primarily based on common law principles that assign different levels of liability depending on the purpose of the visitor’s presence on the property. Visitors can be classified as invitees, licensees, or trespassers, each with distinct legal implications.
Even social guests or licensees who suffer injuries on someone else’s property may be entitled to compensation, although the property owner’s duty towards them is somewhat lesser than towards customers invited for commercial purposes. Property owners or those allowing social guests onto their premises have a responsibility to warn them of any hidden dangers that might not be easily noticeable.
Property Owners Have a Responsibility
Given that Oklahoma premises liability law generally favors property owners, seeking the assistance of a Tulsa premises liability attorney becomes crucial if you have been injured on someone else’s property. In 2004, Oklahoma enacted a tort reform bill that provides property owners with a defense against premises liability cases involving ordinary negligence when the plaintiff did not have authorization to be on the property.
While certain states offer special protection to children who trespass on properties without permission, Oklahoma laws are relatively unclear regarding children and premises liability.
However, if gross negligence can be proven or if “wanton or malicious acts of negligence” lead to injury of an individual or a child, the injured party may be eligible for compensation. This means that if a person was aware of the risks or had specific reasons to be aware of them but proceeded without considering the safety of others, they may be held liable for compensating the injured party, even if the injured person was not an invitee or licensee on the property.
Even in cases where a person is trespassing, the law generally acknowledges the duty of property owners not to use excessive force when protecting the property or authorized individuals.
Consult with a Tulsa Lawyer for Free
For a complimentary consultation with a Tulsa lawyer, contact Seventh Street Tulsa Law Firm at 918-932-2777. Alternatively, you can submit your inquiry using the form at the top right of this page.