Injuries at Apartment Complexes in Oklahoma

Apartment complexes offer convenient and affordable living arrangements for Oklahoma residents, but when injuries occur, visitors and residents are often left wondering about their legal options. When landlords fail to maintain common areas, fix obvious and reported hazards, or address security risks, injuries often follow.

Learn more about the most common causes of apartment complex injuries in Oklahoma, your legal options after an injury, and proving what happened to you. For more personalized guidance regarding your injury, call Biby Law Firm Injury and Accident Lawyers. With offices in Tulsa and Grove, we’re here to help.

What causes injuries at Oklahoma apartment complexes?

Apartments present unique safety challenges, including those in shared spaces that aren’t controlled by any one tenant (the ones that are the responsibility of the property owner). Common hazards here include stairwells, sidewalks, parking lots, laundry rooms, and pools. When maintenance is delayed or management ignores obvious hazards, residents and visitors are unfairly exposed to unnecessary risks.

Injured people often hesitate when it comes to reporting injuries or taking legal action. They assume that apartment complex injuries are just part of living in a shared space, but that isn’t the case. Some tenants worry that reporting injuries or unsafe conditions could lead to retaliation; however, Oklahoma law restricts landlords from retaliating against tenants who make good-faith complaints about health or safety issues.

Issues you should watch out for as a tenant or visitor include:

• Slip and fall hazards, such as cracked and uneven sidewalks, broken or loose stairs, wet floors without signs, and poor lighting in stairwells and parking lots

• Poor maintenance and general unsafe conditions, such as faulty elevators, broken flooring, ceiling collapses, and fire hazards caused by building code violations.

• Inadequate security and criminal acts, often resulting from broken gates or locks, poor lighting, inadequate security measures, and an inability to address tenants who leave doors propped open (this is largely based on whether or not criminal acts are foreseeable).

The more amenities an apartment complex has, the more dangers tenants and visitors may face. For example, apartment complexes that accept dogs run the risk of dog bites, and those with swimming pools or exercise rooms may have injuries or even deaths caused by inadequate maintenance.

Who is responsible under the Oklahoma premises liability law?

Under Oklahoma personal injury law, it’s possible for property owners and managers to be liable for apartment complex injuries. Generally, these parties have an obligation to:

• Keep common areas in a reasonably safe condition

• Conduct regular inspections to look for hazards

• Repair known dangers in a reasonable amount of time

• Warn residents and visitors of unsafe conditions

• Take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable criminal acts

You’ll notice that the term “reasonable” comes up a lot in that list – that’s because property owners have a specific legal duty to reasonably keep property safe and minimize injuries. They don’t have to do everything possible to prevent injuries, nor are they automatically liable for any injuries that occur. When the court determines whether or not someone is liable for an injury, they compare their actions to those of a reasonable person in the same scenario.

Liability may shift based on when a hazard appears and when it is addressed by property management. For example, if a stair is broken at 1:00 P.M. and someone falls on it at 1:05 P.M., it would be hard to argue that the property owner or manager should have known about the hazard or addressed it. That isn’t the case if a stair is broken at 1:00 P.M. and it’s still broken a week later, with no sign or tape to keep people from using it, or if the apartment complex had been warned that the stair was in a deteriorated state before the moment it completely broke.

How to prove an apartment injury claim in Oklahoma

Evidence is king when it comes to personal injury claims in Oklahoma, so it’s important to think about what may prove your claim from the very beginning. We know it’s hard to think about legal logistics when you’re dealing with an injury, but the sooner you start gathering evidence, the easier it may be for your premises liability lawyer to prove your case. Some types of evidence we recommend include:

• Photos and videos of the hazardous condition – try to get photos and video from different angles and distances to highlight its visibility (or lack of visibility).

• Maintenance logs and repair requests, especially if a hazardous condition was reported to property management multiple times without any action on their part.

• Police reports if the issue is criminal acts in poorly secured or poorly lit areas of the apartment complex.

• Surveillance footage, which often needs to be preserved early before it is erased or overwritten by new footage.

• Witness statements.

What should you do after an injury at an Oklahoma apartment complex?

You’ve been injured at an apartment complex, either as a tenant or visitor, here are your next steps:

• Document the scene: If you cannot take photos or video footage, have a friend or witness help you with this task.

• Seek medical attention: Prompt medical care protects your health and creates documentation that links your injuries to the incident.

• Report the incident in writing: Notify property management or the landlord right away. If you have to fill out an incident report, read it carefully before signing to ensure you aren’t accepting responsibility or waiving your right to sue. Request a copy of the incident report.

• Document everything: Take photos of your injuries as they change and keep copies of medical reports, medical bills, and reports on missed days at work.

• Be careful about talking to insurance companies: The insurance company may try to get a recorded statement out of you or offer a lowball settlement. They may also tell you in order to evaluate your medical claims, you need to sign a medical authorization. You should talk to a lawyer before you give any statements or sign any documents.

• Talk to an Oklahoma premises liability attorney: Your attorney can help advocate for full and fair compensation.

Discuss your next steps with Biby Law Firm Injury and Accident Lawyers

If you’ve been injured at an Oklahoma apartment complex, let’s talk about your next steps. Call us today or contact us online.