A plain-English guide | Reams Law | November 2026

You slipped on a wet floor at a grocery store, tripped over a broken curb in a parking lot, or fell on an icy entryway. You are hurt, and when you report it, the store’s insurance adjuster has a ready answer: the hazard was “open and obvious,” so the store owes you nothing.

That defense is real in Oklahoma, but it is not the automatic win insurers make it sound like. Here is how an Oklahoma slip and fall claim works and how these cases are won.

What a business owes its customers

Customers are “invitees” under Oklahoma law, and a business owes them the highest duty of care owed to visitors: to keep the premises reasonably safe and to warn of hidden dangers it knows about or should discover through reasonable inspection. That includes spills, leaks, torn mats, poor lighting, broken stairs and handrails, and uneven walkways.

To recover, an injured customer generally must show that a dangerous condition existed, that the business created it, knew about it, or should have known about it, and that the condition caused the injury.

The “open and obvious” defense

A property owner generally has no duty to protect visitors from dangers that are open and obvious. Insurers stretch that rule as far as it will go. But there are real limits:

• Visible is not the same as obvious. A hazard can be technically visible and still not be apparent to a reasonable person in the circumstances — a clear liquid on a shiny floor, a single step in a dim hallway, or a hazard hidden by store displays that are designed to draw the eye.
• Foreseeable harm. In Wood v. Mercedes-Benz of Oklahoma City (2014), the Oklahoma Supreme Court held that an owner can still owe a duty where it should have foreseen that someone would be injured despite the obviousness of the hazard — in that case, a worker who had no choice but to cross ice the business had created.
• It is usually a jury question. Whether a condition was open and obvious often depends on disputed facts, which means the case goes to a jury rather than being dismissed.

Comparative fault

Oklahoma reduces a recovery by the injured person’s share of fault and bars recovery only if that person was more at fault than the defendants. “You should have watched where you were going” is an argument about percentages, not necessarily a complete defense.

Evidence disappears quickly

• Surveillance video is often recorded over within days or weeks. A written preservation demand should go out immediately.
• Incident reports, inspection and sweep logs, and maintenance records show what the store knew and when.
• Your shoes and clothing. Keep them, unwashed.
• Photographs of the hazard, the area, the lighting, and any warning signs (or lack of them).
• Witness names and contact information, including employees who responded.

What to do after a fall

1. Report it to the manager and ask for a copy of the incident report.
2. Take photos before the hazard is cleaned up.
3. Get medical care right away and describe how the fall happened.
4. Do not give a recorded statement to the store’s insurer.
5. Contact a lawyer promptly so video is preserved.

Deadlines

Most Oklahoma premises liability claims must be filed within two years. If the fall happened on city, county, school, or state property, the Governmental Tort Claims Act requires written notice within one year and imposes other strict requirements.

Frequently asked questions

The store offered to pay my emergency room bill. Should I accept?

Be careful. Small “medical payments” offers sometimes come with a release, and you may not yet know the full extent of your injuries.

What if there was a “wet floor” sign?

A sign helps the store, but it does not end the inquiry. Where the sign was, whether you could see it, and whether the store should have fixed the hazard rather than just flagging it all matter.

Do I need an expert?

Sometimes. Flooring and safety experts can measure slip resistance and code compliance. See our article on flooring experts in slip and fall cases.

Talk to Reams Law

Reams Law represents people injured on unsafe property throughout Oklahoma. Call (405) 285-6878 or contact us online. Learn more on our Premises Liability page.

This article discusses Oklahoma law in general terms. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not make anyone a client of this firm. Statutes change, courts reinterpret them, and the outcome of any matter depends on its own facts. Speak with a lawyer about your situation specifically.