Start with the place, the people who controlled it, and the condition as it existed then.

Pin down the entrance, aisle, parking space, stair, sidewalk, apartment common area, pool deck, loading zone, restroom, work area, or other location. Obtain the legal description and parcel. Also collect leases, subleases, easements, maintenance agreements, management contracts, vendor scopes, work orders, construction records, permits, and insurance material. A titled owner, tenant, franchisee, property manager, shopping-center operator, or homeowners association may control some functions. Contractors, utilities, event organizers, public bodies, or adjacent occupants may control others.

Document why the injured person was there, who invited or permitted the visit, which route was expected, whether the activity benefited the possessor, and what limits or warnings applied. Oklahoma entrant classifications and duties are legal questions tied to facts. A customer, tenant, guest, delivery driver, contractor, child, emergency responder, recreational user, person crossing an easement, and person outside the scope of permission should not be assigned an invitee, licensee, trespasser, or other status from a label alone.

Record wide, medium, and close views; the approach from the visitor's eye level. Lighting with comparable time and weather; dimensions; slope; elevation change; friction or surface condition when a qualified inspection is appropriate. Warning placement; sight lines; handrails; drainage; merchandise; mats; doors; cameras; and nearby traffic. Preserve clothing, footwear, equipment, broken pieces, packaging, receipts, location data, contemporaneous messages, medical-response records, and witness contacts. Do not enter private property unlawfully or change the scene.

Operational evidence can include surveillance in native form, incident reports, inspection and sweep logs, cleaning records, maintenance requests, work orders, complaints, prior events, repair bids, invoices, employee assignments, training, opening and closing checks, weather and leak records, access-control data, alarm logs, security reports, contracts, leases, photographs, permits, code inspections, risk-management material, and insurer investigations. Ownership, custody, privacy, privilege, retention, authenticity, admissibility, and discoverability differ by source.

Define the condition and claimed act: hazard creation, unreasonable inspection, delayed cleanup, defective repair, inadequate warning, poor lighting, missing barriers, negligent undertaking, deficient security, animal-control failure, or another theory. Apply current Oklahoma law to actual and constructive notice, recurring conditions, employee creation, open-and-obvious issues, foreseeable harm, statutory purpose, code applicability, and entrant knowledge. An internal policy or building provision may supply evidence without becoming the civil standard by itself.

Test movement, contact, fall direction, visibility, attention, footwear, assistance, environment, prior symptoms, and immediate complaints. Connect later diagnoses to the event while considering prior disease, degeneration, earlier injury, medication, and other causes. Evaluate comparative conduct from reliable evidence, not blame.

Confirm the legal names and registered entities for the event date, the parcel and lease history, vendor relationships, public jurisdiction, and insurance contacts. A city street, county building, state facility, public trust, housing authority, school, tribal property, federal site, contractor-operated facility, or privately managed public space can present distinct immunity, notice, forum, service, records, and defendant questions. Do not direct a public notice until counsel verifies the actor and statute.

Calendar surveillance and access-data overwrite, maintenance-system retention, incident and insurer material, public-records access, inspection opportunities, repairs, product preservation, limitations, public notice, federal or tribal procedure, contractual notice, arbitration, minors or incapacity, death, insurance, benefits, liens, and venue. Continued treatment, a store investigation, an agency complaint, repair work, or settlement discussion should not be assumed to protect a filing period.