Can I Still Collect Damages If I’m Partially at Fault In A Motorcycle Accident in Oklahoma?

If you are partially at fault in a motorcycle or other vehicle accident, you are still entitled to damages. Motorcycle safety is the responsibility of all drivers on the road—automobiles, trucks, and motorcyclists. The risk of serious injury in an accident is more severe for motorcyclists who don’t have the solid body of a car, as well as seat belts, airbags, and other safety features to protect them in the event of a crash.

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When you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident, the first thing on your mind is recovering from your injuries and repairing your bike. As you begin to understand what it might cost to recover after the crash, you may begin to wonder if you can still collect damages for the costs and injuries you suffered if you were partially at fault in the motorcycle accident. The good news is that the answer may be yes – you might be able to get compensation for what you’ve gone through and the bills that have to be paid even if you were partly to blame in causing the crash, but it depends on some key issues that have to be answered first. 

Oklahoma laws follow what is called modified comparative fault for all personal injury accidents, including motorcycle crashes. In simple terms, modified comparative fault means that someone who is partially responsible for causing the crash can still recover monetary damages for their losses, so long as their fault is less than the other drivers in the crash. So, it’s possible that you can recover damages for injuries and expenses caused by the accident even if you were partially responsible for causing the crash. 

Negligence Principles

In any personal injury claim, the person who is trying to get compensation for their injuries must prove that the other person was negligent. There are four elements to proving legal negligence, which include showing that someone:

• Had a duty of care. Every driver on the road has a duty of care to behave carefully to not cause a crash with any other driver.
• Breached their duty of care. A breach of duty happens when someone violates a traffic law, such as by speeding, going through a stop sign, or even when a driver is careless, such as being distracted by a phone or something else and not paying attention to the road.
• Caused damages. When vehicles collide, it is usually caused by someone’s failure to take care.
• Injured someone. Injuries can include physical or emotional suffering that results from the crash, as well as property damage to the cars involved.

Modified Comparative Fault

Oklahoma law follows a rule called modified comparative fault, meaning that someone who contributed to or was partly at fault in causing a crash can only get monetary damages for their injuries if they were less than 51% at fault. In other words, so long as your percentage of blame for the cause of the crash is less than the other drivers involved, you can be compensated for your injuries. So, if you were found to be 30% responsible for the motorcycle crash, you can still recover damages, including medical treatment for the other portion of fault, 70% in that case. So, if your total injuries were valued at $10,000, you could recover $7,000.

Proving Negligence And Damages

Because of the rule of modified comparative fault in Oklahoma, it is critical after a motorcycle crash to be able to prove that the other driver in the accident was more at fault in causing it than you were. If you’ve been involved in a motorcycle accident, it is crucial to have a police report to help establish what happened. Police are trained in assessing the crash to determine what happened and making a report that can be used to help prove the facts of the case.

Guidance When You Are Partially at Fault in Oklahoma

Understanding comparative negligence laws in Oklahoma is critical to recovering damages in including medical care, when you are partially at fault in your motorcycle accident. It’s easy for the insurance company to call the shots when it comes to liability if you are not represented. Don’t go it alone when the stakes are this high. For a free consultation with a Tulsa motorcycle accident attorney, call Kania Law Office at 918.743.2233. Or you can follow this link to ask a free online legal question.