Car Accidents

We’re Tulsa car accident lawyers with years of experience handling car accident cases throughout the State. If you’re involved in an automobile or truck accident in Oklahoma, you may be entitled to recover monetary damages from the other drivers insurance company.

In the event the other driver doesn’t have insurance you still may be entitled to a recovery from your own uninsured motorist insurance policy. It’s vital that you act quickly after being involved in an automobile accident. This is to insure that your legal rights are fully protected. The Personal Injury attorneys at Kania Law Office have the experience necessary to guide you through this complicated process. We provide our clients with referrals for medical treatment, rental cars, and prescription fulfillment. If you or a member of your family has been injured in a car accident don’t go it alone. The insurance company brings their adjusters and lawyers so you should bring yours.

Tulsa Car Accident Lawyers In Your Corner:

Oklahoma personal injury law is intricate, but typically requires that you prove (1) an injury has been sustained, (2) the defendant was negligence, and (3) the negligence was the direct cause of the injury sustained. Oklahoma Jury Instructions – Civil § Instruction 9.1. Negligence can be defined as the “failure to exercise care to avoid injury to another person.” Oklahoma Jury Instructions – Civil § Instruction 9.2. Ordinary care is the care which a reasonably careful person would use under the same or similar circumstances.

In addition to the three elements set out above, an injured person must be mindful of the possibility of the defense of comparative negligence. Our Tulsa car accident lawyers will tell you that Oklahoma has adopted the comparative negligence doctrine. This doctrine abolished the contributory negligence doctrine. The contributory negligence would disallow recovery by an injured person whose actions in some way, however small, contributed to the injury. The standard of comparative negligence, allows recovery by a injured person, so long as the the injured persons negligence was not greater than the negligence of a the defendant. Okla. Stat. tit. 23, § 13 (1979). However, where an injured person is partially responsibility for his or her injury, damages may be apportioned between the injured person and the defendant under comparative negligence. Okla. Stat. tit. 23, § 14 (1979).

Winning an Oklahoma Car Accident Case:

In order to prevail at a trial for the recovery of damages sustained in an Oklahoma motor vehicle accident, the aforementioned elements of negligence must be proven to the jury or judge by the “preponderance of the evidence” or the “greater weight of the evidence,” as it is described in Oklahoma Jury Instructions – Civil § Instruction 3.1. This is a much lower standard than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” burden most people are familiar with for criminal prosecution. Generally stated, it has to be more probable than not that the defendant was negligent and caused the claimed injuries.

Damages You’re Entitled To:

In an Oklahoma personal injury trial, the jury is instructed to consider the following when determining the award an injured person is entitled to:

• His or her physical pain and suffering, past and future;
• His or her mental pain and suffering, past  and future;
• His or her age;
• His or her physical condition immediately before and after the accident;
• The nature and extent of his or her  injuries;
• Whether the injuries are permanent;
• The physical impairment;
• The disfigurement;
• Loss of earnings and/or time;
• Impairment of earning capacity; and
• The reasonable expenses of the necessary medical care, treatment, and services, past and future.

Oklahoma Jury Instructions – Civil § Instruction 4.1. When the negligence of another person causes death, members of the decedent’s family may be entitled to additional or different compensation under a wrongful death action.

Things To Do When Your in a Car Wreck:

Immediately following an accident its important that you act in a manner to protect your rights and the evidence. A person injured in an accident should immediately:

• Check everyone’s condition and call 911 if  medical attention may be needed by anyone.
• Call the police and ensure that a detailed and accurate traffic collision report is made prior to leaving the scene. The police report is the single best evidence of the causation of an automobile accident.
• Do not make any statements to anyone other than the police regarding the causation of the accident. Do not admit fault, simply detail the events as they occurred.
• If possible, and safe for all parties, preserve the scene of the accident until the police arrive. This means not moving any vehicles and having possible witnesses remain at the scene.
• Gather the negligent party’s name, driver’s license number, and address.
• Obtain the other driver’s insurance company and policy number.
• In the event there are witnesses to the accident, gather their contact information and a description of what they witnessed.
• If safe to do so, take pictures of the scene, all vehicles involved, and all injuries sustained.
• Call your insurance company and advise of the incident.
• Contact an experienced injury attorney for a free consultation regarding your rights. Car accident attorneys, such as the attorney at the Kania Law Office, will work to make ensure that the insurance company treats you fairly and fully compensates you for the injury.

Tulsa Car Accident Lawyers Near You:

If you’ve been injured in a truck or car accident we want to speak with you. Injury law is about getting everything you’re entitled to. This includes pain suffering and medical treatment.  Beyond the all important dollar is the respect your owed. You didn’t cause your injury and need this to be understood. When you’ve been injured don’t go it alone. We care about you and your case. As always we don’t get paid until you get paid.