Oklahoma City Car Accident Lawyer

After a car accident, you probably feel overwhelmed, even if your injuries are minor. If you suffered catastrophic injuries, the emotional, physical, and financial toll on you and your family is high, and if you lost a loved one in a car accident, even higher. The last thing you want to do is argue with insurance companies to recover the compensation you deserve.

However, whether you have minor or life-altering injuries, you need an experienced car accident lawyer to represent your interests and ensure you receive the compensation you deserve – not what the insurance company wants to pay because it is trying to save money. Reach out to a Oklahoma City car accident lawyer.

Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, has many years of experience handling insurance settlements and litigation for car accident injuries and fatalities. Contact us for a free case evaluation as soon after the accident as possible.

Why Choose Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA

The car accident lawyers at Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, use their experience in fighting insurance companies and litigation car accident cases to help you recover the compensation you deserve. After a car accident, you should be able to concentrate on recovering, not fighting with insurance companies who want to deny your claim or offer you a pittance.

Our lawyers have settled and litigated many cases – we have just as much experience in settlement negotiations as we do in litigation, so you won't be left out in the cold with an attorney with more experience in settlement negotiations when you need an experienced litigation attorney or vice versa.

One of the questions prospective clients have is, "What kind of case results do you have?"

These are some of our case results:

• $3,850,000.00 for a brain injury in a semi-truck accident.
• $3,200,000.00 for a brain injury in a car accident.
• $1,875,000.00 for a one-level cervical fusion and mild traumatic brain injury in an auto accident (disputed liability).
• $1,580,000.00 for two herniated discs that impinged on the spinal cord in an auto accident.
• $1,400,000.00 for multiple severe injuries in a motorcycle accident.
• $1,000,000.00 for wrongful death in a rideshare accident.
• $1,000,000.00 for a car accident (confidential injuries).
• $775,000.00 for injuries a father and son suffered in a car accident – full recovery.

Car Accidents in Oklahoma City: The Most Dangerous Intersections

Car accidents happen quickly. Sometimes, you can avoid accidents by taking evasive action. In other cases, traffic blocks you from getting out of the way, or you don't see the car coming at you until it's too late to take evasive action, especially in an intersection.

Oklahoma City sees many accidents every year. Some of the most dangerous intersections in the city include:

• West Expressway and Rockwell.
• West Expressway and Lake Hefner Parkway (west side).
• West Expressway and Lake Hefner Parkway (east side).
• West Expressway and Belle Isle Boulevard.
• West Expressway and Penn.
• West Expressway and Portland.
• West Expressway and N.W. 63rd.
• Western Avenue and S.W. 59th Street.
• West 39th Expressway and Meridian.
• MacArthur and Reno Avenue.

In many cases, the negligent behavior of others causes car accidents, though in some cases, an unforeseen medical emergency could cause an accident. An Oklahoma City car accident lawyer can review your case and help determine whether a driver's negligent behavior caused the accident.

How to Determine Negligence

Determining negligence is a complicated process that your Oklahoma City car accident lawyer can determine once the attorney reviews the facts.

To determine negligence, you must show:

• The defendant had a duty of care to keep others safe on the roads. In other words, obey the rules of the road and not drive aggressively or carelessly.
• The defendant breached the duty of care, for example, by speeding.
• The defendant's breach caused the accident.
• The accident caused your injuries.
• Your injuries caused financial losses, including financial responsibilities for medical expenses, loss of income, pain, suffering, and other damages.

Types of Accidents in Oklahoma City

The severity of injuries partially depends on the type of accident you are in. Other factors include the speed, size, and weight of the vehicles.

Types of accident injuries include:

• Head-on crashes.
• Rear-end wrecks.
• Sideswipe accidents.
• T-bone accidents.
• Rollover accidents.

Causes of these accidents include:

• Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
• Driving while distracted.
• Driving too fast for conditions, including the type of road or the weather.
• Poor vehicle maintenance.
• Poor road maintenance.
• A tired driver.
• Speeding and aggressive speeding.
• Driving aggressively or recklessly.
• Ignoring traffic control devices.
• Ignoring traffic laws.

Car Accident Injuries

The type and severity of injuries you sustain in a car accident include:

• Bumps, bruises, cuts, scratches, and scrapes.
• Road rash.
• Strains and sprains.
• Pulled and torn muscles and other soft tissue injuries.
• Chemical and thermal burns.
• Face and eye injuries.
• Ear injuries, including deafness, if the accident includes an explosion.
• Simple and compound fractures.
• Crushed bones and crush injuries.
• Internal injuries.
• Head, neck, and shoulder injuries.
• Traumatic brain injuries.
• Back and spinal cord injuries.
• Amputation of a digit or limb.

Recovering Damages After an Oklahoma City Car Accident

After a car accident, you can recover compensation in the form of compensatory damages and punitive damages. Compensatory damages have two categories: Economic damages and non-economic damages. Most people recover economic damages, while only some can recover non-economic damages.

Economic Damages

Sometimes referred to as special damages, economic damages have a monetary value and include:

Medical Expenses

• Doctors' appointments.
• Surgeries and follow-up appointments.
• Prescriptions and prescribed over-the-counter medications.
• Ambulatory aids.
• Physical therapy appointments.
• Cognitive therapy appointments.
• Occupational therapy appointments.
• Psychological therapy appointments.
• Accessibility aids for your vehicle, including wheelchair lifts and ramps and hand controls.
• Accessibility aids for your home, including but not limited to wheelchair ramps, handrails, grab bars, and widened doorways.

Income

If you lose income, whether wages or another form of income, because your accident injuries or disabilities caused by accident injuries prevent you from working, you could recover lost income.

If long-term disabilities caused by accident injuries prevent you from doing the job you used to do, you could recover:

• Full compensation for loss of earning capacity until you retire;
• Partial compensation for loss of earning capacity if you are only able to work part-time; and
• Partial compensation for loss of earning capacity if you can work full-time but not in the job or at the rate you had before the accident. For example, if you had a physical job before the accident but now can only work at an office job that pays less, you could recover the difference in pay.

Personal Property

You can recover compensation to repair or replace personal property damaged or destroyed in the accident, including your vehicle and anything of value in the vehicle.

Death-Related Expenses

You can recover compensation for death-related expenses, including:

• Funeral expenses.
• Burial expenses.
• Cremation expenses.
• Certain probate court fees.
• Probate attorney's fees and costs.

Non-Economic Damages

While only some people can recover non-economic damages, they can be a large portion of the settlement. In most cases, you can only recover non-economic damages if you lost a loved one or if your car accident injuries caused long-term or permanent disabilities.

While most insurance companies have their own definitions of long-term and permanent, the Social Security Administration defines these disabilities as resulting in your death or more than 12 months.

Non-economic damages, sometimes referred to as general damages, include:

• Pain and suffering, including emotional distress.
• Loss of quality of life if you have to make life-long changes, such as using ambulatory aids or taking prescription medications for the rest of your life.
• Loss of consortium if you can no longer enjoy a physical relationship with your spouse.
• Loss of companionship if you can no longer enjoy spending time with your family or attend family activities and events.
• Loss of use of a body part, such as an arm or foot.
• Loss of use of a bodily function, such as your eyesight or bladder control.
• Inconvenience if you have to hire someone to do the chores you usually do, including but not limited to house cleaning, grocery shopping, lawn maintenance, and home repair and maintenance.
• Excessive scarring and/or disfigurement.
• Amputation of a digit or limb.

Punitive Damages

Oklahoma allows you to recover punitive damages. However, you must prove that the defendant's actions or inactions were more than simple negligence. For example, running a traffic control device may be simple negligence, but the court might see racing down a crowded sidewalk or driving under the influence as grossly negligent behavior.

Why Retain a Car Accident Lawyer in Oklahoma City: Fighting the Insurance Companies

Many people think they can make out better if they don't hire an attorney. That is one of the insurance company's tricks – it tells you that you won't have to share your settlement with the lawyer. However, the insurance company doesn't want you to have an attorney because it knows it won't be able to pay you a pittance.

Some of the tricks insurance companies use in addition to the above include:

• Ghosting you in the hopes that you will give up on your case or until deadlines pass so you can't take legal action.
• Telling you that the low amount it offers is the most it can pay. This is usually a lie.
• Twisting what you say to make it look like you are at fault for the accident so it can deny your claim or offer you a pittance.

These are just some of the tricks insurance companies use. Because a settlement cuts into the insurance company's profits, they will try these and other tricks to deny a claim. Barring that, they'll offer a pittance – just enough to make you go away.

Once you accept a settlement from an insurance company, you cannot return later to collect more if you find it insufficient to cover medical expenses and other losses.

How Can You Help Your Case?

You can help your car accident attorney with your case by keeping a journal and receipts, following treatment plans, and obtaining some evidence.

• Write about the accident as you remember it and your path to recovery, including documenting doctors' appointments and the amount of pain you feel each day.
• Document what you discussed or did during various therapy appointments. Documentation of occupational and physical therapy can show that the accident caused physical disabilities. Documentation of cognitive therapy can show how a traumatic brain injury affected you. Finally, documentation of psychological therapy shows how the accident affected you, including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Follow all treatment plans. The defendant will use missed appointments against you, stating that you are not hurt as badly as you claim since you didn't attend all of your appointments.
• Obtain a copy of the police report and your medical records, if possible. If you have trouble obtaining these items, let your attorney know immediately.

While you cannot use your journal in court, it helps your car accident lawyer at Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, plan a strategy for settlement negotiations or, should the insurance company refuse a fair and reasonable settlement, litigation.

Contact an Oklahoma City Car Accident Lawyer

If you suffered injuries or lost a loved one in a car wreck, a car accident lawyer can look out for your interests and help you recover the compensation you deserve. Contact Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, at 833-552-7274 (833-55-CRASH) for your free, no-obligation case evaluation.

The Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, works with local counsel in any jurisdiction outside Florida for the purpose of filing lawsuits in jurisdictions wherein we are not licensed. Thus, we will follow each state's ethical rules to ensure a local attorney is involved.