Tulsa Car Accident Lawyer

Tulsa is a bustling city and home to hundreds of thousands of Oklahoma motorists. As in any large metropolitan area, Tulsa drivers are at an increased risk of being in a car accident. Victims who are injured in automobile accidents caused by someone else’s carelessness may be entitled to compensation under Tulsa’s car accident laws. Contact our car accident lawyer in Tulsa today.

If you were hurt in a wreck, talking to a knowledgeable Tulsa personal injury attorney and filing an injury claim could be the first step toward obtaining money that protects your family and ensures your well-being. Our Tulsa auto accident lawyers can help you gain compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and even pain and suffering.

What Are Some Recent Oklahoma Car Accident Statistics?

According to the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, over 65,000 motor vehicle crashes occurred in the state in one recent year. Of these, nearly 12,000 crashes resulted in possible injuries, while about 7,000 accidents caused minor injuries. Another almost 2,000 motor vehicle accidents caused severe injuries, and about 700 collisions resulted in fatalities.

How Do I Deal with Insurance Companies After a Car Crash?

Most car accident cases involve claims filed with insurance companies. Although we buy insurance to protect ourselves financially after a car crash, insurance companies look out for their interests rather than those of their policyholders or injured accident victims. As a result, insurers can make it challenging to secure compensation for injuries and losses you sustain in a car accident, even when the other driver caused the crash.

Insurance adjusters have numerous tactics to minimize car accident claims. You need experienced legal representation to handle insurance companies and maximize the compensation you receive after a collision.

You can also protect your interests by familiarizing yourself with tips to deal with car insurance companies, including:

• Report an accident to the insurance company as soon as possible. Delaying your car insurance claim may result in losing evidence, which may motivate the insurer to delay or deny your claim due to a lack of proof.
• Avoid making statements that an adjuster might interpret as an admission of fault, such as “I didn’t see the other driver” or “I’m sorry.”
• Watch what you say when discussing your condition. Even saying something like “I’m okay” in response to the adjuster asking, “How are you doing?” might get used to minimize your claim.
• Decline to sign a medical release or provide a written or recorded statement, as insurance companies use these to dig for evidence against your claim.
• Always have an attorney review any documents from the insurance company before signing them.

How Do I Handle an Auto Accident Involving Uber or Lyft?

Getting into a car crash with a rideshare vehicle operating for a company like Uber or Lyft presents various challenges since rideshare companies do not employ their drivers. However, Oklahoma law requires rideshare companies or their drivers to carry insurance coverage. The minimum required coverage varies depending on the rideshare driver’s status at the time of the accident:

• If the driver has logged onto the rideshare network but does not have a ride request, they must carry:
  • $50,000 per person of bodily injury liability coverage
  • $100,000 per accident of bodily injury liability coverage
  • $25,000 per accident of property damage liability coverage
• If the driver has accepted a ride request or has a rideshare passenger in the vehicle, they must carry:
  • $1 million in combined liability coverage

Drivers hit by Uber or Lyft vehicles can file claims against the rideshare company’s insurance coverage by reporting the collision through the company’s website. You can also best protect your rights by consulting a Tulsa car accident lawyer from Edwards & Patterson Law to discuss what steps you can take to pursue financial recovery after a rideshare accident.

How Is Fault Determined in an Oklahoma Car Accident?

Law enforcement, insurance companies, and juries consider various pieces of evidence to determine the causes of a car wreck and identify the parties at fault. Examples of evidence used to determine fault for an Oklahoma car accident include:

• Police accident reports
• Eyewitness reports
• Surveillance, traffic camera, or dashcam footage
• Accident scene photos and videos
• Driver cell phone records
• Vehicle event data recorder (“black box”) logs
• Vehicle repair and maintenance records
• Post-accident vehicle inspections
• Accident reconstruction expert testimony and reports

How Do I Know If I Have a Case?

You may have a car accident claim if you got hurt and suffered property damage in a crash caused by another driver’s negligence. Some of the common reasons for car wrecks in Tulsa include:

• Speeding or driving too fast for conditions
• Reckless driving, such as excessive speeding or swerving around traffic
• Tailgating
• Failure to use turn signals
• Failure to check blind spots
• Illegal or unsafe turns, lane changes, or passes
• Disregarding traffic control signs and signals
• Distracted driving
• Drowsy driving
• Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• Aggressive driving or road rage

A Tulsa car accident lawyer from Edwards & Patterson Law can review the facts and evidence in your case to help you determine whether you may have a viable claim to recover compensation.

What Compensation Can I Receive After a Car Accident?

Getting quality medical treatment is essential if you’ve been injured in a car accident. Depending on the severity of the motor vehicle accident, specialized medical care may last a lifetime. But it’s no secret that medical costs are astronomical in the United States. It’s shocking to see how quickly the bills add up ― a single aspirin could cost as much as $15 during a hospital stay! Add to that the costs for therapy, prescriptions, follow-up care, and repairing or replacing your motor vehicle, and you are shouldering a hefty financial burden.

If you’ve suffered a catastrophic injury from a car crash, the collision lawyers at Edwards & Patterson Law can help you recover money to cover expenses caused by your injury, including:

• Medical costs and anticipated future expenses
• Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
• Property damage
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Other damages

How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit for a Car Accident in Oklahoma?

Under Oklahoma’s statute of limitations on injury claims, you have two years to file a car accident lawsuit against an at-fault driver in most cases. Because the law limits the time you have to file a personal injury lawsuit after a collision in Oklahoma, talk to a Tulsa car accident lawyer from Edwards & Patterson Law as soon as possible. They will help prepare your legal claims so you can file them before applicable deadlines expire.

How Much Will It Cost to Hire a Car Accident Attorney?

When you already have financial troubles with medical bills, vehicle repairs, or lost income after a collision, you may worry about the cost of hiring a car accident attorney to represent you in your injury claim. However, car accident attorneys handle injured victims’ claims on contingency. This means an injury victim pays nothing upfront to hire an attorney to represent them in a car accident claim. The lawyer gets paid if and when they recover compensation for their client through a settlement or court judgment. The lawyer will receive an agreed-upon percentage of the total financial recovery they secure for the client. Lawyers also typically cover all case expenses in contingency fee arrangements, so it costs nothing upfront or out-of-pocket for a car accident victim to hire an attorney for their case.

How Our Tulsa Car Accident Lawyer Can Help You

Look no further than Edwards & Patterson Law. Our Tulsa car accident attorneys have decades of experience representing clients in car accident claims throughout Tulsa, McAlester and the surrounding areas. We have dedicated our careers to providing compassionate legal service to injured Oklahomans. We care about you. We care about your claim. And we fight to make sure that you receive fair and just compensation for your injuries.

Having a car wreck lawyer as your advocate can alleviate a tremendous amount of stress after a car accident. You may have multiple insurance companies requesting a recorded statement and your medical records before making a settlement offer. You may be without transportation and worrying about missing work and getting your kids to school. Edwards & Patterson car accident attorneys can help figure out the logistics and protect your legal rights at the same time. That way, you can focus on healing.

Reach out to our Tulsa car accident lawyers today for a free consultation. There is never an obligation to hire us, and we get paid only when we obtain compensation on your behalf.

At Edwards & Patterson Law, we believe knowledge is power. Let our personal injury lawyers in Tulsa help you by providing the legal information you need to make an informed decision about your Tulsa car accident claim.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Should I Speak to a Tulsa Car Accident Law Firm?

• First of all, it’s free! Most Tulsa, OK car accident lawyers, including the ones at Edwards & Patterson Law, take cases on a contingency fee basis. That means you don’t pay unless we win. That puts all of the risk on the lawyer, not you. You also can feel confident knowing that our attorneys only take cases that we believe have merit. We wouldn’t waste your time and our resources unless we think a favorable verdict or settlement is possible.
• Second, there could be a lot to lose if you don’t. Insurance companies are notorious for making low settlement offers and pressuring car accident victims to settle too early. But the time after a car accident, particularly those that involve serious injuries, can be unpredictable. You or your family might be scared, fragile, and unprepared to deal with persistent calls from insurance adjusters. When stress is the primary emotion, accepting a quick payout can be tempting to eliminate the hassle. But beware — you are likely entitled to more than what the insurers are offering. A skilled car accident attorney at Edwards & Patterson Law can take over all negotiations with the insurance company as soon as you hire us. All you have to do is tell them, “You need to speak to my lawyer,” and you’re set.
• Finally, you may be unaware of other sources of compensation that may be available to you. Oklahoma law requires motorists to carry liability coverage in case of a car accident. But sometimes the cost of the damage and injuries may exceed the policy limits, leaving you with a substantial amount of remaining losses. Some at-fault drivers break the law and don’t carry coverage. However, you may be able to receive money from uninsured motorist (UM) or underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage from your own policy. There may also be additional avenues for compensation depending on the circumstances of your case. An experienced car crash attorney from Edwards & Patterson Law is skilled at looking for every possible source of money to help you get back on your feet again.

Whether you were injured on I-44, I-244, U.S. 64, the Broken Arrow Expressway, U.S. 169, U.S. 412, or on any of Tulsa’s smaller city roads, you can rely on Edwards & Patterson Law to investigate your car accident thoroughly. Even a relatively minor accident can have serious consequences. No matter the size of the wreck or the scope of the damage, we tackle each case meticulously. Our aggressive approach to investigating your claim shows the insurance companies that we mean business.

What Common Types of Car Accidents Do Our Tulsa Car Crash Lawyers Handle?

All sorts of car accidents happen in a busy metro area like Tulsa, Oklahoma. The degree of damage usually depends on multiple factors, such as the location of impact, speed, sizes of the involved vehicles, what types of safety features a car has, and the driver behaviors that caused the wreck.

Your lawyer can evaluate all of the possible contributing factors in your accident so that no detail is missed while building your case. The most crucial part is finding the evidence to support your claim that negligence caused your injuries. For example, accidents caused by distracted driving or drunk driving are due to the other driver’s negligence.

Common types of car accidents include:

• Rear-end accidents happen when one car crashes into the back of another vehicle. They can easily occur when a driver is following too closely and has little stopping distance if the vehicle in front brakes suddenly. Distraction is another frequent cause of rear-end accidents, especially when a driver is texting or talking on a cell phone. The most common injury associated with rear-end crashes is whiplash, a painful condition that results from the sudden back-and-forth snap of the neck that happens in the collision. Liability in rear-end crashes typically falls on the driver who struck the vehicle in front, although the situation can get more complicated in chain-reaction crashes.
• Side-impact crashes, also known as T-bones or broadsides, occur when one car is struck on the side by another vehicle. The injuries in a side-impact car accident are likely to be severe. Much depends on where the vehicle was hit and where the occupants were seated, along with whether airbags or other safety design features helped minimize the force of impact. Unlike a front or rear-end crash, where bumpers and crumple zones add a measure of protection for occupants, a side-impact accident provides less cushioning. Cuts from broken glass, thermal burns, broken bones, and head trauma are among the many injuries possible in a side crash.
• Head-on collisions are also called front-end crashes. They happen when the front of one car strikes the front of another vehicle traveling the opposite direction. Head-on collisions can be particularly deadly. Severe trauma including traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injuries, internal bleeding, fractures, and lacerations can cause lifelong disabilities for victims of a head-on crash. Common causes are distracted driving, driver fatigue, intoxication, inclement weather, and poor road conditions.
• Rollover accidents happen when a vehicle overturns and flips onto its side or roof. Typically, this happens when a car is driving too fast and a driver overcorrects on a sharp turn or twist. Many rollovers involve a single car, pointing to driver error as a key cause of the crash. However, faulty tires and other vehicle defects have also led to lawsuits holding automakers and parts manufacturers responsible for injuries resulting from a rollover crash.
• Sideswipe accidents occur when two vehicles traveling parallel to each other collide. Sideswipes often happen when a driver makes an unsafe lane change or gets distracted. If both drivers are able to compensate quickly, a sideswipe accident may be minor. However, if the crash happens at high speed or pushes one vehicle into another or off the road entirely, the damage can be severe and involve multiple parties.
• Multi-vehicle crashes are extremely dangerous and legally complex, especially if there is a truck or other large vehicle in the crash. Unraveling the chain of responsibility in a multi-car accident involves a thorough review of every driver’s actions in the wreck. Injuries in a pile-up crash are likely to be more serious because at least some of the cars will be struck more than one time. It may make it hard to exit the vehicle and get out of harm’s way. While determining liability in a multi-vehicle crash is complicated, you could still be entitled to compensation. Oklahoma has a comparative fault statute that allows motorists to obtain a portion of compensation from an accident, even if they share part of the blame. As long as you are not found to be 51 percent or more responsible for the car accident, you could still receive some money for your losses.

What Are the Worst Intersections in Tulsa?

Driving in Tulsa can be risky. In 2015 alone, there were 9,972 total crashes in the city, according to the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office. The majority of those crashes happened on city streets, or 6,903 total accidents.

Intersections can be the most dangerous places to drive in a city. In fact, News on 6 reports that the 25 worst intersections in Tulsa accounted for 1,647 accidents in 2015, or 16.5 percent of the city’s total accidents and roughly one-in-four crashes that occurred on city streets (23.8 percent).

Based on the data collected by News on 6, the Tulsa intersections with the most crashes were:

• Memorial Drive and Highway 51 (121 crashes) – This is where Memorial Drive crosses Highway 51, or the Broken Arrow Expressway, in a commercial area near several auto dealerships.
• Mingo Road and 71st Street (94 crashes) – As the TV station notes, 71st Street is one of Tulsa’s busiest roads. In fact, five of the city’s worst intersections involve the street. Because of the mall, high school, and hospital traffic, the intersection with Mingo Road can be particularly dangerous.

Rounding out the TV station’s list of the worst intersections in Tulsa were:

Intersection Crashes

If you have been in an accident in a Tulsa intersection, be sure to contact a personal injury attorney today.

What Are the Key Steps to Take After a Car Accident in Tulsa?

The days and weeks after suffering injuries in a car accident are often some of the most overwhelming, stressful, and frustrating moments in an individual’s life. When dealing with pain, emotional trauma, and financial turmoil, it can be difficult to know what you can do to protect yourself and your rights. As challenging as this time may be, it is important to take the following steps to optimize your chances of recovering the compensation you deserve.

Follow Your Doctor’s Advice

Receiving swift medical attention is one of the most crucial steps to take after any accident, regardless of how serious it is. Once you have done this, it is essential that you listen carefully to your medical professional’s advice and follow it to the letter.

Insurance companies often look for ways to undermine an injury victim’s claim. One way they do so is to argue that if the injured party did not listen to their doctor, their medical expenses must not have been necessary. Sticking to your treatment plan can help you increase your odds of receiving full compensation for your medical bills.

Maintain All Medical Records

Your injury-related medical documents demonstrate the nature of your injuries, the treatments you have received, and the cost of your medical care. This information is crucial for establishing links between the accident and your injuries and determining how much the at-fault party owes you for your medical expenses.

Gather Documentation of Lost Income

Many people are temporarily or permanently unable to return to work after a car accident, which can be a significant blow to their financial status. You can recover the income you have lost due to your injuries if you can demonstrate how much work you have missed during your recovery or because of medical appointments.

To do this, be sure to collect documents such as pay slips, tax forms, and correspondence with HR. If you are self-employed, use copies of your appointment book and your invoices and accounts receivable to demonstrate your pre- and post-accident income. If you rely heavily on tips, gather bank statements demonstrating the difference before and after the accident.

Avoid Posting About the Accident on Social Media

While many people get the temptation to share details about a car accident or their injuries on social media as a way of keeping others updated, doing so is never a good idea. The other side will comb through every aspect of your online footprint to look for ways of delegitimizing your claim. Avoid social media as much as possible until your case is over.

Reach Out to a Tulsa Car Accident Attorney Today

Working with a seasoned Tulsa personal injury attorney from Edwards & Patterson Law is one of the most effective ways of protecting your claim and maximizing your compensation. Your lawyer can investigate the accident, identify all liable parties, negotiate with the insurance company, and take your case to trial if necessary.

We can get started on your car accident claim right away. If you need an auto accident attorney in Tulsa, contact our Tulsa office or use our quick contact form to set up a free consultation with our caring car accident attorneys today. Our legal team understands personal injury law in Oklahoma and is ready to help you gain fair compensation for your driving accident injuries. Contact our Tulsa attorneys at law to help you recover compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, and even pain and suffering.

Visit Our Tulsa Car Accident Law Office

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