Personal Injury Attorney in Tulsa

How Can a Tulsa Injury Attorney Help Me?

It’s important to act quickly if you have been injured in any sort of accident. Getting the appropriate medical treatment is the immediate priority. Your next step is to speak to an attorney who can mount an investigation right away.

The injury lawyers at Edwards & Patterson Law will:

• Provide a truthful assessment of your personal injury claim.
  We only take cases that we believe in. If we think the insurance company is offering you a fair settlement or that your claim won’t win, we’ll be honest about it.
• Start our investigation immediately.
  You’d be surprised at how quickly evidence can disappear after an accident and how fast a witness’s memory can fade. Our legal team will leave no stone unturned in collecting medical records, bills, receipts, physical evidence, photographs, videos, eyewitness testimony, expert statements and other details to prove how the accident and injuries have impacted your life.
• Handle all negotiations with insurance companies.
  Once you hire Edwards & Patterson Law to represent you, our legal team will take over all contact with insurance adjusters so that you can recover and, if possible, get back to your daily activities. Having legal counsel by your side is critical because insurance adjusters seek to minimize payouts, and that often comes by tricking claimants into mistakenly saying something that jeopardizes their claims.
• Root out any additional sources of compensation. 
  Sometimes liability in a Tulsa personal injury claim can be spread among multiple parties. Our lawyers are skilled at identifying and pursuing potential third-party defendants.
• Fight for a fair result.
  Negotiations can be a difficult process, but most times a resolution can be reached out of court. If no agreement can be reached, the lawyers at Edwards & Patterson Law prepare each case as if it’s going to trial. That means we will be ready if your case needs to go to court.
• Keep you informed every step of the way.
  This is your We will advise you about what we think will achieve the best outcome. But you are always the ultimate decision-maker as the case proceeds.

Types of Cases Our Tulsa Personal Injury Lawyers Handle

The injury attorneys at Edwards & Patterson Law have decades of experience representing clients in a wide variety of personal injury claims, including:

Understanding Compensation: What Can You Claim in a Tulsa Personal Injury Case?

While each case is unique, an experienced Tulsa personal injury lawyer can help you fight for compensation for losses such as:

• Medical expenses
• Lost wages due to missed time at work
• Reduced earning capacity if your disability prevents you from returning to your previous job
• Physical and emotional pain and suffering
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Property damage

After your free consultation, your lawyer will assess all factors of your case and provide you with an estimate of how much you can expect to recover for your losses.

Navigating Settlement Offers: When and Why to Accept?

If the insurance company makes a settlement offer, proceed with caution. An experienced personal injury attorney can help you determine whether the amount is fair based on the details of your case. In general, it is wise to accept a settlement offer if:

• The amount adequately covers all your accident-related expenses, including medical bills, property damage, lost income, and pain and suffering losses.
• Your medical treatment is complete, so you have a full understanding of the costs.
• You are experiencing ongoing disabilities or loss of enjoyment of life, and the settlement factors in future costs.
• The offer seems reasonable based on similar cases. Your lawyer can look at verdicts and settlements in comparable cases to help assess whether the amount is fair.
• You want to avoid proceeding to an uncertain trial. Litigation has no guarantees, and accepting a reasonable settlement provides a definitive result.

Be wary of settling too quickly after the accident, as more losses may surface later. Wait until you fully understand your situation before signing away your right to additional compensation.

Assessing Your Claim: How Much Could Your Tulsa Personal Injury Case Be Worth?

The value of your personal injury claim depends on a wide variety of factors, such as:

• The type of accident that caused your injury (car accident, truck accident, slip-and-fall, product liability, etc.)
• The type and severity of the injury you have suffered (for example, a fractured ankle may warrant a smaller compensation package than a severe traumatic brain injury)
• The amount of income you have lost due to your injury
• The possibility of returning to your previous job, having to take lower-paying employment, or being prevented from returning to the workforce altogether
• The effects of the injury on your personal life and relationships
• The extent of damage to your personal property

How Should You Collect Evidence After an Accident?

To build the strongest personal injury claim possible, be sure to gather as much evidence from the accident scene as possible, including:

• Photographs of all angles of property damage, skid marks, collapsed guard rails, weather conditions, and other hazardous road conditions if you were injured in a motor vehicle accident; pictures of the area where you slipped and fell or the obstacles you tripped over if you were injured in a slip-and-fall; or the location of the accident and what caused your injuries in any type of accident
• Contact information for eyewitnesses who saw the accident occur
• Video footage from security cameras, smartphones, and dashboard cameras
• Police reports that provide official documentation of how the accident occurred and which party was at fault
• Medical records that link your injuries to the accident
• Receipts and invoices for accident-related costs like car repairs, medical bills, prescriptions, assistive devices, and damaged personal property
• Records of missed work due to medical appointments or disabilities resulting from your injuries

Preserving as much evidence as possible gives your lawyer multiple avenues for demonstrating the extent of your damages and proving liability. Act quickly after the accident to collect anything that could help your injury claim.

If you’ve been in a Tulsa accident due to someone else’s negligence, reach out to Edwards & Patterson Law today for a free, no-obligation consultation. We’ll discuss your legal options and how you can recover compensation for your accident injuries.

Negligence: The Key Elements in a Tulsa Personal Injury Case

The injury attorneys at Edwards & Patterson Law have decades of experience representing clients in a wide variety of personal injury claims, including:

Winning a personal injury case means proving negligence. You must be able to show that another party’s actions (or failure to act) caused the accident that injured you.

There are four elements that must be satisfied to show negligence under Oklahoma law:

1. Duty of care. The at-fault party was obligated to protect you from harm. For example, a business owner is obligated to take every reasonable measure to protect you from being injured on his or her premises.
2. Breach of duty. The party violated his or her duty by failing to do something in a reasonable way or as another party would have done in similar circumstances. Continuing the above example, a business owner who does not clean up a puddle or place appropriate warning signs in the area is breaching his or her duty to maintain safe floors for patrons.
3. Causation. Your injury was the direct result of the breach, such as what might happen if you fell and hit your head after slipping in the puddle.
4. Damages. The party’s actions or inactions caused actual damages, such as hospital expenses, permanent or temporary disability, pain, and suffering, etc.

The components of negligence might seem pretty simple based on the slip-and-fall example. However, personal injury cases are rarely that straightforward. Defendants will look for ways that an injured person might have contributed to his or her own injuries by behaving recklessly.

Another defense strategy could be that you knew an activity was inherently dangerous and assumed the risk by participating in it, thus releasing the other party from liability. We are familiar with all of the tactics that defense lawyers use to deflect responsibility from their clients and provide swift and strong rebuttals to their claims.

Comparative Fault and How It Affects Your Tulsa Injury Claim

You may still be able to obtain compensation in Tulsa even if you were partly to blame for the accident that injured you. The courts use a method called the modified comparative negligence rule to apportion the fault to the involved parties. As long as you are not found to be 51 percent or more responsible for the accident, you can recover damages to get your life back on track.

The amount of compensation will be reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if you were found 30 percent responsible for a motor vehicle accident that injured you, you would be entitled to only 70 percent of the final award. So, if your total damages were $10,000, your award would be reduced to $7,000.

Our lawyers know how to fight back in cases of shared fault to ensure that you aren’t unfairly assigned a portion of the blame. Partial damages are certainly better than no damages at all, but we will make sure that you aren’t cheated out of the compensation you deserve.

Our Case Results

Tulsa, Oklahoma Personal Injury Frequently Asked Questions:

What is the Personal Injury Statute of Limitations?

The aftermath of an accident is filled with uncertainties. The ultimate outcome of your injuries may not be known for months, or even years, especially when the trauma is catastrophic.

The statute of limitations to file a personal injury claim in Oklahoma is two years from the date of the injury. Once that deadline has passed, the chances of making a successful claim will be slim. There are narrow exceptions in certain cases, such as if you were a minor at the time of the accident. A Tulsa personal injury lawyer would need to analyze the specific facts of your case to see if any exceptions apply.

In Oklahoma, the statute of limitations on personal injury claims gives you two years from the date of injury to file suit against whoever is to blame. If you file after this deadline, the at-fault party can move to have your case dismissed as untimely – costing you your day in court. While certain things can pause this deadline, it’s best to pursue your claim as quickly as possible to avoid this costly error. An attorney can review your situation and help you understand whether there are exceptions present in your case that may extend your lawsuit filing timeline.

There’s also the matter of the at-fault party’s insurer. Most insurance companies want you to file a claim as soon as possible. Filing as soon as possible may also be in your best interest. The longer you wait, the more likely it is that vital evidence that could strengthen your claim will be lost or destroyed.

If you miss filing your lawsuit and the deadline expires, you lose your leverage and the ability to seek maximum compensation for your injuries. Unfortunately, sometimes insurers do not negotiate in good faith. Instead, they run out the clock and then offer a low settlement. At that point, the claimant must accept because there is no time to file a lawsuit before the statute of limitations expires. The sooner you bring your case to an experienced attorney, the more time they have to negotiate forcefully on your behalf.

Damages in Personal Injury Cases

There are several different types of compensation that can be recovered in a Tulsa personal injury claim:

• Economic damages. 
  These may be awarded for quantifiable losses, such as hospital bills, prescription costs, co-pays, lost earning capacity, lost wages, rehabilitation expenses, the cost of ongoing nursing care, and property damage.
• Noneconomic damages.
  This includes compensation for losses that are more difficult to quantify, such as pain and suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement, and loss of companionship and counsel. There is a $350,000 cap on noneconomic damages in most Oklahoma claims.
• Punitive damages. 
  Sometimes the courts will award compensation to victims in an effort to “punish” the defendant for their recklessness. These are called punitive damages and are also limited to certain caps in Oklahoma depending on the circumstances of the case.

Many times, insurance companies will push for an individual to settle before the full extent of his or her injuries is known. This strategy benefits insurers because the injured party releases them from responsibility before the total damages are truly understood. However, it can be detrimental for the injured if future medical complications arise.

The Tulsa personal injury lawyers at Edwards & Patterson Law seek the maximum amount of compensation available every time. We never settle until we have a clear understanding of what is at stake for our clients and their families.

What Can I Do to Help My Personal Injury Case?

There are several simple things that you can do to help your claim:

• Seek medical treatment immediately, even if you don’t feel hurt at first.
• Do not give a recorded statement to an insurance company.
• Go to all of your follow-up appointments with doctors, physical therapists, psychologists, and other healthcare professionals.
• Fill your prescriptions on time and take the medication appropriately.
• Keep a journal during your recovery to document your injuries and the effects they have had on your life.
• Keep all accident-related receipts and bills. Bring them to your consultation with our lawyers.
• Try not to talk to anyone about the case except for your attorney and/or a trusted friend Do not post anything about the accident on social media. In fact, it’s best to stay off social media entirely after an accident.
• Keep us apprised of any changes to your circumstances or medical condition as soon as possible.
• Tell us everything. Our personal injury lawyers serving Tulsa will work for you, but we cannot craft the best possible case for you if parts of the truth are omitted.

How Much Is My Claim Worth?

If you’re considering filing a personal injury claim, one of your most pressing concerns is probably what it might be worth. You might have looked to blogs or online claim calculators for an answer. However, these tools cannot consider every factor affecting your case. There is no “average” claim. Every personal injury case involves unique and specific circumstances that can impact its value. The cause of the accident, who’s to blame, and the severity of your injuries can all affect your claim.

So how does an experienced personal injury attorney estimate the fair value of your claim? They’d start by investigating the accident to uncover evidence pointing to all potentially liable parties who played a role in causing your injuries. Then, they can calculate your measurable financial losses, including:

• Current and future medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Loss of earning capacity
• Property damage
• Other expenses stemming from your injuries

Beyond these economic losses, you may also be entitled to money for subjective losses such as emotional distress, lost quality of life, and pain and suffering. These non-economic losses can be much more challenging to estimate. Your attorney would need to consider your life before and after the accident to determine the limitations and discomfort your injuries have caused you.

Remember, the potential value of your claim and what you ultimately recover are two different things. Having an attorney willing to fight for you is a vital part of making these figures match. A personal injury lawyer can aggressively negotiate for the money you deserve, helping you demand every penny you need. If necessary, they can also take your case to court, where a judge or jury will hear their arguments and decide on an outcome.

What Sets Edwards & Patterson Law Apart from Other Personal Injury Law Firms?

Finding the right Tulsa personal injury attorney to handle your case can be challenging. How do you know who you can trust during one of the most vulnerable times of your life? What sets Edwards & Patterson Law apart from the crowded field of Tulsa personal injury lawyers is how we treat our clients. We care deeply about the people whose cases we take. We’re prepared to do everything in our power to help them move on from a tragedy and live their fullest life possible.

At our firm, you are more than just a case number. We will take the time to get to know you, thoroughly reviewing your situation so we can address your questions and concerns throughout the legal process. We aim to craft a compelling case to seek the compensation you deserve. That also means aggressively fighting for you every step of the way.

The legal process is complicated – but you don’t need to navigate it alone. Instead, you can let Edwards & Patterson Law guide you through, advocating for your needs at every turn. We’ll do all the hard work of pursuing the full compensation you deserve, allowing you to focus on your rest and recovery.

What Our Clients Say About Us

Our personal injury attorneys have been recognized by some of the top legal publications in the country. While we are thrilled to receive both local and national accolades for the work we do, what motivates us are testimonials from the people we work with in the Tulsa area. Hearing from our clients and learning how they felt about their experience helps us continue to hone our skills and deliver personalized, exceptional legal support.

Our clients often comment on our professional demeanor, compassionate service, and positive results. We appreciate staying in touch and hearing from the people whose lives have been impacted by a positive legal experience.

What our clients say about us can also help you learn more about what we do and who we are. We understand it’s challenging to pick an attorney to protect your rights. At Edwards & Patterson Law, we believe the comments we’ve received from past clients will help you feel comfortable that you’re making the right decision by handing us your case.

Reach Out to Our Personal Injury Lawyers in Tulsa Today

If you’ve been injured in the Tulsa area or a surrounding area like Muskogee, our lawyers are ready to help. Contact us now for a free case evaluation. We take every case on a contingency fee basis, which means we only get paid if you receive compensation. We care. We fight. We win! Contact Edwards & Patterson Law today.

Our personal injury law firm happily serves the entire Tulsa area including Turley, Sand Springs, Prattvill,e Berryhill, Oakhurst, South Peoria, West Tulsa, Red Fork, Carbondale, Garden City, Oakridge, West Highlands, Tulsa, Gilcrease Hills, United Neighborhood of Springdale, Kendall-Whittier, Cherry Street, Patrick Henry, McClure Park, Columbus, Oakbrook Village, Lynn Lane, Broken Arrow, Rose District, Cedar Ridge Park – Big Bear and more!