Tulsa personal injury attorney
If you have a personal injury dispute with someone, or you are contemplating filing a lawsuit to receive personal injury compensation, you may be wondering how much money you could possibly be awarded. This assessment will be made by the court and it depends on a number of different factors. This article discusses the Oklahoma civil justice system and how personal injury compensation is decided in Oklahoma.
Who decides your case?
Many people mistakenly believe that when you file a lawsuit, a judge will decide your case. However, unless the case is tried to the bench in what is called a “bench trial,” it is typically jurors from your community who will decide not only if you will prevail in your personal injury compensation lawsuit but also how much you should be compensated.
How is your case decided?
Regardless of whether a jury or judge decides your case, the cornerstone for any personal injury compensation claim is the evidence of the claimant. In other words, evidence that you, your friends and family, your doctors, your therapists and any other expert witnesses give to the court is the primary factor for determining the success of your personal injury compensation claim. A judge or jury will analyze this evidence with respect to the law after they have reviewed all the facts related to your personal injury compensation claim. Then, to the extent that the facts corroborate your claim, they will make an award for compensation that is appropriate to your injury.
The process for seeking personal injury compensation is as follows:
- A lawsuit is initiated by filing a complaint for damages – a written document that includes the claims and how much money an injured person may be seeking to receive in compensation.
- Over the course of the litigation, information is exchanged between the parties. Sometimes this exchange of information includes depositions, which is the process of giving sworn evidence about what occurred and the testimony is recorded for later use at trial.
- Once a case goes to trial, evidence will be presented to the court, and a judge or jury decides the contested issues of fact and what evidence they find credible. Finally, a judge or jury decides whether the plaintiff will prevail and how much to award in personal injury compensation.
Economic damages
Economic damages are based on fixed values. Because they are based on fixed values, determining an amount of compensation to be awarded becomes fairly simple. For instance, if your vehicle was totaled during a collision and a judge or jury found the person who hit you responsible for your injuries and losses, and Blue Book Value of the vehicle is $5000, it would be easy for a jury to award you $5000 for your vehicle.
In another example, if you were towing a piece of fine art in your vehicle that was worth $100,000 and the individual who struck you destroyed that piece of fine art, it would again be simple for a jury to hear evidence about the value of the fine art that was destroyed and award you $100,000 in personal injury compensation.
Non-economic damages
The process for awarding personal injury compensation becomes more difficult, however, when a judge or jury has to determine a value for non-economic damages. Non-economic damages are things like the loss of enjoyment of life as result of an injury, pain and suffering, or loss of a loved one. A judge or jury has the difficult job of placing a value on what can be considered incalculable losses. As a result, it can be very difficult to determine the total amount of personal injury compensation to be awarded in such a case.
Conclusion
If you are contemplating filing a personal injury compensation lawsuit, it’s important to keep in mind that it’s a judge or jury who will ultimately decides how much your case is worth with respect to both economic and non-economic damages. If you have specific questions regarding how the Oklahoma civil justice system works, or how your personal injury compensation is determined in Oklahoma, contact an experienced Tulsa personal injury attorney who can help evaluate your claim and protect your interests during the challenging circumstances following an injury.
Free Consultation: Tulsa Personal Injury Attorney
For your free confidential consultation and personal injury compensation evaluation, call the Personal Injury Law Office of Tulsa today at (918) 924-5528 or send us a question using the form on the right side of this page.
