After a significant injury, the first thing on your mind is probably how you are going to pay for medical bills, loss of income, and potential disability — or what exactly will be your recovery for personal injury in Oklahoma.
What you may not realize is that there are limits to how much you can recover for non-economic damages, also known as pain and suffering. Typically, concrete economic costs are covered when a personal injury is sustained and the offender’s insurance company is responsible for covering the claim.
Non-economic costs include emotional pain, suffering, loss of a partner or companionship. These are things that do not have a monetary value. Economic costs include medical bills, loss of income, and repair of vehicle.
Injuries
The first factor insurance companies will consider when calculating a damages award is how extensive are the victim’s injuries. There are a wide variety of types of instances that produce injuries from motorcycle crashes, commercial truck crashes to automobile accidents.
Depending on the type of vehicle, the impact, speed, and any mitigating factors, the insurance company is able to assign an amount of recovery for personal injuries.
Economic Losses
Economic damages include medical bills, loss of income, new career training, loss of job opportunity, travel expenses to medical treatments, therapists or counselors to deal with emotional pain, and in-home medical care. It is important to note that if you were gainfully employed and paid well at the time of the accident — and now you can no longer perform in your previous position — this is a strong argument for recovery for loss of income. However, if you are unemployed at the time of the accident, it may be harder to prove loss of future income.
Legal Representation
Unfortunately, insurance companies believe a case is easier to win — and thus not compensate the victim — if the victim is not represented. Insurance companies are more serious about a recovery for personal injury if the victim is represented by a personal injury attorney. Personal injury attorneys are experts at receiving recovery for personal injuries, and insurance companies know this.
It is extremely important that you not only hire a personal injury attorney, but that you hire an experienced and skilled personal injury attorney. Insurance companies are able to research who your personal injury attorney is, the types of cases they have previously taken, and their expertise in litigation.
If an insurance company knows that your attorney is more likely to settle than take the case to trial, they often offer a lower settlement offer. Your personal injury attorney should be experienced in your specific type of case and have a history of successful settlements.
Recovery for Personal Injury Settlement Limits
In Oklahoma, the limit for non-economic damages is $350,000 in general personal injury cases. Okla. Stat. tit. 23 § 61.2(B)
However, there are exceptions to these limits if certain elements are met concerning the circumstances of the accident. If any of the below elements are met, then there are no limits to the amount of recovery for personal injury cases.
- Accident was committed with reckless disregard to the rights of others
- Offender was grossly negligent
- Fraud was involved
- Offender acted intentionally with malice
In addition, recovery of personal injury awards in Oklahoma are dependent on the amount of fault each party contributed. If the victim contributed more than 50 percent to the accident, and thus the personal injuries sustained, then no recovery is possible.
For example, if the victim was violating traffic laws or was intoxicated at the time of the accident, this could result in no recovery.
Free Consultation with a Tulsa Personal Injury Attorney
Consulting with an attorney as soon as possible in the event you are injured in a vehicle accident is very important in order to preserve your rights, make sure insurance companies take you seriously, establish elements for a no-limit recovery, and obtain a fair settlement. An attorney can help protect you and advise you on what you are entitled to in a personal injury settlement.
Hiring a knowledgeable and experienced personal injury attorney will ensure the process is expertly conducted and your interests are well-represented.
Contact an experienced Tulsa Personal Injury Attorney when you need to go through the Oklahoma personal injury civil process.
For a free confidential consultation, call now: (918) 924-5528.
