If you suffered injuries as a result of the carelessness and negligence of somebody else in or around Tulsa, there are certain procedures that you must follow when seeking compensation for the damages that you suffered. By following these procedures, the chances of recovering compensation for your damages increases dramatically. If you fail to follow the procedures required by Oklahoma law, your claim for damages can be significantly devalued or even denied. Those are two very good reasons why you should speak with Tulsa personal injury lawyer Patrick Wandres at the Wandres Law firm. Here’s the third.
The Statute of Limitations
12 OK Stat. Section 1295 sets a time limit of two years from the date of your accident for you to file a personal injury lawsuit. There are very few exceptions to that rule. Evidence can be lost or misplaced and witnesses can vanish into thin air. You and your family are going to be overwhelmed with medical bills and emotions. That’s why you want to meet with and retain Patrick Wandres to represent you as soon as possible after your accident. He will do whatever he can to secure that evidence.
The Opposing Insurer
Insurance companies stay profitable by depositing premium checks and investing that money to make even more money. In efforts to maintain the bottom line and please their shareholders, they will pay out as little as possible or even nothing on claims. On that basis, opposing insurer on your case will do whatever legally needs to be done to try and devalue or deny your claim. One of the major ways that they attempt to do that is by contacting you by phone and asking you to provide a recorded statement. Oklahoma law doesn’t require you to give a statement without an attorney being present. Politely refuse to give any type of a statement. That insurer only wants to try to use your own words against you in the future to attack your credibility when trying to devalue or deny your claim. Contact Tulsa personal injury lawyer Patrick Wandres to arrange for a free consultation and case evaluation. You’re going to need him as soon as possible before that other insurer can wrest control of your case from you.
Comparative Negligence
In it’s continuing effort to devalue your case, the opposing insurer will allege that you were partially at fault for the accident. That’s called comparative negligence in Oklahoma. OK Stat. Section 23-13 governs comparative negligence in Oklahoma. If you are determined to be partially at fault for an accident, in order to recover compensation, your contributory negligence can’t be more than 50 percent of the cause of the accident. Otherwise, you can’t recover anything.
Contact the Wandres Law firm right away after being seriously injured in any accident. We promise to listen to you carefully and answer your questions. After that, we’re going to advise you of all of your legal options. Arrange for that free consultation sooner rather than later.
Please visit our personal injury page for more information.