The inside workings of Personal Injury lawsuits
The incidence of personal injury accidents is alarming in Oklahoma. Statistics stemming from Tulsa’s Health Department reveal that 58.8 out of 100,000 people in Oklahoma lose their lives due to an accident while Tulsa’s accidental death rate figures at a slightly lower 53.8 percent. Such accidents range from car crashes to dog bites, to child injuries and poisoning, and prove fatal in some cases. Enlisting the help of an experienced personal injury attorney can help to ensure justice prevails. The attorney will shoulder the responsibility of handling legal and insurance issues while making sure that you are well compensated for the traumatic experience that you sustained.
For instance, in cases of personal injury, your lawyer will thoroughly garner and study case facts, including interviewing key witnesses and looking through police reports. In case you are faced with critical problems like an inability to pay medical bills, your attorney may help ease your mind by helping facilitate medical care. In the event that the case reaches a court of law, which does not normally happen, your lawyer will be prepared to advocate for you to the best of his ability. The issue of dog bite injuries which is a common occurrence in Oklahoma, especially among children, is usually governed by City and/or State law which entitles the victim to recover for the damages sustained. A specific statute (Okla. Stat. Ann., tit. 4, § 42.1) makes the owner “strictly liable”, which reads as,
“The owner or owners of any dog shall be liable for damages to the full amount of any damages sustained when his dog, without provocation, bites or injures any person while such person is in or on a place where he has a lawful right to be.”
To ensure that you get your fair share of justice, you must hire an experienced, integrous and professional personal injury lawyer, who may charge a contingency fee so that you don’t have to pay anything upfront. The law commonly permits only two years from the date of the personal injury incident to file a lawsuit in the state’s civil court system. If the personal injury involves negligence on the part of the government, there is a very short limitation period with respect to giving written notice. Oklahoma’s damages cap, passed in 2011, limits non-economic damages in civil injury cases to $350,000.