Oklahoma City Personal Injury Lawyer
Have you been injured in a car accident in Oklahoma City? If so, you might be entitled to compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Call our Oklahoma City personal injury attorneys at McGuire Law Firm at (405) 513-5658. We can help you fight to maximize your financial recovery.
Our lawyers know how devastating an unexpected accident can be. We also know what a difference a substantial monetary award can make as you get back on your feet.
That’s why we’ll stand by your side and do everything we can to get you the money you deserve. Contact our law firm and let us put our more than 60 years of experience to work for you.
At McGuire Law Firm we offer a free consultation. This will give you an opportunity to learn about your rights and have your questions answered by our experienced legal team. We’re available to assist you in OKC and throughout the state.
Why Should I Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?
You Need to Put Yourself on Equal Ground
Insurance companies are well-represented. They’ve got adjusters and teams of attorneys ready to defend against your claim. They’re ready to take advantage of any stress or fear you might have right now.
Hiring a personal injury lawyer takes away any advantage the insurance company might have had. It helps to ensure that you’re going into a fair fight. Hiring the right attorney can even shift the advantage to you.
Other Parties Will Try to Blame You
“Blame the victim.” It’s an insurance company’s go-to tactic for denying claims and offering lowball payouts. If you do nothing, you could lose out on well-deserved compensation.
Hiring an attorney will put an advocate in your corner. Someone who can anticipate tactics like this and know what steps are necessary to protect you. The less fault you share, the more money you can walk away with when your case is resolved.
You’re More Likely to Win – and Maximize Your Recovery
It’s true. According to the Insurance Research Council, accident victims who hire lawyers are not only more likely to win their cases but typically walk away with a higher financial award. How much more? Up to 3.5 times as much compensation than if they’d handled the case themselves.
No Win, No Fee Means There’s No Risk
Most personal injury lawyers work on contingency. Simply, they only get paid if they win your case. That means there’s no risk in hiring a lawyer to represent you. You can get an advocate in your corner without having to worry about how to pay for it. It’s a win-win.
You Deserve Time to Get Better
How can you be expected to focus on recovering from your injuries if you’re also trying to fight with insurance companies and seek compensation? You can’t. Fortunately, hiring an attorney gives you the opportunity to concentrate on getting better while also putting you in a position to win your case.
Do I Have an Oklahoma Personal Injury Case?
If you’ve gotten hurt because someone else was careless, then you might have a legitimate personal injury case.
In fact, you might even have one if negligence wasn’t a factor, at all.
In Oklahoma, they can be based on:
- Negligence
- Gross negligence
- Negligence per se
- Statutory mandates (think workers’ compensation insurance requirements)
- Strict liability, or
- Intentional torts (such as assault).
Our dedicated attorneys will listen to your story, assess the facts presented to us, and determine whether or not you have a legitimate legal action.
Why Should I File a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
Someone else caused you to get hurt. We believe that you shouldn’t have to deal with the consequences on your own. That person failed to act reasonably, and they should be held accountable.
You can accomplish that by filing a personal injury lawsuit and demanding to be compensated for your injuries, suffering, and losses.
How Long Do I Have to File an Oklahoma Personal Injury Lawsuit?
In Oklahoma, the statute of limitations for most personal injury lawsuits is two years. The clock begins to run when you’re involved in an accident or when you discover that you’ve been injured – whichever occurs later.
While there are some exceptions to this general rule, you will lose out on compensation if you do not file your claim before time runs out. Do not wait too long to contact our personal injury attorneys after you are involved in an accident.
Oklahoma City Accident Statistics - 2023 Update
More than 2.6 million drivers travel along Oklahoma’s 116,000 miles of roadways. Whether it’s a rollover accident, highway crash, or a head-on collision, traffic accidents are always a risk on the road.
In 2020, throughout the state, there were:
- 169 auto accidents per day in Oklahoma
- A total of 61,739 automobile accidents
- 654 deaths from crashes
- 27,418 injuries
- 4,784 large truck crashes
- 7,823 wrecks caused by unsafe speed
- 977 motorcyclists injured or killed
- 114 school bus accidents
- 250 bicyclists injured or killed
- 586 pedestrians injured or killed
More than 25% of the crashes statewide occurred in Oklahoma City, where there were 16,280 automobile crashes. That’s about 44 per day. Of those, 77 crashes were fatal.
As of late January 2022, there have already been 34 fatalities from traffic accidents in Oklahoma City - that’s ten more than this time last year.
Of course, car crashes aren’t the only accidents that occur in Oklahoma. In 2019, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 73 fatalities from workplace injuries. Another 34,100 workers suffered injuries or illnesses on the job.
What is My Personal Injury Case Worth?
It really depends on the factors and circumstances of your case, like:
- The seriousness of your injuries,
- Whether you’ll be totally and/or permanently disabled,
- How your injury impacts your ability to work, and the degree to which you experience emotional distress and suffering.
The practice area under which your case falls and the degree to which your own actions contributed to your injuries will be important factors in the valuation process, too.
However, as a general rule of thumb, the more severe an injury, the higher the value of a related injury claim.
What Compensation Is Available in Oklahoma Personal Injury Claims?
When you file a personal injury lawsuit after an accident, you’re asking to be compensated for the damage and injuries you’ve suffered. The money that you’re awarded is called “compensatory damages.”
In Oklahoma, compensatory damages are divided into two distinct categories: economic and non-economic. Note that punitive damages, which are awarded for the sole purpose of punishing a defendant, are sometimes also available.
Economic Damages
Compensation that’s paid to essentially reimburse you for the financial costs, expenses, and losses associated with your injury. These damages have specific financial values. Examples include:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Disability
- Reduced earning capacity, and
- Property damage.
When you recover an award of economic damages, you should be made financially whole. In other words, it should be as if the incident never happened at all (at least in terms of your wallet).
Non-Economic Damages
Accidents can have an impact on your life in many different ways. Not all of the consequences come with a receipt or have a standard value. Rather, some injuries are very personal and subjective. Examples include:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Disfigurement, and
- Loss of enjoyment of life.
Many times, these damages are calculated by applying a factor to the value of your economic damages. The more severe your suffering, the higher the factor. The higher the factor, the higher your award. Oklahoma recently removed a cap on non-economic damages.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are only awarded in situations where a defendant’s actions need to be punished. This is typically seen in cases involving drunk drivers or when a company sells a product it knows is dangerous. These awards are subject to a cap – $100,000 or twice your actual damages.
After an accident in OKC, it’s important to work with a lawyer who will take a detail-oriented approach to your case. It’s important to identify all of your damages and work hard to make sure they’re valued properly.
Can I Still Get Compensation If I'm Blamed For an Accident?
It’s possible. Unfortunately, many victims are blamed—at least in part—for the accidents that caused them significant pain, costly medical bills, and lost wages. Insurance companies and at-fault parties will do whatever they can to get out of paying you what you deserve.
And under Oklahoma’s modified comparative fault system, if they successfully convince the judge or jury that you’re mostly to blame (51%), you won’t receive anything.
If you’re just partly at fault (up to 50%) for the accident, then your compensation will be reduced by the portion of fault attributed to you. For example, if you’re found to be 30% responsible on an award of $100,000, you’ll receive a $70,000 award.
That’s why it’s so important to have our lawyers on your side. One of our founding attorneys spent more than a decade of his career defending insurance companies—so he knows exactly what tactics they’ll try. But now, he puts that knowledge, insight, and experience to work for you.
If you are partially at fault, we’ll do everything we can to fight back against allegations that take away an unfair portion of the compensation you deserve.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer in OKC?
The way it works: we will take a certain percentage of your final settlement or judgment award as compensation for our services. The average contingency fee percentage is 33%, or roughly ⅓, of your award. This percentage could be lower or higher depending on the circumstances of your case.
By operating on a contingency fee basis, we help to defray your out-of-pocket costs. You only pay legal fees if we recover money for your claim.
This convenient arrangement allows you to focus on your healing without the added stress of legal expenses. You have no up-front costs — no retainers, no deposits, nothing — unless we recover money for you first. There’s no risk; call us today to schedule a free consultation to discuss your claim.
What Is Negligence and How Do I Prove It in a Personal Injury Case?
Negligence is failure to exercise the proper care or act reasonably under the circumstances. A negligent party can be held financially responsible when their behavior causes harm to another person.
It’s essentially a way to hold people accountable for being so careless or reckless that they hurt someone.
Most personal injury cases are caused by carelessness. So, most personal injury cases are based on negligence.
What Are the Elements of Negligence?
Negligence has four distinct parts:
- Duty: the defendant owed you a legal duty of care
- Breach: the defendant failed to uphold that duty (breached the duty of care)
- Causation: the defendant’s conduct resulted in your injuries
- Damages: you suffered actual damages
The connection between all of these may seem obvious to you as a victim, but negligence cases are rarely straightforward or easy to prove in court.
How Do I Prove Negligence in a Personal Injury Case?
To prevail in a negligence case, you’ll have to prove each element of negligence by a preponderance of the evidence.
That’s not as high as the standard required for criminal cases, but you’ll still need to show that the evidence weighs in your favor.
Evidence frequently used to prove negligence can include:
- Eyewitness testimony
- Video footage from security or traffic cameras
- Accident reports
- Medical records
- Maintenance logs
- Testimony or reports from expert witnesses such as accident reconstructionists, economists, medical professionals, toxicologists, and more
The evidence used in your case will be gathered and selected specifically for you. Causation can be complex, possibly involving multiple parties. Everyone will point fingers at each other. Personal injury lawsuits sometimes turn into a “battle of the experts.” Having an experienced legal team fighting for you can make all the difference in your chances for a favorable outcome.
Will My Case Go To Trial?
Probably not, but it’s always a possibility. Most cases settle. Your legal team will often be pursuing settlement and preparing for trial at the same time—just in case. What happens in your case will depend entirely on the facts unique to your accident.
Whether your case goes to trial can depend on any number of factors, such as:
- The number of parties involved
- The complexity of legal issues
- How quickly you need money
- Whether liability is contested
Going to trial can drag out a case for many months, sometimes years. But sometimes, the time and effort can be worth it to get justice for you and your family. We’re always prepared to take a case to trial if the at-fault parties refuse to offer a fair settlement. We’ll always give you all the information and legal advice you need along the way so that you can make decisions that are best for you.
Who Pays For My Medical Bills?
Whoever is responsible for your accident should ultimately be made to pay for your medical bills. However, until they’re required to pay you by the terms of a successful settlement agreement or because of a winning trial verdict, you’ll have to pay out of your own pocket.
So, be prepared to pay your deductibles and any other medical expenses immediately after your accident and through the duration of your personal injury case. If you’re having trouble making any payments, let your attorney know. They may be able to talk to your medical providers and have them agree to postpone the due date for your payments until your case is settled.
Your settlement proceeds could be paid by an at-fault party directly or by an insurance company. Your lawyer can explain exactly how your settlement payment will be disbursed to you.
Types of Personal Injury Cases We Handle
Car Accidents
Insurance companies will try to do anything after a car accident to deny your claim or limit what you’re paid. Our attorneys have spent decades fighting the biggest insurers in the nation – and winning big for our clients.
We have prior experience defending insurers in the same types of cases we handle today. We know what steps are needed to win meaningful compensation on behalf of crash victims like you.
Dog Bites
A dog bite can cause extensive injuries, permanent disfigurement, and leave a victim with a lifetime of emotional distress.
The dog’s owner – and anyone else who might have contributed to the attack – has to be held accountable. Our attorneys will pursue compensation on your behalf.
Bicycle Accidents
Oklahoma City is the deadliest city for bicyclists in the nation. Why? The city lacks the infrastructure that’s necessary to protect riders. At the same time, drivers of large vehicles don’t share the road safely.
To make matters worse, at-fault motorists tend to blame riders when a bicycle accident occurs. Our personal injury team will fight to stop these tactics from working, protect your right to recover compensation.
Wrongful Death
Every year, dozens of families in and around Oklahoma City mourn an unexpected and devastating loss. Our law firm is here to help these grieving families navigate these challenging times.
Money recovered through a wrongful death lawsuit will not take away the pain of a tragedy, but it can help to make life a little bit easier as you move on.
Slip and Fall Accidents
Slip and fall accidents are all too common. Whether you slipped on ice in a parking lot or fall through broken stairs at a downtown restaurant, you can get seriously hurt.
Property owners must accept responsibility for your injuries if you got hurt because they didn’t take the precautions necessary to keep you safe. Our personal injury attorneys will work to make that a reality for you.
Motorcycle Accidents
Motorcyclists are extremely vulnerable to catastrophic, life-changing injuries when they’re involved in a crash. Wearing a helmet can help to minimize the risk of brain injuries and death, but other trauma can still fundamentally change a rider’s life forever.
Many times, motorcyclists get hurt because of the way other motorists behave on the road – whether that’s due to tailgating, speeding, or distracted driving. Our attorneys will investigate your motorcycle accident exhaustively and seek compensation from anyone who caused you to get hurt.
Truck Accidents
Truck drivers can get hurt in a collision. But, people in smaller vehicles tend to suffer the worst consequences.
Many times, truck accident victims suffer from chronic pain and permanent disabilities. As a result, the costs of a truck accident can easily exceed hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of a lifetime.
Our dedicated lawyers will aggressively pursue compensation from all liable parties.
At McGuire Law Firm, no case is too big or too small. We represent clients in all personal injury matters in Oklahoma City, including medical malpractice lawsuits, nursing home abuse and neglect, product liability cases, bad faith insurance lawsuits, and more types of cases. If you’ve been injured through little-to-no fault of your own in an accident in OKC, all you have to do is reach out to our qualified and experienced legal team. We’ll handle every aspect of your personal injury claim from beginning to end. Give us a call today to learn more.
Why Should I Hire McGuire Law Firm After an Accident in Oklahoma City?
Insurance Companies Don’t Want You To
Before founding McGuire Law Firm, Kent McGuire spent years defending insurance companies. In fact, he defended them against the same type of claims he raises today.
As a result of this experience, and in his time as a lawyer, he knows just how hard insurers will work to resolve a case before a lawyer gets involved. Why? Insurance companies know that they’re much more likely to get away with denying a claim or getting a victim to accept a lower offer when they’re not represented by an attorney.
Insurers know that they’ll have to play by the rules and take your case seriously when you’re represented by a lawyer. That’s why you should not engage with an insurer or consider a settlement offer until you’ve enlisted the help of our qualified team. We’ll stand up to insurers for you and help you fight to get the compensation you deserve.
We Work With OKC’s Best Accident Experts
Experts can make or break a personal injury case. Insurance companies rely heavily on experts at every stage in the claims process. These experts are enlisted to find reasons why your claim should fail – or why your case isn’t worth a whole lot of money.
To put it simply, you need to fight fire with fire if you want to not only win but maximize your financial recovery.
That’s why our law firm has built relationships with leading accident, injury, and safety experts. This includes medical professionals, psychologists, appraisers, and others who can provide some insight into the cases we handle.
When we handle a case we know that we can call on them to help us investigate, analyze, and build it. With their help, we can understand its true value.
We’re Trial Ready – and That Gives You a Lot of Leverage
Most cases do not go to trial. About 95% reach a settlement agreement before the case gets that far in the process. However, that doesn’t mean that yours won’t go to trial.
So, it’s smart to make sure that you hire an attorney who has experience trying jury cases and arguing in front of a judge.
Plus, you’ll find that having a trial lawyer representing you tells insurance companies that you mean business – and won’t be afraid to reject low offers and haul them into court to try to get better results. Kent McGuire and the team at McGuire Law Firm have litigated hundreds of cases in the courtroom. We’re accomplished – and successful – trial attorneys who understand what it takes to win for our clients.
Schedule a Free Case Evaluation With Our Oklahoma City Personal Injury Lawyers
Have you or a loved one been injured in an accident in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma? If so, call the experienced personal injury lawyers at McGuire Law Firm.
We understand that this is a difficult time for you and that you need time to recover. Let us take care of your personal injury case.
Our personal injury law firm offers a free consultation, so please contact us today.
What Our Clients Have To Say About Us
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Local Courts
- Oklahoma County Court Clerk – 320 Robert S Kerr Ave #409
- Nichols Hills Municipal Court – 6407 Avondale Dr Nichols Hills, OK 73116
- US District Court Clerk – 200 NW 4th Street Oklahoma City, OK 73102
- Supreme Court of Oklahoma – 2100 N Lincoln Blvd Suite 3
*Disclaimer – we do not endorse these companies or profit from having them listed on our website.
Our Oklahoma City, OK personal injury law firm also provides the following practice areas:
- Bicycle Accident Attorneys in Oklahoma City, OK
- Car Accident Attorneys in Oklahoma City, OK
- Motorcycle Accident Lawyers in Oklahoma City, OK
- Slip And Fall Lawyers in Oklahoma City, OK
- Truck Accident Lawyers in Oklahoma City, OK
- Defective Medical Devices in Oklahoma City, OK
