More than 1,230 motorcycle riders enjoying Oklahoma roadways in 2020 were involved in accidents. Of the 1,100 crashes, more than half involved more than one vehicle. In many of them, a negligent driver of another vehicle caused the crash.
The lack of safety features and limitations of motorcycles make their riders particularly vulnerable to injury and death when they are involved in a crash. If you have been injured or if someone you love has been incapacitated by their injuries or died in or around Tulsa, Oklahoma, Stan Bearden Law Firm may be able to help.
Stan Bearden has been helping clients and their families pursue personal injury claims for more than three decades. His experience, knowledge, and compassion for his clients set him apart. Every single client’s well-being and success is his focus.
After a motorcycle crash, your health and well-being should be your most important concern. That means you should seek medical attention immediately, even if you aren’t sure you have sustained injuries. Some injuries are not readily apparent, and others are masked by adrenaline. It’s vital that you undergo an examination by a physician who knows what to look for and can diagnose injuries and prescribe treatment. An undiagnosed injury or delayed diagnosis can result in an injury that never heals properly.
Here are four other steps you should take:
Motorcycles must observe all the rules of the road; however, there are some laws that apply specifically to them. For example, lane splitting, driving between lanes of traffic or vehicles, is illegal in Oklahoma. If you were violating any laws or regulations at the time of the accident, the driver’s insurance company will attempt to deny your claim or assign enough fault to you to reduce its value. Pertinent laws include:
The burden is on you, as the plaintiff in a personal injury or wrongful death claim, to prove that someone else was 50% or more at fault for the crash. Fault is based on negligence, which asserts that the driver did—or failed to do—something that caused the accident.
To establish negligence, you must prove that the driver owed a duty of care to your or your loved one, the driver failed their duty, and as a result, you sustained injuries—or a loved one was injured or killed—which caused you to incur damages.
Because Oklahoma uses a comparative negligence rule, you can be 49% at fault or less and still be able to assert a claim against a more negligent party. However, any settlement or jury award will be reduced by the percentage of negligence assigned to you or your loved one. If, for example, the settlement is $100,000 and you are 40% at fault, you would receive $60,000.
Hiring the right motorcycle accident lawyer will help you prove negligence and defend negligence assigned to you.
If your loved one has been incapacitated by injuries or died as the result of the crash, you can still pursue a personal injury or wrongful death claim. The court will appoint someone, usually a family member, to file an injury claim.
If the victim would have been able to file a personal injury claim had they not died, the personal representative of their estate may file a wrongful death claim. If the decedent had no will or other instrument naming a personal representative, the court will appoint one.
Victims of motorcycle accidents are often perceived as at fault for their injuries. It is an unfair, but typical, attitude. You need an experienced motorcycle accident lawyer to fight the insurance company and their attorneys to recover what is fair. If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a motorcycle crash in or around Tulsa, Oklahoma, you can count on Stan Bearden to fight for you. Set up a consultation today.