Types of Personal Injury Claims | Oklahoma Injury Lawyers

The types of injury claims you can pursue are determined by the facts of your case, the negative impact the accident and injury have had on your life, and the negligence of the other party. Every type of claim has its own standard of proof. The type of claims you pursue in a personal injury case matter as it determines what you must prove in your case. The three primary types of Oklahoma personal injury claims include: negligence claims, intentional tort claims, and strict liability claims. The following is a brief summary of the available damages in Oklahoma personal injury claims. 

Negligence

Negligence claims are the most common type of personal injury claim. A basic definition of negligence is careless conduct; however, the legal definition, or what your Oklahoma personal injury attorneys would have to prove in court is slightly more complex. A person is negligent when he/she fails to act with at least the same degree of care that a person of reasonable prudence would observe in a similar situation. 

A negligence claim can come from a careless or drunk driver causing an injury car accident. Another type of negligence claim would be a medical malpractice claim against a doctor for causing an injury due to performing a medical procedure that was inconsistent with the standard established for doctors performing that procedure, not simply the reasonable person standard. In order to be liable for negligence, a party must breach a duty of care that they owed to you, which resulted in your being injured or causing you damages.

The extent of a defendant’s duty to you varies based on the circumstances. For example, a doctor may be held to a professional standard of care in performing a surgery or other medical procedure on you; however if she caused a car accident in which you were injured. The defendant’s breach of his duty of care must have actually caused the accident. Even if the defendant was driving while drunk. You cannot receive a judgment for a drunk driving accident, unless you can show the other driver caused the accident, with or without the evidence of intoxication, i.e. if you were negligent in causing an accident with a drunk driver, that does not mean you can recover damages.

Waivers of liability can protect companies and individuals from some types of negligence. However, waivers are insufficient to protect companies from personal injuries as a result of  “gross negligence.”

Reckless conduct is an additional type of behavior that is in a gray area between carelessness and intentional actions. Reckless is worse than negligence; however, it is not a severe as intentionally causing an injury. Depending on the facts, courts will sometimes award greater damages for reckless conduct, which is a nuances category of fault in personal injury.

Negligence is the most common type of claim in personal injury lawsuits in Oklahoma. Within negligence claims you will find the following common types of personal injury cases: 

  • Bus Accidents;
  • Car Accidents;
  • Commercial Truck Accidents;
  • Construction Accidents;
  • Dog Bites;
  • Motorcycle Accidents;
  • Truck Accidents; and
  • More

Intentional Torts

An intentional tort is any willful action that results in an injury, i.e. a crime that occurs that results in an intentional tort.  The standard in intentional tort personal injury is lower than the beyond a reasonable doubt standard in a criminal case. Therefore, a person can be acquitted of criminal charges and still be held accountable in a personal injury case / civil lawsuit.

Strict Liability

In a strict liability the defendant in the lawsuit can be held accountable without an intent element being established or put another way you can recover damages without proving the other party was careless, reckless, or acting in an intentional manner. In Oklahoma, strict liability applies when you are injured by a defective product. You must show the following to prevail against a manufacturer:

  • The product was defective in design, manufacturing or otherwise;
  • You received the product without a substantial change in condition;
  • The product was unreasonably dangerous, i.e. greater than normal risk; and
  • Your injury was caused by the defect.

Contact – Cannon & Associates: Oklahoma Personal Injury Advocates

Experience matters when you or a loved one has been injured or died as a result of the negligence of someone in a vehicle accident in Oklahoma. It is important to know the Oklahoma personal injury lawyer you hire is dedicated to your cause and versed in all aspects of car accident law in Oklahoma. Cannon & Associates is dedicated to Fierce Advocacy for accident victims and will fight for you. Founder John Cannon has been recognized as a Super Lawyer and Top 40 under 40. Contact Cannon & Associates to protect your rights and fight for compensation in your car accident case in Oklahoma. Complete the CONTACT FORM ON THIS PAGE NOW or CALL at (405) 906-4051 for a free confidential case evaluation.