SKIP TO CONTENTIf you’ve had an accident, you likely have piles of bills to worry about, so adding attorney’s fees to the heap can leave a bad taste in your mouth. Instead of hiring a personal injury attorney in Oklahoma, you might decide to handle the whole settlement process yourself.
Going it alone might suffice for a minor motor vehicle accident, but you may opt not to risk heading into the fray without representation if you’ve suffered injuries. Learn why hiring an Oklahoma City personal injury attorney may be helpful, below.
Your Lawyer Can Assign a Value to Your Damages
It’s fairly easy to tally up medical bills and the cost of repairing or replacing your car. But if you have to take time off work, how much is that worth? What if you develop a disability that leaves you in lifelong pain? Assigning a value to such damages can be incredibly challenging for personal injury victims.
An experienced attorney knows exactly how to do that. They’ll calculate damages such as:
- The cost of medical care
- Property damage
- Lost wages
- Reduced earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Mental duress
They Can Minimize Your Percentage of Fault
According to Oklahoma law, you can only recover compensation for an accident if you’re less than 50% at fault. This is problematic because the other side’s attorney will probably try to pin some of the fault on you.
But when you have your own lawyer, turnabout is fair play. Your attorney will fight aggressively to minimize your fault, thus potentially increasing your compensation.
They Can Prove the At-Fault Driver’s Negligence
To sue the other driver and win, you must prove they acted negligently. Unless you went to law school, doing so can seem like an uphill battle.
To recover compensation, your personal injury attorney in Oklahoma must prove that:
- The at-fault driver owed you a duty of care.
- The driver breached this duty in some way (for instance, by driving aggressively or while intoxicated).
- The breach of duty caused your accident.
- The accident led to damages that the at-fault driver can compensate you for.
They Can Fight for a Fair Settlement
Your phone rings, and it’s the insurance company. “We’ll write you a check for $10,000,” the adjuster says.
That may sound like a great deal, but is it? If you don’t have representation, it’s impossible to know for sure.
Often, your claim is worth far more than the insurance company’s first settlement offer. If you don’t know that, you might end up leaving a lot of money on the table.
Insurance companies are more likely to provide a fair offer if you have a lawyer to negotiate for you. If an insurance company refuses to compensate you properly, your lawyer can fight for a better settlement in court.
Many Work on Contingency
If your primary reason for not hiring a lawyer is the cost, you needn’t worry. Many law firms, including Bryan Garrett PLLC, work on contingency for personal injury cases. That means you don’t pay any fees when you hire us unless we win your case.
Our firm only takes fees out of your settlement or award. Compare those fees to your potential settlement amount, and you’ll see how hiring a lawyer is well worth it.
Hire an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney Today
If you’ve had a car accident, don’t leave your settlement up to chance. Attorney Bryan Garrett has more than 15 years of experience representing clients in the Oklahoma City area, and he will fight aggressively to achieve a fair settlement for you.
For a free consultation with a personal injury attorney in Oklahoma, call (405) 972-6931.
