When you are injured in a car accident, a fall, or even by medical malpractice, filing a personal injury claim is sure to be in your near future. In Oklahoma, filing a claim can be complicated, but we are here to help save you time and to lay out the foundation of requirements for a filing status.
What Is Oklahoma's Statute of Limitations
Did you know that there are limitations for how long after an accident or injury occurs that you can even file a claim? In Oklahoma, the statute of limitations is 2 years for personal injuries. This means that you have up to 2 years after the date that the injury happened to file your claim or the courts can decide not to even hear your case. The sooner you get the claim submitted, the better.
What Auto Insurance Must You Carry in Oklahoma?
Owning a car comes with the added responsibility of carrying insurance on that car. Oklahoma has some minimum requirements for the car insurance you must have:
- $25,000 for injury or death, per person
- $50,000 total for injury or death if multiple people were hurt
- $25,000 for property damage
Of course these are only the minimums you must carry on your insurance, however, there are plenty extras you can add. For example:
- Collision: Helps pay for damages to your car
- Uninsured Motorist: covers you if you are involved in an accident caused by a driver that in uninsured.
- Comprehensive: You would get this added to help pay for damages to your automobile caused by things like hail, tree falling, anything that is not collision-related.
- Medical Payments: this would help cover your medical costs if injured in an accident
Is Oklahoma An No-Fault State?
No, Oklahoma is not a no-fault state. Instead, it is an at fault state.
Oklahoma is one of the many states that follow the fault, or tort, system for determining who is at fault for an accident. The fault system is just like it says: the person that caused the accident or injury is going to be liable for any/all injury and property damage they cause.
An example of the fault system: You are riding through the park on your bike. All of the sudden you and the bike go flying through the air because you hit a huge hole on the bike path. There had been construction work happening on the path, but this area was not marked for any obstacles in the way. The accident caused you break your foot and you sued the state (construction crew working). They were found liable for not putting up signs and marking off that area that needed work done.
A Prior Oklahoma Personal Injury Claim
In Oklahoma a young girl was burned over 95% of her body because a hot water tank had been installed improperly which resulted in a $3 million judgement. Gasoline leaked near the hot water tank, the gas caught fire and burned the little girl severely. Unfortunately, the girl required over 30 surgeries because of the burns. The gas company was supposed to turn off the hot water tank since it was installed improperly and the gas can had a defective design as well.
Damage Caps in Oklahoma
Oklahoma has a cap on the damages you can receive in a case. On noneconomic damages the cap is $350,000 which includes pain and suffering. Nonetheless, if you have suffered a personal injury due to the actions of another party, such as an injury from a slip and fall incident or a car accident in Okahoma, you should consult with an Oklahoma personal injury attorney to discuss how to recover any losses you may have incurred.
