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Category: Auto Accidents

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What Kind of Lawyer Do You Need for a Car Accident?

Getting hit by another driver turns your world upside down in seconds. One moment you’re driving to work or picking up groceries, the next you’re dealing with insurance adjusters, medical bills, and a car that might be totaled. The question everyone asks is whether they need a lawyer, and if so, what kind.

The answer isn’t always obvious. Motor vehicle accident cases can range from straightforward fender-benders to complex multi-vehicle crashes involving serious injuries, and the type of legal help you need depends entirely on your specific situation.

Personal Injury Lawyers Handle Most Car Accidents

When people think about car accident lawyers, they’re typically thinking about personal injury attorneys. These lawyers focus on helping injured people recover compensation from the parties who caused their harm.

Personal injury lawyers handle the most common types of car accident cases. Rear-end collisions on I-35 during rush hour. T-bone crashes at busy Oklahoma City intersections like NW 23rd and Penn. Highway accidents on I-40 where someone was following too closely or texting while driving.

But here’s what many people don’t realize: not every car accident requires a personal injury lawyer. If you walked away from a minor fender-bender with no injuries and minimal property damage, you might be able to handle the insurance claim yourself. The challenge is knowing when your case crosses the line from simple to complex.

Insurance companies have teams of adjusters and lawyers working to minimize what they pay out. They’re particularly aggressive when they think you don’t have legal representation. That friendly adjuster who calls you the day after your accident? They’re not calling because they care about your wellbeing.

When Property Damage Gets Complicated

Sometimes the biggest issue isn’t your injuries, it’s your car. Oklahoma sees plenty of severe weather that can complicate accident scenes. A crash during an ice storm might involve multiple vehicles, or flooding might affect the accident scene investigation.

Property damage lawyers typically handle cases where the value of damaged vehicles or other property is substantial, or where there are disputes about who’s responsible for the damage. These cases might overlap with personal injury claims, but sometimes property damage is the primary concern.

Consider a scenario where your classic car gets totaled by someone running a red light. The other driver’s insurance company wants to pay you the standard book value, but your car was worth significantly more due to restoration work and rare parts. That’s when property damage expertise becomes crucial.

Insurance companies often push for quick settlements on property damage claims, hoping you’ll accept their first offer before you understand the true value of what you’ve lost.

Criminal Defense When You’re Facing Charges

About those situations where you might be the one facing criminal charges… Car accidents sometimes result in criminal cases, especially when alcohol, drugs, or reckless driving are involved. If you’re facing DUI charges, vehicular manslaughter, or other criminal charges related to a car accident, you need a criminal defense attorney, not a personal injury lawyer.

Oklahoma takes driving under the influence seriously. A DUI conviction can result in license suspension, jail time, and significant fines. If someone was injured or killed in an accident where you’re accused of impaired driving, the stakes become much higher.

Criminal defense attorneys understand the procedural requirements, evidence rules, and potential defenses that apply in criminal cases. They know how to challenge field sobriety tests, question breathalyzer results, and negotiate with prosecutors.

This gets complicated when you’re both facing criminal charges and being sued in civil court. The same accident can result in both criminal prosecution and a civil lawsuit, and statements you make in one case can potentially be used against you in the other.

Insurance Bad Faith Lawyers

Sometimes the problem isn’t the other driver or even the accident itself. Sometimes your own insurance company becomes the problem.

Insurance bad faith occurs when your insurance company fails to handle your claim fairly and in good faith. This might mean denying a valid claim without proper investigation, delaying payment unreasonably, or offering settlements that are far below what your claim is actually worth.

Oklahoma law requires insurance companies to handle claims in good faith, but they don’t always follow these requirements. When they don’t, you might need a lawyer who specializes in insurance bad faith cases.

These cases require different expertise than typical personal injury cases. Bad faith lawyers understand insurance regulations, company practices, and the specific legal standards that apply when insurance companies misbehave.

Product Liability When Vehicle Defects Cause Accidents

Not every car accident is caused by driver error. Sometimes defective vehicles or vehicle parts contribute to accidents or make injuries worse than they should have been.

Defective brakes that fail at a critical moment. Airbags that don’t deploy or deploy improperly. Tires that blow out due to manufacturing defects. Steering systems that fail unexpectedly.

Product liability lawyers handle cases where defective products cause or contribute to injuries. These cases often involve complex technical evidence, expert witnesses, and extensive investigation into manufacturing processes and safety testing.

The challenge with product liability cases is that they typically require significant resources to pursue effectively. Manufacturers have teams of lawyers and expert witnesses defending these cases, so you need legal representation with the experience and resources to match.

Wrongful Death Attorneys

When car accidents result in fatalities, surviving family members may need to pursue wrongful death claims. These cases involve different legal standards, different types of damages, and different procedural requirements than typical personal injury cases.

Wrongful death lawyers understand the specific requirements for these claims, including who can file them, what types of damages are available, and how to value the life of someone who died in an accident.

These cases are emotionally difficult for families who are grieving while also dealing with complex legal issues. Wrongful death attorneys typically have experience helping families navigate both the legal and emotional challenges of these cases.

How to Choose the Right Lawyer

The type of lawyer you need depends on the specific circumstances of your accident and the problems you’re facing afterward. Early consultation can prevent problems and preserve your options down the road.

If you’ve been in a car accident, talk to Farha Law, PLLC. We’ll review what happened, explain your options, and help you decide the next best step. Contact our team today to schedule a consultation.

Accidents involving Traumatic Brain Injury

Being injured in an accident can have a significant impact on your life. This is particularly true if the accident resulted in a traumatic brain injury. Even what seems like a simple bump to the head can lead to long-term problems like concussions or memory loss. Although tens of thousands of TBIs are diagnosed annually, there is no way to predict the impact this type of injury can have on your life.

What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury?

A traumatic brain injury occurs when the brain’s normal function is disrupted due to a sudden blow, jolt, or penetrating injury to the head. In some cases, the injury is immediately apparent, but in others, symptoms may not appear for hours or even days.

A concussion, often considered a mild injury, is one of the most common types of traumatic brain injuries. However, even though it’s called “mild,” the effects can be serious. You might feel dizzy, confused, or have trouble remembering simple things like names or where you put your keys. In more serious cases, a TBI can cause ongoing memory loss, personality changes, or problems with thinking and speaking.

Common Causes of Brain Injuries

Brain injuries can happen in many ways. Some of the most common causes include:

Car Accidents – The force of a motor vehicle collision can cause the sudden and forceful jerking of the head. This can lead to serious brain injuries, even if there’s no direct hit to the head.
Falls – Slipping on a wet surface or falling down stairs can lead to a hard hit on the head.
Sports Injuries – Contact sports like football, soccer, and hockey often involve hits to the head.
Workplace Accidents – Many jobs involve heights, heavy equipment, or hazardous environments. These all carry a higher risk of head injuries.

No matter how it happens, a TBI can affect work, school, relationships, and daily routines.

Signs You Might Have a TBI

The symptoms that a victim experiences with a traumatic brain injury can vary, depending on how severe the injury is. Some of the most common signs include:

Headaches that don’t go away
Feeling dizzy or off-balance
Confusion or trouble concentrating
Short-term memory loss
Changes in mood or behavior
Trouble speaking clearly
Sensitivity to light or sound
Sleep problems

If you experience any of these symptoms following an accident, it’s crucial to seek medical attention without delay. Even if you think you’re okay, a TBI can get worse over time without treatment.

How a Brain Injury Can Affect Your Life

Living with a traumatic brain injury can be difficult. Tasks that used to be easy, like following a recipe or keeping track of appointments, can suddenly feel overwhelming. Some people struggle with emotions, finding themselves angrier or more upset than they usually are. Others have trouble at work or school because they can’t focus the way they used to.

Recovering from a traumatic brain injury can be slow. In some cases, a full recovery might not be possible. Treatment often includes visits to doctors, therapists, and specialists. The medical bills add up quickly, and the injury might make it hard or even impossible to return to work.

Contact Our Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney Serving Oklahoma Today

If you’ve sustained a traumatic brain injury in an accident, you may be able to seek compensation for your losses and expenses. This can include money for medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering.

At Farha Law, PLLC, we work with individuals and families facing these challenges every day. We understand what you’re going through and are ready to fight for the support and compensation you need. Call our traumatic brain injury attorney serving Oklahoma today to get started with a free consultation.

Oklahoma City Moves Forward With New Road Safety Initiative

Auto accidents, injuries that accompany them and fatalities have long been a problem in Oklahoma City, just as it has been an issue in large cities across the United States. Other states, however, have taken steps to address it with safety programs designed to reduce the number of crashes through the Vision Zero program.

Vision Zero is a series of comprehensive steps meant to improve safety through education and infrastructure. Oklahoma City is in the top 20 for largest cities in the nation, but was one of two cities in that group that never implemented Vision Zero.

That, however, is about to change. As city planners complete a draft of their Vision Zero template, it is important for people who use the roads in any capacity to understand what it means and why this is happening. Whether it is a driver, a person who uses public transportation, a road worker, a bicyclist, a motorcyclist, or a pedestrian, the number of accidents remains a concern even with this positive step for safety.

When accidents do happen, people must be cognizant of how they can be impacted personally, financially, physically and emotionally. There are options to make a full recovery, and it is essential to be aware of them.

How planners hope Vision Zero will help Oklahoma City road safety

Statistically, road fatalities have been on the rise in Oklahoma City for five years. In that time, they increased by around one-third from what they were. Most fatalities were found to have been due to poorly lit roads where vehicles travel at high speeds. Vision Zero’s goal is to reduce the number of accidents to zero, hence the name.

While the goal is ambitious and admittedly unlikely to be achieved, there has been success in other urban areas with its implementation. To formulate the plan, city planners listened to residents and took comments in various ways from workshops, surveys and online discussions.

They looked at the Oklahoma City streets and roads that had the most accidents with injuries and fatalities. There were common denominators with these areas, including lower-income areas, people who have disabilities and those confronted with other daily challenges. A significant number of fatalities involved pedestrians.

Safety enhancements include making sure vehicles are as safe as they can be, ensuring drivers adhere to the speed limits, having roads designed to lower the chance of a crash, and making sure people who are involved in an accident get the proper level of care. The simple act of adding sidewalks to roads that do not have them and installing bike lanes can go a long way in helping people remain safe when they venture out.

Hopefully, when Vision Zero goes into effect in Oklahoma City, the safety strategies will yield similarly positive results as they have in other large cities that have moved forward with the project. Until it starts, the dangers are inherent, and the statistics show how people remain at risk.

When there is an auto accident, people need to think about how they will recover in every way. This is true for the injured person and the family who needs to deal with the aftermath. Whether it is dealing with insurance companies, gathering evidence, filing claims and determining strategy, it is essential to have professional advice with taking the next steps.

Where Does Oklahoma Rank in the U.S. for Dangerous Driving?

Auto accidents continue to be a problem in Oklahoma and across the United States. With the number of drivers who are speeding, are distracted, drive drowsy, get behind the wheel under the influence or are generally reckless, the potential for an auto crash with injuries and death seems to be the worst it has been in years. This puts everyone in danger whether they are driving, are pedestrians, bicyclists or motorcyclists.

While law enforcement, legislators and safety advocates take steps to educate drivers on the value of adhering to the law and behaving safely, many ignore their entreaties. Researchers analyze the numbers to determine which states are the riskiest. For Oklahoma drivers, the most recent research from Forbes Advisor should give them pause when they use the state’s streets and roadways.

Oklahoma ranks fifth worst in the nation for dangerous drivers

In the study, Oklahoma was ranked as the fifth worst state in which to drive. This was due to a combination of the number of fatal collisions and how common it is for drivers to text while driving.

Regarding the fatalities, the state ranked second worst for number of fatal collisions for every 100,000 licensed drivers. Only Mississippi had more. While some states have turbulent weather that contributes significantly to accidents, Oklahoma had 6.6% of fatal accidents that were attributed to weather issues. Contrast that with West Virginia which counted nearly 15% of its fatal accidents as being linked to the weather.

The study said that 13.54 fatal crashes out of 100,000 drivers involved a drunk driver. This was eighth worst in the U.S. Texting and driving is still a problem despite massive campaigns to discourage the practice. Oklahoma came in sixth with more than 61% of drivers who stated they saw friends and relatives using their handheld device while they were operating a motor vehicle.

It is a constant in the back of people’s minds that there is a chance of an auto accident when they take to the roads in the state. This information, however, makes it clear that those driving in the state have a major chance of being in a collision. Even if there are no fatalities, there can be severe injuries that negatively impact them and their family personally, physically, professionally and financially.

There are options after an auto accident

Knowing how and why an accident occurred is a fundamental part of moving forward in its aftermath. Was the driver drunk? Were they distracted? Did witnesses see them behaving in a reckless manner? Did they run a stop sign or red light?

These are all questions that need to be answered for those who were hurt or lost a loved one to move forward and make a full financial recovery for all that was lost. Being aware of the steps to take is vital. This means having professional guidance that understands all aspects of personal injury to help those who were harmed.

Examining Motor Vehicle Accidents in Oklahoma

If you are a resident of Oklahoma and you travel the roads on a regular basis, you must have encountered many accidents over the years as you were traveling back and forth from place to place. Motor vehicle accidents happen for many different reasons. Some of them can be prevented and others cannot. It is important that you and all the other drivers on Oklahoma roads operate your vehicles with safety in mind before anything else.

The Oklahoma Highway Safety Office provides publications and problem identification data that includes thorough analyses of crash numbers, locations, and rates. The crash data that OHSO comes up with is vital because highway safety professionals throughout the state use it to analyze where the traffic is safest and should be given top consideration and come up with possible solutions to the traffic problems.

What are OHSO’s sources for traffic data?

The OHSO uses the following sources to come up with the vital data that many other people rely upon:

Motor vehicle crash reports and data from police citations
Records from driver’s licenses
Motor vehicle registration records
Reports from breath test analyses
Surveys on attitudes and awareness
Surveys on protecting occupants
Fatality analyses
Crash rates from the Department of Transportation

From the OHSO’s perspective, it considers collaborating with the other agencies with which it partners a top priority. It accomplishes this by using the data sources to inform highway safety planning and program development.

Which surveys are used to derive data?

OHSO develops a number of surveys on an annual basis to determine the use of safety measures across Oklahoma. Some of those surveys are the Attitude and Awareness Survey, Seat Belt Survey and the Child Restraint Survey. Additionally, OHSO also developed the Quick Fact, which provides information on various performance measures, with data over the last few years that show trends and patterns. It also has data of fatalities from accidents that occurred as a result of drug and/or alcohol use.

The data are broken down by vehicle type, specific crashes, motorcycles, specific types of vehicles, accidents that occurred because of distracted driving, occupant protection, drivers, non-motorists, alcohol/drugs, speed, holidays, historical data and a comprehensive summary.

Advice from an Oklahoma personal injury lawyer

If you have been in an accident on one of Oklahoma’s roads and the accident occurred as a result of another driver’s negligence, contacting a personal injury lawyer with may be a really smart move. Having someone on your side with the experience to help you get what you need and what you deserve can really turn your case around and can give you hope for the future. The lawyer can walk you through the process and help you to protect your rights at the same time.