April 12, 2025
Determining Compensation for Accidents Can Be Confusing
Accidents happen all the time. Unfortunately, the costs associated with them can be significant—and, in some cases, life-changing. When an accident is caused by another individual or entity’s negligence, compensation may be available by filing a personal injury lawsuit. This is reassuring to many accident victims; the financial recourse can help them move forward with their lives.
But what happens when the victim’s negligence also contributed to the accident?
The answer to this common question is important. More often than not, responsibility for an accident doesn’t lie solely with one person; the injured party’s negligent actions or inactions may also be partially responsible for the incident.
Oklahoma comparative negligence law identifies how the victim’s fault impacts compensation, and the effect can be significant. Proving fault and navigating comparative negligence questions requires hands-on experience and knowledge. When comparative negligence plays a role in an accident, insurance companies fight tirelessly to increase the percentage of blame on the victim. If you believe your insurance company’s bad faith actions regarding fault are negatively impacting your compensation, engaging a seasoned bad faith insurance claims lawyer to represent you throughout the legal process is a critical investment in your future.
Understanding Oklahoma Personal Injury and Comparative Negligence
Negligence Is the Key Word in Personal Injury Lawsuits
The term personal injury lawsuit refers to the legal action in pursuit of compensation made by one party against others whose negligent actions or inactions resulted in their illness, injury, or property damage. Proving negligence is a challenging component necessary to receive a settlement.
This process can be complex, and it is even more challenging when the victim was partially responsible for the incident at hand. Contrary to popular belief, this does not necessarily mean the case is invalid. However, it can impact compensation awards.
Negligence requires proof of the following four elements:
- Duty: Individuals and entities are required, by law, to act with reasonable care.
- Breach: The defendant failed to uphold specific standards of care.
- Causation: The breach in question must be the cause of the incident.
- Damages: The impact of the accident must have resulted in the illness, injury or property damage at hand.
Proving negligence takes significant experience and knowledge. Failure to do so in a personal injury lawsuit will invalidate the claim.
Understanding Comparative Negligence
The state of Oklahoma recognizes that fault for an incident does not always lie with a single individual or organization. In fact, in many cases, fault can be shared. Comparative negligence is a legal term that refers to the percentage of fault each party contributed to the accident. Allocating fault allows compensation to be adjusted based on the actions of all involved.
Oklahoma has in effect a modified comparative negligence law that outlines additional parameters under which compensation may be awarded. First, injured individuals, or those who have experienced property damage, are not eligible for compensation if they were 50% or more at fault for the accident. Those who are less than 50 percent at fault are eligible for compensation, but any determined awards would be decreased based on the percentage of fault assigned to them. So, if you are in an automobile accident and the award is $100,000, but you were found to be 20% at fault (perhaps you were speeding), you will collect only $80,000.
Slip-and-fall events, vehicular accidents, and incidents of wrongful death are some of the most common cases in which comparative negligence plays a role.
How Insurance Companies Leverage Comparative Negligence for Their Benefit
The primary goal of insurance company operations is profitability, not protection. Policyholders mistakenly believe that their claims will be paid quickly . . . and in full; they don’t realize that their insurance companies often work tirelessly to minimize payouts. Because each paid claim is an expense that decreases their bottom line, insurance company representatives are incentivized to do everything within their power to minimize compensation.
To succeed, they leverage comparative negligence. The higher the percentage of fault assigned to the victim, the lower the payout. Insurance company representatives work painstakingly to prove that the victim’s negligence played a significant role in the accident that caused their injuries, and they often employ bad faith tactics (like using biased experts) to validate their claims.
An experienced insurance claims attorney can help accurately represent your position and address the bad faith actions of your insurance company.
Doug Terry Law Understands How Oklahoma’s Comparative Negligence Law Impacts Insurance Claims
Controlling the Controllable
Accidents that cause injury, regardless of fault, are overwhelming. Pursuing legal action is a lot to handle; managing the process successfully requires knowledge and experience. Engaging professional representation is the first, and perhaps most important, action you can take to regain control over your life. This step is important, the compensation you seek is crucial in protecting your future.
The firm with which you align should have an outstanding reputation for providing successful service. This means their attorneys should prioritize staying up to date on the ever-changing insurance and comparative negligence laws in Oklahoma, as well as other applicable laws.
The statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit in Oklahoma is generally two years from the date of the accident. Engaging legal counsel quickly is critical; you want to give your lawyer as much time as possible to investigate your case and develop a winning legal strategy.
Contact Doug Terry Law Today
Providing clients compassionate service is one of the tenets on which Doug Terry Law was founded. The firm’s attorneys appreciate the stress caused by accidents and realize that most victims don’t understand the underhanded strategies insurance companies will take to minimize their liability. As insurance bad faith lawyers, they conscientiously review evidence, including photos and videos and accident reports, and personally interview witnesses to determine the facts of each case. Additionally, they have solid working relationships with a host of expert witnesses on whom they can call for help in substantiating the details regarding fault, injury, and monetary damage for their clients.
In every case, the team at Doug Terry Law works diligently to maximize your compensation.
They understand you may have been partially responsible for the incident and recognize that insurance companies will try to exploit your role for their best interests, but they know how to combat these strategies.
Don’t let your insurance company take advantage of you. Contact Doug Terry today at
Attorney Doug Terry
After 25 years practicing in a larger firm, Doug chose to open his own practice in Oklahoma City. He brings his wealth of knowledge and his skills as a litigator to bear for his clients in matters of insurance bad faith, personal injury cases and class actions. He won $200 million and $25 million verdicts for clients in cases in which an insurer denied a health insurance claim. Doug has the distinction of being awarded a Martindale-Hubbell “AV Preeminent” rating from his peers in the legal community. He has also been selected as an Oklahoma Super Lawyer. [Attorney Bio]
