Edmond Car Accident Attorney

Have you recently been involved in a car accident in Edmond, OK?

You could be entitled to substantial compensation from whoever is responsible for your injuries and suffering.

Whether that’s another driver, your vehicle’s manufacturer, or a negligent government entity, McGuire Law Firm will work tirelessly to hold them accountable and get you the money you deserve.

Contact our Edmond car accident lawyers at (405) 513-5658 to arrange a free consultation.

You can have the opportunity to sit down with our team, discuss your case, and learn a little bit about how we might be able to help you navigate this difficult time.

Edmond, OK Car Accident Statistics

Edmond is one of the larger cities in Oklahoma County.

So, it’s no surprise that its roads and highways are often jam-packed. This creates hazardous situations where crashes can and do happen.

In 2016, there were a total of 1,691 car accidents across the city of Edmond. That accounted for nearly 8 percent of all of the car accidents in Oklahoma County that year. Many accidents in Edmond result in injury and death. In 2016:

6 accidents were fatal
22 accidents resulted in incapacitating injuries, and
175 accidents caused non-incapacitating injuries.

Another 300-plus crashes could have possibly caused injuries, but data is unavailable.

Dangerous Intersections in Edmond

While accidents can happen anywhere in Edmond, there are certain locations around the city where collisions occur with greater frequency. Some of the most dangerous roads and intersections in Edmond, OK include:

Danforth Road
Santa Fe Road
Highway 74 and Waterloo Rd
Second and Bryant
33rd and Broadway
15th and Broadway
Danforth and Kelly, and
15th and Boulevard.

If you can avoid these intersections or stretches of road, particularly during rush hour, you could potentially reduce the risk of a crash.

McGuire Law Firm Will Be There to Fight For You After a Crash in Edmond

There’s nothing easy about getting into an unexpected car accident. Costs can be incredibly high. The trauma of the collision and the physical injuries you sustain can change your life for years to come. If someone else is even remotely responsible for causing your pain and suffering, they must be held accountable.

You can accomplish that by filing a personal injury claim or lawsuit and demanding compensation. However, getting money in your hands is easier said than done - especially when you try to do it by yourself. When you hire our Edmond personal injury lawyers, you level the playing field against greedy and manipulative insurance companies. When you enlist our help, you give yourself the best shot at getting all of the money you deserve.

At McGuire Law Firm, we’re a small firm but we pack a huge punch. That’s thanks, in part, to our extensive legal experience. For the better part of two decades, our attorneys have been focused exclusively on personal injury law. Before that, however, Kent McGuire spent 13 years defending insurance companies against the very claims we pursue on behalf of our clients today. In that time, he had a front-row seat to insurance company practices - both good and bad.

Today, the team at McGuire Law Firm puts this knowledge and decades of legal experience to work to benefit our clients. We understand how much is on the line and know precisely how hard it can be to recover the money you need. That’s why we will be your fiercest advocate and fight to get the results you deserve. How? By:

Providing unwavering support and guidance throughout the injury claims process
Standing up to insurance companies on your behalf
Investigating your car accident exhaustively
Scrutinizing and analyzing relevant evidence
Determining what caused the accident, identifying who is responsible for your injuries, and seeking compensation from all liable parties
Limiting any claims that you are responsible for or share responsibility for your injuries, and
Consulting with experts as we determine what your case is likely worth.

If insurance companies don’t extend a fair settlement, we’ll be more than prepared to go head-to-head with them in front of a jury. They know our history of success in the courtroom all too well. That knowledge, alone, can be a huge motivating factor for offering a huge settlement. We’re the last attorneys they’ll want to go up against in front of a jury.

Common Causes of Car Accidents in Edmond

There are a lot of different reasons why cars are involved in traffic accidents in Oklahoma. However, there are certain factors that tend to contribute to a lot of collisions. These include:

Speed: Speeding is a factor in many crashes in Oklahoma because drivers have less time to react and are more likely to lose control of their vehicles.

Distracted Driving: Distracted driving can involve a lot more than using a cell phone behind the wheel. Anything that takes your eyes off of the road, hands off of the wheel, or mind off of the task at hand can increase the risk of a car accident in Edmond.

Drunk Driving: When a driver is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, it adversely affects their ability to drive safely. Reaction times decrease and drunk drivers are more likely to get distracted or fall asleep.

Failing to Yield the Right of Way: Drivers aren’t out on the road alone. They share the road with other vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians. It’s important for everyone on the road to know the rules, especially concerning the right of way. Failing to yield the right of way to pedestrians in a crosswalk or vehicles already in motion on a highway can cause a serious accident.

Hazardous Road Conditions: Not all accidents are the fault of the driver. Sometimes hazardous road conditions - potholes, uneven surfaces, dangerous curves in the road, obscured or missing signage - can contribute to a collision. In these situations, the government agency responsible for maintenance or design could be on the hook for damages.

Defective Equipment: When you buy a car, you expect it to be safe. However, sometimes cars have a design defect or aren’t assembled correctly. Sometimes the parts of a car - such as the airbags or brakes - don’t work properly. When these defects contribute to or cause an accident, the manufacturer could be liable for resulting harm.

Car Accidents in Edmond Can Cause Catastrophic, Fatal Injuries

At McGuire Law Firm, we know how devastating a car accident can be. We understand the impact a severe or catastrophic injury can have on your life. That’s why we will passionately and tenaciously pursue compensation on your behalf. We represent clients who, after being in an auto accident in Edmond, Oklahoma, sustained:

Broken bones and fractures
Chest injury
Crushing injury
Traumatic brain injury
Spinal cord damage
Paralysis
Back injury
Neck injury
Traumatic amputation, and other catastrophic injuries.

Tragically, not all accident victims survive their injuries. If you’ve lost a loved one in a crash in Edmond, contact our compassionate wrongful death lawyers for help getting through this incredibly tough time.

What If I’m Blamed For a Car Accident in Edmond?

Don’t panic. You might still be entitled to receive an award of damages. Someone else will just have to be primarily responsible for the crash.

Oklahoma has modified comparative negligence rules. Simply put:

Multiple parties can share fault and liability for an accident, and
Crash victims can recover compensation as long as they share less than 50 percent of the blame.

So, as long as you’re allocated 49 percent or less of the blame for an accident, you can get money from other involved parties.

Reducing Damages Under Oklahoma’s 50 Percent Rule

If you share less than 50 percent of the responsibility for causing an accident in Edmond, you can recover compensation. However, under the state’s comparative negligence rules, you won’t be able to recover all of your damages. Rather, your damages will be reduced proportionally by the amount of fault you’re assigned.

If you are 27 percent responsible, your damages will be reduced by 27 percent.

The less fault that’s assigned to you, the greater your financial recovery can be.

Sharing some of the blame for an accident won’t just affect your ability to recover compensation. It will also affect the degree to which you’ll be liable for damages sustained by others involved in the accident. You’ll be liable to the degree you share fault. So, if you’re 38 percent at fault, you can be on the hook for up to 38 percent of other victims’ losses.

Since your role in an accident will directly influence your ability to recover compensation, it’s important to reach out to a qualified personal injury lawyer for help. McGuire Law Firm will work hard to downplay claims that you share fault. We’ll gather evidence to suggest that others are to blame. Again, the less fault that’s allocated to you, the greater your take-home award can be.

We’ll Seek Compensation From Anyone Who Contributed to Your Edmond Car Accident

Under Oklahoma state law, anyone who is even 1 percent to blame for your accident can be financially responsible for the consequences. After an accident, liable parties might include:

Drivers of other cars on the road
Truck drivers
Trucking companies
Motorcyclists
Bicyclists
Pedestrians
Bus drivers
Uber or Lyft drivers
Transit companies
Employers of negligent parties
Vehicle or equipment manufacturers, or
Government agencies, such as the city of Edmond, Oklahoma County, or the state of Oklahoma.

Our attorneys will dig deep to determine what caused your accident. With this information, we’ll be able to identify who is responsible for your injuries, pain and suffering. Then, we’ll fight to hold each and every one of them accountable.

What is the Statute of Limitations for Car Accident Lawsuits in Oklahoma?

We know that things can be challenging for a while after a car accident. However, under state law, you will only have a limited period of time to demand compensation. In most cases, the statute of limitations for a car accident lawsuit in Oklahoma is two years. You could have more or less time to act, but that’s generally not the case. You will be prohibited from recovering any money at all if you miss the applicable deadline.

What Compensation is Available After a Car Accident in Edmond?

There’s no doubt about it - car accidents can be expensive. According to the National Safety Council, suffering moderate and evident injuries in a crash will cost an average of $27,800. When injuries are disabling, the costs of a crash average around $96,200. A fatal collision can cost a family upwards of $1,659,000, on average.

These figures don’t even take the emotional trauma or intangible costs of an accident into account.

If someone else caused you to get hurt, they might be on the hook for (some or all) of these costs. At McGuire Law Firm, we’ll pursue all available damages on your behalf. This includes economic awards, non-economic awards, and, punitive damages, if applicable.

Economic Damages

Economic damages are paid to make up for the verifiable costs of your accident. This can include money for:

Medical bills
Property damage
Lost wages
Disability, and
Reduced earning capacity.

By receiving economic damages, it should be as if the accident never happened, at all. Financially, at least.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages are paid to compensate for the consequences of an accident that are subjective. These injuries are personal and hard to value in monetary terms. This can include money for:

Pain and suffering
Emotional distress
Loss of consortium
Loss of enjoyment of life
Disfigurement, and more.

Calculating these types of damages can be complicated. That’s why our team never hesitates to turn to experts for help during the valuation process.

We’ll rely on doctors, psychologists, therapists, and vocational rehabilitation specialists as we work to identify your injuries, understand them, and determine how they’ll affect you.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are not typically awarded in personal injury cases. These are reserved for the cases where punishment is really warranted, such as when a defendant’s conduct is malicious, intentionally, or reckless. When punitive damages are awarded, they’re capped at $100,000 or the amount of actual (economic) damages awarded.

What Should I Do After an Edmond Car Accident?

The things you do after you get into an accident matter. The decisions you make are important. Not only for your health, but for any future legal claims you might decide to pursue. So, keep these things in mind after a crash to protect yourself and your legal rights.

Report the Accident: Always call the police and report a collision. When an officer arrives on the scene, they will conduct a preliminary investigation and complete a police report. This report will likely contain information that will be critical down the line if you decide to file an injury claim or lawsuit.

Go to the Hospital or Doctor: Seek medical treatment after your accident. Prompt care can help to make sure that all of your injuries are diagnosed and treated. Additionally, you’ll generate a medical report. This report can help to establish a causal link between the crash and your injuries, which will be crucial in proving negligence and recovering compensation.

Keep Quiet: Don’t apologize. Don’t accept fault. Don’t issue a statement to other parties or an insurance company. Your words can be twisted, taken out of context, and used against you.

Refuse Early Settlement Offers: An insurance company might offer to settle your case not long after the accident. However, this is usually only done when the insurer knows that they won’t be able to deny your claim in good faith and that your case is probably worth a lot. By extending a lowball offer, they’re hoping that they can make your case go away before you can get a lawyer involved. They hope you’ll be scared and accept way less money than your case is worth. If you do, you’ll likely be unable to secure additional compensation down the line.

Hire a Lawyer: You don’t have to pursue compensation on your own. You don’t have to deal with insurance companies. Let an accomplished personal injury lawyer in Edmond handle everything. This will give you time to get better, level the playing field, and give you the best shot at getting the money you deserve.

Our Edmond Car Accident Lawyers Are Here to Help

If you’ve been injured in a car accident in Edmond, OK, contact McGuire Law Firm. Our experienced and compassionate car accident lawyers will help you fight to recover the compensation you need and deserve. Your first consultation is free, so call our law office for assistance now.

Have You Been Injured in a Car Accident in Edmond?