Imagine you’re driving home after a long day at work, looking forward to a quiet evening with your family. Suddenly, another vehicle runs a red light and crashes into your car. In an instant, your life changes. 

Beyond the immediate physical injuries—broken bones, bruises, and perhaps more severe trauma—you find yourself unable to enjoy the activities that once brought joy to your life. Maybe you were an avid hiker, a passionate gardener, or someone who loved playing sports with friends. Now, those activities are out of reach, not just temporarily, but possibly for a long time.

This scenario is a stark reality for many who have been involved in serious accidents in Oklahoma. The term “loss of enjoyment of life” refers to the limitations placed on your ability to engage in enjoyable activities due to injuries sustained in an accident. It’s a significant component of your well-being and quality of life, and when it’s taken from you, the effects can be devastating—not just physically, but emotionally and psychologically as well.

At Carr & Carr, we understand the profound impact that loss of enjoyment of life can have on accident victims and their families. While no one can turn back time and prevent the accident from happening, our team is committed to helping you demand compensation for your losses. With a focus on personalized and compassionate legal support, we’re here to fight for the justice you deserve. 

Understanding Loss of Enjoyment of Life

When you’re injured due to another’s negligence in Oklahoma, the law recognizes not just the physical injuries and financial costs incurred but also the less tangible (yet profoundly impactful) damages to your quality of life. Among these is what’s known as the “loss of enjoyment of life.” 

This concept refers to the diminished ability to engage in activities or pleasures that made life enjoyable before the injury. Whether it’s hobbies, sports, or spending quality time with loved ones, the loss of ability to partake in these activities is a significant consequence of serious injuries.

In Oklahoma, loss of enjoyment of life is a legitimate category of compensable damages. This recognition addresses the full spectrum of harm suffered by victims—not just the visible injuries or the direct financial impacts but also the profound effect on a person’s happiness and satisfaction in life.

Is Loss of Enjoyment of Life the Same as Pain and Suffering?

It’s important to distinguish loss of enjoyment of life from other types of damages, such as pain and suffering or economic losses. While pain and suffering refer to the physical and emotional distress caused by an injury, loss of enjoyment of life zeroes in on the victim’s diminished ability to enjoy leisure activities or life’s pleasures. Economic losses, on the other hand, cover tangible financial impacts like medical bills and lost wages. Loss of enjoyment of life stands out because it captures the value of the experiences and joys lost due to the injury, which is not as easily quantified but is equally important to the victim’s well-being.

The Role of Evidence in Proving Loss of Enjoyment of Life

Loss of enjoyment of life can have a profound impact on your life. However, you’ll need specific evidence to demonstrate this loss. While the physical injuries may be apparent and economic losses are backed up by invoices, receipts, and employment records, proving loss of enjoyment of life is more challenging. Below is an overview of the steps you’ll need to take to prove your claim.

Document Your Life Before the Accident

Proving the loss of enjoyment of life starts with clearly showing what your life was like before the accident. You need to collect photos, videos, and stories from people that highlight how you were actively involved in hobbies, sports, or any activities that made you happy and fulfilled. These pieces of proof show the big difference between your life before and after the accident. For example, showing pictures of you running in marathons or doing creative activities like painting helps create a clear picture of the changes in your life.

Provide Personal Testimony

When you talk about how your everyday life, your hobbies, and your relationships with family and friends have changed, it tells a powerful story that can’t be shown just with numbers and medical terms. Your personal experience adds a human touch to the evidence, making it easier for others to understand and relate to the impact of your injury.

Obtain Medical Records and Expert Testimony

Detailed medical records show not only the severity of your physical injuries but also explain how these injuries have limited your daily life and activities. Statements from medical experts can also provide information on the long-term effects of your injuries. They connect the dots between what your medical records say and how your injuries have changed your life for the worse. 

Obtain a Psychological Evaluation

Getting a professional psychological evaluation can help prove cases of emotional distress, anxiety, depression, or other mental health problems caused by the accident. This type of evidence makes your claim stronger by showing the full effect of your injuries on your overall health and happiness.

In short, you need to fully show how an accident has changed your life. By carefully gathering evidence that shows the difference between your life before and after the injury, and with the help of an experienced lawyer, you can clearly show the court how much you have lost.

How to Sue for Loss of Enjoyment of Life in Oklahoma

If you’ve suffered loss of enjoyment of life after a preventable accident, you can take legal action to claim damages. Start by collecting all relevant medical records, photographs, and personal diaries that document your injuries and how they’ve affected your daily life and ability to enjoy hobbies and activities you once loved. Then find an Oklahoma personal injury lawyer who can evaluate your case and help you understand the compensation you might be entitled to.

Your attorney will draft and file a complaint against the party responsible for your injuries. This document will outline your legal claims, the facts of your case, and the damages you’re seeking. After the lawsuit is filed, both sides will exchange evidence during the discovery phase. This may include depositions, requests for documents, and interrogatories. Your attorney will use this phase to gather evidence supporting your claim of loss of enjoyment of life.

Many personal injury cases are settled before they go to trial. Your attorney will negotiate with the defendant’s insurance company or legal representation to reach a settlement that compensates you fairly for your losses. If a settlement cannot be reached, your case will go to trial. At trial, your attorney will present your case, including evidence of your loss of enjoyment of life, to a judge or jury, who will then decide on your compensation.

Importance of Hiring an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney

Although you aren’t legally required to use a lawyer, filing a lawsuit for loss of enjoyment of life is not a straightforward task. An experienced attorney, with their knowledge of Oklahoma’s legal system and personal injury law, will help ensure that your case is handled correctly and with the dedication it deserves. For example:

• An Oklahoma personal injury attorney knows how to negotiate with insurance companies and opposing counsel, increasing your chances of receiving the maximum compensation possible for your injuries and loss of enjoyment of life.
• From filing the lawsuit to managing the discovery process and representing you in court if necessary, an experienced attorney will handle all aspects of your case, allowing you to focus on your recovery.

At Carr & Carr, our personal injury attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you don’t pay unless you win your case. This arrangement allows you to pursue justice without worrying about immediate legal fees.

Choosing Carr & Carr for your claim means putting your trust in a law firm that truly stands by your side. To us, you are more than just a case number- from the moment you walk through our doors, you’re treated with care and respect by everyone from our receptionists to our paralegals and attorneys. We listen to your story, offer comfort, and provide support every step of the way. We also have the resources and determination to go up against big opponents, increasing your chances of getting the money you need to reclaim your life after an injury.

Compensation for a Loss of Enjoyment of Life Claim

In Oklahoma, there is no cap on non-economic losses in personal injury cases. This means there’s no fixed limit to the amount you can recover for the loss of enjoyment of life, allowing you to receive compensation that truly reflects your suffering.

Factors Influencing Compensation

The amount of compensation you can claim for loss of enjoyment of life and other damages is influenced by several important factors:

• Severity of Physical Injuries: The more severe your injuries, the greater the potential compensation, as serious injuries tend to have a more profound impact on your ability to engage in enjoyable activities.
• Impact on Daily Life: Compensation is also based on how your injuries affect your daily activities. If your injuries prevent you from doing things that were a big part of your life, this will be considered in determining your compensation.  
• Age and Life Expectancy: Your age and expected lifespan play a role because they help estimate how long you’ll be living with the loss of enjoyment and other losses. Younger individuals might receive more compensation due to the longer period they have to live with their injuries.
• Mental and Emotional Effects: The psychological impact of your injuries is also a critical factor. Emotional distress and mental anguish resulting from your inability to enjoy life as before can significantly affect your compensation.

Deadline for Suing for Loss of Enjoyment of Life

Under Oklahoma law, you generally have two years from the date of your injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. This two-year window, known as the statute of limitations, is your timeframe to seek compensation for your injuries, including claims for loss of enjoyment of life.

However, it’s important to note that there are exceptions to this rule. In certain situations, such as claims against government entities, you might have a shorter timeframe to act, sometimes only weeks or months. If you miss this deadline, you may lose the right to sue for compensation permanently. An experienced personal injury lawyer can guide the applicable deadlines in your case and help ensure that your lawsuit is filed on time. 

Get a Free Consultation From an Oklahoma Personal Injury Lawyer

If you or someone you know has suffered an injury leading to a loss of enjoyment of life, don’t face the future alone. Carr & Carr Attorneys at Law is here to support you. With our years of experience and a dedicated team that genuinely cares about your well-being, we’re equipped to help you fight for the compensation you deserve. We understand the impact of your loss and will work tirelessly on your behalf. To learn more or schedule a free initial consultation, contact us today.

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For 50 years, Carr and Carr Attorneys have worked hard in our communities to serve all of Oklahoma.  This winter is going to be cold, and we want to help our communities stay warm. There is a great need to assist our unsheltered neighbors.

Today – February 9, we are accepting blankets and coats at our Oklahoma City office (SW 89^th Street, between Penn and Western), and at our Tulsa office (44^th and Harvard).  Please bring by your donations and help us help our neighbors when they need it the most.

We have partnered with City Care in Oklahoma City.

Supportive Communities Program with City Care and Night Shelter is for people who have or are currently transitioning out of homelessness and into housing. Over the last 24 years, City Care has built 115 units of permanent supportive housing for our neighbors transitioning out of homelessness. These peer-supported communities are empowering our residents to use their lived experiences to encourage others. Residents have access to case support advocates who help them remain stably housed by focusing on increasing life skills, income, managing health needs, and rebuilding healthy support systems.

We have partnered with Tulsa Day Center in Tulsa.

Tulsa Day Center’s priority is seeing to a client’s basic needs: shelter, food, clothing, and bathing. They offer rapid rehousing services, emergency shelter, medical assistance, and legal aid to help ensure all of those needs can be met. We envision a future where every Tulsan has a home.

Help us reach our goal of $2,000 for Susan G Komen this October!

Carr and Carr proudly donated $1,000! Will you collectively help match it?

Your support is helping SGK save lives and get one step closer to a world without breast cancer.

You can also join us walking in the More Than Pink Walk, this Saturday, October 21 at 8am at Bicentennial Park – Oklahoma City. Our team will be in the bright pink shirts.

Join us at BOOHAHA on Brookside – Saturday, October 21. Walk Brookside and see all the Boo’s and Ha’s with us!

Carr & Carr Attorneys will be at the KJRH studios from 9am-noon, parade starts at 11am.

We will have candy and goodies for everyone!

We are proud to announce that our newest associate lawyer, Billy Duncan, has received two very prestigious awards, the Tulsa County Bar Association Outstanding Young Lawyer Award and President’s Award. We are very happy to have Billy on our team at Carr and Carr Attorneys at Law. Below is the notice of the award given by the Tulsa County Bar Association.

Billy Duncan is this year’s recipient of the Outstanding Young Lawyer Award.

Billy has been active in the Young Lawyers Division for several years, and this year, he assisted TCBA President Philip Hixon in creating a stand-alone Young Lawyers Board. Not only did he help with the development of its by-laws, but he also served as Chairman of the Board. Billy recruited and encouraged young lawyers to get more active in sections and committees. Billy also helped coordinate the YLD activities like the bowling and softball leagues and the wine-tasting competition that raised $1,000 for the Tulsa County Bar Foundation. In addition to these additional duties, Billy also participated in and completed the first YLD Leadership Academy.

Billy is a 2015 graduate of the University of Tulsa Law School. While there, he served as the vice president and delegate of the Student Bar Association, Director of the Board of Advocates, President of the Military Law Society, and Social Chair at Phi Delta Phi.  He has interned at BDO, Tulsa County Das Office, Barrister Padraic Dwyer in Dublin, Ireland, and Wagoner County DAs Office.

Billy Duncan served as the first President of the TCBA’s Young Lawyer Division, which replaced the Young Lawyers Committee at the beginning of this year. Billy met with President Philip Hixon and Tami Williams several times during the summer of 2022 prior to the beginning of President Hixon’s term to discuss the new Young Lawyers Division. Billy was tasked with developing new bylaws for the YLD board of directors, which he did without complaint. The bylaws were completed in time for approval at the first board meeting of the new fiscal year. With his position, he became an ex officio member of the Executive Committee and attended additional meetings, again, without complaint. Billy ably led the YLD in its first year, introducing new events and projects and setting precedent for future YLD leadership. He was also a participant in the inaugural class of the YLD Leadership Academy. Billy was an important part of a successful year for the YLD and the TCBA.

Billy’s work experience included the Oklahoma Tax Commission, Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, Richardson Richardson Boudreaux, LaCourse Law, Stratton Law, and BDO USA, LLP.

Billy is passionate about encouraging other young lawyers to participate in the Tulsa County Bar Association. Whether participating in TCBA activities or spending time with his wife Amanda and two daughters, Presley (5) and Zoey (3), he believes investing in the next generation is essential to the bar’s future and our community.

Host: Well, if you are a dog owner, you may wonder what your responsibility would be if your dog bit someone. Michael Carr joins us today to tell us what we should do in that situation. Good morning, Michael. And I feel bad because we literally just showed a dog on here that’s up for adoption at the Tulsa SPCA, and then we talk about dog bites. This dog did not bite anybody, so we’ll clarify that right off the bat. But if you do have a dog that gets out of a fence or somebody comes over, you know, a repairman of some sort and the dog bites them, what kind of responsibility do you have as a homeowner?

Michael Carr: Right, well, it’s good to know what the law is in Oklahoma with respect to dog bites because Oklahoma actually does have one of the stricter laws when it comes to what a dog owner could be responsible for. So in Oklahoma, if you have a dog and the dog bites someone, then you are strictly liable for the damages the dog causes, no matter what. Except there are a couple of exceptions. One would be if someone provokes the dog and causes the dog to bite them. In that instance, the dog owner would not be responsible. But otherwise, the dog owner would be on the hook for whatever the damages are.

Host: Okay, so I watch enough Judge Judy every now and then to see there’s a lot of dog bite cases that they have on there. They’re always kind of weird when somebody else is at fault. You mentioned if you were provoking the dog, but if somebody, let’s say some kids go through your yard, if your yard’s fenced in, your dog’s back there, and some kids are trying to cut through to another yard and they climb over the fence, are you liable in a case like that?

Michael Carr: Well, so you would only be liable if the person who is injured is at the location they’re entitled to be at. So, for example, you took the example of maybe a trespasser. If someone sneaks onto your property and they don’t have a right to be there, and your dog is simply protecting you and your property, then no, you would not be responsible for the injuries the dog bites. You’re only responsible if the dog bites someone where the other person’s lawfully there. So, for example, if you’re at a dog park or something, if you’re on a walk and your dog suddenly bites someone walking next to you, on that occasion, yes, the dog owner would be responsible unless, of course, the pedestrian somehow startles the dog and provokes the dog to bite them.

Host: Now, what are you entitled to if you are bitten by a dog? If you’re the person who’s on a walk and a dog gets off leash and bites you, or if you’re in your own neighborhood and someone’s dog is not on a leash and it bites you, what are you entitled to?

Michael Carr: So, under Oklahoma law, you’ve been entitled to various things. If you’ve been bitten by a dog and you have to go get medical care, well, you’re gonna have medical expenses. And if that happens, then yes, you would be entitled to your medical expenses and any future medical expenses you might need. If you miss time from work because of this, you’d be entitled to your lost wages. It also affords just the pain of suffering from getting bit by a dog. It’s not something to be taken lightly, and the court would allow you to ask for compensation for the pain and suffering that you’ve gone through because of the dog bite.

Host: Okay, so when is it time to call a lawyer in a case like that? Is that as soon as it happens or wait and see how bad it is?

Michael Carr: Well, the law in Oklahoma is not always crystal clear. So if you’ve been injured by a dog and you’re not really sure what you might be entitled to, then yes, give us a call here at Carr & Carr. We’re able to provide you with a free consultation and let you know what you might be entitled to.

Host: All great information. Thank you so much. We appreciate all the information. We’re going to tell folks how to get in touch with you. Thank you, Michael. All right, Carr & Carr, 4416 South Harvard Avenue. Give them a call if you have questions at 918-747-1000 or you can go to their website at carrcarr.com. They’re also on Facebook.

Related: Sue for Loss of Enjoyment of Life

The kid’s Pillowfort weighted blanket has been recalled from Target department chain after reports of two young girls suffocating underneath one, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said in December 2022.

The attorneys at Carr and Carr Attorneys at Law have been helping injured victims across the nation since 1973.  We have successfully represented many products cases and helped insure the compensation you deserve.

If the Target weighted blanket was responsible for the harm or death suffered by you or a loved one, our product liability attorneys are here to help. Call us at 866-510-0580 or contact us online for a free case consultation.

Pillowfort

CPSC and Target are urging consumers to stop using the recalled weighted blankets immediately and contact Target for a refund. Sold excluxively at Target stores nationwide and online at www.target.com. The blankets were sold from December 2018 through September 2022 for $40.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Target Corporation, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, are announcing the recall of about 204,000 Pillowfort Weighted Blankets, where a young child can become entrapped by unzipping and entering the blanket, posing a risk of death by asphyxiation.

A 4-year-old girl and a 6-year-old girl reportedly became entrapped in the cover of the weighted blanket and died due to asphyxia at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina in April 2022. Target has received four reports of children becoming entrapped in these weighted blankets, including the two fatalities.

This recall involves Pillowfort Weighted Blankets.  The blankets weigh 6 pounds, measure 60 inches long and 40 inches wide and have a removable, waterproof, washable cover. The blankets come in eight prints or colors including unicorn white, space navy, pink, blue, gray, buffalo plaid red, blue constellation, and unicorn pink. Item numbers 097-02-0140 (Unicorn – White), 097-02-0148 (Space Navy), 097-02-0361(Pink), 097-02-0363 (Blue), 097-02-0364 (Gray), 097-02-1603 (Buffalo Plaid – Red), 097-02-3904 (Blue Constellation) and 097-02-3905 (Unicorn – Pink) are printed on the fabric tag attached to the removable covers of the blankets.

The weighted blankets were manufactured in China and recalled on December 22, 2022, recall number: 23-078.

Target exclusively sold the recalled weighted blankets at Target stores nationwide and online at www.target.com. The blankets were sold from December 2018 through September 2022 for $40.

If the Target weighted blanket was responsible for the harm or death suffered by you or a loved one, our product liability attorneys are here to help. Call us at 866-510-0580 or contact us online for a free case consultation.

Carr and Carr Attorneys of Oklahoma City and Tulsa are pleased to partner with Calm Waters, an Oklahoma City community organization dedicated to helping children grieve the loss of a loved one, on a Holiday gift-giving community initiative.  We are asking for your help in a toy drive this November and December.  Drop off your toys this November and December at Carr and Carr Attorneys at 1350 SW 89th St. Oklahoma City, or at Calm Waters at 501 N. Walker in Oklahoma City.

The Calm Waters mission is to help children and families in their grief journey caused by death, divorce, or other significant loss.

The Calm Waters vision is to be the leading provider of grief support services for children and families throughout Central Oklahoma, serving as a safe place for those who have experienced a loss to receive grief resources, peer support, and hope for the future. Calm Waters will be recognized as the expert on grief and trauma as it relates to loss, using research-based curriculum and programming.

Since 1973 Carr and Carr Attorneys have served the Oklahoma community. We hope you will join us and donate to help our children. Thank you, Oklahoma City, KFOR and Calm Waters!