If you’ve been injured in Tulsa, Oklahoma law gives you the right to hold the responsible party accountable and seek payment for the harm you’ve suffered. A personal injury claim is the legal process for doing just that.
In reality, the process is a lot when you’re still recovering. There are doctor’s appointments to attend, medical bills arriving in a steady stream, and perhaps calls from insurance adjusters who seem friendly but have their own agenda. We know the thought of adding a legal battle to this equation might feel like too much to bear.
Know that you do not have to face this alone. Carr & Carr Injury Attorneys has focused on helping Oklahomans in these exact circumstances since 1973. Our Tulsa personal injury lawyers handle the legal details so you can focus on your recovery.
For a free, no-obligation conversation about your situation, call us at (918) 747-1000.
Why Choose Carr & Carr Injury Attorneys?
Generations of Oklahoma Advocacy
For more than 50 years, our family-owned firm has stood beside injured individuals in Oklahoma. It’s a promise passed down through generations of our family to help yours.
Your Recovery Is the Priority
We work on a contingency fee basis. This means you pay absolutely nothing unless we win your case. It removes any financial stress from hiring a lawyer, allowing you to pour your energy into what matters: getting better. We provide:
- A Free Case Review: We will listen to your story and explain your options in plain English, with no pressure or strings attached.
- Direct Attorney Access: You will have a direct line to the attorney managing your case, ensuring your questions are always answered by someone who knows you and the specifics of your situation.
- A History of Results: While every case is different and past results do not guarantee future outcomes, our long history is filled with examples of securing the resources our clients needed to put their lives back together.
Deeply Rooted in the Tulsa Community
Our Tulsa office is at 4416 South Harvard Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74135, just south of 41st Street and a short drive from the I-44/244 interchange. Our attorneys, including Patrick E. Carr, Blake D. Beeler, and Charles Gregory Smart, are not part of some faceless firm on the other side of the country—we’re right here in Tulsa and we are a proud part of this community, regularly contributing to local conversations on outlets like Good Day Tulsa.
What Does Full Compensation Actually Look Like?
The purpose of a personal injury claim is to secure financial payment that covers every loss the accident caused. This compensation is typically divided into three categories, each addressing a different type of harm.
Economic Damages: The Billable Costs
These are the straightforward, calculable expenses that follow an injury. We work to recover every dollar you’ve lost, including:
- Medical Treatment: This covers everything from the initial ambulance ride and ER visit to future surgeries, physical therapy, prescription drugs, and any necessary long-term care.
- Lost Income: The wages you lost while unable to work. If the injury changes your career trajectory, we also pursue compensation for your loss of future earning capacity—the money you would have earned over your lifetime if the accident hadn’t happened.
- Property Damage: The cost to repair or replace your vehicle or any other personal property damaged in the accident.
- Out-of-Pocket Expenses: Other costs you’ve incurred because of the injury, such as paying for transportation to doctor’s appointments, hiring help for household chores you can no longer do, or making modifications to your home for a new disability.
Non-Economic Damages: The Human Toll
Some losses don’t have a price tag, but they are just as real and, in many cases, more life-altering. In Oklahoma, this includes:
- Pain and Suffering: The physical pain, discomfort, and emotional distress you’ve been through and may continue to experience, like pain that flares up on cold mornings.
- Emotional Anguish: The anxiety, fear, depression, or sleep disturbances that frequently haunt someone after a traumatic event.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: The inability to take part in hobbies, activities, or relationships that were meaningful to you before the injury, whether it’s coaching your kid’s soccer team or going for a run.
Punitive Damages: Holding Reckless Parties Accountable
In rare situations where the at-fault party acted with extreme recklessness or intentional malice, Oklahoma law allows for punitive damages. These are not meant to cover a specific loss. Instead, their purpose is to punish the wrongdoer and send a clear message that such behavior will not be tolerated.
Where Do Accidents Happen Most in Tulsa?
Understanding Tulsa’s High-Risk Areas
While an accident can occur on any road, certain intersections and highways in Tulsa consistently see a higher number of collisions. Based on our experience, we frequently see accidents at:
- Interstate 44 (I-44) and U.S. Route 75 (US-75): This major interchange handles a tremendous volume of traffic, and the constant merging and lane changes lead to serious collisions.
- The Broken Arrow Expressway (Highway 51): As a primary artery for commuters, the BA Expressway is known for high speeds and congestion, especially during rush hour. The interchanges at Memorial and Sheridan are particularly hazardous.
- 71st Street and Memorial Drive: This area is a hub of retail and commercial activity. The stop-and-go traffic and numerous entry and exit points make it a prime location for rear-end and T-bone accidents.
- 41st Street and Yale Avenue: Another busy intersection surrounded by shopping centers, where distracted driving and failure to yield are common factors in crashes.
Local Conditions That Increase Risk
Beyond specific locations, certain local factors contribute to the risk of an accident in the Tulsa area.
- Weather: Tulsa’s weather can be unpredictable. Sudden, heavy rainstorms make roads slick and reduce visibility instantly. The occasional ice or snow storm in winter creates treacherous driving conditions that catch even seasoned drivers off guard.
- Construction Zones: With ongoing development, road construction is a constant presence. These zones often have confusing lane shifts, abrupt stops, and uneven pavement, which easily leads to accidents if drivers are not paying close attention.
- Time of Day: Like in most cities, rush hour (typically 7-9 a.m. and 4-6 p.m.) is when Tulsa’s roads are most congested. This increased volume, combined with driver frustration, makes accidents far more frequent.
The Legal Framework of Your Case
What Kinds of Cases Do We Handle?
“Personal injury” is a broad legal field covering any situation where one person’s negligent or wrongful act harms another. Our practice is focused on helping people injured in a variety of circumstances, including:
- Car and Truck Accidents: Collisions involving passenger vehicles, large commercial trucks, motorcycles, and pedestrians.
- Premises Liability: Injuries from unsafe conditions on someone else’s property, such as a slip and fall in a poorly maintained store or a dog bite at a neighbor’s house.
- Medical Malpractice: Harm caused by a doctor, nurse, or hospital’s failure to provide a proper standard of medical care.
- Defective Products: Injuries caused by a product that was unsafely designed, manufactured, or marketed.
Common Injuries We See
The injuries from these accidents can range from moderate to permanently life-altering. We have deep experience handling cases that involve:
- Whiplash and Soft Tissue Damage: Often dismissed by insurers as minor, these injuries to the neck’s muscles and ligaments can cause chronic pain and limitations.
- Broken Bones: Fractures that may demand surgery, casting, and extensive rehabilitation, leading to significant time away from work.
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs): From concussions to severe brain damage, these injuries can have lifelong cognitive, emotional, and physical effects.
- Spinal Cord Injuries: Damage that easily leads to partial or complete paralysis, changing every part of a person’s life and requiring a lifetime of care.
Key Legal Concepts Explained Simply
A legal claim involves terms you may not have heard before. Here are a few key concepts in simple terms.
Negligence
This is the foundation of a personal injury case. It’s a legal concept meaning someone failed to act with reasonable care, and that failure directly caused your injury. A driver who runs a red light and causes a crash has acted negligently.
Statute of Limitations
This is a non-negotiable legal deadline. In Oklahoma, you generally have two years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit. If you miss this deadline, the law will almost certainly bar you from seeking compensation forever, no matter how strong your case is.
Comparative Fault
Oklahoma law follows a “modified comparative fault” rule. This means you can still recover damages even if you were partially at fault, as long as your share of the blame is less than 50%. Your compensation is then reduced by your percentage of fault. For instance, if you were found 20% at fault for a $100,000 award, you would receive $80,000. But if you are found 50% or more at fault, you cannot recover anything. This is outlined in Okla. Stat. tit. 23 § 13.
A Word on Insurance Companies
Their Goal Is Not Your Goal
Insurance companies are businesses designed to be profitable. Their success depends on collecting more in premiums than they pay in claims. This creates a direct conflict of interest from the moment you file. Their primary objective is to resolve your claim for the lowest amount possible.
Tactics We Anticipate and Counter
We have seen the same patterns for over 50 years. Some common tactics they use include:
- Requesting a Recorded Statement: They may ask you to give a recorded statement about the accident, sometimes very early on. We advise against this. They are trained to ask questions that can be used to take your words out of context later to minimize your claim or shift blame to you.
- Offering a Quick, Low Settlement: An early settlement offer can be a mirage in the desert. It’s tempting, especially when you’re watching your savings dwindle. However, these initial offers almost always represent a fraction of what your case is truly worth and fail to account for future medical needs or long-term pain.
- Delaying the Process: Some insurers may drag their feet, requesting endless documents or simply not returning calls. They hope you’ll get frustrated and either accept a lowball offer out of desperation or give up entirely.
- Disputing Your Injuries: They might scour your medical records to argue that your injuries aren’t as serious as you claim, or that they stem from a pre-existing condition. This is why consistent medical treatment is so important.
When you hire Carr & Carr, we handle all these communications for you. Their calls stop. The pressure is off.
What Should You Do to Strengthen Your Case?
Even with an attorney handling the legal work, there are practical steps you should take to protect your rights.
- Follow Your Doctor’s Orders: Go to every follow-up appointment and physical therapy session, and take medications as prescribed. Any deviation gives the insurance company an opening to argue that you weren’t truly injured or that you made your condition worse.
- Keep a Pain Journal: This doesn’t need to be complicated. Each day, jot down notes about your pain levels (1-10), the activities you find difficult or impossible, and how the injury affects your mood and daily life. This creates a powerful, real-time record of your suffering that is more compelling than trying to remember details weeks or months later.
- Hold Onto All Paperwork: Keep every medical bill, receipt, explanation of benefits, and letter from any insurance company in a dedicated folder. These documents are the building blocks of your claim’s economic damages.
- Stay Off Social Media: This is a modern-day minefield. Avoid posting pictures, videos, or updates about your accident, activities, or recovery. Insurance companies will look at your social media profiles for anything—a photo of you at a family barbecue, a comment about feeling “okay”—that could be used to question the severity of your injuries.
- Let Us Handle the Communication: Once you hire us, direct all calls from the at-fault party’s insurance company to our office.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will my personal injury case take?
The timeline for a personal injury case varies widely. A straightforward case with clear fault and well-documented injuries might settle in a few months. A more involved case, perhaps with multiple parties or a dispute over long-term medical needs, could take a year or more, especially if a lawsuit is needed. The most important factor is not speed, but ensuring you receive full and fair compensation. Rushing to a settlement before the full extent of your injuries is known is a mistake that can’t be undone.
What if the person who hit me was uninsured in a car accident?
This is a common fear. If the at-fault driver is uninsured or has too little insurance to cover your losses, we look to your own insurance policy’s Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) coverage. This is coverage you have paid for to protect yourself in this exact situation. We can review your policy to determine your options and pursue a claim against your own insurer on your behalf.
Do I have to go to court?
The vast majority of personal injury cases—more than 95%—are settled out of court through negotiation. A settlement avoids the time, expense, and stress of a trial. However, we prepare every case from the very beginning as if it will be presented to a jury. If the insurance company refuses to make a fair and reasonable settlement offer, we are always prepared to go to court to protect your rights.
I was just a passenger in the car. Can I still file a claim?
Yes. As an injured passenger, you have the same rights as an injured driver. You have the right to file a claim against the at-fault driver’s insurance policy. This could be the insurance for the driver of the car you were in, the driver of another vehicle involved in the crash, or in some cases, both.
The insurance company says my medical treatment is “unreasonable.” What does that mean?
An insurer might argue that the care you received was excessive, not related to the accident, or not needed for your type of injury. We counter this by working closely with your doctors to gather the evidence and expert opinions needed to show that every part of your treatment was medically necessary for your recovery.
Let Us Handle the Burden So You Can Heal
The time after an injury is for recovery, not for fighting with insurance companies or trying to learn a new set of rules and deadlines. Let our family help yours. The team at Carr & Carr Injury Attorneys is ready to lift that weight from your shoulders, allowing you to focus on what is most important: your health and your family.
Call us today at (918) 747-1000 for a free, confidential consultation. There is no fee unless we win.
Carr & Carr Injury Attorneys – Tulsa Office
Address: 4416 S Harvard Ave, Tulsa, OK 74135
Contact No: 866-510-0580