At Graves McLain Injury Lawyers, our Oklahoma City car accident lawyers help people who have suffered serious injuries because another driver made a dangerous, negligent, or careless decision. We investigate how the crash happened, deal with the insurance companies, document your losses, and pursue fair compensation through settlement negotiations or litigation when necessary.
From our offices in Tulsa, we represent injured people throughout Oklahoma, including Oklahoma City. If a collision has left you facing medical concerns, lost income, or lasting physical limitations, our team can handle the legal and insurance matters while you focus on healing.
A serious auto accident case involves more than exchanging insurance information and waiting for an adjuster to make an offer. When injuries are significant, you need evidence showing who caused the collision, how the crash affected your health and earning ability, and why the insurer should pay the full value of your losses.
Our attorneys bring decades of combined experience to serious personal injury litigation. The firm’s lawyers have received recognition, including an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell and multiple Super Lawyers honor.
Our founding attorney, Daniel B. Graves, has served as continuing legal education faculty on personal injury, wrongful death, and related litigation topics. Attorneys W. Chad McLain and Rachel E. Gusman were named among the top 2.5 percent of lawyers and recognized for their courtroom successes.
We also have a track record of successful motor vehicle results, including:
Past results do not guarantee future outcomes, but they reflect our experience handling serious crash claims and pursuing substantial losses when the facts support them. To find out how we can help you, call our team for a free consultation today.
Car accidents happen in many ways, and the legal issues can change depending on how the collision occurred. As an OKC car accident law firm serving people statewide, we handle claims involving serious injuries, disputed liability, and insurance issues that require more than a routine claims process.
Common cases include rear-end crashes, intersection collisions, unsafe lane changes, head-on crashes, distracted driving accidents, speeding-related collisions, and crashes caused by impaired drivers. We also handle cases involving uninsured or underinsured motorists when the available liability coverage does not fully address the harm.
Our attorneys evaluate the facts of each crash individually. A collision on I-40 may raise very different issues from a crash on Northwest Expressway, I-235, or a congested arterial road in central Oklahoma City.
Determining fault requires more than accepting what one driver says happened. Insurance companies may dispute liability even when their insured appears to have caused the crash, especially if the injuries are severe and the potential payout is significant.
We build these cases using evidence such as police reports, photographs, witness statements, medical records, surveillance footage, vehicle damage, and available electronic data. In some cases, traffic camera footage, dashcam video, cell phone records, or accident reconstruction analysis can help clarify exactly how the collision occurred.
Timing matters because some evidence does not remain available indefinitely. Businesses may overwrite surveillance footage, vehicles may be repaired or sold, and witnesses may become harder to locate months after the collision.
Oklahoma City drivers encounter a mix of high-speed interstate traffic, busy commuter corridors, and major urban intersections. Serious crashes can occur when a driver fails to adjust to those conditions or ignores basic traffic safety rules.
Some of the most common causes include:
The cause of the collision often determines what evidence matters most. A distracted-driving case may depend on phone records, while a speeding case may require crash reconstruction, roadway evidence, or vehicle data.
Insurers frequently try to reduce what they owe by arguing that the injured person shares responsibility for the crash. In Oklahoma, those allegations matter because the state uses a modified comparative negligence system.
Under Okla. Stat. tit. 23, § 13, you may still recover compensation if you are 50% or less responsible for the collision. Your recovery is reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to you, but if you are found 51% or more responsible, you cannot recover damages.
This is why disputed fault should be treated as an evidence issue rather than simply accepting an insurance adjuster’s conclusion.
The value of a car accident claim depends on the injuries you suffered and how they affect your life. A person who recovers after several weeks will have a very different claim from someone who needs surgery, cannot return to work, or lives with permanent limitations.
Depending on the facts, compensation may include:
| Type of Loss | What It May Cover |
|---|---|
| Medical Expenses | Emergency care, hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, medication, and future treatment |
| Lost Income | Wages and other earnings lost while you are unable to work |
| Reduced Earning Capacity | Long-term financial losses when injuries limit your ability to work in the future |
| Pain and Suffering | Physical pain, emotional distress, disability, and reduced enjoyment of life |
| Property Damage | Repair or replacement of your vehicle and other damaged property |
When a collision causes a death, eligible family members or the appropriate estate representative may also have a wrongful death claim under Oklahoma law.
Some car accident cases involve additional insurance or liability issues that deserve separate attention. Three particularly important Oklahoma City sub-niches are rideshare collisions, impaired-driving crashes, and hit-and-run accidents.
Rideshare crashes can involve multiple layers of insurance depending on whether the driver was offline, waiting for a ride request, or transporting a passenger. Determining the driver’s app status at the time of the crash can be essential to identifying which policy applies.
Our Oklahoma City Uber accident lawyers can review your situation and explain your options.
When an impaired driver causes a crash, the civil case can proceed separately from any criminal prosecution. Evidence such as arrest records, toxicology results, witness statements, and bar or restaurant records may become relevant to establishing liability.
Talk to our Oklahoma City drunk driving accident lawyers to learn more.
If the at-fault driver leaves the scene and cannot be identified, uninsured motorist coverage may become an important source of compensation. Video footage, witness statements, vehicle debris, and law enforcement records may also help identify the driver.
Our Oklahoma City hit and run accident lawyers can help identify the responsible driver and pursue all available insurance coverage on your behalf.
Insurance adjusters may question whether all of your treatment was necessary, argue that some symptoms existed before the crash, or dispute your lost income and long-term limitations. These arguments can reduce the value the insurer assigns to your claim even when your injuries are serious.
We respond with medical records, wage documentation, crash evidence, and information about your future treatment needs. We also avoid resolving serious claims before the medical picture is clear, because an early settlement may not account for future surgery, rehabilitation, or reduced earning ability.
Continue following your doctors’ recommendations and attend necessary follow-up appointments so your medical records accurately document your recovery. Keep records of medical expenses, missed work, and other losses related to the collision.
You should also save any correspondence with the insurer and be cautious about giving a recorded statement, signing medical authorizations, or accepting quick settlement offers. Before resolving your claim, make sure you understand whether you may need additional treatment or face lasting limitations.
We begin by investigating the crash, identifying insurance coverage, reviewing your medical treatment, and documenting your losses. Once we have the needed information to evaluate your claim, we can present a demand and negotiate with the responsible insurer.
If the insurer disputes liability or refuses to offer a fair settlement, we can file a lawsuit and continue developing the case through discovery, depositions, expert testimony, and other litigation procedures. Many cases settle before trial, but preparing the case for litigation gives us an additional advantage to pursue a fair resolution.
The Oklahoma statute of limitations found at Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 95(A) generally requires personal injury lawsuits to be filed within two years of the accident. That deadline does not mean you should wait two years to investigate the claim, because evidence such as video footage, witness memories, and vehicle data can disappear much sooner.
The sooner you contact our team, the sooner we can begin building your legal claim. Reach out for a free consultation today to better understand your filing obligations and how we can help right now.
Car accidents are part of our broader injury practice. Our Oklahoma City personal injury lawyers handle serious negligence claims throughout the area, while our Oklahoma City truck accident lawyers represent people injured in crashes involving commercial carriers, federal trucking regulations, and corporate insurance coverage.
Our Oklahoma car accident attorneys handle serious motor vehicle claims throughout the state, and we’ll come to you to ensure your rights are protected.
You may still have options if the at-fault driver’s policy is insufficient. Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, employer liability, or another responsible party may provide additional sources of recovery depending on how the crash happened.
There is no standard timeline because serious claims depend on medical recovery, liability disputes, insurance negotiations, and whether litigation becomes necessary. Resolving a case too quickly can be harmful if your future medical needs and long-term losses are still uncertain.
Not necessarily. Many car accident cases resolve through settlement negotiations, but filing a lawsuit may be necessary when an insurer disputes fault or refuses to offer fair compensation.
Some injuries become more noticeable after the initial shock and adrenaline wears off. Seek appropriate medical care and describe when your symptoms began so your treatment records accurately reflect the progression of your condition.
Yes. An injured passenger may have a claim against the driver of another vehicle, the driver of the vehicle they occupied, or both, depending on who caused the collision. Passenger claims can sometimes involve multiple insurers.
If you were seriously injured in a car accident in Oklahoma City, you do not have to accept an insurer’s version of what happened or handle a complicated claim alone. At Graves McLain Injury Lawyers, we investigate serious crashes, document the full extent of your losses, negotiate with insurers, and pursue litigation when necessary to protect your interests.
Call Graves McLain Injury Lawyers at (918) 359-6600 for a free consultation about your Oklahoma City car accident claim. We can explain your options and discuss the next steps, and you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.
