10 Questions You’ll Need to Answer When You Hire a Tulsa Injury Lawyer

Before your Tulsa lawyer agrees to take on your case, they may ask you several questions to find out more details. The answers you provide to your lawyer will be very important, as they give them valuable information which will allow them to make decisions regarding your claim.

During your initial consultation, you want to ensure that all information is readily available for your attorney so they can begin working on the matter quickly. All answers provided should be truthful to avoid any issues later on in the case. Provide as much detail as possible to your Tulsa personal injury attorney when they ask you these questions.

1.    When did the incident happen?

With personal injury lawsuits, the day the incident happened is crucial to a lawyer. Under the statute of limitations, a lawsuit arising from an accident must be filed within a certain timeframe. If the case falls outside of the limit, the injured person has forfeited their right to make a recovery. It will be out of your attorney’s hands from here. The evidence for a case should not become stale; you should always bring forward your claims as soon as they happen to prevent clashing with this statute. In Oklahoma, most negligence claims must be filed no later than two years from the date of the incident. Consulting with a lawyer well-versed in the relevant laws pertaining to injury cases will allow the few claimants who may be affected by shortened or lengthened statutes, such as injured minors or to rest easy knowing their cases will be pursued under the appropriate deadlines.

2.    How did the incident happen?

The more details you provide about how exactly you were injured, the better. Your attorney will need to know how the incident happened as clearly as you can remember it to build a strong case for you. Even if you feel that you may have been partially at fault, do not leave out any critical information. To the best of your abilities, explain how the responsible party harmed you and the effects you’ve experienced to date.  The who, what, when, where, why, and how will about your specific incident will dictate the next moves your attorney makes.

3.    Where did the incident occur?

Where the incident takes place is of significant value to your case. If the case were involving a motor vehicle, for instance, Oklahoma was home to nearly 9,400 fatal and injury crashes in 2021. Fifteen hundred of these crashes were in Tulsa alone, with 84 people killed. If your accident was a slip-and-fall, your attorney will need to know exactly where it happened (in a building, outside of a building, on a sidewalk, etc.). All these details will lead to a stronger case for you as your lawyer will be able to better prove where and how negligence took place.

4.    What are your injuries?

Letting your attorney know in detail what injuries you sustained from an accident will help determine the value of your case. Did your arm break? Did you suffer from road rash? Did you obtain a traumatic brain injury? The severity of some of these injuries could assist in adding to the potential value of your settlement. A traumatic brain injury, or TBI, for example, is a serious injury resulting from car crashes and slip and falls in Oklahoma.

If you have copies of your medical records documenting your treatment to date, have them available for your attorney to review. Don’t hold back on “small” details that you think might not matter; you never know what will prove to be important. As a general rule, don’t assume something lacks relevance – provide everything to your attorney.

5.    Are you having/will you suffer from long-term consequences due to these injuries?

You may think that your fractured arm will heal quickly after an accident and that you’ll be done with it soon, but that is not always the case. Seemingly small injuries can open you up to a world of long-term consequences because of another party’s negligence. Even a small bit of road rash that you may be dealing with can lead to potential complications in the future. If a road rash wound is not taken care of properly from the beginning, an infection can start to build up. Dirt and debris that get introduced into your skin from a road rash make for the perfect breeding ground for bacteria. Aside from physical concern, road rash is an injury that can leave heavy scarring behind, leading to the victim possibly feeling socially withdrawn.  The same can be said for myriad of injuries we regularly see our clients dealing with.

6.    What medical providers have you consulted?

Your attorney will want to know if your injuries have already been treated by medical professionals. They will need to know the names of those facilities and physicians and will require all documents provided by them. While our office will collect all information from all of your providers, the more notes and results you can provide at the onset the quicker your attorney can better evaluate the value of your case, including the nature and extent of any potential long-term consequences.

7.   What did it look like at the scene of your injury?

The details about the scene of your injury are important for showing a jury how the incident occurred. Were you hit by any object? Did a defective product cause your harm? Did you sustain injuries from the steering wheel in your car because the airbags didn’t go off? Did you trip over a piece of merchandise at a store? Were there downed trees or power lines on a construction site? Were the lines faded on the road? Whatever you can tell and show us could make a difference. Real-time evidence in the form of videos and photographs provide invaluable evidence in determining both the liability and damages portion of any case.

8.    Are there any witnesses or evidence?

Witnesses can sometimes be the determining factors of a successful case. They can make it that much easier to prove liability, so your lawyer will want to know about every witness involved as soon as possible. Witness testimony can provide critical information with details that you may have not even been aware of.

Sometimes not all witnesses may be included in a police or investigative report. Having contact information for those who may not have made the official report can provide their account should there be a discrepancy in what occurred.  If an accident report’s details differ from yours, that’s not an insurmountable issue. Just tell us the truth and let us worry about everything else.

9.    Do you have insurance?

In Oklahoma, a minimum liability amount of $25,000.00/$50,000.00/$50,000.00 in automobile insurance is required to drive legally. If you were driving at the time of the accident, your attorney will need to know if you have auto insurance as there could be coverage that could benefit you, even if the incident wasn’t your fault. An experienced lawyer will consult with you on everything you need to know regarding how automobile insurance works in every circumstance. The same goes for health insurance.

10. What questions do YOU have for US?

Your consultation is also the time for you to ask your lawyer important questions. Make sure you ask them all questions you have developed since your incident.  Use the time with your attorney to clear up anything that concerns you.  Your attorney should also inform you of the next steps that you’ll be taking together, as well as the overall timeline of the claims process. More questions will arise throughout the case, but the initial consultation is the ideal time for every client to get a feel for what lies ahead.

At Biby Law Firm, our experienced attorneys are ready to help the members of our community after they’re injured in an accident that wasn’t their fault. Call our office in Tulsa or submit our contact form for a free, no-obligation consultation.