What Is Considered Reckless Driving?

Reckless driving is usually considered a criminal offense, which signals how serious a reckless driver’s lapse of judgment is. Behaviors that can be considered reckless driving include:

• Racing.
• Speeding well beyond the limit.
• Passing in an illegal manner.
• Weaving through traffic.
• Improperly passing a school bus.
• Running a red light or stop sign.

The statutes in your state will determine whether a motorist is guilty of reckless driving. If you’ve been injured in a Tulsa car accident caused by reckless driving, a Tulsa car accident lawyer can help you seek compensation from liable parties. They can navigate the legal process, fight for your rights, and ensure you get the maximum compensation you deserve for your injuries.

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Any Form of Risky Driving Can Lead to an Accident

Motorists must:

• Obey the law
• Refrain from distracted driving
• Be sober and alert
• Drive defensively
• Do everything possible to avoid causing a collision

How to Seek Compensation from a Reckless Driver

You may seek compensation from a reckless driver who:

• Causes an accident in which you suffered an injury
• Causes disabling or fatal injuries to a loved one (in which case you may need to initiate a claim or lawsuit because your loved one cannot)

Your car accident lawyer will advise you on seeking compensation for accident-related damages. The two primary ways to secure compensation for an auto accident are:

1. Insurance claims
2. Lawsuits

Insurance claims are often the first course of action for victims of reckless drivers. Your attorney can oversee your entire claims process, enabling you to remain focused on health and recovery.

Other Parties Can Also Be Liable for a Reckless Driving Accident

While reckless drivers are often responsible for collisions they are involved in, other parties may share fault (or financial liability) for your accident. For example:

• A bar or restaurant may be liable for overserving a reckless driver who causes an accident while intoxicated
• An employer may be liable for collisions their employees cause while on the job
• A trucking company may be liable when a truck driver causes an accident by driving recklessly
• A vehicle manufacturer may be responsible for defects that coincide with reckless driving (like a brake failure)

Your lawyer will identify every liable party and create a plan for obtaining compensation from each.

How Much Is a Reckless Driving Accident Case Worth?

Each reckless driving accident claim and lawsuit has a different value. The severity of victims’ injuries is one of the factors that determine how much a case is worth.

In valuing the cost of your damages, your lawyer will also consider:

• How much income you earned before the accident (and the degree to which your accident-related injuries interfere with your professional life)
• Whether any of your injuries qualify as disabling
• The severity of damage to your vehicle and other property
• The nature of your pain and suffering
• Whether you suffer from chronic pain or other long-term medical conditions

Your lawyer will identify each of your damages and determine their financial cost. They will total the cost of those damages to determine how much compensation you are entitled to.

Do I Need a Car Accident Lawyer?

Many victims of reckless drivers decide that they need an attorney to lead their claim or lawsuit. Those victims arrive at this conclusion because:

• Motor vehicle accidents cause high stress levels: Victims of reckless drivers may suffer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), intense psychological trauma, emotional distress, and other conditions that require mental health services and rest. You should hire a car accident lawyer simply because you cannot handle the additional stress a claim or lawsuit can cause.
• Motor vehicle accident victims are unfamiliar with claims and lawsuits: You likely lack experience with insurance claims and lawsuits. Therefore, work with someone with far more relevant experience than you—a lawyer.
• Law firms support their clients’ cases financially: Your legal team will pay filing costs, expert fees, transportation expenses, and any other costs associated with your case. Your firm may use multiple experts to help build your case, and you’ll face no out-of-pocket cost for these resources.
• Insurance companies can be daunting: Always know that insurance companies put their own financial interests over yours. Having a lawyer will spare you from interacting directly with insurance companies and prevent events that can undermine your claim or lawsuit.
• Recovery should always remain a victim’s priority: You may have little time to worry about anything but your recovery. Having an attorney lead your reckless driving accident case will enable you to spend as much time as you need on treatment and rest.

Your lawyer will provide a clear roadmap forward. All you must do is follow their advice and do everything you can to recover from accident-related injuries and trauma.

Further, insurance companies often take your claim more seriously when you hire a car accident attorney. Adjusters know the possibility of a lawsuit increases with legal representation, giving you more leverage in settlement negotiations.

What Support Will I Receive from My Car Accident Lawyer?

Your lawyer will protect and counsel you about your case. Even more importantly, your lawyer will take the lead in the essential steps that make up an insurance claim or lawsuit, including:

Obtaining Evidence from the Reckless Driving Accident

Your legal team will secure any evidence that helps prove fault for the accident. Such evidence may help establish the motorist’s recklessness and may include:

• Video footage: If there is a video of your accident, this can be compelling evidence that helps solidify your case. Such video may come from security cameras, traffic cameras, cell phones, or elsewhere.
• Witness accounts: Your lawyer will interview anyone whose testimony is relevant to the case, including eyewitnesses. These accounts can be hugely valuable because witnesses often have no reason to lie about how the collision happened.
• Photographs: Photographs of damaged vehicles and other sites can help cement the details of the collision. Time and circumstances permitting, your lawyer will take photographs of the accident scene.
• Reconstructions: Your law firm may hire experts to reconstruct the collision. Such digital or physical reconstructions may be even more helpful if no video of the collision exists.

Lawyers don’t predetermine the types of evidence they will seek. Instead, they take a broad approach during the investigative process and collect any relevant evidence for your case.

Detailing Your Damages

Your lawyer will prove how a reckless driver has caused you harm. Evidence of your accident-related damages may include:

• Medical records: Your lawyer will gather images of your injuries, doctors’ notes, and other medical records that illustrate your injuries and healthcare needs. Your legal team will remain in close contact with your doctors throughout your case.
• Medical bills: Your medical bills will show the exact cost of your injuries. Your lawyer will obtain these bills as they arise and total their cost before beginning settlement negotiations.
• Property-related bills: Your attorney will secure invoices for repairing your vehicle, replacing components, or replacing the entire vehicle if it was totaled. Your attorney will also get documentation of temporary transportation expenses and the replacement of any personal property damaged during the collision.
• Expert testimony: Doctors, mental health experts, economists, and automotive professionals may provide valuable testimony to your case. Your law firm will arrange for such testimony and cover the cost of expert services.

Each victim of a reckless driver has unique damages. Your attorney will ensure you have ample documentation of your damages, which will be critical to a successful settlement negotiation.

Setting a Clear Settlement Target

Your legal team will determine how much compensation your accident-related damages warrant. Because settlements are the most common way to resolve auto accident cases, your attorney will give their all to the negotiation process.

Completing Negotiations 

Your legal team will represent you in settlement negotiations. These negotiations may involve:

• Presenting evidence proving how the reckless driver (and any other at-fault parties) caused the accident
• Presenting all documentation of your economic and non-economic damages
• Explaining how they calculated the value of your damages
• Demanding a fair settlement from liable parties

Both parties to negotiations must agree on a financial pact. While your lawyer will do everything in their power to secure the money you deserve, liable parties must agree to your settlement demands.

Filing a Lawsuit

If your attorney reaches an impasse when negotiating a settlement, they may ask you to let them file a lawsuit on your behalf. Filing a lawsuit is a significant step, so your lawyer will explain the process fully before initiating the legal process.

Going to Trial

Car accident lawyers can continue negotiating a settlement even after filing a lawsuit. Your attorney may proceed to trial if negotiations do not result in a settlement.

However your case progresses, your attorney will remain steadfast in seeking the entire sum of money you deserve.

What Damages Will My Attorney Seek Compensation For?

Reckless drivers often strike their victims at high speed. This can cause substantial property damage, severe injuries, and even a victim’s death. Some recoverable damages in auto accident cases can include:

• Professional damages: Including lost income, lost earning power, missed bonus and promotion opportunities, lost benefits, and psychological harm caused by your inability to work in your normal capacity.
• Pain and suffering: Including PTSD, anxiety, depression, acute pain, chronic pain, sleep issues, and lost quality of life.
• Medical costs: Including ambulance transport, emergency department care, surgery, imaging, hospitalization, medications, rehabilitation, and medical equipment.
• Property-related costs: Including the repair or replacement of your vehicle, clothing, accessories, cell phone, and other damaged property.
• Mental healthcare costs: Including medications, counseling, and any other services necessary to improve your psychological and emotional health.

Attorneys know how to document damages of all kinds. Whether you are suffering financially, psychologically, or otherwise, your lawyer will obtain documentation showing the nature of your damages.

Damages If a Reckless Driver Claims Your Loved One’s Life

If you have lost a loved one because of a reckless driver, your attorney will learn how their loss has affected you. Recoverable damages may include:

• Funeral costs
• Burial or cremation costs
• Your pain and suffering
• The decedent’s pain and suffering
• The cost of grief counseling and any other treatment for your pain and suffering
• Loss of consortium
• Loss of the decedent’s household services
• Loss of the decedent’s income and other forms of financial support

Your attorney will handle your case with the utmost compassion. An experienced attorney will know what you need as the victim of a wrongful death, and they will provide legal services that enable you to focus on the mourning process.

When Should I Hire My Car Accident Attorney?

You should never wait to hire your Tulsa personal injury attorney. Once you receive initial medical attention and know you have injuries, take steps to secure legal representation.

Some of the leading reasons to retain your lawyer as soon as possible are:

• The urgency of gathering evidence: Many types of evidence are time-sensitive. This includes video footage of the accident, which can be erased or lost if you wait to hire your lawyer.
• Your case’s statute of limitations: You have limited time to file a reckless driving accident lawsuit. If you hire your lawyer soon, you reduce the risk that the statute of limitations will elapse before filing your case.
• You need to focus solely on your injury recovery: Once your lawyer takes control of your case, you no longer have to worry about your claim or lawsuit. This enables you to focus on your physical recovery.

Attorneys are ready to speak with you right now. There is no out-of-pocket cost to hire a law firm, and lawyers usually offer free consultations before you decide to hire them. Don’t wait, as your case is too important to delay.