Oklahoma Lawyers Litigate Wrongful Death Cases

Oklahoma Wrongful Death Lawyers

The untimely death of a loved one is a shattering experience. However, when a death is caused by another person’s or entity’s negligence, the tragedy can be compounded by a sense of injustice. Family members who suffer such a loss may be able to obtain compensation and justice for their loved one through a wrongful death lawsuit.

At Ryan Bisher Ryan & Simons, our Oklahoma City wrongful death attorneys deeply sympathize with clients who lose family members in accidents that should have been prevented. Our legal team draws on decades of experience in wrongful death claims to make sure surviving family members’ financial burdens are taken into consideration. Certainly, we understand that no amount of money can make up for your loss. However, a successful wrongful death claim can provide the sense of closure and justice that your family deserves, as well as provide you with the financial resources to help you move forward.

For years, families throughout Oklahoma have turned to our respected law firm to provide:

• Attentive and considerate customer service;
• Answers to all the questions family members may have regarding their rights;
• Direct access to attorneys who have successfully handled thousands of wrongful death and personal injury cases;
• Regular communication and updates on case status and next steps moving forward;
• Strong claims for maximum compensation, both through insurance settlements and courtroom verdicts.

Contact us now to talk to a knowledgeable Oklahoma City wrongful death lawyer for free. Our law firm does not charge any legal fees upfront to investigate and file a wrongful death claim for you. Our lawyers will only get paid if we recover compensation for you.

How Our Attorneys Help Families with Wrongful Death Claims

As you deal with the grief that comes with the loss of a close family member, you may not be in the frame of mind to weigh legal issues. We understand the difficulty of deciding whether to pursue a wrongful death claim. However, at a minimum, you should know your options.

A wrongful death claim can recover compensation to pay current bills and help ensure a stable financial future for survivors, including children of the deceased who have higher education and other needs ahead of them.

As your attorneys, it is our objective to take as much of the burden off you as possible. We want to allow you to focus on your and your family’s health, rather than worry about dealing with insurance companies. At Ryan Bisher Ryan and Simons, our legal team will handle every aspect of your case and keep you informed every step of the way.

You can count on our full-service Oklahoma wrongful death law firm to:

• Manage all communication with the insurance company(s);
• Contact bill collectors to let them know a wrongful death claim is pending and when they can expect payment;
• Investigate the circumstances of your loved one’s death to collect every piece of evidence and to identify all potential sources of compensation;
• Calculate the full costs and losses you experienced and will experience as a result of your loved one’s death;
• Aggressively negotiate with insurance companies to obtain a proper wrongful death settlement;
• Take your wrongful death case to court if the insurance company refuses to pay sufficient compensation.

Our dedicated wrongful death attorneys will use all the knowledge, experience, and resources at our disposal to hold the responsible party(s) accountable for the harm they caused you and your family.

It is important to keep in mind that a wrongful death claim in Oklahoma, which may require a lengthy investigation, must be filed within two years of the individual’s death. Please do not delay and risk losing the compensation you deserve due to Oklahoma’s statute of limitations on wrongful death claims.

Our attorneys can promptly meet with you and launch an investigation into your claim. We will negotiate with insurers and/or go to court without requiring any money from you. We never charge a legal fee until we have recovered compensation for our clients. Schedule a free consultation with our team right now.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Oklahoma?

When a person dies due to someone else’s negligence or wrongful actions, certain survivors are eligible to seek compensation for their loved one’s medical and funeral expenses, as well as other economic and noneconomic losses that family members suffer due to the death of the loved one.

Under Oklahoma law, a wrongful death case can be initiated when a spouse, parent, or child is fatally injured due to a motor vehicle accident, a defective product, medical malpractice, or another situation caused by someone’s careless, negligence, or wrongful conduct.

The law allows a personal representative of the decedent (deceased) to file a wrongful death suit on behalf of the beneficiaries. The decedent’s personal representative is the person named as executor in the deceased’s will, or if there is no will, a personal representative may be named by the court.

If no personal representative has been named, the surviving spouse or, absent a spouse, the next of kin may proceed with a wrongful death claim. The legal standing of who may be “next of kin” in a wrongful death may not be readily clear. Therefore, advice from an attorney experienced in handling wrongful death claims can be extremely important.

Meanwhile, the insurance company(s) will almost assuredly dispute any assertion in the wrongful death claim they can come up with, from your standing as next of kin to their legal responsibility. Our experienced Oklahoma City wrongful death attorneys will help you establish who in your family is eligible to file a wrongful death claim, argue for full and fair compensation, and demand equitable distribution of all compensation recovered.

Compensation in an Oklahoma Wrongful Death Claim

Technically, a wrongful death claim in Oklahoma is a personal injury claim filed on behalf of the deceased. It proceeds as if the deceased, had they lived, were actually pursuing the claim.

Just as “standing,” or right to proceed, in a wrongful death claim can be complicated, the compensation that may be recovered, and how it is distributed, is narrowly defined by Oklahoma law. Compensation that may be recovered in a wrongful death claim includes money for:

• Medical and burial expenses — distributed to the person or governmental agency that actually paid these expenses, or to the decedent’s estate if paid by the estate;
• Pecuniary loss (loss of current and future monetary support) — distributed to the surviving spouse and children, if any, or next of kin, according to their individual pecuniary losses;
• Loss of consortium and the grief of the surviving spouse — distributed to the surviving spouse;
• Grief and loss of companionship of the children and parents of the decedent — distributed according to evidence of their individual grief and loss of companionship;
• Mental pain and anguish suffered by the decedent (between time of injury and death) — distributed to the surviving spouse and children, if any, or next of kin in the same proportion as personal property of the decedent is distributed by the probate court or will;
• Exemplary or punitive damages — distributed to the surviving spouse and children, if any, or next of kin in the same proportion as personal property of the decedent is distributed by the probate court or will.

The judge presiding over the wrongful death suit decides how an award for compensation recovered for pecuniary loss or loss of companionship is divided among the legally defined beneficiaries.

If you have any questions about the circumstances of a family member’s unexpected death in Oklahoma, contact our law firm now. Our experienced personal injury attorneys and wrongful death lawyers understand the enormous pain and grief our clients face after a loved one’s death, as well as the financial hardship an untimely death may cause survivors. We will take the time to answer all your questions and work quickly to determine the proper legal path forward for you.

Our Oklahoma City Wrongful Death Lawyers Are Here to Help

If a member of your family has died in an accident caused by someone else, the wrongful death attorneys at Ryan Bisher Ryan & Simons are ready to help in your time of grief. You may be able to obtain compensation that will assist you both with the bills you are facing now and your family’s needs in the future.

We understand what you are going through. We will investigate and obtain answers to questions that may linger, and we will prepare a strong case for maximum compensation for you.

Schedule a free consultation with our team today to discuss your loss so that we may evaluate your case for wrongful death compensation at no charge to you. Contact us today.