Oklahoma Uninsured Motorist’s Coverage
February 16, 2009
Last week’s Oklahoman ran the story, “Against tough odds, Oklahoma seeks uninsured solution.” It details the account of an Oklahoma woman who was injured by an uninsured driver. She still suffers from the medical bills and scars left from the car accident. The article also includes some startling statistics:
“A study released in January by the Insurance Research Council ranked Oklahoma as the fourth-worst state in the nation for uninsured motorists.”
About one in four Oklahoma state drivers don’t have insurance.
The article mentions that measures are being discussed to help solve the problem, and that Rep. Faught of Muskogee is introducing a bill to help address this issue. The bill limits the awards given to uninsured motorists involved in traffic accidents. The uninsured accident victims would be limited to property and medical loss reimbursements and excluded from pain and suffering damages.
I doubt this would have any positive influence on uninsured drivers though.
So what can you do if you are in a car accident with an uninsured motorist (who was at fault)?
Call the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Financial Responsibility Division at 425-2098 and fill out the Oklahoma Motor Vehicle Collision Report. The DPS can suspend the uninsured’s driver’s license.
Where can an Oklahoma car accident victim sue?
February 13, 2009
This is almost always a non-issue. With I-35 running through our great state, accidents with out-of-staters do happen.
Example: Someone from Texas rear-ends you here in Oklahoma City. So, where can you bring a case against someone that doesn’t reside in Oklahoma that caused the car accident?
In Oklahoma, “venue” in car accident cases is in the county where any defendant may be served or the accident (damages) occurred. This means, that in our example, suit could be brought where the accident/injury occurred or where we can get service on the defendant.
