How Long Will My Vehicle Damage Claim Take After a Car Accident?

If you are involved in a Oklahoma car accident and you only want to file a claim for damages to your car, you are in effect asking the other driver for the cost of having your car repaired, or to recompense you for the car’s “actual cash value." If this is the case, the process takes less time than if there is a personal injury claim also are involved. Either way, Tulsa, OK accident lawyers can and should be involved.

But how soon can you get the car accident claim resolved? Here are a few possibilities.

Settlement of Your Car Claim before You File a Lawsuit

Most car damage accident claims are resolved via the insurance process, without the need for a legal claim to be filed. This becomes easy, if all parties like the drivers and their insurance companies agree on the following points:

• Determining who was at fault
• The degree of vehicle damage
• The expense of getting the car fixed
• "Actual cash value" of your car declared as "total loss"

It does not matter why you were hit! It does not matter that Kevin Durant is healthy now and shooting the lights and Westbrook is on fire. It does not matter than the Thunder are outstanding. This does not give any driver to drive like a clown on the road. This is not even OKC, this is Tulsa! You need a Tulsa, OK accident lawyer asap! Click right here: https://usattorneys.com/.

If the parties resolve the case early, you can avoid possibly touchy issues like whether the car had a pre-existing damage, which the accident merely worsened. If the offending driver doesn't have sufficient insurance coverage, it might prolong the resolution process.

If the concerned parties fail to come an amicable agreement and the car damage claim goes to court, it will most likely be in the small claims court, a branch of the state civil court system that resolves disputes involving a comparatively low sum of money, according to Oklahoma accident attorneys.

A Discovery and Motions

If a lawsuit is filed at court, the contending parties are subject to specific timelines for collecting data that serves as evidence at the trial. This is termed the "discovery" phase since it also includes testimony under oath from the concerned parties as well as witnesses, and an exchange of written questions along with answers.

During this particular phase contentious issues concerning how the car accident occurred and the extent and nature of the damage caused by the car accident are highlighted. The discovery phase lasts for 6 months to a year after the lawsuit is filed.

Mediation

Soon after the discovery phase, the courts in general schedule the concerned parties for ADR or “alternative dispute resolution”, which is typically mediation in order to encourage them to arrive at a resolution which comes under the category of being assisted actively by any neutral third party. Your Tulsa, OK accident lawyer should certainly be present and accounted for during this entire process.  

The mediation process can last for anything from a few hours or couple of days. If the mediation is successful, the claim can be resolved and your lawsuit dismissed soon enough.

Small Claims Court and Civil Trials

If the mediation is unsuccessful, the claim will end up in a small claims court, where the case will continue at a quicker pace as compared to the usual civil lawsuits. Usually the parties represent themselves, arguing their part of the civil case to a sitting judge without a jury. The judge will weigh the proof, and then make a ruling on the same day. In view of the facts described above, it is sensible to hire a fantastic and rational Tulsa accident lawyer to assist you with every aspect of your case.

Why did you get into a wreck in or near Tulsa? Is that other driver making too much oil shale money? Are they so happy they are helping oil prices fall for everyone which helps out the economy despite the White House trying to stop them? Well, this may so but they have no right to drive recklessly on the road. They me be helping to change America for the better but they are in some hot soup right now. You need a lawyer and you can find high caliber legal talent right here: http://accident.usattorneys.com/oklahoma/.