Wrongful Death
When negligence or misconduct allegedly causes a death, the civil litigation that follows carries an emotional weight unlike almost any other. Behind every claim is a loss that no proceeding can undo, a reality that demands attorneys with the experience and judgment to address these matters with the sensitivity they deserve.
Leveraging decades of combined experience, JPM Law’s wrongful death attorneys both defend and prosecute these cases, lending them a deep understanding of the nuances that define such matters. Regardless of the circumstances, you can trust our team to provide the sound counsel and zealous advocacy you deserve.
Cases Our Wrongful Death Attorneys Handle
A wrongful death claim arises when someone dies because of another person’s or entity’s negligent conduct — whether through carelessness, recklessness, or intentional misconduct. Our wrongful death lawyers bring a diverse range of experience and skills to their practice, and they’re well-equipped to handle the full spectrum of claims, including those that involve:
- Motor Vehicle Accidents: Fatal crashes involving cars, trucks, motorcycles, and commercial vehicles are among the most common reasons a plaintiff might file a wrongful death claim in Oklahoma.
- Medical Malpractice: When a healthcare provider’s failure to meet the applicable standard of care results in a patient’s death, the resulting wrongful death claim is among the most technically demanding in civil litigation.
- Workplace Fatalities: On-the-job deaths can give rise to both workers’ compensation claims and third-party wrongful death actions, depending on the circumstances and who was responsible for the conditions that caused the fatality.
- Premises Liability Fatalities: When a fatality results from an unsafe property condition — a fall, structural failure, or violent incident at a negligently maintained location — the property owner or manager may be liable for wrongful death.
- Defective Products: A wrongful death claim may be brought against manufacturers, distributors, and retailers under strict liability principles — even without proof that any party was negligent. These cases frequently arise alongside broader products liability litigation and can involve multiple defendants across the manufacturing chain.
Why Choose JPM Law?
JPM Law’s wrongful death attorneys approach every case with the same combination of rigor, care, and commitment — because in matters this serious, nothing less will do.
Meticulous Case Preparation: Wrongful death cases are won or lost on the strength of the factual record. From the outset, our attorneys work to secure and analyze the evidence that matters most — medical records, autopsy reports, accident reconstructions, and witness accounts — before it is lost, altered, or difficult to obtain.
Command of the Science: Wrongful death cases almost always turn on expert testimony, whether the dispute involves a standard of care in a medical setting, the mechanics of a fatal crash, or the cause of a workplace fatality. Our attorneys know how to find, prepare, and present the right experts — and how to challenge the ones on the other side.
A Deliberate Approach to Motions Practice: In wrongful death litigation, pretrial decisions often determine the outcome. Our attorneys draw on their extensive courtroom experience to strategically leverage the appropriate motions, shaping the trajectory of a case long before it reaches a jury.
Trial-Tested: JPM Law’s attorneys have stood before judges and juries across Oklahoma in some of the state’s most complex civil matters. That depth of courtroom experience informs every decision we make — from how we build a case to how we present it at trial.
Industry-Wide Recognition: JPM Law’s attorneys have earned some of the most prestigious distinctions of the legal profession. All partners hold an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell — the highest possible designation. Members of our firm have also been recognized by Best Lawyers in America, Oklahoma Magazine’s Top Attorneys in Oklahoma, and Tulsa People’s Tulsa’s Top Lawyers.
Reach Out to Our Team Today
If you’re navigating a wrongful death claim, you deserve the most from your legal team. At JPM Law, our experienced wrongful death attorneys have demonstrated time and again that they possess the knowledge, resources, and judgment to handle these matters with the skill and care they demand.
Frequently Asked Questions: Wrongful Death
What defenses can a defendant assert in an Oklahoma wrongful death case?
Oklahoma law recognizes several defenses that can be raised in wrongful death litigation. The deceased’s own contributory negligence can reduce or bar recovery entirely under the state’s modified comparative negligence framework. Defendants may also challenge causation — arguing that their conduct did not proximately cause the death — or contest the nature and extent of the damages claimed. In cases involving medical providers, the standard of care is frequently disputed, and defendants may argue that the outcome resulted from the underlying condition, rather than any negligent act.
What is the difference between a wrongful death claim and a survival claim?
These are two distinct claims that can arise from the same death and are frequently brought together. A wrongful death claim compensates the deceased’s survivors for their own losses — grief, loss of companionship, and financial support. A survival claim, by contrast, is brought on behalf of the deceased’s estate and seeks to recover damages the deceased themselves could have pursued had they survived — including medical expenses incurred before death and the pain and anguish they suffered between the injury and their death.
How are damages calculated in an Oklahoma wrongful death case, and what drives verdicts up or down?
Oklahoma law does not cap compensatory damages in most wrongful death cases — meaning juries have significant discretion in what they award. Lost future earnings, medical expenses, and other economic damages are typically calculated by financial experts who account for the deceased’s age, occupation, health, and earning capacity. Non-economic damages — including grief, loss of companionship, and the deceased’s pre-death pain and anguish — are harder to quantify and susceptible to jury sympathy. Factors that tend to drive verdicts higher include:
- The young age of the deceased
- A surviving spouse and children
- Evidence of recklessness or intentional misconduct
- Strong expert testimony
