Pedestrian Accident Complaint - Oklahoma

PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENT COMPLAINT — OKLAHOMA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Caption
2. Parties, Jurisdiction, and Venue
3. General Factual Allegations
4. Count I — Negligence (Against Defendant Driver)
5. Count II — Negligence Per Se (Against Defendant Driver)
6. Count III — Negligent Entrustment / Vicarious Liability (Against Defendant Owner)
7. Damages
8. Comparative Negligence Allegations
9. Prayer for Relief
10. Jury Demand
11. Signature and Service Blocks
12. Verification
13. Certificate of Service
14. Oklahoma Practice Notes
15. Sources and References

1. CAPTION

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF [COUNTY] COUNTY, STATE OF OKLAHOMA

CASE NO. [________________________________]

PETITION FOR DAMAGES (PEDESTRIAN COLLISION)

JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

Plaintiff, complaining of Defendants, alleges as follows:

2. PARTIES, JURISDICTION, AND VENUE

1. Plaintiff [PLAINTIFF NAME] ("Plaintiff") is an individual residing in [COUNTY] County, Oklahoma, and at all material times was lawfully traveling on foot as a pedestrian on or along the public roadways of this State.

2. Defendant [DRIVER NAME] ("Driver Defendant") is, upon information and belief, an individual residing in [COUNTY / STATE] and may be served with process pursuant to 12 O.S. § 2004 at [SERVICE ADDRESS].

3. Defendant [OWNER / EMPLOYER NAME] ("Owner Defendant") is [an individual / a corporation / an LLC] that, at all material times, owned, controlled, and/or maintained the vehicle operated by Driver Defendant and/or employed Driver Defendant. If a foreign corporation or LLC, Owner Defendant may be served through its registered agent, [AGENT NAME], at [AGENT ADDRESS].

4. This action arises under Oklahoma tort law for personal injuries sustained when Plaintiff, a pedestrian, was struck by a motor vehicle in [COUNTY] County, Oklahoma, on [__/__/____].

5. This Court has subject-matter jurisdiction under Okla. Const. art. VII, § 7, which vests the District Court with unlimited original jurisdiction of all justiciable matters, with no amount-in-controversy floor; the amount in controversy exceeds $10,000, the small-claims-procedure ceiling under 12 O.S. § 1751, confirming this action is properly brought as an ordinary civil action rather than a small claim.

6. Venue is proper in this county under 12 O.S. § 141, which governs actions for damages caused by the negligent operation of a motor vehicle, because the Collision occurred and/or one or more Defendants resides in this county; venue is also proper under 12 O.S. § 133 because the cause of action arose here.

3. GENERAL FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

7. On or about [__/__/____] at approximately [TIME], Plaintiff was lawfully crossing/walking [within the marked crosswalk at / within the unmarked crosswalk at the intersection of / along the shoulder of / describe location] [ROADWAY] at or near its intersection with [CROSS STREET / LANDMARK], in [COUNTY] County, Oklahoma (the "Collision").

8. At the same time and place, Driver Defendant was operating a [YEAR / MAKE / MODEL] [passenger vehicle / pickup truck / SUV / commercial vehicle] owned by Owner Defendant, traveling [northbound / southbound / etc.] on [ROADWAY].

9. Traffic, lighting, and weather conditions were [describe — e.g., clear, dry, daylight; or after dark with the pedestrian "WALK" signal displayed], and Plaintiff was [wearing / not wearing] [describe visibility — e.g., light-colored clothing] and was plainly visible to a driver keeping a proper lookout.

10. Plaintiff entered and proceeded across the roadway [with the pedestrian "WALK" signal / when no traffic-control signal governed the crossing / lawfully and with the right-of-way], and at all material times exercised due care for Plaintiff's own safety.

11. The Collision occurred when Driver Defendant [SELECT / DESCRIBE THE MANNER OF COLLISION — e.g., failed to yield the right-of-way to Plaintiff in the crosswalk and drove into Plaintiff; turned left or right across the crosswalk into Plaintiff's path; failed to slow down or stop and struck Plaintiff; overtook and passed a vehicle stopped to permit Plaintiff to cross; drove at an excessive speed and was unable to stop; was distracted and did not see Plaintiff until impact].

12. Although Plaintiff was plainly visible, Driver Defendant "looked but failed to see" Plaintiff, failed to keep a proper lookout, failed to slow down or stop as required, and/or failed to exercise due care to avoid colliding with Plaintiff.

13. As a direct and proximate result of the Collision, Plaintiff — wholly unprotected by any vehicle structure, restraint system, or crumple zone — was struck by the full force of Driver Defendant's vehicle and thrown to the pavement, sustaining severe, painful, and permanent bodily injuries, including but not limited to [LIST INJURIES — e.g., orthopedic fractures, traumatic brain injury, spinal injury, internal injuries, degloving / road rash, and disfiguring scarring].

14. Because a pedestrian has no protection whatsoever from the forces of a motor-vehicle impact, the Collision caused Plaintiff to suffer injuries materially more severe than those typically sustained by occupants of vehicles.

15. Plaintiff received emergency care at [HOSPITAL / EMS PROVIDER] and has since undergone [SURGERIES / HOSPITALIZATION / REHABILITATION / ONGOING TREATMENT], and will require future medical care.

16. All injuries and damages alleged were the foreseeable, natural, and probable consequence of Defendants' conduct.

4. COUNT I — NEGLIGENCE (Against Defendant Driver)

17. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 16 as if fully set forth herein.

18. Driver Defendant owed Plaintiff a duty to exercise reasonable care in the operation of a motor vehicle, to obey the Oklahoma traffic laws, to keep a proper lookout for pedestrians lawfully using the roadway, to yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, and to exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian.

19. Driver Defendant breached that duty by, among other things:

• Failing to keep a proper and careful lookout for Plaintiff, a plainly visible pedestrian;
• Failing to yield the right-of-way to Plaintiff while Plaintiff was crossing within a crosswalk;
• Failing to slow down or stop as necessary to yield to Plaintiff;
• Turning across the crosswalk or path of Plaintiff when it was unsafe to do so;
• Operating the vehicle at an excessive or unsafe speed for conditions;
• Overtaking and passing a vehicle stopped to permit Plaintiff to cross;
• Driving while distracted, inattentive, or impaired;
• Failing to sound the horn or take evasive action when Plaintiff was or should have been observed;
• Failing to exercise due care to avoid colliding with Plaintiff, even if Plaintiff was crossing other than within a crosswalk; and
• Failing to maintain proper control of the vehicle.

20. Each of the foregoing acts and omissions, separately and in combination, was a direct and proximate cause of the Collision and of Plaintiff's injuries and damages.

21. As a direct and proximate result, Plaintiff has sustained the damages described in Section 7 below.

5. COUNT II — NEGLIGENCE PER SE (Against Defendant Driver)

22. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 21 as if fully set forth herein.

23. The Oklahoma Highway Safety Code and rules of the road impose specific statutory duties on Driver Defendant for the protection of persons lawfully using the roadway, including pedestrians such as Plaintiff. These include, as applicable to the manner of the Collision:

• 47 O.S. § 11-502 — when traffic-control signals are not in place or not in operation, the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way, slowing down or stopping if need be, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is upon the half of the roadway on which the vehicle is traveling, or is approaching so closely from the opposite half as to be in danger;
• 47 O.S. § 11-504 — every driver of a vehicle shall exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian upon any roadway, shall give warning by sounding the horn when necessary, and shall exercise proper precaution upon observing any child or any confused or incapacitated person upon a roadway;
• 47 O.S. § 11-301 — duties governing driving on the right side of the roadway; and
• 47 O.S. § 11-806 — duties governing safe speed for the conditions then existing, including the presence of pedestrians.

24. Plaintiff is within the class of persons the foregoing statutes were enacted to protect, and the Collision is the type of harm those statutes were designed to prevent.

25. Driver Defendant violated [CITE THE SPECIFIC SECTION(S) APPLICABLE], and was cited for [TRAFFIC CITATION, IF ANY]. Such violation constitutes negligence per se under Oklahoma law, and was a direct and proximate cause of Plaintiff's injuries and damages.

6. COUNT III — NEGLIGENT ENTRUSTMENT / VICARIOUS LIABILITY (Against Defendant Owner)

26. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 25 as if fully set forth herein.

27. Owner Defendant entrusted the subject vehicle to Driver Defendant when Owner Defendant knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known, that Driver Defendant was a careless, incompetent, inexperienced, reckless, or otherwise unfit driver.

28. Alternatively, at the time of the Collision, Driver Defendant was operating the vehicle as the agent, servant, or employee of Owner Defendant and within the scope of that agency or employment, rendering Owner Defendant vicariously liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior.

29. Owner Defendant's negligent entrustment and/or vicarious liability was a direct and proximate cause of Plaintiff's injuries and damages.

7. DAMAGES

30. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants' conduct, Plaintiff has suffered and seeks recovery of the following:

• Past and future medical expenses — emergency, ambulance, hospital, surgical, diagnostic, rehabilitative, pharmaceutical, and physician care;
• Future medical and life care — anticipated surgeries, therapy, assistive devices, and long-term care, to be proven at trial;
• Lost wages and diminished earning capacity — past lost income and the permanent impairment of Plaintiff's ability to earn;
• Physical pain, suffering, and mental anguish — past and future;
• Permanent physical impairment and disfigurement, including scarring from the impact and surgical intervention;
• Loss of enjoyment of life; and
• Property damage to Plaintiff's clothing and personal effects.

31. Plaintiff pleads each category of damage separately and in the alternative.

32. Pursuant to 23 O.S. § 9.1, Plaintiff reserves the right to seek punitive damages upon a proper evidentiary showing, by clear and convincing evidence, of Driver Defendant's reckless disregard for the rights of others and/or malice (e.g., driving while impaired, leaving the scene, or extreme speed).

8. COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE ALLEGATIONS

33. Plaintiff denies any contributory or comparative negligence. Pursuant to 23 O.S. § 13, Plaintiff's negligence, if any, was not of greater degree than the combined negligence of the Defendants, and therefore does not bar recovery; any damages should be diminished only in proportion to Plaintiff's proven contributory fault, if any, under 23 O.S. § 14.

34. To the extent any defense asserts that Plaintiff was crossing other than within a crosswalk or otherwise contributed to the Collision, Plaintiff affirmatively pleads that, pursuant to 47 O.S. § 11-504, Driver Defendant remained under a continuing duty to exercise due care to avoid colliding with Plaintiff, and that Driver Defendant's failure to do so was the proximate cause of the Collision.

9. PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests that this Court enter judgment in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendants, jointly and severally, as follows:

• A. Actual (compensatory) damages in an amount in excess of $75,000, to be determined at trial;
• B. Punitive damages as permitted by 23 O.S. § 9.1, upon a proper showing;
• C. Pre-judgment and post-judgment interest as allowed by 12 O.S. § 727.1;
• D. Costs of this action, including reasonable attorney fees where recoverable; and
• E. Such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.

10. JURY DEMAND

Pursuant to Okla. Const. art. II, § 19 and 12 O.S. § 591, Plaintiff demands a trial by jury on all issues so triable.

11. SIGNATURE AND SERVICE BLOCKS

Respectfully submitted,

[LAW FIRM NAME]

[________________________________]

[ATTORNEY NAME], OBA No. [________]

Attorney for Plaintiff

[STREET ADDRESS]

[CITY, OK ZIP]

Telephone: [NUMBER]

Email: [EMAIL]

12. VERIFICATION

STATE OF OKLAHOMA

COUNTY OF [COUNTY]

I, [PLAINTIFF NAME], being duly sworn, state that I am the Plaintiff in the foregoing action, that I have read the foregoing Petition, and that the facts stated therein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief.

[________________________________]

[PLAINTIFF NAME], Plaintiff

Subscribed and sworn to before me this [____] day of [_______________], 20[____].

[________________________________]

Notary Public

My Commission Expires: [_______________]

13. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing PETITION has been served on Defendants contemporaneously with filing (or will be served with the summons) by [certified mail, return receipt requested / sheriff / private process server] pursuant to 12 O.S. § 2004, addressed as follows:

[DEFENDANT NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)]

[________________________________]

[ATTORNEY NAME]

14. OKLAHOMA PRACTICE NOTES

• Statute of limitations. Personal-injury actions in Oklahoma must be commenced within two years of accrual. 12 O.S. § 95(A)(3). Wrongful-death actions also carry a two-year period under 12 O.S. § 1053.
• Modified comparative negligence (51% bar). Under 23 O.S. § 13, the plaintiff's contributory negligence bars recovery only if it is "of greater degree than" the combined negligence of all defendants causing the damage; a plaintiff who is exactly 50% at fault still recovers. Where recovery is not barred, damages are diminished in proportion to the plaintiff's fault under 23 O.S. § 14. Joint-tortfeasor liability is several only under 23 O.S. § 15.
• PEDESTRIAN RIGHT-OF-WAY AND THE DRIVER'S DUE-CARE DUTY. A driver must yield to a pedestrian within a crosswalk, slowing or stopping as needed (47 O.S. § 11-502). A pedestrian crossing other than within a crosswalk must yield to vehicles (47 O.S. § 11-503). But even where the pedestrian was "jaywalking," 47 O.S. § 11-504 imposes a continuing duty on the driver to "exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian," to sound the horn when necessary, and to exercise proper precaution for children and confused or incapacitated persons. That due-care duty preserves a claim against an inattentive, speeding, or impaired driver and channels the dispute into comparative fault rather than absolute bar.
• Do not confuse the statutes. 47 O.S. § 11-401/-403 govern vehicle-versus-vehicle intersection right-of-way; the pedestrian rules are at 47 O.S. §§ 11-501 through 11-509 (crosswalk yield, § 11-502; crossing other than crosswalk, § 11-503; driver due care, § 11-504). Plead the pedestrian sections.
• Punitive damages. Punitive damages require clear and convincing evidence under 23 O.S. § 9.1, which establishes tiered caps (Category I/II/III) depending on the degree of the defendant's conduct (reckless disregard; intentional and with malice; etc.). Plead the punitive predicate only where the facts support it (e.g., DUI, hit-and-run).
• Pleading the amount. 12 O.S. § 2008 generally prohibits pleading a specific damages figure beyond establishing the jurisdictional threshold. Use the ">$75,000" / "in excess of the jurisdictional minimum" formulation (see ¶ 9 and the embedded note) and conform to current local rules.
• UM/UIM and hit-and-run. Oklahoma requires UM coverage (rejectable in writing) and offers UIM coverage under 36 O.S. § 3636. An injured pedestrian may recover under his or her own (or a resident relative's) auto UM/UIM coverage when struck by an uninsured, underinsured, or hit-and-run driver; coverage follows the insured person, not a vehicle. Identify and notify all applicable carriers promptly, report the hit-and-run to police, and comply with consent-to-settle and subrogation procedures before resolving the liability claim.
• Service. Service is governed by 12 O.S. § 2004 (commonly certified mail, return receipt requested; sheriff; or licensed process server); out-of-state defendants may be served under Oklahoma's long-arm provision, 12 O.S. § 2004(F).

15. SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Oklahoma Statutes (Title 12 — Civil Procedure; Title 23 — Damages; Title 47 — Motor Vehicles) — https://oksenate.gov/publications-and-resources/oklahoma-statutes
• 12 O.S. § 95(A)(3) (two-year limitations)
• 23 O.S. § 13 (comparative negligence) — https://law.justia.com/codes/oklahoma/title-23/section-23-13/
• 23 O.S. § 14 (damages diminished); § 15 (several liability)
• 47 O.S. § 11-502 (pedestrians' right-of-way in crosswalks); § 11-503 (crossing at other than crosswalks); § 11-504 (driver due care to avoid colliding with pedestrian)
• 47 O.S. § 11-301 (drive on right); § 11-806 (safe speed)
• 23 O.S. § 9.1 (punitive damages)
• 36 O.S. § 3636 (uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage)
• 12 O.S. § 141 (motor-vehicle venue); § 133 (venue where cause arose); § 2004 (service); § 2008 (pleading)
• Oklahoma Uniform Jury Instructions — Civil (Motor Vehicle; Pedestrian; Comparative Negligence)

Disclaimer: This template is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. An attorney licensed in Oklahoma must review and customize this document before filing. Laws, citations, and court rules change frequently; verify all authorities before use.