When one party acts in a way that causes another to suffer injuries, the victim may have a civil case against those at fault. This falls under Alabama’s personal injury laws. Those hurt in these incidents can file an insurance claim or civil lawsuit to recover money to pay their medical bills, time away from work, property damages, and more. Many victims opt to work with a law firm to help them navigate this process.
An Alabama personal injury attorney at Morris Bart may be able to help if you were hurt. To learn if you qualify to take legal action and recover compensation, we provide consultations and case evaluations. We can assess the facts of your case to determine your options, rights, and the services we provide that will best meet your needs. These initial reviews are free for victims and their families.
Getting Justice After an Alabama Personal Injury
When a person acts carelessly or recklessly—or even intentionally—they should be held responsible for any injuries or other damage they cause. However, this is not always a criminal act, and the criminal courts are not set up to get justice for victims. Instead, the best option for a victim is to build a case for civil court and attempt to recover money for the expenses and losses they incurred because of the other party’s behavior.
Recovering money for damages may be possible by filing a lawsuit in civil court, taking the case to trial, and having the jury issue a verdict in their favor. However, this is only necessary on rare occasions. Most of these cases settle long before a trial begins. Some do not even require a lawsuit. Instead, the victim files a claim based on the at-fault party’s insurance policy and recovers money damages that way.
The recoverable damages in an insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit depend greatly on the harm the plaintiff (the victim) suffered because of the defendant (the at-fault party). Your compensation could vary based on the value and type of losses you suffered. Some common damages we recover for our clients in Alabama personal injury cases include:
- Current and future medical treatment, care, and support
- Lost wages and other income, and reduced ability to earn
- Property damages
- Miscellaneous related expenses
- Pain and suffering damages
- Emotional distress
When victims handle their own insurance claims or consider a settlement offer the insurer puts forth before speaking with an attorney, they have a tendency to underestimate how much their case might be worth. Some of these recoverable damages are relatively straightforward, although you do have to gather paperwork, identify the costs, and do the math. Others, though, are much more difficult to tabulate.
Our Alabama personal injury attorneys know how these cases work and how to value them. We understand how to seek a fair settlement for our clients based on their damages, including working with experts to value future expenses and using our experience and knowledge of personal injury law in Alabama to value intangible losses.
We seek fair and appropriate settlements for our clients or present strong evidence in court to ensure the jury understands how much they lost and how much is at stake.
Wrongful Death Damages in Alabama
Under Alabama law, there are limitations on the damages available in a wrongful death case. Under Ala. Code § 6-5-410, Alabama, will not allow families to recover compensable damages through a wrongful death claim. This means that if your loved one died from their injuries, you cannot get money for expenses and losses such as medical bills or funeral costs.
In Alabama, only punitive damages are awarded in wrongful death cases. Punitive damages penalize the liable parties for extraordinarily bad behavior, such as wanton neglect or intentional actions. We can discuss how this could affect your wrongful death claim during your free case review.
For a free legal consultation with a Personal Injury lawyer serving Alabama, call 800-537-8185
Work With Morris Bart on Your Alabama Injury Claim
Morris Bart has spent more than 40 years working to help those hurt in the Gulf South recover the compensation they need and deserve. We are here for you if you suffered injuries and believe another person may be to blame. You can learn more during a free initial consultation. Our attorneys are available to assess cases for potential clients. During this conversation, clients learn:
- The strength of their case
- Their rights as an injured party
- Their legal options
- The types of compensation that may be available
- How we might approach their case or have handled similar cases
- The services we offer
- The cost and how our fees work
Morris Bart has 15 locations and serves four states. This includes six offices in Alabama:
- Birmingham
- Decatur
- Hoover
- Huntsville
- Mobile
- Montgomery
However, we can also discuss legal options over the phone or meet with you at your home, the hospital, or another location.
Morris Bart’s team recovered money damages for 6,500 clients in 2019. Most of these were insurance settlements, but some were jury trials, mediated agreements, or even arbitration. Our attorneys know how to navigate the unique circumstances of each case to prove what happened, who is responsible, and that our client deserves an appropriate payout.
Our case results demonstrate that our attorneys know how to build personal injury cases and secure just compensation for our clients. From large payouts for life-altering injuries to holding hit-and-run and drunk drivers accountable, we understand your goals and financial needs following a personal injury.
We pride ourselves on the outstanding and appreciative testimonials left by our clients after we win their cases. You can read some below and find more reviews on our website.
- “Everyone was very helpful, and they carried it out real good and professional. I will definitely send someone else to them.” — Annie S.
- “Everything was excellent and handled very professionally.” — Jamie P.
- “Experience was very good, my attorney was very professional and kind.” — Dexter R.
- “Great experience! I like how my attorney was on top of everything.” — D’Angelo J.
- “He did a marvelous job and kept me up to date at all times. I was impressed with that.” — Marvin J.
- “I appreciate everything from the bottom of my heart.” — Jorge M.
Morris Bart’s law offices in Alabama never ask clients to pay upfront. We do not charge hourly and do not accept retainers or other payments before the conclusion of your case. Instead, we take a percentage of your financial recovery, which is known as a contingency fee.
We only get attorney’s fees if we win for a client. If we do not recover compensation, our lawyers do not get paid.
Do I Have a Personal Injury Claim?
Despite hearing the phrase on commercials and seeing our billboards, we find that many people do not know how the law defines “personal injury.” Understanding this term is crucial to know what it takes to win your case. Not all injuries qualify as a “personal injury” and support this type of civil action.
A personal injury occurs when someone else causes it because of negligence. That is, another party has to act carelessly, recklessly, or intentionally for you to have a valid personal injury case.
We need to build a case to prove negligence happened before we can hold anyone else legally responsible for a personal injury and recover damages. This requires us to prove four things:
- The accused party had a duty to act in a specific way to keep others safe.
- They breached this duty, usually by being careless or reckless.
- Their breach caused some type of accident or incident.
- Others, including our client, suffered harm as a result.
For example, when a client slips and falls because of a spill in a restaurant, our case will need to illustrate that the accused party had a duty to protect those onsite from hazards, which all property owners do in Alabama. Then, we will need to show that the spill occurred and was not addressed as soon as possible. Lastly, we must prove that our client’s fall happened because of the spill and their injuries were from the fall.
Falls are just one type of accident that can support a liability insurance claim or civil suit. Some common ways personal injuries occur include:
- Traffic accidents such as car crashes, truck accidents, and DUI wrecks
- Motorcycle collisions
- Pedestrian accidents
- Bicycle crashes
- Boating accidents
- Slip and falls, trip and falls, and falls from a height
- Pool accidents and drownings
- Other premises liability injuries
- Workers’ compensation and jobsite injuries
- Offshore injury and Jones Act claims
- Medical malpractice and birth injuries
- Defective products, such as dangerous drugs and car components
The evidence necessary to prove negligence and recover damages will depend on the type of accident and available documentation. For example, most car accidents have a crash report filed by responding law enforcement officers. A slip and fall at your local grocery store may not. The fall is likely to have video evidence, but video is rarely available in a medical malpractice case.
Our attorneys know where to look for evidence and what should be available in your case. We will also call in our network of experts who can provide us with information as needed.
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Who Is Responsible for My Personal Injury?
In most cases, the party who acts negligently is also legally responsible for injuries and damages. However, this is not always the case. In some cases, additional responsible parties or others are “vicariously liable” for the negligence.
The most common way we see this is via the legal doctrine of respondeat superior. Under the 1929 Alabama Supreme Court opinion in St. Louis-San Francisco Ry. Co. v. Robbins, employers are “responsible for the acts of his servant or agent done within the scope of his employment.”
This means we can hold businesses liable for the negligence committed by their workers, such as truck drivers who violate traffic laws and cause accidents or servers who fail to clean up a spill in a restaurant.
Other Things to Consider When Pursuing Compensation in Alabama
While we believe it is advantageous to hire an attorney from Morris Bart to manage your personal injury case under most circumstances, there are two things you must be aware of that are vital to your case. Unless you have a lawyer working on your claim and fighting for your best interests, you could be blindsided by these issues:
Alabama Recognizes Pure Contributory Negligence
There are only four states in the U.S. that practice “pure contributory negligence” for personal injury cases. In Alabama, this is case law per the Alabama Supreme Court decision in Golden v. McCurry (1980).
What this could mean is that you would be barred from recovering damages in your case if there is evidence that you caused or contributed to your own injuries in any way. Even if the other party is 90 percent responsible, your 10 percent contribution means you cannot collect any money based on a liability claim or civil lawsuit.
For this reason, it is vital that you have a lawyer who can work to prevent the at-fault party from successfully using this as a defense in your case.
You Only Have a Limited Time to Sue
Most states have a deadline for beginning a personal injury lawsuit. In Alabama, it is two years from the accident date, per Ala. Code § 6-2-38. There is also a wrongful death deadline that begins running the date the death occurs.
Missing either of these deadlines would make it difficult or impossible to negotiate a fair settlement based on your case, and the court will bar any attempt to sue after this deadline. For that reason, it is important to get started as soon as your injuries allow. Exceptions could also exist that give you less time.
Discuss Your Options With a Lawyer from Morris Bart
If you were hurt by someone else’s negligence in Alabama, our team of attorneys may be able to help you get monetary damages for the losses you suffered. We will review your case for free today to help you get a better understanding of your legal options. We will assess the strength of the case, determine if you have a valid claim, and explain your rights based on the information you provide us.
We have someone available 24/7 to talk to you. Call (800) 537-8185 for your free case consultation with an Alabama personal injury attorney.
Questions?Call 800-537-8185
to find a Morris Bart office near you.
