Auto Accident Information
Birmingham, Alabama, Auto Accident Lawyers
More than 43,000 people were killed in motor vehicle accidents in the United States in 2005.
In Alabama alone, nearly 144,000 auto crashes in 2005 resulted in injuries to more than 44,000 drivers and passengers, including 1,134 deaths. The total economic impact (lost wages, medical care, property damage) was estimated at $6 billion.
What You Need to Know About Car Accidents
Statistically speaking, nearly every person will be injured in a car accident or feel the effects when it happens to a family member. In Alabama, the average citizen stands a 54 percent chance of suffering serious injury or death from a motor vehicle accident during their lifespan. While advances in structural integrity, safety features, and roadway design have reduced the rate of injuries and fatalities, more vehicles are driving more miles on America's freeways, highways and streets.
If you or someone you love was injured or killed in an auto accident or motorcycle accident in Alabama, you need to know your rights. The information on this Web site is not intended as a substitute for legal representation. Contact an experienced Alabama auto accident lawyer to discuss the unique facts and circumstances in your case.
What To Do After an Auto Accident
The following steps are important to protecting your rights, assuring proper medical care, and maximizing your recovery of damages for a motor vehicle accident in Alabama.
- Summon medical help for anyone injured. Good Samaritan laws protect you in rendering first aid until professional medical help arrives.
- Contact an attorney, who will advise you of your rights and bring professional investigators to the site to preserve evidence.
- DON'T GIVE STATEMENTS to police, an insurance adjuster, the other driver(s), or bystanders. Any admission of fault can harm your ability to recover damages.
- If possible, take photos of the crash scene: vehicle damage, your visible injuries, debris, road conditions.
- Get contact information from any witnesses (let your attorney get their statements).
- Exchange personal information with the other driver (name, driver's license number, license plate numbers, insurance information, contact information)
- Seek medical attention, even for "minor" injuries. Symptoms of physical trauma may surface hours, days, or even weeks later. Carefully document your injuries, your treatment, and your physical recovery. Ask your lawyer before signing medical releases, which may provide information to the other driver's insurance company.
- Report the accident to your insurance agent, but stick to basic facts (where, when, vehicles involved). DO NOT ADMIT FAULT and DON'T SIGN an insurance settlement without talking to your attorney. It is very difficult to collect for additional damages later once you have accepted a settlement.
- Have your vehicle inspected for defects or clues to how the accident occurred before repairs are made. Your attorney can help arrange this
Compensation for Auto Accidents
If you suffered any injury that required medical attention, you may be able to collect damages through your insurance, the other driver's policy, and from any third party who shares liability for the accident. Victims can collect for medical bills and lost wages.
If the injury resulted in a permanent disability or loss of function, victims may also claim damages for:
- Future medical or nursing care
- Replacement of lost earning potential
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium (loss of parenting services, companionship, intimate relations)
In wrongful death cases, family members can collect for the economic damages (lost income, medical bills, funeral expenses) and non-economic or emotional damages (loss of consortium).
Punitive damages may be awarded in cases of extreme negligence or willful behavior leading to an accident, though they are capped in Alabama.
If you were injured or a family member killed in an auto collision, motorcycle crash, pedestrian accident, or truck accident, contact the Birmingham car wreck attorneys of Gulas & Stuckey, P.C. We investigate promptly, aggressively pursue full compensation, and provide personal attention throughout your recovery.
