Insurance Matters in Personal Injury Claims
Do You Have Sufficient Alabama Uninsured Motorist Coverage?
After an auto accident, one of the first questions insurance agents and attorneys ask is what is the insurance policy limit. Even in a case of clear-cut, undisputed negligence, the victim's financial recovery is limited by available insurance coverage.
Contact an attorney as soon as possible after a car accident or truck accident. First, an attorney can send professional investigators to preserve critical evidence at the crash site. Second, an attorney will protect your rights and provide important legal advice. Gulas & Stuckey, P.C. of Birmingham provides a free consultation for injury victims in central Alabama and statewide.
Insurance Companies Are Not On Your Side
The worst thing you can do is to provide a statement to your insurance carrier without consulting a lawyer first. The insurance company's goal is to pay you nothing, if possible. They will try to elicit statements to decrease the value of your claim or deny coverage. They don't want you to retain a lawyer because it may increase the value of your settlement.
NEVER sign anything without talking to a lawyer first. The insurance company's initial settlement offer is rarely fair. A qualified attorney can help negotiate compensation to fully cover your injuries and losses.
Liability Coverage
All drivers in Alabama are required by law to carry 20/40 liability insurance to cover bodily injury to other persons in a car accident. If the other driver's negligence caused the accident, occupants in your car are covered for medical expenses and lost wages for a minimum of $20,000 per individual/$40,000 per accident. (If there were five people in your vehicle, each could collect only $8,000.) Drivers may purchase more than the minimum coverage.
Tractor-trailers and other commercial vehicles governed by the U.S. Department of Transportation must carry a minimum of $750,000 in liability insurance.
Uninsured Motorist/Underinsured Motorist Coverage
What if the other driver does not have insurance, or if your losses exceed their liability coverage? Your own insurance policy probably includes Uninsured Motorist/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) coverage. Your insurer should pay any damages not covered by the other driver's policy.
- Don't insure the other driver for more than you would cover your family! If you have liability coverage of $100,000 per individual/$300,000 per accident to cover people in the other vehicle, it makes no sense to carry only $20,000/$40,000 UM/UIM coverage. Contact your insurance agent about increasing your UM/UIM policy to at least as much as your liability insurance.
- Alabama law allows insurance "stacking." This means that if you have three separate vehicles insured, you can apply the UM/UIM limits for all three to a single accident. (A $20,000/$40,000 policy becomes $60,000/$120,000 in stackable coverage.)
Dram Shop Insurance: Drunk Driver Cases
If you were injured by another driver who was under the influence of alcohol, you may have a claim for damages against the bar or establishment that served the alcohol. To collect against the bar's dram shop insurance policy, victims must prove that the negligent driver was visibly drunk and that the bar served them more alcohol or knowingly allowed them to drive without calling police.
Contributory Negligence: What If You Are at Fault?
Alabama is a contributory negligence state. Under a strict interpretation, you would be barred from recovering compensation if you were found to be even 1 percent at fault. Recognizing this as an unreasonable burden, a judge or jury may allow partial recovery if you were somewhat negligent (up to 25 percent or so) but the other driver's behavior was more egregious (e.g., you pulled out in front of another driver, but they were 30 mph over the posted speed limit).
Guest Passengers
Alabama's guest passenger statute prevents passengers from recovering under their own insurance policy if the driver's negligence caused the accident. This statute may be waived for consideration if:
- The driver's conduct was willful or wanton (e.g., driving drunk and speeding)
- The passenger is part of a carpool and drives some of the time
- The passenger was paying for gas, hotel, or other costs of a road trip
For further discussion of these topics or any insurance issue, contact Gulas & Stuckey, P.C. We will aggressively pursue all sources of insurance coverage that may apply in your case, and actively investigate to prove liability. We offer a free consultation.
