Huntsville Car
Accident Lawyer

No, there is no initial consultation fee to meet with our personal injury attorneys. Unlike divorce or criminal defense lawyers, we do not charge a fee to meet with you. We do not require a retainer. Nor do we charge by the hour.  We only get paid a percentage of your settlement/verdict. If there is no settlement/verdict in your favor, your personal injury lawyer will not get paid.

We meet with the potential client to gather all information about how the incident occurred.  For example, in a car accident case, we will want to know what you remember about the wreck, where you received medical treatment, and whether you have car and health insurance.

We will also want to gather any evidence you have, including the crash report, photographs of the scene of the wreck, photographs of the vehicles, and any medical bills you have received.  Then we explain in detail the legal process and how we can help. At that point, if you wish to hire us, you will sign documentation that allows us to represent you.

Yes. Studies generally conclude that people who have an attorney get about three times as much money as someone who doesn’t have an attorney. The primary benefit of having an attorney is that an insurance company knows if you have an attorney, that there is a risk of the attorney taking the case to trial.

The time frame depends primarily on two things. The first factor is how much medical treatment you need.  We generally do not like to reach a settlement until you have completed medical treatment. It is hard to determine the true value of your case until we can see the full picture of how much you have suffered, whether you will have any permanent medical issues going forward, and the full amount of medical bills and lost wages.

The second factor is whether the insurance company offers a fair settlement amount. We always want to be able to reach a settlement without having to file a lawsuit. However, if the insurance company denies responsibility or makes a low offer, you have the option for us to file a lawsuit on your behalf. If this occurs in your case, it will take many months, and sometimes years, to reach a settlement or trial date. However, sometimes it is necessary to receive fair compensation.

The other person’s insurance company has to pay not only for your injuries but for damage to your vehicle. If your car is totaled, you are entitled to the vehicle’s fair market value. If your car is repairable, you are entitled to 100% of the repair costs, loss of use damages (this usually means the cost of a rental car while your car is being repaired), and compensation for the loss of value of the vehicle sustained due to the wreck.

You always need to be aware of the “statute of limitations.” This is the timeframe in which you must either settle your claim or file a lawsuit.  For example, in Alabama, there is a two-year statute of limitations for cases involving negligence (the time period is shorter if the claim is against a county or municipality.)

If you have not settled your case by the expiration of the statute of limitations period and have not filed a lawsuit, you have lost your case. Therefore, it is always best to consult with a personal injury lawyer sooner rather than later.

There are a few different ways to get an accident report after a car wreck. First, you can download the crash report for $15 at the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s website. You will need either the crash report number given to you by the police or your driver’s license number in order to download the report.

If you prefer to speak with someone about it, you can call the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency at 334-242-4241 to request the accident report. You can also go in person to the law enforcement agency that handled the crash investigation. Huntsville, where our firm is located, has its main Police Station at 815 Wheeler Avenue, Huntsville, AL 35801.

In Alabama, hospitals have a right to file a lien on your personal injury claim for the full value of their bill. What’s frustrating is that the hospital can do this even if you have health insurance. Hospitals like to file hospital liens because they can collect more money from your personal injury claim than they could from your health insurance. Usually, hospital lien amounts are negotiable if you have an attorney.

If you hire us to handle your injury claim after a car accident, we generally obtain all of the medical records on your behalf. However, some hospitals, including Huntsville Hospital, provide a patient portal where you can download your hospital records for a small fee. We encourage our clients to use this portal because it is quick and cheap.

We always advise against giving a recorded statement to an insurance company without first consulting with a personal injury attorney. This is because insurance companies will try to twist your words at a later time to make it seem like the incident was partially your fault.

In Alabama, we have the doctrine of “contributory negligence.” This means that if both of the drivers were negligent and that each of the drivers’ negligence contributed to causing the wreck, then neither driver would be entitled to compensation.

When the other person involved in the wreck has insurance, the insurance company will either accept liability or deny liability. Accepting liability means that the insurance company believes their customer was negligent and that you did not contribute to causing the wreck. It is always good news when the insurance company accepts liability.

If the insurance company denies liability, they either believe their customer was not negligent or that you contributed to the wreck. An insurance company’s decision to deny liability in your injury claim should not discourage you from reaching out to a personal injury lawyer to review the case.

In Alabama, as many as 1 in 5 drivers don’t have valid car insurance. That’s why you have to protect yourself by purchasing uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. While you could always try to pursue the uninsured driver for your damages, it may be difficult to collect. As they say, it’s usually hard to get “blood out of a turnip.”

If you have Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage, you can make a claim for damages against your own insurance company. Doing this should not make your car insurance rates go up. We handle uninsured motorist claims frequently since a good fraction of Alabama drivers who cause wrecks don’t have car insurance.

Subrogation is the legal principle where an entity is entitled to be reimbursed for the money it paid as a result of the wrongful conduct of someone else. The most common example is when someone is in a wreck, and the hurt person’s health insurance has to pay for medical treatment.

If the hurt person gets a settlement from the at-fault driver’s car insurance, then the injured person’s health insurance company has a right to be reimbursed out of the settlement. Usually, the amount of reimbursement is negotiable if you have a personal injury lawyer.

The only way to obtain this information is if we file a lawsuit in your case.  Once a lawsuit is filed, we have the ability to subpoena the other driver’s cell phone records, which usually show the time of phone calls, texts, and data usage.

Report it immediately to the police and provide all information about the other vehicle. Locate witnesses and obtain their contact information. Take photos of your vehicle and any crash debris. Get medical treatment if needed and contact your insurance company to notify them of the situation. If the police cannot locate the other driver, you may have to make a claim for property damage with your own insurance company.  If you were injured, you could also claim uninsured motorist benefits with your insurance company.

No. There is a common misconception that you can just send your medical bills to the insurance company, and they will write a check. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works.

If you have co-pays, deductibles, or have no health insurance, you are personally responsible for the medical bill until a settlement is reached. Car wreck settlements are considered “lump sum” settlements because they include compensation for pain, suffering, and medical costs incurred (among a variety of other potential damages.)

One of the types of car insurance coverages you may have is medical payments, which is commonly referred to in the legal industry as “medpay.” Medpay coverage usually comes in amounts of either $1,000, $2,000, $5,000, or $10,000. This amount of money will pay for medical bills incurred as they come due.  If you get a settlement from the other person’s car insurance, your car insurance company will have the right to be reimbursed out of the settlement.  However, that reimbursement amount can be reduced if you have an attorney.

Yes. Your health insurance will pay for medical treatment just as if the medical treatment were unrelated to a car accident. However, your health insurance will have a right of subrogation, i.e., a right to be reimbursed out of your settlement. The amount of reimbursement can be reduced if you have a personal injury attorney.

Under IRS Code Section 104(a)(2), personal injury settlement money is generally not considered taxable income.  However, there are exceptions, and you should consult with an accountant after we conclude your personal injury claim.