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Birmingham Car Accident Lawyer

If you have been injured in a car accident in Birmingham, AL, you may be entitled to compensation from the at-fault party. A successful personal injury claim can help you recover money for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Lattof & Lattof, P.C. is a family-run law firm that has represented accident victims and their families for over 70 years. Contact our law firm today for a free case review with a Birmingham car accident lawyer who will fight the insurance company on your behalf.

How Lattof & Lattof, P.C. Can Help You After a Car Accident in Birmingham

A car accident is traumatic enough. You should not have to fight an uphill battle against an insurance company for the money you deserve. A Birmingham personal injury lawyer can take over the fight and help you hold the responsible party accountable for your serious injuries.

Lattof & Lattof, P.C. is a family-run law firm serving Birmingham, Alabama. Our Top 100 National Trial Lawyers will put over 100 years of combined legal experience to work on your behalf. We have recovered multi-million-dollar settlements and successfully represented more than 10,000 clients in our 65-year history.

When you choose Lattof & Lattof, P.C. to represent you, you can rest easy knowing we will go above and beyond to:

• Give you the insightful legal advice, support, and guidance you need to navigate the claims process and make informed decisions
• Accurately value your current and future damages with financial and medical experts
• Investigate your case and preserve evidence to build the strongest negligence claim
• Work with specialists for expert testimony regarding evidence in your case
• Handle all administrative tasks, paperwork, and communications
• Negotiate on your behalf with the insurance company
• Present a persuasive case to a jury to seek maximum damages if a fair settlement offer cannot be reached

You do not deserve to be unfairly blamed for your crash or have your injuries minimized. Do not let an insurance company undervalue your claim. Contact our law office for a free consultation with a Birmingham car accident lawyer committed to giving your case the full personal attention it needs.

How Common Are Car Accidents in Birmingham, AL?

Across Alabama, there were about 160,000 traffic accidents in 2018. These accidents caused 47,400 injuries and 953 deaths. Car accidents accounted for 52% of fatal motor vehicle accidents, followed by pickup trucks and SUVs (39%).

More than 34,200 vehicle accidents occurred in Jefferson County that year. Jefferson county had more accidents than almost any other area of the state.

Crashes in Jefferson County included:

• 20,737 intersection-related crashes
• 13,526 non-intersection-related collisions
• 7,710 injuries
• 92 traffic deaths, 15 of which involved alcohol or drugs

Jefferson County had more fatal traffic crashes than any other county in Alabama. Mobile followed with 74 fatal collisions. The vast majority of accidents in Jefferson County occurred in urban areas like Birmingham.

The city of Birmingham alone had 19,003 accidents in 2019. These accidents resulted in 43 deaths and 4,294 injuries.

What Is My Car Accident Case Worth?

Many factors affect the value of a car accident case. There is no calculator or simple formula to estimate your claim’s value. A proper estimation can only be made after an in-depth investigation of your car wreck, injuries, damages, how your life is affected, and future damages.

During a free consultation at Lattof & Lattof, P.C., a Birmingham car accident attorney will help you understand what you may recover in your case. If you proceed with your case, we may work closely with financial and medical experts to accurately value your long-term medical costs, reduced earning capacity, and non-economic losses. How much you can recover will also depend on the strength of your negligence case and the amount of insurance coverage available.

Contact Lattof & Latoff, P.C. today for a free consultation. We will discuss how we can help you seek the compensation you deserve.

What Kind of Damages Are Available to Car Accident Victims?

The damages you can recover in your car accident case fall under two broad categories: compensatory damages and punitive damages. Compensatory damages include economic and non-economic damages. These damages compensate your financial losses after an injury and your non-financial losses like pain and suffering.

The purpose of compensatory damages is to make you as whole as you were before your crash. This means you are entitled to your current damages as well as future losses you might experience.

If your claim against the at-fault party is successful, they can be held accountable for:

• Medical bills. Medical expenses are often the largest expense you’ll incur after a car accident. You can be compensated for your past and future costs for surgery, hospitalization, medication, rehabilitation, therapy, and long-term care.
• Property damage to your vehicle.
• Lost wages. If you’ve been injured in a car accident, chances are you’ve had to take time away from work. You are entitled to compensation for your lost earnings, including paid sick leave or vacation time you needed to take.
• Loss of future earnings. Any long-term or permanent injury could put you out of work for a long time, if not forever. Any earnings you would have reasonably expected to have earned will need to be calculated. This includes lost benefits of employment.
• Diminished quality of life. You can seek compensation for your reduced quality of life if you cannot participate in hobbies or activities you enjoyed before your accident, cannot perform simple tasks of living, or suffered other losses.
• Pain and suffering. This compensates you for the physical pain and anguish you suffered due to your injuries and any chronic pain you are left with.
• Emotional distress and mental anguish. You are entitled to recover compensation for psychological and emotional harm you have suffered, such as fear for the future, anxiety, depression, PTSD, and insomnia.

If a loved one was killed in a fatal car accident in Birmingham, you can seek additional damages through a wrongful death claim. This includes loss of consortium, companionship, and guidance.

Can I Recover Compensation if I’m Being Blamed for a Car Accident in Alabama?

Are you being blamed for your crash? It is crucial to seek experienced legal representation as soon as possible. Alabama is one of the few states in the country still using the contributory negligence rule. This doctrine bars you from recovering any compensation at all if you are found even partially at fault for your crash.

Contributory negligence is one of the most crucial Alabama statutes affecting your injury claim. Even if the other party was overwhelmingly at fault and reckless, you cannot recover any damages if you are assigned even 1% of the blame. There are few exceptions to this rule.

At Lattof & Lattof, P.C., we will work tirelessly to fight back against unfair blame-shifting tactics and hold the responsible party accountable.

We’ll Fight to Recover Compensation for All of Your Car Accident Injuries

While most car accidents result in fairly minor injuries, there are hundreds of accidents every year in Jefferson County that result in serious or life-changing injuries. A single moment can change your life forever and leave you with chronic pain, disability, and an inability to do the things you love. 

Lattof & Lattof, P.C. will fight for the full compensation you deserve for injuries such as:

• Amputation
• Back injuries
• Brain injuries
• Broken bones
• Burns
• Catastrophic injuries
• Chest injuries
• Neck injuries
• Nerve damage
• Organ damage
• Seat belt injuries
• Spinal cord injuries

Do not let an insurance company tell you how much your injuries are worth. We will fight for compensation that considers your medical bills, ability to work, quality of life, pain, and other damages.

What Causes Most Car Accidents in Birmingham, Alabama?

Sometimes car crashes happen because of dangerous road defects, bad car parts, or even emergency health issues. However, 94% of all car accidents are caused by human error or negligence. It’s also common for two or more people to share some fault for a crash.

In Alabama, police responding to a crash usually determine the primary factor responsible for the collision. 

In 2018, the following were the top preliminary causes of car accidents in the state:

• Failure to yield right of way caused 23,800 accidents and 96 deaths
• Tailgating caused 22,500 accidents and 4 deaths
• Misjudging stopping distance caused 13,500 accidents and 5 deaths
• Improper lane change and usage caused 13,500 accidents and 58 deaths
• Failing to see a pedestrian, vehicle, or object caused 10,700 accidents and 33 deaths
• Speeding caused 8,900 accidents and 139 deaths

Sadly, drunk driving is also a factor in many serious crashes in Birmingham. In fact, Alabama had the country’s 5^th highest rate of impaired driving deaths at 6.6 drunk driving fatalities per 100,000 people. Distracted driving such as cell phone use is also linked to many crashes.

Lattof & Lattof, P.C. will leave no stone unturned in determining how your crash happened and who can be held liable. We will consider all factors that may have played a role, including defective brakes or airbags, dangerous intersection design, and drivers not directly involved in the crash.

How Do I Prove Negligence After a Car Accident in Alabama?

A successful car accident case against the at-fault driver requires proving negligence. 

There are four elements to establish:

• The other driver owed you a duty of care. Drivers owe a duty to obey traffic laws and drive with reasonable care and attention.
• The other driver violated their duty of care to you. This may have been speeding, driving while distracted, driving under the influence, or aggressive driving.
• The other driver’s breach of duty caused your accident.
• You suffered injuries and/or damages as a result of the accident.

To help prove your case, the legal team at Lattof & Lattof, P.C. will work tirelessly to investigate your crash and gather evidence. We will use experts to help us interpret this evidence and testify about it at trial.

The case we build may be based on evidence such as:

• Any citations or arrests made related to your crash, such as a DUI arrest or speeding ticket
• Cell phone records can establish distracted driving
• Witness statements can be useful for revealing how the accident occurred and the timeline
• Surveillance footage of the accident itself
• Video and photos of the scene and damage to all vehicles
• Police reports often contain preliminary determinations about the cause of the accident

When you choose Lattof & Lattof, P.C., you can be confident we will build the strongest claim possible.

How Long Do I Have to File a Lawsuit After a Car Accident in Alabama?

There are many steps to filing a personal injury lawsuit in Alabama. However, be aware that your case will be affected by the statute of limitations. In Alabama, you have just two years to file a lawsuit against an at-fault driver. This same statute of limitations applies to wrongful death claims involving traffic accidents.

If your claim is not filed before the deadline expires, you will be barred from seeking any compensation. There are very few exceptions that extend the statute of limitations. It can be even shorter for claims against government employees and agencies.

Two years may sound like plenty of time, but your accident may require a lengthy investigation. It’s also crucial to document and preserve evidence before it is lost forever. Delays in contacting a personal injury lawyer can weaken your case and make it harder to recover the compensation you need.

Contact a Birmingham Car Accident Lawyer for a Free Consultation

We know exactly how devastating a car accident can be, and that’s why we’ll work tirelessly to pursue the compensation you are owed. You should not face financial uncertainty and out-of-pocket costs for someone else’s negligence.

Contact Lattof & Lattof, P.C. today for a free case review with a car accident lawyer who will help you hold the responsible party accountable.