DIAL '3' FOR ME
334-333-3333If seriously injured because of another person’s negligence you might be considering filing a personal injury claim. Doing so would be in your best interest because the expenses incurred after your accident may be too high.
The law in Montgomery, AL allows accident victims to recover damages from the party at fault. Compensation recovered can include medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering and more. We will get into how these they calculate damages shortly. First, they are certain things you should know before you file your personal injury claim.
For starters for you to get compensation, you must be able to prove the defendant was negligent causing your accident. If you can prove negligence you must further show that the resulting accident caused you to be injured. If you cannot do this your claim might be denied.
The second thing you should know is Alabama law operates under a system of contributory negligence. What that means is if you are partly to blame for an accident occurring you cannot claim compensation. For example, if a driver ignored a red light but you were speeding and couldn’t stop you were both negligent. Therefore none of you can recover damages after the accident even if you were 1% at fault.
Alabama’s statute of limitations also requires you to file a claim within two years of the date of the accident. If you don’t do so with this time your right to recover damages is lost. For you to determine whether you can make a personal injury claim after an accident talk to an attorney in Montgomery, AL.
One of the first things an accident victim would like to know is how much compensation they have entitlement to. Because every case is different a personal injury attorney may not be able to tell you exactly what you’ll get. However, when they look at the facts of your case they can give an estimate of what to expect.
A personal injury lawyer in Montgomery, AL will tell you that you might have entitlement to economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages included medical bills, lost wages, property damage etc. These damages reimburse losses and expenses incurred due to the accident.
For medical expenses, for example, you can use your bills to calculate the cost of treatment and make a claim. In a personal injury claim compensation may include past, present, and future medical expenses. For future medical expenses, the testimony of a doctor on future costs associated with your injury can help your claim.
For lost wages, you only need to state your earnings before the accident to determine what to ask for. If you can’t resume work an expert in calculating the loss of earnings can be provided by your attorney. The expert will establish what your injuries will cost you and you can use their calculations for your claim.
For non-economic claims determining what to ask for in compensation is not as straightforward. Non- economic damages cover physical and emotional pain caused by your accident. This can include compensation for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, reputation damage, loss of enjoyment of life and much more. Putting a monetary price on this is not easy. In a trial how much sympathy your case arouses amongst the jury will determine how much you get.
Depending on your injuries you may also be entitled to punitive damages. Punitive damages turn into compensation as punishment to the defendant and to deter others from acting in a similar manner. Punitive damages in Alabama are awarded only if a defendant was grossly negligent and are capped at $1.5 million. They can also not be more than 3 time the actual damages.
It will be difficult for you to know how much your claim is worth alone. To ensure you get a fair settlement you must seek the services of an Alabama personal injury attorney. The attorney has handled many personal injury claims and from their experience can tell how much compensation is adequate. The Vance Law Firm attorneys believe you should focus on your recovery and let them fight for your compensation. When you come to us we will put all our effort and experience to ensure we build a strong case. Having a strong case will put you in a position to get the maximum compensation payable. Call us today for a free consultation on your case and you don’t have to worry about legal fees. We will not charge you anything until we successful recover damages for you.
