Accidents can happen at any time and when they do it is important to act fast to preserve your case and protect your interests. For those making their way through the roads and highways around Gadsden, Alabama, beware of unsafe traffic conditions. But if despite your cautious driving practices, you are still involved in a traffic accident, don’t hesitate to call expert legal aid.
Mike Bell Accident & Injury Lawyer has the skills and experience to protect your interests and ensure you are compensated for your injuries. Call 256-666-6000 right away and set up a FREE consultation with our experienced injury lawyers in Gadsden.
HOW MUCH DOES A CAR ACCIDENT LAWYER COST?
If your life has been impacted by a serious car accident, it is only natural to feel a certain level of confusion and fear for the financial implications of the accident. The very last thing on your mind will be considering the high costs of a legal representative for your case. For this reason, we offer a special arrangement for victims of car accidents and their families.
At Mike Bell Accident & Injury Lawyers, we offer the entire array of legal services required to bring your case to a positive outcome at no upfront costs to our clients. It’s called the contingency fee arrangement and basically means you will be charged no upfront fees for our expert representation, meticulous case preparation, or the considerable resources we must place into a legal case. If we win the case and get you the compensation you need to make your full recovery, we will take a portion of the winnings off the top to recover the considerable investment of time and resources we have placed into the case.
But you will never come out losing, if we are unable to win the case, we will shoulder the entire weight of the investment and charge you nothing at all. As you can see, not only do we have a great incentive to win the case, but you have nothing to lose and compensation for your injuries to gain.
WHAT IS THE AVERAGE SETTLEMENT FOR A CAR ACCIDENT?
There are no exact formulas and tables that apply to calculating the settlement for all car accidents. If you aren’t injured, the damages you can collect will only be for the property damage to the car. But if you have been injured you will be entitled to more than that.
You can get a rough idea of what you will be able to collect by calculating the economic implications of the accident. For example, the medical bills for treatments, medication, and therapy can be added to the lost wages and property damage. The final sum can then be multiplied by three and this is roughly a third of the settlement you can expect.
But you may also be eligible for compensation for pain and suffering if you have been injured. This is one of the main reasons it is important to be fully examined by a medical professional, even if you feel your injuries are minor.
If you were injured in a car accident and the injuries resulted in a doctor’s bill of $5000 and $2000 of lost wages for a week spent away from work, then your total settlement could be around $21,000. But including all other factors that may be relevant to your case, it would be more accurate to place the figure somewhere between $14,000 and $28,000.
As you may imagine, accidents that result in more serious injuries are going to result in a higher settlement and permanent injuries will be higher than that. The specific actions of the at-fault party as well as your involvement in the events leading to the accident may also affect the final tally.
WHAT SHOULD I DO AFTER A GADSDEN CAR ACCIDENT?
Without exception, car accidents can cause a variety of emotional reactions and any degrees of mental confusion. But it is essential to regain your composure quickly and act to protect your interests by preserving the integrity of your case. Here are some important points to keep in mind if you have been involved in a Gadsden Car Accident.
It is easy to be bewildered in the aftermath of a car accident, nevertheless, if you think fast and act with foresight, you can preserve your case and protect your interests.
- Call 911 — it is essential to call in the authorities and medical team to create a full report of what happened. The medical services can address your injuries and the police will make a report on the accident. Make sure you get the names, badge numbers, and precincts of the officers so you can obtain a copy of the report later.
- Check on Others Involved in the Crash — if you see it is safe to do so, and your injuries do not restrict your movement. See to the welfare of the others involved in the crash. But do not leave the scene of the accident for any reason until the police arrive to make the report.
- Exchange Information — make sure you get the name, contact information, plate numbers, and insurance information from the other driver. If you see any that there are bystanders and passersby who may have seen what happened, ask for their names and contact information as well.
- Record the Scene — using your mobile device, get as much footage of the scene of the accident as you can. You will want some wide-angle shots of the vehicles involved in the accident in relation to each other and traffic signals in the area. Then get some close-up shots of the damages, impact points, skid marks, road debris, and injuries that resulted in the accident.
- Never Admit Fault — It is only natural to feel a sense of anger, guilt, or remorse for the accident, but do not say or do anything that could put your case at risk. It is important to be careful of what you say, even something as seemingly innocent as I’m sorry” could be taken as an admission of fault.
- Seek Medical Attention — it is essential to have yourself and passengers properly examined by a medical professional. A doctor will be able to provide you with a detailed report of your injuries and even detect injuries that may not be evident at first but that can have seriously dangerous side effects.
- Call a Car Accident Lawyer! — finally, if you are serious about getting compensation for your injuries you will need the expert legal services of a qualified car accident lawyer in Gadsden, Alabama. Call Mike Bell Accident & Injury today to begin the process of your due compensation.
WHY DO I NEED A CAR ACCIDENT LAWYER IN ALABAMA?
There may be some situations where the damages that resulted from a car accident are fairly minor and no injuries were sustained. In this case, it is quite possible for the accident victims to file a very simple claim with the insurance providers and conclude the matter.
But if the accident ended with injuries, or perhaps one of your passengers was injured or killed in the accident, it is imperative that you seek legal aid. A car accident lawyer has the experience to help you navigate the complex world of personal injury. Their guidance will provide many special benefits to your quest to seek compensation.
Best of all, you will have these complex affairs handled by a reliable expert with your best interests in mind. This way you can focus your time and efforts on making a full recovery and getting your life back on track after the accident.
- Case Preparation / Filing a Lawsuit — there are many specifics and details to consider when making a personal injury claim or filing a lawsuit. With extensive experience in this aspect of personal injury, your car accident lawyer will craft an immaculate case that will hold strong in negotiations and carry weight in courtroom battles, if it comes to that.
- Settlement Negotiation — despite what they profess, an insurance provider’s interests rarely align with your own and they will stop at nothing to minimize payments or deny claims altogether. Because they will exploit any loophole they find, it takes a skilled and experienced mind to convince these shrewd insurance providers to make the payments due.
- Trial Preparation & Representation — most of these cases will be solved in negotiations. But if no resolutions can be reached it will be necessary to take the matter to the courts. Only a car accident lawyer with experience on the court floor will know how to turn the wheels of justice in your favor.
HOW MUCH CAN I EXPECT TO RECEIVE IN DAMAGES?
No two car accidents are quite the same and it would be difficult to provide a general figure that will cover all cases. But it is safe to say that the value of the case depends largely on the injuries sustained. If the accident resulted in only minor injuries and the recovery time is short, the damages can be fairly light.
Nevertheless, if the injuries were severe and the recovery periods long and grueling, the compensations can also be much higher. For this reason, those car accidents that result in the loss of limb or organ function can often have very high values.
WHAT TYPE OF DAMAGES CAN I RECOVER?
It will be the specific circumstances that surround your case that will determine what type of damages you will be eligible for after a car accident. However, in the state of Alabama, personal injury cases can receive damages from the following categories:
- Economic Damages – these damages are the most easily calculated as they are the sum total of all the financial consequences the victim faces after an accident. This can include the medical bills for treatments, therapies, and medicines needed to make a recovery. Economic damages can also cover the lost wages and from time spent off work and the loss of earning capacity if injuries prevent the victim from returning to a full professional capacity. Economic damages can cover past, present, and future losses.
- Non-Economic Damages – Then there will be damages that can be harder to place into a financial figure. There is no way to cover the pain and anguish that can result from an accident, but experts will be called in to lend their professional perspectives. Non-economic damages can cover things like pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of consortium, and loss of capacity to live a normal life.
- Punitive Damages – Finally, there will be cases where the actions of the at-fault party were especially reckless, life-threatening, or motivated by anger or hatred. In such a case, the courts may choose to apply punitive damages to the at-fault party. Punitive damages are applied to punish this egregious behavior.
HOW IS FAULT DETERMINED IN ALABAMA?
Establishing negligence is critical to establishing who is at fault in a personal injury lawsuit or car accident claim. In its most general terms, negligence can be described as the failure to exercise the same care and cautions as is expected of any reasonable person. For example, a motorist who is driving under the influence at speeds above the regulated limit could be considered negligent.
Furthermore, in the state of Alabama, drivers can share fault if they were both acting negligently at the time of the accident. This is not necessarily a good thing. Since 2018, the state of Alabama has applied the concept of pure contributory negligence, which means that if the victim shared even a mere 1% of the responsibility in what happened, they will not be eligible for compensation.
This means that the insurance providers will bend backward to find the slightest detail that could implicate you in the accident and thereby deny compensation. For this reason, it is essential to have a meticulous car accident lawyer at your side to help you establish your absence of fault.
HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO FILE A CLAIM IN GADSDEN, ALABAMA?
There is a strict time frame in which you will have to make your claim and file a lawsuit. This is called the “statute of limitations” and in Alabama, this time frame is two years from the date of the accident. If you hope to get compensation for your injuries, you will have to file your lawsuit within this allotted time. However, if you will be filing a claim against a government entity, this time frame is reduced to six months from the accident.
Strict deadlines are only one detail in a host of important factors that will ultimately decide the fate of your claim and lawsuit. For this reason, it is important to have a knowledgeable personal injury lawyer who can help you through the complexities of personal injury. At Mike Bell Accident & Injury, we have skilled personal injury lawyers to help you keep time and address all the details while you focus on the important task of recovering.
HOW CAN A LAWYER HELP ME FILE MY INSURANCE CLAIM?
There is a good chance that the insurance company that will handle your claim has a team of skilled adjusters and attorneys with nothing better to do than apply their skills at denying claims. At Mike Bell Accident & Injury, our lawyers have spent countless hours researching the particulars of personal injury law to provide our clients with the best possible representation.
Additionally, we count on the skills and perspectives of experienced insurance claims adjusters that work with us to provide their unique perspectives on the cases we handle. With our all-encompassing grasp of facts and perspectives, we can assure you that you will be absolved of all responsibility and receive the full compensation.
WHAT CAN I DO IF INSURANCE DENIED MY CLAIM?
Denying claims is a fairly standard procedure used by insurance companies to avoid making payouts. But you should know that this is not a reflection on the validity of your case, but rather their adherence to their own personal interests above your own. If you want an unbiased perspective on your case, you will need to speak with a qualified personal injury lawyer with your interests in mind.
DO I HAVE A CASE?
The only way to know for sure is to have the details of your situation examined by a professional lawyer with experience in personal injury. After a careful examination of the evidence, your legal representative will be able to provide you with a clearer idea of what to expect from the claims process.
CONTACT A GADSDEN CAR ACCIDENT LAWYER FOR A FREE CONSULTATION
Car accidents can happen at any time and their effects can have a long-lasting impact on your life. But remember that you have a right to fair compensation for your injuries paid for by the at-fault party, or more commonly their insurance providers. This compensation is designed to help you restore order to your life after the aftermath of a car accident.
To access full compensation, you need personal injury experience from a leading team of legal professionals. If you are serious about getting compensation in the aftermath of a car accident, call the legal services of Mike Bell Accident & Injury Lawyers. Call 256-666-6000 today to arrange a FREE consultation with our experienced legal professionals today!
