Between the expensive medical bills and being unable to work, injuries after a car accident can drastically change your life. One way to regain stability and peace of mind is through a car accident insurance settlement. With a settlement, you can recover financial compensation for your injury-related losses, such as medical bills, lost work income, and pain and suffering.
However, the settlement process is complex, and you have a limited time to pursue compensation. Alabama also has unique rules regarding shared liability that can complicate insurance claims and car accident lawsuits. Knowing what to expect can streamline proceedings and reduce confusion. If you have more questions about how Alabama car accident settlements work, a personal injury attorney can help you understand your rights and options.
Understanding Car Accident Settlements
Alabama uses a fault-based system for car accidents, so every driver must carry a minimum amount of injury liability insurance. The point of liability insurance is to pay for injuries if the driver causes an accident. If another driver hits you, you’d file a claim against their insurance coverage to compensate for your accident-related losses.
What Is a Settlement?
A settlement is an agreement where the insurance company agrees to pay you a specified amount for your losses. When you open a claim, you submit evidence concerning your injuries and expenses. The insurance company reviews the information and then provides a settlement offer. You can accept the offer or reject it and negotiate a counteroffer. Usually, there is a brief negotiation period where your attorney can try to make a deal for a higher settlement amount.
Why Most Car Accident Cases Settle
Despite what TV might have you believe, the vast majority of insurance claims don’t go to trial. Litigation is time-consuming and expensive, so most parties prefer to settle matters out of court to avoid a jury trial.
However, you can pursue formal litigation if the insurance company refuses to negotiate in good faith or denies your claim without explanation. Litigation may be an option if negotiations break down or you have a particularly strong case. Generally, though, the goal is to avoid costly litigation fees.
Car Accident Settlement Amounts in Alabama
Car accident settlements can range from a few thousand dollars for minor injuries to hundreds of thousands or even millions for catastrophic injuries. Every case is unique, so you can’t know beforehand how much you’ll receive from a particular settlement. Factors that influence the final value of any settlement include:
- Injury Severity – Bigger injuries typically equal a bigger payout. Settlements pay for both the short- and long-term costs of injuries, and severe injuries have more costs. For instance, a settlement for whiplash will likely be less than one for a traumatic brain injury.
- Impact on Life – Car accidents can cause permanent and disabling injuries that affect your ability to work and earn a living. Settlements account for the extent of your pain, suffering, and emotional turmoil due to injuries.
- Insurance Limits – Insurance policies provide coverage up to a specified limit. If the at-fault driver carried the minimum required coverage, it could impact your recovery efforts.
- Legal Representation – Your choice of attorney can make a difference in settlement amounts. An experienced personal injury attorney can make a compelling case and negotiate with insurers for more money.
Damages Available in Alabama Car Accident Cases
Depending on the circumstances and the nature of your injuries, compensation after a car accident can include money for:
- Emergency medical treatment and continuing medical expenses (e.g., surgeries, prescriptions, rehab, etc.)
- Lost work income and other forms of employment compensation
- Differences between pre- and post-injury lifetime expected earnings
- Miscellaneous injury-related expenses (e.g., alternate transportation, home modification, etc.)
- Pain, suffering, and emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment and quality-of-life reductions
To recover adequate compensation, you need to keep all bills and receipts from your expenses. An Alabama car accident lawyer can organize these documents and calculate a figure that accounts for your monetary and intangible losses.
The Car Accident Settlement Process Step-by-Step
The exact settlement process depends on the insurer and accident specifics, but you can split proceedings into general phases.
Immediate Steps After the Crash
Immediately after the crash, your priority should be checking yourself and passengers for injuries. Reporting accidents to the police is mandatory in Alabama if the accident resulted in injury or death. Once you have received any necessary emergency medical attention, you can move to the next step.
Investigation and Documentation
The next phase is documenting the accident and building your case. Take pictures of the accident scene and your injuries, and exchange contact and insurance information with the other driver. If present, you can ask eyewitnesses for statements to verify accident events.
Don’t delay seeing a doctor and getting formal documentation of your injuries. You should also speak to a car accident attorney. An experienced car accident lawyer can help you gather evidence and handle communications with the insurance companies.
Filing the Claim & Negotiations
After building a solid case, you contact the at-fault driver’s insurance and submit a demand for payment. The insurance company will investigate and decide whether to offer a settlement or issue a denial. Insurance companies typically lowball the first offer, so your attorney can make a counteroffer. This back-and-forth negotiation continues until a mutual agreement is reached.
Finalizing or Going to Court
Once you accept a settlement, the insurance company will cut you a check and give it to your attorney. The attorney will collect their fee and pay any outstanding expenses before giving you the remaining amount.
If agreement eludes both sides, the next step is to file a formal lawsuit. During a lawsuit, each side will present evidence and testimony to a judge and jury. After deliberating, the jury will decide what damages are appropriate, if any.
Maximizing Your Settlement
Maximizing your settlement ultimately depends on building the strongest possible case and securing competent legal representation. An experienced attorney will know how to identify potentially liable parties in your case and pursue every method of compensation possible.
Medical & Legal Steps
Arguably, the most important part of the investigation is documenting your medical condition. Without documentation, there is no proof of your injuries, so the more documentation you have, the better. Relevant medical records include:
- Intake paperwork
- Patient files
- Lab reports
- Imaging results
- Diagnostic tests
- Doctor’s notes
- Prescription lists
- Discharge paperwork
- Follow-up care information
- Hospital bills
- A dated journal of your symptoms, pain levels, and treatment
Following the rules and submitting all the requested information with your claim will reduce the chances of denials and make your case harder to dispute. Appealing denials is an extra layer of complexity, so you’ll want to do things right the first time.
Avoiding Common Mistakes
It’s easy to make a mistake in the claim process that could impact your final compensation. Below are some common pitfalls to avoid:
- Don’t delay seeking medical attention. Insurance companies might say that treatment delays are a sign your injuries are not as severe as claimed.
- Don’t casually discuss your case with friends or colleagues. You might say something that can be used against you.
- Avoid posting on social media. Insurance companies might take posts, photos, or videos out of context to attack your credibility.
- Don’t sign the first settlement offer you receive. You might end up signing away your right to pursue further compensation.
- Respond promptly to any insurance company requests for additional information. Responding late could jeopardize your claim.
Role of a Lawyer
You don’t legally need a lawyer to file an insurance claim, but it can only help. Lawyers understand the insurance process and can be your advocate. They can argue in your favor and push back against insurer attempts to redirect blame. Their knowledge and skill also give them an edge in negotiations. Claimants with attorneys tend to recover much more than those without legal representation.
Most attorneys work on contingency, meaning they take their fee out of any final settlement they recover for their client. The benefit of a contingency fee structure is that you don’t have to pay up front to secure counsel. Under this arrangement, if you don’t win your case, you won’t owe any attorney fees.
Alabama’s Car Accident Statute of Limitations
Each state has a statute of limitations that places a time limit on filing personal injury lawsuits. In Alabama, the statute of limitations is Ala. Code 6-2-38(l), which places a two-year time limit on all personal injury lawsuits, including car accidents. Once those two years have passed, any claim to financial compensation expires and becomes null and void.
In most cases, the two-year timer starts counting from the day you sustained your injuries. However, car accidents sometimes cause hidden injuries that are not immediately detectable. In these cases, the two-year timer starts counting on the date you discovered your condition instead. This “discovery rule” exists so that the two-year time limit doesn’t expire when there is no way to know about your injuries.
This time limit is very strict and has few exceptions, so starting early is in your best interest. The longer you wait, the harder it’ll be to obtain evidence concerning the accident and your injuries. An attorney can initiate the claims process promptly, reducing wait times and minimizing payment delays.
How Contributory Negligence Works in Alabama
Most states in the U.S. use a system known as comparative negligence when assigning damages in personal injury cases. Under comparative negligence rules, plaintiffs in car accident claims still recover financial compensation if they are partially at fault. The catch is that any final monetary award the plaintiff receives is reduced according to their percentage of fault.
Alabama, however, is one of four states in the U.S. that still uses the standard of contributory negligence in personal injury cases. Under contributory negligence laws, any amount of shared liability completely bars the plaintiff from financial recovery, even if it’s just a single percentage point of fault.
Contributory negligence is an extremely strict standard, which is why most jurisdictions have abolished it in favor of comparative negligence rules. If you get into a car accident in Alabama, you need to work with an experienced auto injury attorney who can protect you against accusations of shared fault and preserve your right to seek compensation.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Your primary source of compensation after an accident in Alabama is filing an insurance claim with the at-fault driver. But what if the at-fault driver lacks insurance or flees the accident scene? What if their insurance limits are too low to cover your losses?
That’s where uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage come into the picture. UM coverage goes on your auto policy and pays for your injuries when the other driver is unknown or doesn’t have insurance. UIM coverage is a similar type of coverage that kicks in if the at-fault driver’s insurance is insufficient to pay for your accident losses. Filing through UM or UIM coverage is effectively the same as a typical at-fault claim, except your insurance company plays the role of the at-fault driver’s insurer.
UM and UIM coverage are included by default on all auto policies in Alabama, but you can decline coverage in writing without penalty. About 17 percent of drivers in Alabama don’t carry insurance, so we highly recommend buying UM/UIM coverage. Without the additional protection, you could be on the hook personally for your injury-related losses.
Contact Our Alabama Car Accident Attorneys to Learn More
No two car accidents are the same, so no two claims are the same either. An experienced car accident attorney from Collins Law can help you navigate your situation in pursuit of the best possible resolution. For over a decade, our firm has dedicated itself to advocating for the rights of injured Alabamians. If you have injuries from a car accident, we can investigate your case and be your advocate during insurance settlement negotiations. Let us handle the difficult legal legwork so that you can focus on healing and recovery.
We are the voice you need and can provide the attention you deserve. Contact Collins Law today or reach out by phone for a free case consultation with an Alabama car accident attorney.
