Foley Personal Injury Lawyer

Personal Injury

Most personal injury lawsuits are pursued under a theory of negligence. A plaintiff trying to establish negligence must show that the defendant owed them a duty of care, and the defendant failed to meet the duty, which caused the accident and their injuries. Usually, the Alabama statute of limitations mandates that a personal injury lawsuit be filed within two years of the accident. If you can establish liability, you should be able to recover compensatory damages. These are economic and non-economic damages that are intended to make a plaintiff whole.

Car Accidents

Alabama follows an at-fault system with regard to car accidents. If you are injured in a car accident, you may be able to hold the at-fault driver accountable in a personal injury lawsuit. Many claims are settled through insurance companies or in mediation rather than a personal injury lawsuit. Sometimes car accidents are caused by multiple drivers’ negligent conduct. Alabama follows the pure rule of joint and several liability, which is helpful to victims. This means that each at-fault driver can be held responsible for the entirety of any compensatory damages award. A personal injury attorney can help Foley residents and other victims fight for all of the damages that they need.

Truck Accidents

Due to the size of commercial trucks, the injuries sustained by people in a smaller vehicle in a truck accident may be catastrophic or fatal. Usually, a truck driver’s negligent operation of the vehicle is to blame. For example, a truck driver who was driving drunk, speeding, texting while driving, or failing to obey road rules may be found negligent. However, it is important to look at any other factors that may have contributed to the accident. It may be appropriate to sue a trucking company for its negligence or to sue a truck manufacturer for a defect that caused the accident.

Motorcycle Accidents

There is no buffer between a motorcyclist and a larger vehicle. If they are struck, a motorcyclist may sustain grave or even fatal injuries. It is important to conduct a proper investigation of who was at fault for the accident. Often, the driver of a larger vehicle was at fault for a motorcycle accident, and it is possible for a Foley personal injury attorney to sue another driver for damages. Other parties that may share the blame include mechanics, construction companies, government agencies in charge of the road, or manufacturers of motorcycle components.

Bicycle Accidents

In Alabama, bicycles are treated in the same way as other vehicles. Bicyclists must obey road signs and road rules, just as drivers of cars and trucks would. At the same time, they are due the same respect as anyone else on the road, but motorists do not always give them the appropriate respect. Common injuries suffered by bicyclists in bicycle accidents include road rash, spinal cord damage, broken bones, and traumatic brain injuries. Sometimes experts will need to testify regarding the extent of the injuries and their impact on the victim.

Pedestrian Accidents

Pedestrian accidents can have tragic consequences. Pedestrians are entitled to walk on sidewalks and cross in safety, although they are supposed to follow rules, such as obeying traffic control devices. When a pedestrian has the right-of-way at a signal, a motorist is supposed to yield and wait for a pedestrian to get all the way to the other side before continuing forward. At other intersections or crosswalks without a signal, a driver is still supposed to give the right of way to a pedestrian who wants to cross. If you have been hit by a car in the Foley area, a personal injury lawyer can help you assert your rights against the careless driver.

Premises Liability

Property owners and occupiers owe a duty to keep their property reasonably safe for visitors. If you are injured on someone else’s property, you may be able to recover damages in a premises liability lawsuit. Common reasons for injuries on property include wet or slippery floors, uneven sidewalks, loose rails, broken steps, broken tiles, food on the floor, or rolls of carpeting. You will need to show that the property owner either created a dangerous property condition or knew or should have known of the dangerous or defective condition on the property. Generally, property owners are not responsible for injuries if the dangerous condition was open and obvious.

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice cases are often quite complex. Not every mistake made by a health care provider constitutes medical malpractice. In order to establish medical malpractice in your case, you will need to show that a health care provider failed to meet the professional standard of care and thereby caused your injuries. Your Foley personal injury lawyer will usually need to retain a credible expert to provide testimony on what the professional standard of care was under the circumstances, how it was breached, and causation. Medical malpractice cases can turn into battles between experts, so it is very important to work with an attorney who has good relationships with experts and can make sure that an expert can present well to a jury.

Nursing Home Negligence

When you put your loved one in a nursing home, you hope that she or he will receive proper attention. Unfortunately, many nursing homes are understaffed, and nursing home negligence and abuse are all too common. Some common signs of nursing home negligence include pressure sores, unexplained bruising, fractures from unexplained falls, withdrawal or personality changes, and malnutrition. Nursing homes must follow federal and state regulations. It may be possible to recover damages if your loved one was injured as a result of neglect or abuse while they were a resident in an Alabama nursing home.

Defective Products

Consumers trust that manufacturers will not put dangerous products on the market. However, some products are not properly tested, and sometimes adequate warnings are not placed on the product to warn a consumer about its dangers. In Alabama, you may be able to recover damages for a defective product under theories of liability such as negligence, breach of warranty, and strict liability through Alabama’s extended manufacturer’s liability doctrine. Under this doctrine, a personal injury lawyer in the Foley area would need to show that a product got to the user without being substantially altered, and you suffered injuries because the product’s defective condition made the product unreasonably dangerous.

Work Injuries

Most employers with at least five employees are covered under the Alabama Workers’ Compensation Act. However, workers’ compensation may not cover the full spectrum of a worker’s injuries. It may be possible to obtain monetary damages from a negligent party that caused a work injury if the accident was caused by somebody other than your employer. For example, if you were injured because a subcontractor other than your employer acted carelessly on the job site, it might be possible to obtain damages through a third-party claim. Most often, these claims are brought under a theory of negligence.

Insurance Fraud

When you buy insurance, you are anticipating that you will pay premiums so that a claim will be paid promptly under the terms of the insurance contract. Unfortunately, some insurers fail to honor their obligations to their insured. In Alabama, every insurance contract requires good faith and fair dealing. When an insurer fails to make a timely payment on a claim, intentionally denies a claim for no valid reason, or pays an amount inadequate for the claim, an action for bad faith may arise. If you were a victim of insurance bad faith, you may be able to recover compensatory and sometimes punitive damages.

Consult a Personal Injury Attorney in Foley or Surrounding Areas

Whether you were injured in a truck accident or in a slip and fall, it is important to retain a knowledgeable and dedicated attorney. Whit A. Thomas is committed to helping his clients understand their cases and tailoring his strategy to each individual situation. Call us today at (251) 943-9330 or use our online form to set up a free consultation. Whit A. Thomas handles lawsuits on a contingency fee basis, which means that you will not need to pay us anything unless compensation is recovered.