Our Experienced Dothan Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help You
Thousands of honest, hard-working Americans are seriously injured every year. Many of these injuries are completely preventable, occurring only because someone else was careless or negligent in some way.
Whether it happens on the job, while driving, or on someone else’s property, the fact is innocent ordinary citizens are often pitted against large insurance companies and multinational corporations that will fight to shift the blame and minimize their payout.
When this happens, you need aggressive and skilled legal representation. You simply cannot afford to take chances with your future by depending on insurance companies and large corporations to look out for your interests. Contact our experienced Dothan personal injury attorneys today.
What You Have to Prove in an Injury Claim
In Alabama, the law requires you to prove the following things to receive compensation for your injuries.
The Defendant Owed You a Duty
This complex legal theory requires you to prove that the defendant owed you some sort of duty. In other words, what was the defendant required to do or not do? If the defendant is a trucking company, then you must prove that they owed other drivers a duty to operate the truck safely on the roadway. If the defendant is a doctor, you must prove that the doctor had a specific medical standard to live up to. For each kind of negligent conduct, there is a corresponding duty that must be upheld.
The Defendant Breached Its Duty to You
Next, you have to prove that the defendant specifically violated its duty in some way. So, in a car accident, evidence of a person running a red light may be helpful to prove that the driver breached his or her duty. In a slip and fall accident, you may show that the property owner breached its duty by failing to warn you of the dangerous condition that caused you to fall.
The Breach Caused Your Injuries
Of course, it’s not enough to just prove that the other party did something wrong. You also have to prove that the error (breach) directly caused your injury. A drunk driver is clearly in violation of his duty to other drivers on the road, but if no one gets hurt, there’s still no legal right to recover compensation. Therefore, you must show that your specific injuries were caused by the negligent person’s conduct.
You Must Prove Your Damages
Finally, if you can show that the defendant owed you a duty, violated that duty, and directly caused you an injury, your final step is proving how much that injury cost you. Damages can include things like lost income, medical bills, and pain and suffering, just to mention a few.
Common Types of Personal Injury Cases We Handle
As an experienced personal injury attorney in Dothan, our office handles a wide range of personal injury cases. These include:
Car Accidents
There are thousands of serious auto accidents in Alabama every year. If you’ve been involved in a crash, you should contact our office right away.
Motorcycle Accidents
Unlike car accidents, motorcycle injuries are usually more severe and result in much higher medical costs. Also, insurance companies love to blame or vilify motorcyclists by playing up unfair negative stereotypes. You can trust Gartlan Injury Law to fight these attempts.
Trucking Accidents
Trucking companies are bound by comprehensive state and federal motor carrier regulations. When they ignore safety rules, it can be deadly. Due to all the money at stake, as well as the complexities of the truck crash, these cases can be much more complicated than a crash that involves only passenger cars.
Insurance Bad Faith
Your insurance company is required by contract to defend you and pay claims against you. Likewise, other drivers who have insurance have the same type of contracts with their insurance companies. Nevertheless, we frequently see insurance companies ignore their own contractual duties, leaving innocent people to suffer. These cases are known as “bad faith” claims, and we will aggressively pursue actions against insurance companies that breach their legal duties to the consumer.
Defective Products
When products seriously injure people due to design defects or flawed manufacturing, it can be catastrophic. We often see children’s toys with inherently unsafe parts or power tools that do not function as designed. Many auto manufacturers have been penalized in recent years due to defective air bags or cars that tip over at low speeds. Medical devices are also notorious for causing unnecessary injuries, even when used as intended.
Workers’ Compensation Claims
Alabama law allows injured workers to seek compensation for their injuries and lost income. However, some employers are very quick to deny compensation or even retaliate against injured workers, rather than follow the law. If you suffered a workplace injury, contact Gartlan Injury Law today.
Thorough Investigate of the Facts. You can rest assured that the insurance company and their large corporate clients will dig deep to look for any excuse not to compensate you for your injuries or pay as little as possible. You need a team of hard-working, independent, and sharp investigators to research your case to determine who was really at fault and who should be held responsible. At Gartlan Injury Law, we will swiftly begin investigating the facts to look for any potential source of financial recovery. We will also look for any evidence that could support your claim.
