Montgomery Alabama Car Accident Lawyer

car accident lawyers in Montgomery AlabamaWhen you are in an accident and get hurt, you need treatment and compensation for your injuries. If you live in Montgomery or the surrounding area and are the victim of a car wreck, call an attorney who is experienced in getting compensation for your injuries. Chip Nix, Attorney at Law represents people injured in vehicle accidents. We advise you on what to do after the accident, make sure your case is filed on time, and fight for compensation that will make you whole again.

Insurance companies often try to take advantage of the situation by giving injury victims a lowball settlement offer in exchange for forfeiting their right to pursue a claim. Before accepting any offer from the insurer for the responsible party, it is important to speak with a seasoned car accident attorney.

Chip Nix, Attorney at Law, has nearly five decades of experience representing clients injured in car accidents in Montgomery, Union Springs, and surrounding Alabama communities. Attorney Nix has an in-depth understanding of Alabama personal injury laws, and what it takes to secure full and fair compensation for accident injury victims. Chip has successfully handled numerous cases like yours, and he knows the tactics insurance companies commonly use to try to avoid responsibility for the accident.

Some specific cases in which you may find yourself needing an attorney include when you have been hit by a drunk driver, when you are hit by a drowsy driver, and when something extraordinary happens like when you suffer a rollover accident. In any case it’s free to discuss your situation with our experienced attorney.

Common Causes of Car Accidents in Alabama

Each year, thousands of individuals are killed and tens of thousands are seriously injured in auto accidents in Alabama. Some accidents are due to uncontrollable factors such as poor weather, but many are the result of the negligence or reckless actions of another party. Some of the common reasons motor vehicle accidents occur include:

  • Speeding
  • Reckless Driving
  • DUI/DWI
  • Distracted Driving
  • Driving while Drowsy or Fatigued
  • Failure to See Vehicles, Bicyclists, or Pedestrians in a Motorist’s Blind Spot
  • Mechanical Failures
  • Faulty Vehicles/Vehicle Parts

Car accidents can result in serious and catastrophic injuries, especially when a vehicle crashes at high speeds. Common injuries that may occur from auto accidents include:

  • Face and Head Injuries
  • Traumatic Brain Injuries
  • Neck and Spine Injuries
  • Back Injuries
  • Soft Tissue Injuries
  • Whiplash Injuries
  • Shoulder Injuries
  • Knee Injuries
  • Fractures and Dislocations
  • Internal Injuries
  • Burn Injuries
  • Amputations/Loss of Limbs
  • Paralysis
  • Wrongful Death

Physical injuries from car accidents can lead to psychological injuries as well. For example, severe injury victims often have to deal with the emotional trauma of having to adjust to the diminished quality of life that comes with a debilitating injury. These injuries can also be hard on those close to the victim. Oftentimes, loved ones need to take on a caregiving role, and they may also need to find extra work to make up for the loss in household income.

Liability for an Alabama auto-related injury

Liability for injuries sustained in an auto accident is based in large measure on the Alabama Rules of the Road. To establish a party is at fault for the accident and therefore responsible for injuries, the injured person may show that a violation has occurred, such as:

  • Failure to stop. Traffic light signals and stop signs are put in place to facilitate the safe flow of traffic. When a driver fails to stop at a stop sign, or runs a red light and causes an accident, the fault lies with the driver who failed to obey the traffic signal or sign. If your car is hit from behind, sideswiped or involved in a front-end collision, you are entitled to hold the driver of the other vehicle accountable and seek compensation for your injuries.
  • Distracted driving. Texting, tweeting and paying attention to things other than the operation of a vehicle can result in a car wreck. Distracted drivers are becoming more and more of a problem as drivers focus on other technologies while driving. If you are the victim of a distracted driver, protect your rights by contacting an auto accident attorney to evaluate your case.
  • Improper lane change. Swerving in and out of traffic and failing to signal when doing so — or changing lanes against the yellow line — are considered improper lane changes. Cars that improperly invade your driving space are responsible for injuries caused by the action. Call an experienced car accident lawyer for a discussion of your legal rights and choices if you have suffered an injury as a result of another person’s improper lane change.
  • Negligent operation of a motor vehicle. Operating a vehicle without regard to the safety of other motorists is not tolerated. Failure to follow the standard of care for the safety of others is negligence. When a collision happens as a result of the negligence of a driver, the injuries sustained by the non-negligent party are compensable. If you suffered an injury because of someone’s negligent use of a motor vehicle, hire a personal injury attorney who knows how to fight for full and fair compensation for your injuries. Compensation for broken bones, pain and suffering, damage to internal organs, brain injury, and other injuries can be maximized by an experienced lawyer.

What to Do If you are Injured in a Car Accident in Montgomery

When someone is involved in an auto accident, there are several steps that should be taken to ensure their safety and preserve their legal rights:

  1. Seek Immediate Medical Help

The first priority after a car accident is to call 911 right away to attend to anyone who was hurt. If this was a high-impact crash, everyone involved should be checked out. Injuries are not always easy to detect. For example, conditions like whiplash, brain injuries, and internal injuries are not always known until they are detected by a health professional.

  1. Contact the Police

If there are injuries, the police should be called to the scene, even if the other party insists on handling everything without the involvement of law enforcement. It is important to have a police report on file so there is official documentation of what happened.

  1. Take Detailed Notes about the Accident

It is always best to write your own report of what happened in as much detail as possible. Do this as soon as is convenient after the accident, so everything is still fresh in your mind. You should also cross-reference your own report with the police report, so you can correct any inaccuracies the police have on file.

  1. Take Multiple Photographs of the Accident Scene

You need to have as much visual evidence as you can to help substantiate your accident report. Take several photos of the accident scene from multiple angles, and if you have a dashboard camera, be sure to capture video footage as well.

  1. Obtain Witness Contact Information

If there were individuals nearby that saw what happened, get their names and contact information for future reference. You may need witness testimony if you decide to pursue an injury claim.

  1. Report the Accident to your Insurance Company

Insurance companies require you to report an accident within a reasonable amount of time, usually between 24 and 72 hours. Call your insurer when it is convenient to report what happened. Give them just the facts and refrain from offering opinions about who was at fault. If you are hurt, let them know that you cannot give them the extent of your injuries until you are checked out by a medical professional.

  1. Do NOT Admit Fault to Anyone

Be cordial and polite with the other parties involved and exchange contact and insurance information, but do NOT admit fault or speculate on whose fault it was. Leave that to the experts to sort out based on the facts and evidence of the case.

  1. Get in Touch with a Skilled Personal Injury Lawyer as Soon as Possible

Alabama applies the “contributory negligence” legal doctrine to personal injury cases. This means that if an injured party is determined to be even 1% at-fault for the accident, they can be barred from recovering compensation. You can be sure that the insurance company for the responsible party will attempt to take advantage of Alabama’s high legal standard by trying to assign you at least partial blame for the incident. To have any hope of recovering damages, you will need a seasoned personal injury attorney in your corner who understands state laws and what is needed to successfully pursue your injury claim.

To preserve your case, call an attorney as soon as possible. In Alabama, you have two years after the accident to file a suit, however, there are many important steps to take to secure your case after your injury. Call an attorney competent in handling car wrecks to make sure you are compensated for your injuries.

Legal Results of Rollover Accidents in Alabama

Rollover car accidents are not a common car accident type, but when they do happen, they have the potential to be deadly or result in very serious injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that rollover accidents contribute to about ⅕ of all fatal crashes in the United States every year.

Rollovers occur because of design defects in the vehicle, whether the vehicle is a car, a truck, a four wheeler or some other vehicle. The design either fails to take into consideration expected forces on the vehicle during operation, or fails to adequately address those forces making the vehicle unstable. If you are involved in a rollover accident in Montgomery or surrounding areas of Alabama, suffer injuries, and believe the accident was caused by the fault of the manufacturer of the vehicle, our hard working product liability attorney is here to lend you the legal support you are looking for.

Distracted Driving Accident

The reality is that portable smart phones have been in our lives since the Apple iPhone was introduced in 2007. With the popular small, portable phone came the compulsion to check the devices hourly. And according to a 2018 study, we check our phones about 52 times a day (and this would be a very conservative number among certain segments of our population).

It stands to reason that you do not drop that addictive behavior when you get behind the wheel. And as a result, we are seeing a major uptick in distracted driving accidents in Alabama.

If you or a loved one are injured or killed in a distracted driving accident, Chip Nix understands how your life can change in a second. You need the experience of automobile accident attorney Chip Nix to help navigate you through this difficult time.

Drowsy Driving

Your eyes droop, your head nods.  All of us know the signs of being tired.  But when you are tired do you hesitate to get behind the wheel? Probably not. Most of us think we can power through the sleepiness.  Maybe have some coffee. After all, we’re not drunk, right? No, you’re not drunk but you are impaired! Going without sleep for 18 hours to one day can equal the impairment of drunk driving. It’s estimated that fatigue plays a role in between 16 to 60 percent of road accidents in the U.S. And while any drowsy driver is a potential danger on the road, a tired truck driver presents the biggest danger. When a semi weighing 80,000 pounds begins to drift into your lane head-on, there is no chance for survival for the occupants of the passenger car.

Schedule an appointment with a reachable Alabama personal injury lawyer

We return your call the same day you call. We have flexibility in scheduling appointments and will even visit you at your home or in the hospital. Chip Nix, Attorney at Law offers a free initial consultation and gives personal attention to your case. Call today at 334-279-7770 or contact us online to schedule an appointment.

Our office serves Montgomery Alabama, and the surrounding areas:

Tuskegee, Union Springs, Selma, Prattville, and Haynesville.

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