Serious auto accidents often leave victims struggling with pain and suffering on a daily basis. For those who are struggling with pain and suffering, filing a personal injury claim can be an important part of the recovery process. Hiring an experienced Birmingham truck accident lawyer or car accident lawyer to file a personal injury claim provides an opportunity to seek just compensation for all of your accident-related losses—including non-financial losses such as pain and suffering.
When Can You Seek Compensation for Your Pain and Suffering?
Under Alabama law, auto accident victims can seek just compensation for their financial and non-financial losses whenever their losses are someone else’s (or a company’s) fault. As a result, most auto accident claims fall into one of three main categories:
1. Claims Based on Driver Negligence
In the vast majority of cases, seeking just compensation for pain and suffering (and other losses) after a serious truck accident or car accident involves filing a claim based on driver negligence. If a negligent driver is responsible for your pain and suffering, then you should be able to file a claim with the negligent driver’s insurance company.
Driver negligence can take many forms, and proving the specific form of driver negligence that is responsible for your pain and suffering requires a prompt and thorough investigation. This makes it important to hire an experienced Birmingham truck accident lawyer or car accident lawyer as soon after your accident as possible. Some examples of common forms of negligence in these cases include:
- Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Driving while distracted
- Driving while fatigued (or falling asleep behind the wheel)
- Failing to yield the right of way at an intersection
- Running red lights or stop signs (including trying to “beat” a yellow light)
- Speeding, tailgating, and other forms of aggressive driving
- Turning or merging without looking
All of these all-too-common mistakes can provide grounds to seek just compensation for your pain and suffering after a truck accident or car accident in Alabama. But these are not the only issues that can provide accident victims with clear legal rights.
2. Claims Based on Third-Party Negligence
In some cases, accident victims will be able to file claims based on third-party negligence as well. This is negligence on the part of any individual or company that was not directly involved in your accident—but that is still legally responsible for your pain, suffering, and other losses. Some examples of potential third-party negligence in truck accident and car accident cases include:
- Entrusting vehicles to inexperienced drivers
- Hiring unqualified drivers to drive large commercial vehicles
- Forcing commercial drivers to spend too many hours behind the wheel
- Failing to adequately maintain 18-wheelers or other commercial vehicles
- Performing negligent maintenance or repair work at a shop or dealership
- Serving alcohol to someone who is visibly intoxicated
- Improperly loading (or failing to properly secure) a truck’s cargo
If any of these issues (or any other form of third-party negligence) played a role in your truck accident or car accident, you may be entitled to recover just compensation for your pain and suffering from the company that is to blame. However, third-party negligence claims present some unique legal challenges, so highly experienced legal representation is required.
3. Claims Based on Vehicle Defects or Road Defects
Vehicle defects and road defects can also serve as grounds to seek just compensation for your pain and suffering after a serious auto accident in Alabama. While negligent design, manufacturing, and construction can all give rise to personal injury claims, accident victims can also pursue product liability claims based on the law of “strict liability” in some cases. Under the law of “strict liability,” proof of negligence is not required if you can prove that a vehicle (or vehicle component) or a road was defective. Some examples of potential defects include:
- Brake defects
- Electrical system defects
- Engine and transmission defects
- Road design defects (i.e., dangerous intersections or corners)
- Road surface defects (i.e., potholes and sinkholes)
- Self-driving technology defects
- Tire defects
These are all issues that can entitle auto accident victims to just compensation for their pain and suffering—along with the issues listed above. If you have grounds to file a claim for your pain and suffering (and other accident-related losses), then the next step is to prove how much you are entitled to recover.
How Can You Seek Compensation for Your Pain and Suffering?
With some types of accident-related losses, proving how much you are entitled to recover is a matter of adding up the consequences for your bank account. But, pain and suffering are non-financial in nature. So, how do you prove the “value” of your pain and suffering?
Seeking compensation for your pain and suffering after an auto accident involves documenting all of the various ways your accident-related injuries negatively impact your life. This includes your pain levels throughout the day, activities you are unable to perform, and events you are forced to miss. It also includes impacts on your relationships with your friends and family members (including your spouse and children), as well as consequences such as anxiety, depression, fear, embarrassment, and loss of enjoyment of life.
When you hire a Birmingham truck accident lawyer or car accident lawyer to represent you, your lawyer will assist with collecting the documentation needed to prove your pain and suffering. Your lawyer will then use this documentation to determine what amount of compensation is “just” based on your individual circumstances. With this evidence and information in hand, your lawyer will then be able to begin working with the insurance companies and fighting for the financial compensation you deserve.
Schedule a Free Consultation with a Birmingham Truck Accident Lawyer or Car Accident Lawyer Today
Do you need to know more about seeking just compensation for your pain and suffering after a truck accident or car accident in Alabama? If so, we invite you to get in touch. For a free, no-obligation consultation about your legal rights, please call 205-855-2745 or get in touch online today.