The idea behind personal injury claims is simple — that victims of someone else’s negligence should receive compensation for their injuries. By filing a personal injury claim, you hold the reckless party accountable for their reckless behaviors. It also ensures that innocent victims receive all the financial support they can get to get them back to their pre-accident position.
Unfortunately, however, the process of achieving this goal is not as easy. From gathering evidence to negotiations, and sorting complex paperwork, while recuperating, personal injury cases are tiresome, to put it mildly. The good news though, is that this is only the case when you refuse to work with experienced Birmingham personal injury lawyers.
The personal injury attorneys at Caldwell Wenzel & Asthana, PC, are trained to make the at-fault party pay for your injuries. We’ll evaluate your case, fight for your rights, and determine your best options to obtain maximum compensation.
Work with us on your Birmingham personal injury claim by calling (251) 444-7000 ASAP!
Understanding Birmingham’s Pure Contributory Negligence Rule
You Must Be 0% at Fault for Your Injuries to Obtain Compensation in Birmingham
Alabama’s system of determining liability in personal injury claims is based on the pure contributory negligence rule. This means that you’ll lose your right to pursue damages in your case if you contributed to your injuries, even minutely. Although this rule is quite harsh, it serves to ensure that no one benefits from their negligence in any way. It imposes a strict standard of responsibility on both the injured victim and the at-fault party.
What’s The Personal Injury Claims Process Like in Birmingham?
What To Expect in a Birmingham Personal Injury Case
When it comes to personal injury claims in Birmingham, the importance of adequate preparation must be emphasized. You must first have a good understanding of the compensation process and how to navigate it to increase your chances of winning. This entails staying informed about the following stages of a typical personal injury case after you reach out to us:
Accident Investigation
After listening to your story, our first course of action is investigating the accident. This stage is essential for many reasons. First, an investigation can lead us to uncover more facts that can strengthen your case. If necessary, we may obtain the services of an accident reconstruction specialist to do a thorough job.
Secondly, an investigation helps us to assess the true extent of damages in your claim. This will help our evaluation of your case and ensure that we obtain adequate compensation for your losses. Also, by promptly investigating your case, we may find and preserve evidence that would otherwise have been lost. A thorough investigation is also important in determining who the liable parties are in your case.
Proving Negligence
Upon concluding our investigations, the next step is to prove the defendant’s liability. This entails showing that they owed you a duty of care which they disregarded. To prove their negligence, we’ll also show that their reckless actions directly caused the accident, which resulted in physical injuries and financial losses.
Determining fault is a complex, yet important aspect of every personal injury case. Without sufficient proof of the other party’s liability, your claims will be dead on arrival. So, our attorneys take this stage of the compensation process very seriously. We’ll put the evidence we discovered during our investigation into good use by leveraging it to prove all the elements of negligence.
Calculating Damages
Generally, it’s impossible to predict the precise amount you’ll receive as damages in a personal injury case. This is because there’s no fool-proof formula since numerous factors influence payout and every case is unique. However, it’s possible to arrive at a rough estimate before negotiating with the insurance company. Estimating your compensation sums is necessary to ensure that you aren’t boxed into accepting a low-ball settlement offer.
To calculate damages, you have to first consider your economic losses. Economic damages are reimbursements for specific expenses due to the accident like medical expenses, lost income, damaged property, etc. This type of compensation is ascertainable because it essentially refunds the money you have lost.
Besides economic damages, you may also receive non-economic damages for other losses that aren’t financial. These include compensation for pain and suffering, emotional trauma, loss of enjoyment of life, etc. Since this category of damages is intangible, assigning monetary figures to them can be challenging. The amount you’ll receive as non-economic damages is influenced by the severity of your case, the quality of your attorney, etc.
In some cases, you may be eligible to receive punitive damages for your injuries. Our attorneys can evaluate your case and leverage their experience to provide a reasonable estimate of your claim’s worth.
Settlement Negotiations
After calculating your damages, we’ll proceed to the next phase — negotiating a settlement with the relevant insurance company. Negotiations with insurance companies have frequently proven to be a herculean task. Many insurers are uncooperative and will put in the effort to deny your claim or offer you unbelievably small payouts.
Fortunately, our team of experienced injury lawyers always brings their “A” game to the negotiating table. With our excellent persuasive and strategic decision-making skills, we’ll not rest until we reach a settlement that adequately covers the full extent of your losses.
Trial
Many personal injury claims end in settlement negotiations. However, in some cases, when the insurance company is adamant, you’ll need to seek redress in a courtroom. Fortunately, our attorneys excel in litigation as much as they do at the negotiation table. We’ll aggressively advocate for your rights and represent your best interests in the court of law.
Why Choose Us?
Your Satisfaction Is Our Priority
Many qualities make our law firm the first choice of legal representatives for many personal injury claimants in Birmingham. From our experience to compassion, negotiation skills, dedication, trial experience, etc., we put our all into pursuing the best outcomes for our clients. However, for us, what truly makes us stand out from the rest is our outstanding track record of successful personal injury claims.
At Caldwell Wenzel & Asthana, PC, we believe anyone can represent themselves to be anything they want. However, what truly matters is our proven case results because they never lie. So, instead of focusing on forming a perception of excellence, we put in the work to ensure that every case ends with a smile on our clients’ faces. This has translated into huge payouts to the tune of millions of dollars for numerous claimants over the years.
FAQs
Ask Us Anything
As part of our commitment to exceptional legal service delivery, it’s our priority to ensure that you thoroughly understand every aspect of your case. So, we’re always excited to answer any questions our clients may have about your personal injury claim, such as:
What’s The Difference Between Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Claims?
Personal Injury and wrongful death claims differ in terms of the claimants and the available damages. While Injured victims pursue personal injury claims to compensate for their losses in an accident, wrongful death claims are brought by a deceased’s family. While personal injury damages include medical expenses, lost income, etc., wrongful death compensation includes loss of financial support, consortium, etc.
What Types of Personal Injury Cases Does Your Law Firm Handle?
At Caldwell, Wenzel & Asthana, PC, we represent injured victims in a wide range of personal injury claims. These include auto accidents, product liability cases, nursing home abuse, hospital liens, and Zantac lawsuits. We also help our clients fight for compensation in cases involving birth, brain, burn, fire, neck, and spinal injuries.
Do I Have Limited Time to Sue?
Yes. In Birmingham, you can only file a personal injury lawsuit within 2 years from the date of the accident/injuries. Otherwise, you may lose your ability to receive compensation for your losses. That’s why we always encourage our clients to reach out to us as soon as possible.
Can I File a Personal Injury Lawsuit After Accepting a Settlement?
Generally, a lawsuit after a settlement has been reached will not see the light of day. However, there are exceptional cases where the law may permit it. For example, you can seek redress in court if the defendant fraudulently or coercively facilitated the settlement.
Contact our law firm at (251) 444-7000 for personalized answers to any question on your mind. We have an experienced attorney available to address your concerns at any time.
Schedule a Free Case Review with Our Compassionate Personal Injury Lawyers in Birmingham ASAP!
Discuss Your Options with Us Today
If you were hurt by someone else’s negligence in Birmingham, there’s hope at the end of the tunnel. With our team of aggressive personal Injury lawyers, you may receive huge payouts for the inconvenience you’ve had to endure.
The experienced Birmingham personal injury attorneys at Caldwell Wenzel & Asthana, PC, are ready to listen to your side of the story. After a thorough case evaluation, we’ll discuss your options and take the necessary steps to obtain justice on your behalf.
Our initial consultations are free, and you can schedule one with us by calling (251) 444-7000 now.