insurance claim | Jackson & Foster

Whiplash is a common injury in car accidents. Although people usually achieve a full recovery from whiplash, some suffer long-term pain and damage.

When filing a whiplash claim after a car accident in Alabama, you can expect the at-fault driver’s insurance to cover your medical bills, lost wages, and other accident-related losses. The following five steps are crucial for building a strong claim after whiplash injuries.

If you suffered a serious injury, consult an experienced car accident lawyer in Mobile, AL. Working with an attorney will make it easier to build a strong insurance claim and negotiate suitable compensation.

What Is Whiplash?

Whiplash is a type of neck injury. It often happens in car accidents when the vehicle stops abruptly, and the victim’s head moves quickly back, then forward (like a whip). Whiplash can damage discs, soft tissues, muscles, and tendons in the neck.

Whiplash symptoms can start immediately after an accident or develop up to 24 hours later. Signs of a whiplash injury include the following:

Neck stiffness and pain
Back, shoulder, and arm pain
Dizziness and headaches
Reduced mobility in the neck
Numbness and tingling in the hands or arms
Tinnitus
Insomnia
Blurred vision

If you only suffer a minor case of whiplash, you may recover with a few days of rest and OTC pain relievers. However, for more serious injuries, you may need prescription meds, muscle relaxants, and a course of physical therapy. You may also have to wear a neck brace for a while.

What To Do After a Whiplash Injury

Building a solid whiplash claim starts right after an accident, when you may not know yet that you’ve suffered whiplash or how serious your injuries are. These five steps will help protect your rights when dealing with insurance companies.

1. Seek Medical Treatment

Whiplash often doesn’t announce itself immediately after a car accident. You may feel fine at first, but only a full medical evaluation will give you an accurate picture of your condition. You must see a doctor ASAP after the collision to protect your health and receive treatment recommendations.

When you file a claim, you’ll also need medical documentation like emergency room records, discharge paperwork, and diagnostic scans. Save every medical record and bill, as these might become vital pieces of your legal puzzle.

2. Follow Your Treatment Plan

Be sure to follow your doctor’s treatment recommendations. This is important for your health and your claim.

Having records of ongoing care (like follow-up appointments or physical therapy sessions) will help prove you’ve suffered a serious injury and reinforce your claim. The other side’s insurance company and/or lawyer may look for any excuse to argue that your condition isn’t that serious, so you must be able to show you’ve been undergoing treatment.

3. Gather Evidence

Apart from your post-accident medical records, gather all available evidence of the accident. Your medical information from before the crash can be useful in whiplash claims since it may help prove you had no preexisting neck or back conditions.

Other useful evidence includes the police report of the accident, witness testimonies, photos of the accident scene, dash cam footage, and your employment records documenting missed work days.

4. Communicate With Insurance Companies

Your coverage terms probably state that you must inform your insurer of the accident shortly after it happens. You’ll also need to communicate with the at-fault driver’s insurer.

Whether an insurance adjuster talks to you on the phone or sends you documents to fill out, don’t say more than necessary. Speaking with a lawyer can help with this process.

5. Consult a Lawyer

If you sustained serious injuries, you may have to negotiate a large, complex claim that includes factors like long-term prospective medical costs and reduced employability. In this case, you should consult an experienced local car accident lawyer, preferably before you talk to the other driver’s insurance company.

Your lawyer can calculate the realistic worth of your claim and handle all communication with insurers. Your attorney will also evaluate any settlement offer and advise you whether to accept it or proceed to filing a personal injury lawsuit.

Do You Really Need a Car Accident Lawyer?

If you suffer a minor injury, you may be able to handle your insurance claim yourself. But if the car accident caused significant damage and you’re facing a lengthy recovery and major expenses, you should start working with an attorney from the start of your claim.

This is especially true in a state like Alabama, which follows the contributory negligence rule. Contributory negligence means you can’t claim damages if you carry even a tiny part of the fault for the accident. Insurance companies may try to dodge responsibility by arguing that you weren’t driving safely. You need a seasoned car accident lawyer to protect you from these all-too-common tactics.

Many personal injury lawyers usually work on a contingency basis, meaning you only pay when you win. The lawyer’s fee comes out of your settlement, but a legal professional’s skill and experience often mean you’ll walk away with a larger payout, even after deducting the contingency fee.

Call Jackson & Foster for Help With an Insurance Claim After a Car Accident in Mobile, AL

A car crash can leave you with debilitating injuries, severe mental trauma, and a heap of medical costs. Calling a skilled car accident lawyer is one of the first things to do after a car accident, especially if you suffered a serious injury.

At Jackson & Foster, we have over four decades of combined legal experience representing car accident victims and their families in Mobile, AL. Our diligent lawyers will advocate for your rights throughout your whiplash claim and work alongside you in pursuit of fair compensation.

Call 251-433-6699 for a free consultation today to learn more about your rights.

Mobile, AL, is known for its breathtaking natural beauty and hopping music scene, but it also has a reputation for traffic accidents. Statewide, there were over 159,000 crashes and 851 accident-related fatalities in 2019.

If you’re a crash victim, you might wonder, “How is liability determined in a car accident?” It’s important to know the answer, as liability can play a key role in the outcome of your case.

Here’s what to know from Jackson & Foster, Mobile’s experienced car accident lawyer.

What Does “Fault” Mean?

After an accident, you’ll probably hear the word “fault” mentioned a lot. To sue the person who hit you and win, you must prove they were at fault for the accident.

Your attorney will need to prove two things to establish fault: that the defendant acted negligently, recklessly, or wantonly and that their conduct caused your injuries.

How Is Negligence Determined in a Car Accident?

Your lawyer will need to determine that negligence occurred to win your case. They’ll have to demonstrate the following elements of negligence to prove fault in an accident:

The driver who hit you owed you a duty of care. All drivers on public roadways owe a duty of reasonable care to one another.
The driver breached their duty of care.
Their breach of duty caused the accident.
You suffered injuries (physical, emotional, and/or financial) as a result.

Usually, the person who caused the car crash is negligent and thus liable. But if the person who hit you did so while they were working for their employer, you might also be able to hold their employer liable.

This is common with truck accidents. If a trucker hit you, for instance, you may be able to hold their employer responsible for a lack of maintenance or forcing the driver to stay on the road longer than allowed.

Examples of Driver Negligence

Drivers can act negligently in many ways, such as by:

Speeding
Driving aggressively
Hitting cars from behind
Talking or texting on the phone
Violating a pedestrian’s right of way
Failing to maintain their car
Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs

Alabama’s Pure Contributory Negligence Doctrine

Some states allow accident victims to recover damages if they’re less than 50% at fault, while others allow recovery even if a victim is 99% at fault. Such states simply reduce the amount of compensation by how much fault the victim bears for the crash.

Unfortunately, Alabama isn’t one of these states. Alabama follows a pure contributory negligence doctrine that bars victims from recovery if they are even 1% at fault for the accident.

It’s important to understand this because the defendant’s side will try to prove you’re at fault in any way they can. They might say you’re partially to blame because you glanced at your phone for a second or looked at the back seat to check on your child.

If the other side succeeds, you may not be able to recover any damages.

Improving the Chances of Winning Your Case

With all the factors to juggle when asking yourself, “How is liability determined in a car accident?” proving liability can seem like an uphill battle. Still, you can do a few things to improve the odds of coming out victorious.

Gather Evidence at the Scene

Collecting evidence is incredibly important, and you must do so quickly before the police clean up the accident scene. Proof to gather includes:

Pictures of your car, the car that hit you, road conditions, and weather conditions. If you spot anything that might have contributed to the accident, such as a blocked road sign, take pictures of that, too.
Information from people who saw the accident. Collect contact information promptly before witnesses have a chance to leave the scene or ensure police officers know there were witnesses.
The police report. If the police report suggests the other driver was at fault, you’re not automatically off the hook, but this goes a long way when it comes to proving liability.

Don’t Flee the Scene

Some accident victims panic and run from the scene, but you shouldn’t leave before the police arrive, even in the case of minor crashing a car. This is especially important if the accident caused extensive property damage, serious injury, or death.

If you run, it looks like you have something to hide. The police can also hit you with a fine and arrest you.

Make a Police Report

Your attorney can ask for a copy of the report. It may include the following:

Information about all drivers involved
Location of the crash and road conditions
Damage to both vehicles
Citations issued

Don’t Admit Fault

It’s easy to slip up and say things like, “I’m sorry I hit you,” or “I must have been going a little too fast, so I didn’t see you.”

When you make an insurance claim, the insurance company can take such statements as an admission of fault. To be safe, don’t talk to the other driver’s insurance company until you’ve spoken with a lawyer. Your attorney can help in these discussions with the other driver’s insurance company.

See a Doctor

If you are hurt after a wreck, getting an opinion from a doctor about your injuries and getting the treatment you need can be an important step in your recovery.

Call Jackson & Foster To Learn About Your Legal Options

Now that you have the answer to “How is liability determined in a car accident?” we invite you to contact Jackson & Foster if you’ve been in a Mobile, AL, crash. Our attorneys can help you determine property damage liability, understand car accident statistics, and negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf.

Call (251) 433-6699 for a free case evaluation now.

Five Steps To Build a Whiplash Claim After a Car Accident