Personal Injury Lawyers in Daphne, AL

In Daphne, Alabama, most residents enjoy some form of health coverage. Still, if you get injured through someone else’s negligence, you’re going to have some bills to pay. Especially if you’ve been treated at Thomas Hospital on Morphy Ave. When someone suffers a personal injury in Daphne, AL through no fault of their own, they usually have to file a claim through the responsible party’s insurer. The claims process can be difficult and confusing, however, and this is made worse by the fact that the insurance company is working against you.

At Hedge Copeland, PC, we know what you’re up against when you are trying to recover just compensation for a personal injury. Daphne, AL area claimants are not likely to get a fair shake from the insurance company, and this is where we come in. Our firm is focused exclusively on representing injured plaintiffs, and we have in-depth knowledge of this area of the law and a successful track record with these types of cases.

Types of Daphne, AL Personal Injury Cases We Handle

Over the years, we have successfully represented clients for just about every type of personal injury case. Some of the most common cases we handle include:

• Car Accidents:

  Car crashes are all too common in Alabama, and they happen for a number of reasons, especially along US Hwy 98. In most instances, auto accidents are caused by some type of human error.

• Truck Accidents:

  Again, many commercial truck drive along Hwy 98 coming off from rt 10. Accidents involving semi-trucks and other large commercial vehicles can cause some of the most severe and catastrophic injuries. These cases can also get very complicated, because there are several laws and regulations that govern the trucking industry, and there are a number of different parties that could be responsible for this type of accident.

• Motorcycle Accidents:

  Whether you’re day-riding along Daphne Ave, or heading somewhere along rt 98, Daphne is a great place for riding. But motorcyclists have very little protection when they share the roadways with other vehicles. Motorcycle deaths have increased significantly in recent years, and many experts believe that this is largely due to the problem of distracted driving.

• Pedestrian Accidents:

  There are so many areas that pedestrians walk along. Whether your at May Day Park or Belrose Park, pedestrian deaths have been on the rise in recent years. When a pedestrian is seriously injured or killed in a crash that was the fault of a vehicle driver, we will work hard to ensure that the victim and their family receive maximum compensation.

• Nursing Home Abuse:

  An ABC news investigation from the early 2000’s found that the elderly are abused in one out of every three nursing homes in the US. Since that report came out, things have only gotten worse due to our aging population combined with a severe labor shortage in the healthcare industry.

• Workplace Accidents:

  There are millions of work-related injuries in the US each year. And in some industries, workers face major hazards on a daily basis. Examples include construction, manufacturing, and offshore drilling. We help injured workers recover workers’ compensation benefits if they qualify, but we also look beyond workers’ comp for other legal avenues through which our clients can recover a larger amount of compensation.

• Product Liability:

  Countless new products are introduced in the marketplace each year, but not all of them are fully vetted and safe for their intended use. When a defective or dangerous product injures a consumer, they may be able to file a claim against the designer, manufacturer, distributor, or any other party within the product’s supply chain.

Understanding Personal Injury Claims in Daphne, Alabama

In order to be successful with a personal injury claim, you need to prove the following elements:

• The defendant owed you a duty of care.

  In other words, the defendant had a legal obligation to exercise reasonable care to avoid injury. In the case of a vehicle accident, for example, the duty is as simple as following traffic laws.

• The defendant breached their duty to the plaintiff.

  Once a duty of care is established, you will need to show that this duty was breached by the defendant’s actions. Going back to the vehicle accident case, a breach could be exceeding the speed limit, running a stop sign, or driving while intoxicated.

• The plaintiff suffered injuries/compensable losses.

  In order to file a personal injury claim, the plaintiff must have sustained injuries and/or other losses from the underlying accident or event in question. These could include financial losses such as medical bills, lost earnings, and property damage, and they could also include noneconomic losses such as physical pain and suffering and psychological distress.

• The plaintiff’s losses were caused by the defendant’s breach.

  Finally, you will need to prove a causal link between the defendant’s actions (i.e., breach of duty of care) and the plaintiff’s losses. For example, the defendant was speeding and ran a red light and crashed into the plaintiff’s vehicle. As a result of the crash, the plaintiff sustained serious injuries that will force them to miss work for an extended period of time.

Proving the essential elements of a Daphne, AL personal injury claim might seem pretty straightforward in theory, but in practice, things can get complicated. For example, defendants and their insurers will often question the extent of the plaintiff’s injuries or maybe try to claim that a pre-existing condition contributed to them. They might also try to pin at least some of the blame for the accident on the injured plaintiff.

To make matters worse, Alabama applies a very defendant-friendly legal standard to personal injury cases, which is known as “contributory negligence”. Under this standard, if a plaintiff is in any way at fault for the underlying accident or event that caused their injury (even 1%), they can be barred from recovering damages.

This is one of many reasons to get an experienced attorney involved as early as possible. Otherwise, your right to recover compensation could be jeopardized.

Contact Our Skilled and Knowledgeable Daphne, AL Personal Injury Attorneys

If you or a loved one got injured in Alabama because of someone else’s negligence or reckless actions, Hedge Copeland is here to help! To set up a free consultation and case assessment with one of our attorneys, message us online or call our office today at 251-432-8844.