Driver Accident

Athens Car Accident Lawyers, Alabama

Representing Alabama victims of car crashes caused by someone else’s negligence

You were fortunate enough to walk away from a car accident, but not without injuries that require medical attention. If you plan to pursue an injury claim, do not jeopardize your chances for recovering fair compensation for your injuries. When you work with an experienced Athens car accident attorney, you can be assured that your case is in capable hands.

At Martin & Helms, we are dedicated to fighting for the best possible outcome for our clients who have been injured because of another driver’s reckless or negligent conduct. You are welcome to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case with an experienced Athens car accident lawyer. You will never pay attorney fees until we have recovered compensation for you.

What causes car accidents to occur?

From bad driving records to bad brakes, from drunk driving to distracted driving, there are countless factors which can cause car accidents. Martin & Helms represents clients who have been injured because of:

Distracted driving. Cell phones are not the only distraction for drivers that cause car crashes. Drivers who are distracted by eating, grooming, fiddling with the GPS, reaching for something inside the vehicle or looking at something outside of the vehicle causes far too many car accidents. In Alabama there were 40 traffic fatalities caused by distracted driving in a recent year.
Speeding. Exceeding the speed limit or driving too fast for conditions was responsible for 8,455 crashes and 138 fatalities in Alabama. Speeding is reckless behavior which greatly increases the chances of a totally preventable car accident.
Drunk driving. There were 198 people in Alabama who died in 90 crashes with suspected alcohol or drug impairment. If the drunk driver who hit you was overserved at a local bar or restaurant, that business could be liable, too, under our dram shop laws.
Drugged driving. ALDOT reports that less than 1 percent of traffic crashes end in a fatality, except for crashes where a driver is impaired by drugs or alcohol, and the probability increases to 3.13 percent which is about 6.9 times more often. We handle claims involving drugged drivers who were taking prescription medications as well as those using illegal substances.
Poor weather conditions. Rain, snow, sleet, fog, ice storms and sand or wind storms can play havoc with visibility on the road. Sometimes, drivers of commercial vehicles, as well as other drivers, drive too fast for these weather conditions.
Defective parts. Design defects such as poorly placed fuel tanks, manufacturing defects that cause tires to blowout or steering systems to fail, or seat backs to fail can cause accidents, or make the injuries from an accident worse.
Teen drivers and inexperienced adult drivers. Lack of experience can be a killer for teen drivers and novice adult drivers. They find themselves required to make a split-second decision, and without enough experience on the road, the wrong decision can have deadly consequences if it causes a traffic accident.
Construction zones. The Federal Highway Administration reports that there is a work zone fatality every 15 hours and about 85% of deaths in work zone crashes are occupants of passenger cars.
Road defects. Crumbling asphalt, potholes, steep curves, defective guard rails, overgrown vegetation and other factors related to the design, construction and maintenance of the roads contributes to causing traffic accidents.

Common car crash injuries

The speed at which the vehicles were traveling at the moment of impact can have a significant impact on the type and severity of the injuries, although it is not always possible to determine the exact speed of the vehicles at the time of impact. But the type of collision – where the vehicles crashed into one another – will also have a bearing on what kinds of injuries will result from the crash and how severe they will be.

The following are examples of typical injuries that can occur in car crashes:

Head injuries
Brain injuries
Broken bones
Cuts and scrapes
Back, neck, and shoulder injuries
Soft tissue injuries
Burn injuries
Spinal cord injuries
Organ damage

Contributory negligence and your car accident claim

Alabama law contains a provision called contributory negligence, which can bar a plaintiff from recovering damages if the insurance company can prove the plaintiff is partially at fault in causing their injury. Even if you have been successful in proving that the negligence of the other driver is what caused the crash which injured you, if the defense can find evidence that shows you were at fault, you may be unable to receive compensation for your injuries and other losses. Make sure to consult with a member of our team about what this means for your claim.

The role of Colossus in your settlement offer

A significant number of major insurance companies throughout the U.S. use a computer program called Colossus to calculate the value of injury claims. Colossus is an artificial intelligence program which is designed to calculate the non-economic damages for personal injury claims. Like any other computer program, what it spits out is only as good as the data put into it. Colossus is designed to remove the human element from calculating the amount that the insurance company will compensate an injured person so that the insurance company can avoid paying what a claim is actually worth.

One of the benefits of working with an experienced Athens personal injury attorney from Martin & Helms is that we know that insurance companies can manipulate the data and underpay claims. We are here to fight for the settlement you deserve.

Is your car accident lawyer near me?

Martin & Helms is located in Huntsville and Decatur, but we serve all across the state of Alabama. Rest assured, however, that if you are critically injured and unable to come to us, we will travel to visit you in the hospital or rehabilitation center. We also offer virtual conferences and telephone consultations.

Schedule a free consultation with our experienced Athens, Alabama car accident injury lawyers today

After a car accident injury caused by another driver’s negligence, the trusted Athens personal injury lawyers at Martin & Helms are here to protect your right to recover compensation. You are welcome to call us at 256-539-1990 or complete our contact form to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case and get your legal questions answered. We also serve seriously injured clients in Decatur, Huntsville, Madison and throughout the state.