Have you been injured in an accident in Alabama? Perhaps you were hit by a careless driver who ran a stop sign, or you slipped and fell on a recently mopped floor while out shopping. Regardless of the specific nature of the accident, if someone else caused the accident, they could owe you compensation for what you’ve suffered as a result, from your medical bills to your property damage and from your lost wages to your pain and emotional distress.
However, if you were in any way to blame for your injuries, Alabama’s harsh contributory negligence law might prevent you from recovering any compensation at all. The other driver might argue that you didn’t have the right of way, while the store manager might allege that you ignored a hazard sign, all to get out of having to pay you for your injuries.
Don’t put your recovery at risk in these situations. Instead, contact Stokes Stemle today for a free initial case evaluation with our Alabama personal injury attorneys about overcoming this strict rule.
What Is Contributory Negligence?
Contributory negligence provides a complete defense to a personal injury claim. Under the contributory negligence rule, an injured accident victim cannot recover compensation for their financial and personal losses from their injuries if they bear any share of responsibility for causing the accident that injured them. Even if an injured person bears only 1 percent of the fault for an accident, they cannot hold the other 99 percent at-fault party or parties accountable to compensate them for their injuries. Unfortunately, this prevents injured victims from seeking compensation when they bear any share of responsibility for an accident.
Most states have moved away from the contributory negligence rule in favor of comparative negligence rules that allow accident victims to seek compensation if they share some responsibility for causing their injuries. However, Alabama still adheres to the traditional contributory negligence rule.
How This Law Impacts Personal Injury Cases in Alabama
The Alabama contributory negligence law significantly affects personal injury cases in the state. In many cases, the injured party shares some of the fault for causing the accident that injured them. However, even when an accident victim bears a small share of responsibility for the accident, Alabama’s contributory negligence rule bars them from seeking compensation through a personal injury lawsuit. This makes them fully responsible for their financial losses from their injuries, even when another party bears most of the fault for causing those injuries. The contributory negligence rule can make it harder to pursue compensation in personal injury claims, since an accident victim must prove that the defendant(s) in the case bear 100 percent of the fault for the accident.
However, Alabama law recognizes a number of exceptions to the contributory negligence rule, including:
- Children under 7 – The law considers children under 7 incapable of negligence.
- Children 7 or older but younger than 14 – The law imposes a rebuttable presumption against contributory negligence by a child between the ages of seven and 14.
- Mental incompetency – The law deems people with cognitive disabilities or declared legally incompetent incapable of committing negligent acts.
- Reckless, wanton, or intentional behavior – Contributory negligence cannot serve as a defense against a claim of recklessness, wanton behavior, or intentional conduct.
Common Scenarios Where Contributory Negligence Comes Into Play
Common examples of how contributory negligence can become an issue in personal injury cases include:
- Suppose a person runs across an obvious puddle in a store and slips. In that case, the store may argue that the person shares some of the responsibility for their fall by traversing a visible puddle on the floor in such a careless manner.
- A car accident occurs when a speeding driver collides with a vehicle that merges into the speeding driver’s lane without signaling. Both drivers may share responsibility for causing the crash due to their negligent driving and breaking traffic laws (speeding and not signaling before changing lanes)
- A person gets hurt while engaging in horseplay with a negligently designed product, as using the product in a careless or dangerous manner could have led to the accident.
- A person’s dog bites an individual who taunted, teased, or tormented the dog. The owner argues the victim provoked the dog into attacking them and is therefore to blame for their injuries.
How to Protect Your Rights After an Accident
You can best protect your rights to seek compensation after an accident by:
- Reporting the accident to the appropriate authorities and obtaining a copy of any accident/incident report created for the accident
- Documenting the accident scene and keeping detailed records
- Gathering all available evidence, including eyewitness statements
- Seeking prompt medical attention to document your injuries and begin treatment
- Keeping bills, invoices, receipts, and pay stubs to track your financial losses
- Requesting copies of your medical records
- Refraining from discussing the accident on social media or with other parties
- Avoiding admissions of fault or making apologies for the accident (which parties may construe as an admission of fault)
Finally, you can contact an Alabama personal injury lawyer from Stokes Stemle for help fighting back against Alabama’s contributory negligence rule if your alleged fault for the accident becomes an issue in your case.
How Stokes Stemle Fights for Injured Clients Under This Law
At Stokes Stemle, we thoroughly understand Alabama’s contributory negligence law and how to overcome it when it’s presented as a defense. You can expect us to build your case and counter the contributory negligence defense by:
- Thoroughly investigating the accident to obtain evidence needed to refute allegations of your fault, including accident reports, accident scene photos, surveillance footage, and witness statements
- Working with accident reconstruction experts to show what happened in the accident and prove that you do not bear any responsibility for causing it
- Crafting compelling arguments for why the other party or parties bear all the fault for the accident
- Pursuing every available avenue to recover maximum compensation for your injuries, even when going to trial becomes necessary
Contact Our Alabama Car Accident Lawyers in Montgomery for Help
If you’ve been hurt in an accident in Alabama, you need experienced legal counsel to help you protect your rights and interests under the state’s contributory negligence statute. Contact Stokes Stemle today for a free, no-obligation consultation with an Alabama car accident lawyer in Montgomery to discuss your legal options after a motor vehicle crash.
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