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Monthly Archives: July 2020

Getting “Bonus” Punitive Damages in an Accident Claim

Jul 31, 2020 - Personal Injury by

Experienced Injury Attorney in Tuscaloosa, AL If you have been injured in an accident, in Alabama or elsewhere, then you may be entitled to damages as compensation for the harm caused.  For example, if a defendant slams into your car from the side, then you could ostensibly sue and recover for past and future medical expenses. This category of damages — known as “compensatory” damages — is not necessarily the only one available to injured plaintiffs.  In fact, many high-value, multimillion-dollar recoveries are based on punitive damages.  Punitive damages are only infrequently awarded, but they are an important aspect to consider when bringing a case against the defendant. Let’s take a closer look. What Are Punitive Damages? Punitive damages are meant to “punish” the liable defendant for particularly egregious or malicious conduct.  Simple negligence is not enough to qualify for punitive damages — the defendant must have done something with reckless disregard for the safety of others, or even have done something with intentional malice.  For example, if a defendant crashes into you intentionally because they are angry, or drunk, the court may decide to award punitive damages in that case. Punitive damages multiply the amount of compensatory damages by up to seven times.  If you have a case worth $100,000 (i.e., medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages, etc.), then the punitive damages claim could be as much as $700,000, for a grand total of $800,000 recovered. Courts may exercise discretion in choosing to award punitive damages, and generally […]

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Contributory Fault Can Be a Problem in an Alabama Accident Case

Jul 17, 2020 - Personal Injury by

Experienced Injury Attorney in Tuscaloosa, AL If you’ve been injured in an accident in Alabama, then you may be entitled to significant damages as compensation, but there are a number of different ways in which the defendant can avoid liability — among the most common of these defense strategies is asserting contributory fault (i.e., claiming that the plaintiff contributed to their own injuries). This can be a difficult barrier to overcome in personal injury litigation, so let’s take a closer look at how it works. Strict Contributory Fault in Alabama Alabama is rather anti-plaintiff, and as such, is one of the few states still implementing strict contributory fault principles. What does this mean? Under strict contributory fault in Alabama, an injured plaintiff is completely prevented from recovering damages in a lawsuit if they are partially at-fault for their own injuries.  In fact, they are barred from recovery if they are found to be even one percent at-fault! For example, suppose that you are injured in a slip-and-fall accident at a store.  The court evaluates the facts and determines that you did not notice the slipping hazard when you had the opportunity to do so, and so you are ten percent at-fault for your own injuries.  Under Alabama law, you would be prevented from recovery entirely. Strict contributory fault may seem like an overwhelming barrier, but there is a way to overcome it. Severing the Causal Link If you can show that your “fault” contribution is not causally-linked to the accident, […]

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"ast year when my husband was injured in a car accident, I contacted Dell Cross. Immediately he and his wonderful staff went to work gathering all the information necessary to settle our claim. He explained every process, kept us informed and handled everything from the insurance companies down to the smallest bill. He made himself available to us anytime day or night, answering our questions and dealing with our concerns"
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