Alabama Injury Attorney Blog

An article and editorial published in the Journal of Neurosurgery examined the nexus between air bag and seat belt usage and spinal injuries suffered by car accident and truck accident victims.  This research examined the records of more than 20,000 motor vehicle accident victims age 16 and older admitted to Wisconsin hospitals after car or truck wrecks from 1994 to 2002. This research confirmed that the use of a seat belt and an air bag together was associated with a decreased risk of spine fracture, including more severe fractures. 

In 2007, there were over 6 million motor vehicle accidents in the United States.  Nearly 2.5 million of those accident victims were injured and more than 41,000 lost their lives.  According to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 1,110 people lost their lives in motor vehicle accidents in 2007 in Alabama.  This was down 8% from 2006 where 1,207 people lost their lives in car and truck accidents in Alabama.

In 2007 Jefferson County, Alabama, which includes Birmingham, saw 98 people killed in car and truck accidents.  This was a 23% increase in the number of fatal accidents in the Birmingham, Jefferson County area from the previous year.  This is in stark contrast to Madison County, Alabama which includes Huntsville.  In 2007, 34 people in the Huntsville area lost their lives in a car or truck accident.   This was a 55% decrease from 2006 which saw 75 people in the Huntsville area lose their lives in motor vehicle accidents.  This large decrease in the number of fatal car and truck wrecks in the Huntsville area can likely be attributed in part to the combination of seat belt and air bag useage.          

The family of an East Dubuque, Illinois woman who was killed in a three-vehicle pileup on Halloween has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit.  Tabitha Carroll, her husband and son were stopped in traffic when their Ford truck was hit from behind by a semi-truck and pushed forward into a dump truck.  A subsequent investigation determined that the driver of the semi-truck was under the influence of marijuana at the time of the truck accident.  The investigation also revealed that half of the truck's brakes were deemed faulty. 

Had this tragic truck accident occurred in Alabama the proper party to bring a wrongful death lawsuit would be the personal representative of the estate.  Alabama's wrongful death law is unlike any other, in that it only permits recovery for punitive damages and denies any recovery for compensatory damages. Thus, Alabama's wrongful death statute is setup to punish the wrongdoer, not to compensate the family for economic losses.     

Continue reading "Truck Accident Leads to Wrongful Death Lawsuit " »

A recent study in the American Journal of Public Health further establishes the importance of placing children in car seats.  Car accidents are the leading cause of unintentional injury and death for children older than 1 year, according to background information in the study. More than 500 children younger than 3 died as a result of motor vehicle collisions in 2005, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics cited in the study.

According to the study babies reaped the most benefit from being placed in a car seat. Their odds of dying in a car crash dropped by three-quarters if they were in a safety restraint seat. But older children also saw significant benefits, with a mortality risk reduction of at least 60 percent 

Although many parents use car seats to protect their children in the event of a car accident, they often make many mistakes in using the car seat.  For exmaple, many parents do not properly restrain their child in the car seat or fail to properly place the car seat in the car or use an inappropriate car seat.  For more information about proper car seat safety guidelines visit The American Academy of Pediatrics website.   

Continue reading "Car Accident Study Details How Car Seats Can Save Alabama Children" »

The billion-dollar jury verdict has disappeared from U.S. courtrooms.  For the second time in the past three years, there were no jury awards above $1 billion in 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News. In 2007, there was one such verdict, for $1.5 billion.

Of the 10 largest jury verdicts in U.S. history, the last to be added to the list was in 2003. It was an $11.9-billion award against Exxon Mobil Corp. in a lawsuit by the state of Alabama claiming fraud in the underpayment of natural-gas royalties. It also was the last for more than $2 billion.  The $11.8-billion punitive part of the Exxon verdict was erased in post-trial appeals, and Alabama wound up with about $120 million.

This reduction in billon-dollar jury verdicts is due in large part to courts applying caps or ratios on punitive damages.  For example, many courts will apply a 3 to 1 ratio of punitive damages to compensatory damages.  At first glance this may seem to be a good idea that a company can not be liable for more than 3 times the plaintiff's compensatory damages (medical bills, lost wages, out of pocket expenses, pain and suffering); however, when this tort reform concept is closely analyzed it leaves the corporate defendant with little incentive to ensure that they are producing the safest possible product.  For example, car manufacturer X may decide they can produce a cheaper car by using an inferior part and save themselves $5.00 a car or millions over the production life of the vehicle. When making this decision the car manufacturer will compare the likely number of injuries and deaths that may occur as a result of using this inferior part and the amount it may have to payout in claims against the amount of money it is saving by using this cheaper part.  Reducing the threat of punitive damages against a corporate defendant encourages companies such as the car manufacturer in the aforementioned example to place dangerous inferior products into the stream of commerce. 

Continue reading "Punitive Damage Jury Verdicts Continue to Decline" »

A Collinsville, Alabama man is dead after a four-wheeler accident Monday morning.

The man, whose name was not released Monday, allegedly lost control of the four-wheeler on Ellis Street in Collinsville around 9:30 a.m.  "It flipped, left the highway, and landed in a ditch," said DeKalb Ambulance Service Director Mark Ford. "The man was thrown from the vehicle and suffered blunt-force trauma." 

Unfortunately, this tragic situation happens far too often.  According to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission there were 467 related ATV deaths reported in 2005. Many four-wheeler and ATV driver's don't have the proper training and don't wear appropriate protective gear such as helments that can prevent and minimize many ATV accidents and injuries.  Often four-wheeler and ATV accidents are the result of some defect in the manufacturer's product design.  Over the years, thousands of product liability lawsuits have been brought against some the world's largest four-wheeler and ATV manufacturers in an effort to correct such design defects.  If such a design defect exists in the four-wheeler involved in this accident, a wrongful death and products liablity lawsuit could be brought under Alabama law.