Alabama Injury Attorney Blog

Depositions:

After the initial discovery process is concluded, an experienced Huntsville Personal Injury Attorney will next begin the deposition process. A deposition is under oath testimony that is recorded for use in a lawsuit or court proceeding. In a typical car accident lawsuit the following depositions are routinely taken: the parties (plaintiff & defendant), witnesses, doctor(s), and expert(s).

The deposition is used like written discovery to uncover the facts surrounding the accident or event and the injuries or damages of the plaintiff. The Alabama injury attorney uses the deposition as a tool to learn what the deponent (person giving the deposition) is going to testify to at trial. Since a deposition is recorded by a court report, the testimony can be used against the deponent at trial if they testify to something different at trial than they did in their deposition.

The typical format for the parties' deposition is their background, education, work history and the events of the accident. During the course of the plaintiff's deposition the defense attorney will also want to inquire into the plaintiff's injuries, medical treatment, medical bills, lost wages, and any physical limitations the plaintiff may have. Depositions are a key tool of the personal injury lawyer in that they allow the attorney to not only learn more facts about the case, they also allow the attorney to "size up" the other party, witness or expert and discover what type of appearance they will make in front of the judge and jury.

In an effort to reduce the number of Alabama car accidents, Alabama State Troopers are again instituting the "Take Back Our Highways" campaign this week. This is the fourth year of the campaign, which places additional officers on Alabama's highways in an effort reduce the number of car wrecks and unsafe drivers on Alabama's highways. According to a report from the Montgomery WFSA news website, troopers estimate that the program has saved more than 200 lives since 2006. This year, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi and Florida are all participating in the Take back our Highways campaign in an effort to reduce the number of car accidents in their states.

A three car accident in Florence, Alabama seriously injured an 86-year-old Red Bay man. Thomas Carrithers and his wife Elvia were flown to Huntsville following the car wreck. Mr. Carrithers was ejected from his pickup and is currently in serious condition in Huntsville Hospital's surgical intensive care unit. According to the Alabama Department of Public Safety, less than 1% of all Alabama traffic crashes in 2007 involved a driver who was 85 years-old or older.

In 2006, there were 1,432 motor vehicle accidents in Florence, Alabama 258 of which resulted in someone being injured. The number of Florence car and truck accidents declined in 2007. In 2007, there were 1,365 motor vehicle accidents in Florence 239 of which resulted in someone being injured. Fortunately, there were only 2 fatal accidents in Florence in 2007.

A Montgomery truck accident involving a dump truck and train surprisingly results in only minor injuries. According to the Montgomery Advertiser's report, Jackie Kemp, Jr., of Wetumpka, Alabama was traveling south on North Court Street in Montgomery when his dump truck collided with the train. According to the newspaper report, the accident site is guarded only by a railroad "crossbuck" sign and not lights or a protective arm. This particular track connects CSX's yard on the Mobile to Birmingham line with its line to Atlanta. This was the third accident involving a train in Montgomery County this year. According to the Federal Railroad Administration, there were 9 railroad crossing accidents between cars and/or trucks and a train in 2008 in Alabama. These 9 incidents tragically resulted in 10 fatalities. As Montgomery Alabama car accident attorneys, over the years we have seen the devastating results that can occur when a car or truck collides with a train. When approaching a railroad crossing, drivers should ad hereto the stop, look and listen rule

When Loxley, Alabama police responded to a car accident, they discovered both the driver and passenger were drunk. The driver was arrested on charges of driving under the influence and the passenger was charged with public intoxication. The topless passenger was so intoxicated that she couldn't even find her clothes. Fortunately, it does not appear that anyone was injured as a result of this accident. As Alabama dram shop attorneys we often see the tragic results that can occur when people make the decision to drive under the influence of alcohol.

According to the Alabama Department of Public Safety, in 2007 there were 5,883 drivers in Alabama who were influenced by alcohol or drugs who were involved in car wrecks. The 20 to 24 year old age group had the largest number of drivers with 1,132 drivers who were influenced by alcohol or drugs who were involved in crashes.

A Mobile Alabama Car Accident has led to a murder indictment. A Mobile Grand Jury has indicted Michael Loper on murder charges stemming from a January 2009 car accident where it is alleged he was traveling over 100 mph when he bumped another car off the road tragically killing three Mobile teenagers. Loper was also charged with leaving the scene of an accident with injuries.

According to the Alabama Department of Public Safety, there were 13,334 car accidents in Mobile County in 2007. Out of these 13,334 Mobile County car accidents there were 105 fatalities.

As Alabama Car Accident Lawyers we often seen an increase in the number of traffic accidents during the holiday season as the number of driver's on the road increases. According the Alabama Department of Public Safety's 2007 Alabama Traffic Crash Facts: Between 6:00 p.m. Friday, June 30, 2006 until 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, July 4, 2006, (102 hrs) there were 22 fatalities in Alabama involving automobile wrecks. Between 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 3, 2007, until 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, July 4, 2007, (30 hrs) there were 9 fatalities in Alabama involving automobile wrecks. Since the 4th of July falls on a Saturday this year there will likely be more people traveling than when the 4th falls on a week day; therefore, drivers should take extra precautions while on the roads this weekend such as: slowing down, buckling up and to be observant of other vehicles on the road.

Preparation of Initial Documents:

After an Alabama personal injury lawyer identifies his/her theories of liability and defendants he/she must then decide where is the appropriate and/or best place possible to file the lawsuit. The place where the lawsuit is filed is known as the "venue." In a personal injury situation or a tort claim, often the proper venue to file the lawsuit is the county in which the accident occurred. For example, a Birmingham car accident that involved two Alabama residents would typically have to be file in Birmingham or in the Circuit Court of Jefferson County. However, if the dispute involves a breach of contract, then the proper venue for a breach of contract claim in Alabama is usually the County where the contract was entered into.

Once the personal injury attorney has determined what is the proper venue to file his/her lawsuit then the next step is to draft the complaint. The complaint is the initial document that is filed with the court and served upon the defendant(s), which sets out the facts of the case and the Plaintiff's legal claims against the defendant(s) and the damages and/or remedy the Plaintiff is seeking. For example, in the case of an Alabama car wreck, the complaint would likely set forth the facts of the car accident, that the defendant driver was negligent in striking the Plaintiff's vehicle and set forth what injuries the Plaintiff suffered and that the Plaintiff was asking the jury to return a verdict in his/her favor. Typically, once the complaint is filed, the Defendant would have 30 days under Alabama law in which to file their Answer to the complaint. Often the complaint and answer are referred to as initial pleadings.

After the complaint and answer have been filed by both parties, the next step in the personal injury process is usually the filing of discovery (interrogatories and request for production). Interrogatories are essentially questions that are drafted by one party (Plaintiff or Defendant) to discover information from the other party. These questions are geared toward learning information about the person and the events surrounding the accident itself. Request for production are similar to interrogatories in that they are request by one party to another asking the other party to produce documents that may be relevant to the issues in the lawsuit. Under Alabama law, if the Plaintiff serves discovery with the complaint then the Defendant has 45 days in which to answer the discovery; however, discovery not served with the complaint has to be answered in 30 days.