Alabama Injury Attorney Blog

Alabama personal injury attorney Morris Lilienthal represented our client who was involved in a serious car wreck on January 19, 2007. The plaintiff and her husband were driving north on a 5 lane highway (2 southbound lanes, 1 turn lane and 2 northbound lanes) at the time of the accident. Evidence at trial revealed the defendant was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes and had been weaving back and forth across the highway and driving on the sidewalk prior to the impacting the Plaintiff's vehicle in the Plaintiff's lane of travel. As a result of this accident, our client suffered a severe wrist sprain and bruising all over her body. Our client's most severe injury was not a physical injury, but rather the emotional distress and mental anguish she has suffered as a result of this car wreck.

At the time of the car accident, the defendant was an uninsured motorist. The Plaintiff's uninsured motorist carrier intervened into the case. Prior to trial, the uninsured motorist carrier valued the Plaintiff's claim at $40,000.00 and paid this amount to the Plaintiff. Based upon the severity of our client's psychological injuries and the defendant's wrongful conduct we valued the case at a higher amount. We are pleased to announce that we received a verdict in the amount of $80,000.00, twice the amount originally paid by the uninsured motorist carrier. This bench verdict consisted of an award of $50,000.00 in compensatory damages and $30,000.00 in punitive damages

Uninsured/Underinsured motorist coverage is insurance coverage that provides a driver and his/her passengers protection if they are involved in a motor vehicle accident with an uninsured driver or a driver that does not have an adequate amount of insurance to coverage the damages.  Alabama's uninsured motorist statute requires automobile insurers to offer uninsured motorist coverage with their liability policies.  A recent study by the Insurance Research Council (IRC) has found that there is a strong correlation between the percentage of uninsured motorists and the unemployment rate.  Based upon current unemployment rate projections, the IRC forecasts that the percentage of uninsured motorists will likely rise from 13.8 percent in 2007 to 16.1 percent in 2010. 

Alabama was found to be one of the states with the highest number of uninsured drivers.  According to the IRC, 24 percent of drivers in Alabama were uninsured.  This number is surely to increase as the unemployement rate rises in Alabama. Alabama driver's should check with their liability insurance carrier to determine the amount of uninsured motorist coverage they have.  The cost of increasing these limits is very inexpensive and can often mean the difference between making a satisfactory recovery for a persons injuries or little to no recovery when a person is involved in a car accident with an uninsured motorist.