Personal Injury Lawyers in Gardendale

Suffering a personal injury can range from a major inconvenience to a devastating and life altering event, depending on its severity. And when the injury occurs because of someone else’s negligence or recklessness, victims deserve to be compensated. If this has happened to you or a loved one, you need strong legal counsel in your corner fighting hard to get you the full and fair compensation you deserve.

Gardendale area personal injury victims who go it alone against the insurance company often find themselves getting shortchanged. Insurers are in business to earn as large a profit as possible, and one of the primary ways this is accomplished is by paying out as little as possible for the actions of their insureds. Insurance company representatives might be friendly and courteous when they speak with you, but you must always keep in mind that your interests are not aligned with theirs.

At Burge & Burge, we have several decades of experience representing clients who have suffered personal injuries in Gardendale, Birmingham, and nearby Alabama communities. Our attorneys exclusively practice personal injury and related areas of the law, and we have a successful track record with even the most complex cases. We are not intimidated by large insurance companies and their vast resources. We know how to effectively counter the common tactics that they use, so our clients are put in the best possible position to recover maximum compensation.

Injuries Suffered in Gardendale, AL Accidents

We handle cases involving a wide range of personal injuries, including but not limited to:

• Head and Traumatic Brain Injuries
• Neck Injuries
• Spine and Back Injuries
• Whiplash and Other Soft Tissue Injuries
• Fractures/Broken Bones
• Amputations/Loss of Limbs
• Burn Injuries
• Internal Injuries
• Wrongful Death

Injuries like these can result in the victim missing an extended period of time from work and incurring high medical costs. In the most severe cases, injuries can be permanent and debilitating, resulting in the necessity for lifelong medical care.

Some of the most common cases in which personal injuries occur include:

• Auto and Traffic-Related Accidents: There are millions of motor vehicle and traffic-related accidents each year. Moderate to severe injuries are most likely in collisions involving large vehicles (such as over-the-road commercial trucks) and motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Alcohol, distractions, and drowsy driving are among the most common causes of accidents.

• Premises Liability: When someone gets hurt on the property of another party, they may be able to file a premises liability claim. Common accidents and incidents where this might apply include slips, trips, and falls, animal attacks, swimming pool accidents, and injuries resulting from negligent security.

• Product Liability: Some personal injuries in the Gardendale area happen because of faulty or dangerous products. The product defect could be a flaw in the design or in the manufacturing process, posing an inherent danger to consumers during the course of regular use. When this is the case, it may be possible to file a product liability claim against the designer, manufacturer, or another party within the product’s supply chain.

• Medical Malpractice: Doctors are trusted medical professionals who have a duty to provide an acceptable standard of care to each patient. When they fail to live up to this standard and it causes injury or death to a patient, they must be held accountable.

• Nursing Home Negligence: Nursing homes these days have high patient loads, and many of them are severely understaffed. This has resulted in substandard care for many of our seniors, often crossing the line into nursing home neglect or even abuse.

• Workplace Accidents: Many personal injuries in Gardendale and throughout Alabama happen in the workplace. Some occupations are particularly hazardous, such as construction, manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, power and utility jobs, commercial fishing, and railroad work.

• Toxic Torts: Individuals who are exposed to toxic substances can end up with serious and fatal illnesses. This commonly happens in some workplaces, but it can also occur because of dangerous prescription drugs and other consumer products that contain hazardous chemicals and other substances.

Compensation Recoverable from Gardendale, AL Personal Injury Claims

When someone gets hurt and the injury was caused by another party, they can recover damages through a personal injury claim. Compensatory damages can be divided into two general categories:

• Economic Damages: These are quantifiable losses that the victim suffers, such as medical bills, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, and property damage.

• Noneconomic Damages: These are intangible losses that are real but more difficult to quantify, such as pain-and-suffering, emotional distress, diminished quality of life, disfigurement, and permanent injury.

In more limited cases in which the actions of the responsible party were willful, malicious, or grossly negligent, punitive damages may also be awarded. Punitive damages are not meant to compensate the victim, but rather to punish the wrongdoer and help discourage them (and others) from committing similarly egregious actions in the future.

It is important to note that in Alabama wrongful death cases, the victim’s estate is only allowed to recover punitive damages. This makes wrongful death claims more complicated and difficult to pursue as there is a higher bar to clear than with other personal injury cases.

Another complicating factor that Gardendale, AL personal injury victims must face is Alabama’s contributory negligence laws. Under contributory negligence, a personal injury claimant can be barred from recovering compensation if they are found to be even 1% liable for the underlying accident or event. This makes it all the more important to work with experienced attorneys who have the proven ability to overcome this hurdle and secure compensation for their clients.

Skilled Attorneys for Gardendale, AL Workplace Accident Claims

If you suffered a work-related injury or illness, your first legal recourse is usually to file a workers’ compensation claim with your employer. Workers’ comp is a no-fault system that allows you to recover benefits without having to prove negligence. But while it is easier to obtain benefits through this program, reimbursements are limited to reasonable and necessary medical bills, a percentage of lost earnings, retraining and rehabilitation costs, and a few others.

We work closely with our clients to help get them approved for workers’ comp, but we also look at other potential avenues through which an injured worker can recover compensation. For example, it might be possible that the injury was caused by a third party other than the employer, in which case you may be able to sue that party directly.

Our attorneys also have extensive experience with Federal Employer’s Liability Act (FELA) claims for injured railroad workers. FELA claims work differently from workers’ compensation claims, and there are a number of complexities involved that can only be known through years of handling these types of cases.

Contact Our Seasoned Gardendale, AL Personal Injury Attorneys

If you or a loved one got injured or killed because of another party’s negligence, Burge & Burge is here to help. Call our office today at 205-251-9000 or send us an online message to schedule a free, no obligation consultation and case assessment. We look forward to serving you!