Birmingham Personal Injury Law Firm

Protecting You from Financial Harm

Injuries don’t have to be physical or even emotional. Fraud and illegal actions by collection agencies can negatively impact your life. 

We know what it takes to help you recover losses from a wide range of fraud activities. We can also help defend your rights against debt collectors, utilizing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) to stop harassment and hold collection agencies accountable. 

The Four Elements of Negligence

Negligence occurs when one party fails to act in a way that a reasonable person would, causing harm to another. However,  in order to prove negligence in a personal injury case, four specific elements must be established. 

The injured plaintiff, with the help of a lawyer from our office, must demonstrate that all four of the following apply to the defendant:

There Was a Duty of Care

 This means the defendant had a legal responsibility to act (or refrain from acting) in a certain way to avoid causing harm to others. For instance, drivers owe a duty of care to others on the road to drive safely and follow traffic laws. Similarly, property owners have a duty to maintain safe premises for visitors.

Without proving that a duty of care existed between the parties, a negligence claim cannot proceed.

The Duty of Care Was Breached

A breach occurs when the defendant fails to uphold the legal responsibilities that come with the aforementioned duty of care. A driver who texts while driving violates their duty to operate their vehicle safely. A business owner who ignores a slippery floor hazard is breaching their duty to ensure a safe environment for visitors.

This step focuses on whether the defendant’s actions (or inactions) deviated from what a reasonable person would have done, or at least tried to do, under the same circumstances.

The Breach Caused Your Injuries

The plaintiff must show that the defendant’s breach of duty directly caused their injuries. For example, if a distracted driver runs a red light and hits another vehicle, causing the driver to suffer a broken leg, causation can likely be established. However, if the connection between the breach and the harm is too far removed, the defendant may not be held liable.

This link between accident and injury can become particularly controversial in cases where the plaintiff had a pre-existing condition, such as a bad back, and had that condition exacerbated due to the accident. 

The Existence of Damages

Finally, a plaintiff must prove that they suffered actual damages as a result of the defendant’s negligence. Damages can take many forms, including medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, or emotional distress. Without tangible losses, there is no legal claim to pursue, even if negligence occurred.

Contributory Negligence and Its Impact

Alabama is one of only a handful of states that follows the contributory negligence rule in personal injury cases. Under this strict legal doctrine, an injured party is barred from recovering any compensation if they are found to be even 1% at fault for their injuries.

Let’s say that you’re in a car accident where another driver ran a red light. If you were speeding at the time, and a court determines your speeding contributed slightly to the crash, you may be unable to recover compensation—even if the other driver was 99% at fault.

This law makes strong legal representation even more important. Quite literally, every percentage of point of fault matters, and there is no room for error.