The Importance of an Accident Reconstruction Specialist for Your Case

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The details of a traffic accident can be murky. In the best-case scenario, nearby traffic cameras will have the entire incident recorded—but those cameras are expensive, and many municipalities don’t have them yet. This means that if you want to get to the truth of the matter, you’ll need to bring in an accident reconstruction expert.

How can an accident reconstruction expert help your claim, and does your accident claim need one? Learn more now and call Mann & Potter at 205-879-9661.

What Does an Accident Reconstruction Specialist Bring to the Table?

Accident reconstruction specialists play an incredibly important role in understanding complex crashes, including those with more than two vehicles. Their understanding of crash physics allows them to determine what caused a crash and explain the sequence of events leading to property damage and bodily harm.

In some cases, a liable driver will come out and admit what they did and where they erred. In many other cases, they may lie or intentionally cover up what happened. If the physical evidence is not enough to prove what occurred, an accident reconstruction specialist can determine the real truth.

Checking Their Qualifications

Keep in mind that the accident reconstruction specialist may have to appear in court and testify. If they do, the opposing side will question their credentials and verify that they actually know what they are talking about. A qualified accident reconstruction specialist will likely have extensive experience in law enforcement or criminal justice, a long track record of working at crash scenes, and specialized training in accident reconstruction. Your attorney will likely choose one with a solid background in courtroom testimony.

How a Specialist Can Help During Negotiations

Most personal injury cases settle during negotiations and never actually reach court. If this occurs with your claim, your accident reconstruction specialist can be a huge asset. If the other side doesn’t accept liability or insists that their retelling of the accident is the accurate one, an accident reconstruction specialist can use hard physical evidence to show both sides what truly occurred. This may put the insurance company in a position where they must settle in order to avoid the time and expense of court.

Using an Accident Reconstruction Specialist in Court

If your case is one of the few that goes to court, an accident reconstruction specialist is essential. A case that has reached the courtroom likely has disputed liability, and the court will want to see the analysis of an outside third party to determine liability. Not only can an accident reconstruction specialist explain what happened in a crash, but they may also be able to explain how different parts of the collision may have led to the injury. This can be helpful if the other side denies that you are injured or questions the extent of your injury.

Does Your Case Need a Specialist?

This is where it’s important to have a personal injury lawyer you trust to advocate for you and do what’s best for your case. Hiring an accident reconstruction specialist costs money, so it may cut into what you get from a settlement or court award. However, if their input is valuable enough to increase what you receive, bringing one in may be the right choice.

Having said that, an accident reconstruction expert is not always needed. Some accidents are fairly simple and easy to decipher. Even if one side tries to lie about what happened, the evidence doesn’t lie and the truth will be apparent. Additionally, if both sides agree about what happened and there are no disputes about how the accident occurred, an expert may not be necessary. A reconstruction expert is most helpful in cases where there is limited surveillance footage of the crash, disputed liability, and unclear physical evidence.

Start Your Accident Claim with Mann & Potter

When you’re injured in a crash, you deserve an attorney that will consult with experts and do what it takes to prove your case. That’s where we come in. To find out how Mann & Potter can help with your car accident claim, call us at 205-879-9661 or send us a message online to set up a consultation.

How Accident Scene Photos Can Increase the Value of a Car Crash Claim

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An accident, even a minor one, makes subsequent accidents in the same area much more likely. Distracted drivers may fail to stop at the accident scene in time and rushed or stressed drivers may make crucial errors when trying to get around the debris. That’s why crash scenes are often cleaned up in just a matter of hours after a collision.

What does this mean for your personal injury claim? It means that you have a limited amount of time in which you can get photographic evidence of the collision. If you want to strengthen your claim with the best evidence possible, you must take advantage of this time. Learn more about crash scene photos and how they can help you. To talk more about your accident, call Mann & Potter at 205-879-9661.

The Photos You Need to Take

While any photos are better than no photos, you may want to take a few minutes to ensure that you are taking the best photos for a personal injury claim. Consider taking these photos:

  • Your vehicle and all of its damage; take photos from multiple distances and angles
  • The other vehicle or vehicles and their damage—get their license plates in the photos
  • Damaged roads or public property, including roadways, signs, and traffic lights
  • Skid marks or other road markings
  • The entire crash scene, including relevant road signs, speed limit signs, and traffic lights
  • Road debris and vehicle parts that have fallen off
  • Broken glass
  • Proof of the lighting and weather conditions
  • Injuries you sustained

After you take these photos, make multiple backups. Once you retain an attorney, you should send them copies immediately.

The photos you take could benefit your personal injury claim in several different ways:

Evidence of Your Damages

To start, photos provide conclusive evidence of the claims you make about your injuries and property damage. Insurance adjusters are notorious for assuming that victims are exaggerating their injuries or lying about property damage. It’s much harder for them to do that when you have photographic proof of the damage their client caused. When you are better able to prove your losses, you stand a better chance of getting the compensation you deserve.

Provides Proof of Liability

In many cases, photos make it much easier for the attorneys and insurance adjusters involved in the claim to figure out liability. For example, photographs may show what evasive actions were taken to avoid the accident and whether or not both parties were in their own lanes when the accident occurred.

If a photograph shows the other party’s vehicle across two lanes and your vehicle pushed out of its lane, it is fairly easy to see what happened. Insurance adjusters are also very good at denying their client’s liability and trying to point fingers at others, but clear photographs make it harder for them to do that.

Additional Insight into the Crash

There are bits of information that you’re unlikely to think of without being asked, but nevertheless can be very useful to the investigation. As an example, a photograph showing the layout of the road may show that the lane markings were clear and obvious, calling into question the other driver’s claim that the road markings were too worn out to be visible.

It’s hard to know exactly what information will be useful in a personal injury claim, which is one of the main reasons you want photographs. They contain far more information than you’d naturally provide when asked, which gives your lawyer the freedom to find more evidence for your claim.

Spending a few minutes taking photographs can really pay off when you choose to seek compensation from the liable party. Once you’ve done so, ensure that you make copies and provide them to your attorney immediately—you don’t want a technological error to cause you to lose crucial evidence.

Ready to Start Your Personal Injury Claim? Call Mann & Potter

The sooner you reach out to Mann & Potter, the sooner we can jump into the investigative stage of your injury claim. Just give us a call at 205-879-9661 or reach out online to find out how we can help you.

Holidays and Drunk Driving Accidents

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As you prepare for the holidays by buying gifts, scheduling visits with the in-laws, and figuring out when to wrap the kids’ gifts “from Santa,” make sure you take a few minutes to make safe driving plans. Across the nation, major holidays involve a major spike in DUI arrests and drunk driving car accidents. Learn more about why this happens and how you can keep your family safe.

What should you do if you’re injured in a holiday DUI car accident? Make it a priority to hire a personal injury attorney. Call Mann & Potter at 205-879-9661 to set up a consultation with our team at your earliest convenience.

Drunk Driving in Alabama

Information provided by the Alabama Department of Transportation shows that impaired driving is a huge problem across the state. In 2020, there were over 5,000 crashes caused by drunk drivers. The age range with the highest number of DUIs is 20 to 29 years old, although the numbers are still high for those aged 30 to 39.

Impaired driving collisions see a big jump at about 8:00 P.M. and peak at around 1:00 A.M. As you may expect, Saturday and Sunday are the worst days for drunk driving crashes.

Another alarming statistic: drunk driving collisions are more likely than other crashes to cause fatalities. Across the board, less than 1% of all car accidents are fatal. Among crashes where at least one driver is impaired, about 3% are fatal.

Which Holidays Have the Most Crashes?

The Department of Transportation also maintains data on holiday collisions. The two most dangerous holidays in 2020 were Labor Day and Thanksgiving. These two holidays were followed by Memorial Day and Christmas. If you are traveling out of town to see family this Christmas season—or even staying in your hometown—know that you are at greater risk of an accident.

Staying Safe This Holiday Season

Now that you know the holidays are a dangerous time for crashes, what can you do to keep yourself and your loved ones safe? First, know why impaired driving is such an issue at this time of year. People are traveling from all over the country to be with family members they may not have seen for months or even years. For many, this is the perfect opportunity to catch up at a bar or club.

During the holidays, taxis and rideshare vehicles can be difficult to find, as demand often outpaces availability. Even if someone is able to get a ride, demand-based pricing often makes it impossible to actually get a ride. This means that you should try to stay off the roads during the most dangerous times—as noted earlier, that’s generally between 8:00 P.M. and 1:00 A.M. If you are driving around at night, try to stay away from parts of towns with busy restaurants and bars.

Perhaps one of the most important things you can do is stay sober. Even if you generally feel comfortable driving after a couple of drinks, this may be the one time of year that you decide to stay completely sober before driving.

Should you encounter an impaired driver, you want your reflexes and decision-making skills to be at their best—any delay caused by alcohol could make it harder for you to avoid disaster. If you want to catch up with loved ones over a couple of drinks, try to do it at your own hotel room or home so you can indulge without getting back home later.

If your holiday plans include traveling out-of-state, take some time to review your driving routes before you go anywhere. Any type of distraction can make it harder to spot and avoid impaired drivers, so you don’t want to be looking at directions when a driver swerves past you. When leaving for an outing, give yourself some extra time so you aren’t rushing or stressed. This ensures that you are driving as safely as possible.

Reach Out to Mann & Potter to Talk About Your Accident Claim

Should you be involved in a car accident over the holiday season, don’t wait to reach out to an attorney. We can help you fight for the compensation you deserve. Call Mann & Potter at 205-879-9661 or contact us online to get started.

Getting Fair Compensation for Nerve Damage After a Car Accident

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Your body is home to trillions of nerves that regulate everything from breathing and temperature stabilization to motor movement and digestion. A car accident that causes long-lasting nerve damage can have a profound impact on your overall health and well-being. These injuries vary widely in terms of severity and prognosis, which is why it can be challenging to negotiate fair compensation.

Ready to start your personal injury claim and fight for the compensation you know you deserve? Let’s talk about your options. Call Mann & Potter at 205-879-9661 to set up a consultation.

The Effects of Nerve Damage

Nerve damage truly affects every victim differently. If you suffer damage to the nerves that control your legs, you may experience leg pain and limited mobility. If the nerves that control your bowel and bladder are damaged, you may experience incontinence of both. Those with damage to nerves that manage breathing may need machine assistance to breathe.

These effects also depend on the severity of the nerve damage. All nerve injuries are not created equal. While some may cause temporary tingling or discomfort, others could impact you for the rest of your life.

Measuring Nerve Damage

To understand how your injuries may affect your life, you need to know more about the types of nerves and the levels of damage. The body is home to three types of nerves. Autonomic nerves are responsible for involuntary activities like digestion and breathing. Motor nerves manage your controllable physical movements. Sensory nerves handle conveying pain, discomfort, and other sensations to your brain.

There are three levels of nerve damage, listed here in order of increasing severity:

  • Neuropraxia: The most minor type of nerve damage is neuropraxia, which involves interruption of nerve conduction. When left alone, neuropraxia generally resolves within four to six weeks.
  • Axonotmesis: The next level of nerve damage is axonotmesis. This occurs when the axon is physically damaged but the connective tissue remains intact. Axonotmesis takes considerably longer to heal since the axon must regrow to reach the target muscle.
  • Neurotmesis: The most severe type of nerve damage is neurotmesis, which happens when the axon and its connective tissue are completely severed. While the other types of injury may resolve on their own without medical treatment, neurotmesis cannot heal on its own without treatment. Even with treatment, permanent damage may still occur.

Symptoms to Look Out For

Since nerve damage is so diverse in how it affects the human body, it can be difficult to identify. However, these are some of the most common side effects of nerve damage:

  • Numb or tingling extremities
  • Buzzing feeling
  • Sharp pains that come and go
  • Overall muscle weakness
  • An inability to pick up or hold onto objects, which often presents as randomly dropping items
  • A feeling of compression on the hands or feet

Unexpected changes in breathing, use of the restroom, sexual function, or temperature regulation can also be signs of nerve damage. It truly all depends on which part of the body is affected.

Pursuing Compensation

In order to receive fair compensation for your nerve injuries, you will need substantial proof of the other party’s negligence, the link between their negligence and your injury, and the extent of your injury. This is one reason you need an attorney—they know what type of evidence will conclusively tie your injury to the other party’s actions.

Proof of your injury comes in many different forms. Medical records and updates are obviously useful, as are reports from your physical therapist. You may also want to provide information on any adaptive equipment you need.

If your injury has left you unable to perform some or all of your work duties, your tasks at home, or other parts of your daily life, take note of that every time you run into issues. You may be owed compensation for those losses.

Get Your Claim Started with Mann & Potter

Nerve damage could possibly follow you for the rest of your life. Make sure you get properly compensated for all of the pain it has caused you. At Mann & Potter, we’re ready to help you pursue what you’re owed. Give us a call at 205-879-9661 or connect with us online and let’s set up a time to talk.

Calculating Lost Income for Self-Employed Individuals After a Car Accident

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Work losses may be some of the most financially devastating losses you experience in a car crash. Time spent away from work can be very harmful to your career, resulting not only in lost income but lost opportunities, loss of career-changing projects, and loss of upward momentum in your career. In some cases, injuries are severe enough to end promising professionals’ careers.

If you’re self-employed, you’re likely struggling in the wake of your car crash. Not only do self-employed individuals rarely have a built-in short-term disability or other types of insurance to carry them through these situations, but they may also find it hard to get fair compensation after a collision. We can help. Call Mann & Potter at 205-879-9661 to discuss your next steps.

There are several ways you can calculate your lost income if you are self-employed. Consider these options as you work on your claim.

Invoices Are a Useful Tool

Invoices may be one of the best types of evidence you can use in this type of claim, especially if you have a long history of invoices showing how much you generally earn. If you earn $10,000 monthly, for example, and after your injury, your invoice amounts drop 50%, this will be evident in your documentation. Invoices can also show the specific type of work you do, which may be helpful when you need to prove that your injury has kept you from working.

Estimates of Canceled Work

In some cases, an accident can leave you in the position of canceling work for clients. This is a huge financial blow, and it’s one that should be compensated. You may want to provide copies of contracts showing projects you had going at the time of the collision, proof that you had to cancel projects with clients, and the estimated losses associated with those cancellations.

Tax Documents Are Essential

Tax documents should not be overlooked as you work on proving your income losses. This is particularly helpful if your tax documents show a consistent trend in your income, either showing that it’s stable or steadily increasing. This may allow your attorney to calculate how much you’re likely to lose as a result of the injury and demand compensation for that amount.

Payments for Outsourced Work

You may not have canceled work when you were injured. If you had the ability, you may have chosen to outsource the work to other contractors. That, too, is its own cost, especially if you had to pay a rush fee. This is often the case, as self-employed individuals may prefer to lose a little bit of money upfront and retain the client rather than lose the client completely. Keep copies of paid invoices and outgoing payments to contractors, as you should also recoup those expenses.

Client Statements

This depends largely on the type of relationship you have with your clients. If you have a personal connection with them, they may be willing to write statements for you about how much work you generally do for them, how much they pay you on average, and what it means to have lost your work for the duration of your injury. You may choose to use this type of evidence if your tax documents or invoices aren’t a true reflection of your current income level.

The Value of an Economic Damages Expert

What about other losses you may have suffered? Perhaps you lost out on a major client that would have taken your business to the next level, or maybe you missed out on huge networking events that could have changed your future. If there is a lot of money at stake, your attorney may want to hire an economic damages expert. They can look at the losses you’ve sustained and what kind of ripple effect they will have on your earning potential as a whole.

Find Out How Mann & Potter Can Help You

Don’t let an injury derail your career and leave you financially drained. The team at Mann & Potter is committed to helping you secure the compensation you’re owed after an accident. Let’s chat about your accident, injuries, and self-employment journey. Contact us online or call us at 205-879-9661 to set up a consultation.

Apps You Should Always Have on Your Phone in Case of an Accident

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You don’t want to wait until you’re sitting at a crash site with a totaled car to download the right apps. While no one wants to think about being involved in a car accident, it’s important to prepare for every possible outcome. When you have the right apps, a small accident can become a minor inconvenience, rather than an incident that completely blindsides you.

No matter how prepared you are, sometimes an accident is serious enough that it’s time to bring in an attorney. When that happens, call Mann & Potter at 205-947-3104 to learn more about what your next steps should be.

Triple A or Your Vehicle Manufacturer’s App

If you are a Triple A member, having the Auto Club App on your phone can be a life saver. You can access Roadside Assistance, get help with a rental car after an accident, and more. If your manufacturer’s warranty comes with roadside assistance, accident reporting, or information on local repair options, you can also keep that installed on your phone. After all, if your warranty offers free towing and roadside assistance, why arrange it at the crash site and pay out of pocket?

Your Insurance Company’s App

You’ll need to report the accident as soon as possible, and many insurance companies have apps that streamline the entire process. Most apps let you take pictures of the crash scene from multiple sites, add in information about the other driver and their contact information, and note which police department has the police report. This may save you a call to your insurance agent at a time when you already have a long to-do list.

iWrecked

Maybe you know what you need to do after an accident, but can you really trust yourself to do everything right when you’re flooded with adrenaline and panicking? iWrecked makes it much easier to get the information you need for an insurance claim or personal injury case. The app saves your emergency contacts and vehicle information so you can access it quickly. When you report a crash, it will save photos, notes about the accident, and compile the notes into a single document.

SOSmart

The value of SOSmart lies in its automation. It senses when an accident has occurred and sends your location information to the emergency contacts you have saved. You know how important prompt medical care is after an accident, and SOSmart lists local emergency rooms and urgent care centers, along with directions on how to reach them. SOSmart is even good to have on hand if you aren’t involved in a collision. The panic button feature, when activated, sends location information and a notification to your emergency contacts. This is useful if you’re out and about on your own or late at night.

CamOnRoad

Hopefully, you already know how useful a dashcam can be after an accident. Even so, it’s not always practical to have a physical dashcam installed on your vehicle. CamOnRoad is a free app that essentially turns your smartphone into a dashcam. You can’t use it while driving anyway, so you may as well utilize it as a dashcam. The app also provides navigation directions, preventing you from needing to use your phone when your eyes should be on the road. When the app captures information, it stores it in your phone’s internal memory and can send it to the cloud.

When you’re prepared for an accident, you can breathe easy no matter what happens on the road. Still, it’s crucial to keep your cool and protect yourself after a crash. Avoid taking blame for the collision, get the other driver’s information, and make sure you get medical care as quickly as possible. Once you have assessed the damage and gotten your injuries checked out, you’ll be ready to talk to a personal injury attorney.

Get the Help You Deserve with Mann & Potter

A personal injury can easily cost you thousands of dollars if you don’t seek compensation from a liable party. Why should you be left handling the financial burden of a crash? If you’ve been hurt in a car accident, call Mann & Potter at 205-947-3104 or contact us online to schedule your consultation.

What Are My Rights as An Injured Passenger in a Car Accident?

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The Alabama Guest Statute

When you are a passenger in a car accident in Alabama, a lot depends on who is at fault for the injuries you suffered. If another driver is liable, you have options—we will explain that later. However, if the driver of the vehicle you were in caused the accident, you may be facing an uphill battle. Alabama has a Guest Statute on the books, and it’s the only state to still have this type of law in place.

If you are hurt in an accident where the driver of the vehicle you are in is at fault, you cannot file a claim against their insurance if you were their guest. This law is designed to protect drivers from insurance claims stemming from efforts to help people by driving them off somewhere or helping them with errands.

Exceptions to This Statute

There are some exceptions to this. You can seek compensation if your injuries were caused by the driver’s willful or wanton misconduct. Proving wanton disconnect is challenging, however, which is one reason you need the help of a personal injury attorney if you are seeking compensation for injuries.

Willful, wanton misconduct isn’t simply speeding or driving too fast for weather conditions. The standard for this is substantially higher. You may be able to seek compensation under these conditions if, for example, the driver is under the influence and does not tell you that before you accept the ride. You might also be able to seek compensation if they intentionally harm you.

If you go this route, you’ll likely need to talk to an attorney to fight for the compensation you are owed, as it’s unlikely that the driver will come out and tell the insurance company that they were driving recklessly or intentionally putting you in danger.

When Someone Else is Negligent

If the driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash is liable, you can still seek compensation from the liable driver. In these situations, the process is largely the same as if you were an injured driver. You would seek out a personal injury attorney, provide the evidence you gathered as an accident victim, get the medical treatment you need, and find out if you are entitled to compensation. This is much easier with the help of an attorney. Be prepared to prove the other party’s liability with witness testimony, photos of the crash scene, video footage of the crash scene, and medical records. In this situation, the claim would proceed as a standard personal injury claim.

The Importance of a Post-Accident Investigation

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Whether you’ve suffered injuries in a car crash, fall, or workplace accident, a thorough investigation will likely need to take place. An accident investigation is a crucial step in your quest for compensation, which is why it’s important to work with your attorney as they gather more information about your accident and injuries. Learn more about why these investigations are so crucial and how they can help you.

Choosing the right attorney can help you make the most of your personal injury claim. Call Mann & Potter at 205-879-9661 to start your claim.

Determining the Cause of an Accident

A comprehensive investigation can help attorneys and insurance companies get to the root cause of an accident. This is obviously important, as relying on eyewitness testimony isn’t a reliable way to assign fault and figure out liability.

Consider, for example, a workplace accident. An employee might claim that a piece of equipment malfunctioned when they were using it as intended, causing deep cuts to the tendons in their hand.

An investigation might look at the piece of equipment and video footage of the work environment. When investigators discover that the equipment was tampered with by a contractor brought in to perform a specific task, that gives the employee a chance to bring a third-party claim against the contractor.

Assigning Fault

The flipside of figuring out the cause of an accident is assigning fault, and that’s really at the heart of a personal injury claim. Once investigators figure out what went wrong, they can determine who caused things to go awry.

For example, consider a car accident. A driver runs a red light and crashes into someone crossing the intersection from the right. They claim that they did brake but that their brakes didn’t work, a fairly common excuse used by negligent drivers.

Since this is such a common excuse, insurance adjusters may ignore their testimony and put blame on the driver who ran the light. But if an investigation shows that the brakes truly did stop working without warning, that would shift liability to the manufacturer or repair shop, protecting an innocent person from a lawsuit.

Identifying Systemic Problems

Many of the benefits of an accident investigation personally benefit the victim. However, there are also widespread benefits for society as a whole. If you follow the example of a car with faulty brakes, consider that there are thousands of that same vehicle on the road. How many of them have faulty brakes and the owners don’t know it yet? Accident investigations that uncover this type of information get the ball rolling on recalls and other actions that force corporate accountability.

Investigations also identify trends in human behavior that can help prevent future accidents. Imagine that research came out showing that car crashes caused by distracted driving increased more in one year than they did in the ten years prior. Such an alarming jump could highlight to public safety officials that they should focus on this behavior and spend more time on education efforts to discourage distracted driving.

Securing Fair Compensation for Victims

At the end of the day, an accident investigation helps the victims get the full and fair compensation they deserve. Once a victim’s insurance company or attorney can pinpoint the cause of an accident and the liable party, they can negotiate a proper settlement. This is a huge relief for victims, who may have been watching medical bills and other unpaid expenses pile up as they wait to return to work.

While the time spent waiting for an accident investigation may seem unnecessary, remember that it ultimately benefits you. The more evidence your attorney can gather for you, the better chance they have of recovering the compensation you deserve.

Choose Mann & Potter for Your Injury Claim

Not sure what your next step is after a car crash, slip and fall, animal attack, or other accident? The team at Mann & Potter is ready to talk to you about your legal options and help you get started on your personal injury claim. Take the first step right now by contacting us to set up a free consultation. Give us a call at 205-879-9661 or reach out to us online now.

What Happens If I Wait to Go to the Doctor After an Accident?

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You’ve been hurt in a fall, a car crash, or another type of accident. But do you really need to go to the doctor? Maybe you’re experiencing some minor soreness, or you don’t even think you’re injured. Even if you think you’ve made it out of your accident without injury, you absolutely need to go to the doctor as soon as possible. Your health and your personal injury claim depend on it.

If you’re not sure where to start on your personal injury claim, the team at Mann & Potter is here to support you throughout this process. Call us at 205-879-9661 to schedule a consultation now.

Seeking Medical Attention Right Away is the Best Option

Ideally, you should get checked out by a doctor within 72 hours of being involved in an accident. This is important for both your health and your personal injury claim. This doesn’t mean that you should go to work, take care of home tasks, and finish other items on your to-do list before going to the doctor. In fact, going to the doctor should be your top priority after an accident.

Waiting Too Long Risks Your Health

First and foremost, waiting too long to get checked out is detrimental to your health. You truly have no idea if you are injured—even if you aren’t experiencing pain or any other issues, you could have serious injuries lying in wait.

For example, internal bleeding is not always immediately apparent. It becomes more noticeable over a period of hours or days as the abdomen becomes tender and purple. In a situation like that, waiting to go to the doctor could truly mean the difference between life and death.

Even if your injury isn’t one that’s potentially fatal, you put your health at serious risk by delaying a trip to the doctor. Broken bones, whiplash, and strains or torn muscles all worsen when victims try to get right back to normal. By putting additional pressure on your body, you could make your injuries worse and actually delay the healing process. Some injuries, if left too long, can actually become much worse so that a full recovery is no longer possible.

The best-case scenario is that you go to the doctor, find out that you do not have any injuries that require treatment, and get a clean bill of health. In that case, you’re just out a little bit of time and a copay. On the flip side, delaying and then finding out you have a serious injury could cost you your health.

Waiting Too Long Weakens Your Personal Injury Claim

If you plan on filing a personal injury claim, it is crucial to go to a doctor as soon as possible after an accident. The more time that passes between your accident and your medical checkup, the easier it is for the insurance company to discredit your injuries.

Imagine that you get in an accident and decide to skip a checkup because you don’t have time. A week later, the pain you were experiencing right after the accident is now much worse. You go to the doctor and find out you have a severe case of whiplash.

At that point, the other party’s insurance company could easily claim that your injuries are the result of something that happened between the accident and the time of your checkup. They may even insinuate that you only got checked out because you got injured after the accident and thought that you could get it paid for by the other person’s insurance.

The less time that passes between the accident and your medical checkup, the easier it is for your attorney to tie the injury to the accident. Make it a priority.

Explore Your Legal Options with Mann & Potter

The quicker you connect with a personal injury attorney, the sooner you can rest easy and know that your case is in good hands. At Mann & Potter, our goal is to fight aggressively for the compensation you deserve while you recover from your accident. Set up a consultation with our team right now by calling us at 205-879-9661 or reaching out to us online.

Sun Glare Accident: Who’s Liable?

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Nothing causes quite as much panic as bad weather when you’re driving. Whether you hit a patch of black ice, get hit by an intense thunderstorm, or are suddenly blinded by the sun, it’s hard to stay calm. When inclement weather leads to a crash, it can be difficult to determine who’s liable. If you’ve been involved in a car accident caused by sun glare, it’s important to talk to a personal injury attorney and explore your options.

The team at Mann & Potter is here to help you figure out if you may be entitled to compensation. Learn more now by calling us at 205-879-9661.

Liability for Sun Glare Accidents

You may assume that there is no liable party when bad weather causes an accident. After all, no one can control the weather or hold Mother Nature liable for damage caused. However, this is not always correct.

Each driver is responsible for taking the proper precautions to avoid weather-related accidents and plan for the possible dangers on the road. In snowy weather, this might mean driving with winter-ready tires and driving much slower than the speed limit. In rain, this often means using your windshield wipers and leaving plenty of space between you and other cars. When there is sun glare, this involves limiting your sun exposure.

The laws in Alabama are similar to those in many other states. In general, the person liable for a sun glare accident is the person who is temporarily blinded and/or inhibited by the bright sunlight and hits another vehicle or person. If you hit a car because of a sudden bright glare beaming through your windshield, this might seem unfair—how are you supposed to predict that?

However, the law is clear. When you drive, you are supposed to prepare for potential hazards that may occur. This means driving slowly enough that you can react safely and appropriately to the glare of the sun, especially when you are driving during a time of the day when bright sunlight commonly pops up on the route you are taking.

Limiting the Risk of Sun Glare

You may not be able to undo the damage caused by a crash, but you can do your best to prevent crashes caused by bright sunlight by learning more about driving safety. To prevent sun glare accidents, use these tips in your daily driving:

  • Choose sunglasses that limit sun glare. Polarized sunglasses can protect your eyes and maximize visibility on even the sunniest days.
  • Keep your windshield wipers clean and free of debris so they don’t leave blinding streaks on your windshield.
  • Drive more slowly on sunny days. This way, even if you are affected by sun glare, you are less likely to hit another driver or pedestrian.
  • Try to avoid driving during peak sunlight hours.
  • Make sure your windshield is clean while driving. Streaks and debris can worsen the effects of sun glare.

Compensation in Alabama

If the other driver hit your car because of sun glare, you’re likely relieved to find out that they are probably liable. However, that doesn’t mean that it will be easy to get the compensation you deserve. The other party’s insurance company may attempt to deny liability, especially if sun glare is the cause. Blaming the weather is a common tactic to get out of paying.

This is why it’s important to hire a personal injury attorney after you are hurt in a car crash. It is particularly important in Alabama, where contributory negligence can bar you from recovering damages in some cases.

Contributory negligence is the legal theory that a party that “contributes” to an accident in any way cannot recover any compensation for any injury that results from the accident. This is true regardless of how much fault they have. Even if you are found to be 1% liable for the accident, you could be unable to get compensation from the other party.

Because of Alabama’s defendant-friendly rules in personal injury cases, it may be harder to convince the other party’s insurance company to pay a fair settlement. They might be willing to take their chances in court since they only have to prove that you contributed to the accident in some small way. An attorney who is familiar with Alabama law will know and understand these challenges, putting them in a much stronger position to overcome them.

Choose Mann & Potter for Your Accident Claim

Have you been injured in a sun glare accident? It’s time to talk to an attorney to learn more about your legal options. Turn to Mann & Potter for the representation you need. Reach out online or call us at 205-879-9661 to get started.