Alabama car accident law: deadlines, fault and your claim

Filing deadlines in Alabama#

The Code of Alabama sets a statute of limitationsStatute of limitations. The law that sets the last day to file a lawsuit. After it passes, a court will usually dismiss the case, however strong it is. Glossary of 2 years for most car-crash injury lawsuits. The clock usually starts on the day of the crash. Claims against a government body have much shorter steps that come first.

Injured children. Alabama treats anyone under 19 as a minor for this rule. For an injured child, the deadline is paused until a child turns 19; for a crash injury, the normal two-year period then runs from that birthday, and no extension can go beyond 20 years from the injury. This pause is a form of tollingTolling. Pausing the limitations clock, for example while the injured person is a child. Glossary.

Claims against a city, county or the state. A claim against a city or town needs a sworn statement filed with the city clerk that describes how the injury happened, when and where, and the damages claimed. Claims against a county go to the county for allowance. Claims for injuries caused by the State of Alabama or its agencies are presented to the State Board of Adjustment. If a city vehicle hit you, the six-month deadline can arrive long before the two-year lawsuit deadline.

How fault is shared in Alabama#

Alabama's fault rule comes from court decisions rather than a statute: its courts follow the common-law rule of contributory negligence (Ridgeway v. CSX Transp., Inc., 723 So. 2d 600, 606 (Ala. 1998) (common law)). A federal appeals court applying Alabama law put it plainly: contributory negligence is an absolute bar to recovery. The Alabama Supreme Court has declined to replace it with comparative fault.

In practice, if a jury finds that your own carelessness helped cause the crash, you recover nothing from the other driver, even if they were far more to blame. Whether you were contributorily negligent is usually a question for the jury, not the judge.

Because any fault can end a claim, adjusters handling Alabama crashes have a strong reason to look for anything you did wrong: your speed, a phone in your hand, a late brake. Many people are careful about giving a recorded statement before they understand the rule. Use the fault-rule explainer to compare Alabama with states that only reduce your damages.

Insurance in Alabama#

Alabama drivers must carry liability insurance of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash for injuries, plus $25,000 for property damage. Alabama is an at-fault state: the driver who caused the crash, through their insurer, pays.

• Uninsured motorist coverageUninsured motorist coverage. Coverage under your own policy that pays when the at-fault driver has no insurance, or too little. Glossary. Must be included unless the named insured rejects it. Underinsured coverage: Included in uninsured motorist coverage (can be rejected with it). The Insurance Information Institute estimates that 16.8% of Alabama drivers were uninsured in 2023, against 15.4% nationally.
• Personal injury protection. Not required in Alabama.
• Medical payments coverageMedical payments coverage (MedPay). Optional or required coverage on your own auto policy that pays medical bills after a crash, up to a set limit, whoever caused it. Unlike PIP, it usually does not pay lost income. Glossary. Optional. It can pay medical bills regardless of fault, which matters more in a state where a small share of fault can end a claim against the other driver.

Questions about a policy or an insurer can go to the Alabama Department of Insurance at 1-800-433-3966 (Consumer Services); 334-241-4141.

After a crash in Alabama#

Under Alabama law, the driver must immediately notify the local police (inside a city) or the county sheriff or state highway patrol (elsewhere) of any crash that injures or kills someone. Drivers also have duties at the scene, including giving their information and rendering aid (Ala. Code §§ 32-10-1 and 32-10-2). An officer who investigates a crash files a written report on the state's uniform crash report form.

You can buy a copy of the crash report online through ALEA's crash report portal or in person at any ALEA Driver License office for $15. Alabama limits who can get the full report: people involved in the crash, a parent of an involved minor, the estate's personal representative, insurers, and a lawyer who has the client's written consent, among others. See how a police report is used in a claim for what to check in it.

Special rules in Alabama#

Dram shop claims. Under Alabama's Civil Damages Act, anyone who knowingly sells, furnishes or serves alcohol contrary to law to a visibly intoxicated person can be sued by people that person injures. The injured person can sue the drinker, the seller or both, and the law allows exemplary damages on top of actual losses. This dram shop lawDram shop law. A law that can make a bar or store liable for serving alcohol to someone who then causes a crash. Glossary does not let the drinker sue the seller for their own injuries. See drunk driver accidents for how these claims work.

Out-of-state lawyers. A lawyer licensed elsewhere who wants to appear in an Alabama case must bring in a member in good standing of the Alabama State Bar on the case.

Crashes on Alabama roads#

IIHS counted 962 motor vehicle crash deaths in Alabama in 2024. That is 18.7 per 100,000 people, compared with 11.5 per 100,000 people for the US as a whole. About 29% of Alabama's crash deaths were speeding-related, and 59% happened on rural roads.

Finding a lawyer in Alabama#

The Alabama State Bar Lawyer Referral Service takes calls at 1-800-392-5660 and also accepts requests through an online form. Lawyers who take part agree to charge no more than $50 for a first 30-minute consultation, and they may waive it. Read more about lawyer referral services.

Before you hire anyone, look the lawyer up in the Alabama State Bar's member search to confirm the license. Because contributory negligence can decide an Alabama case, many people ask a lawyer early how the other side might argue they were at fault.