Free Legal Help in Alabama
Attorney-reviewed answers to real Alabama legal questions—free, with no obligation.
Common Legal Questions in Alabama
59 attorney-reviewed questions from people in Alabama. Select one to read the guidance, or start a free chat.
Auto Accident (41)
- A collection letter to the car's registered owner
- A hit-and-run in Alabama with no charges yet: what you can still do
- A parked car hit by a driver who left, traced weeks later
- Another driver hit your car in Alabama — what happens now?
- Asking the at-fault insurer to cover your hospital bill
- Badly hurt alone in a wreck, with a small medical limit
- Can a passenger leave the scene of an accident?
- Chain collision after a truck stopped, insurance lapsed
- Claiming directly against the other driver's insurer
- Cyclist hit by a rideshare driver and airlifted
- Fault for a Crash After Briefly Looking Away in Alabama
- Filed a police report after a crash: is your claim still open in Alabama?
- Freeway crash, a wheel torn off, and no airbag deployment
- Hit by a City Vehicle That Didn't Stop in Alabama: The Six-Month Claim Rule
- Hit by a car as a pedestrian, with surgery needed
- Hit by a car — can you sue in Alabama?
- Hit by a truck in Alabama: when the trucking company answers too
- Hit by another car in a parking lot in Alabama: how fault is decided off the road
- Hit by another driver when your own insurance had lapsed
- Hit crossing a busy road to the hotel's own parking
- Hit from behind just after changing lanes in Alabama
- Hit from behind while starting a right turn
- Hitting a car that had been broken down in a lane for days
- Hitting a van whose lights and plate were covered
- Hydroplaning into a tree with liability-only insurance
- Injured as a passenger in someone else's car
- Insurer pays for the car but not the parts you fitted
- Is the at-fault driver's insurer liable for the damage?
- Leaving a crash without knowing property was damaged
- Police report blames them, the insurer says 50/50
- Rear-Ended Without a Seatbelt in Alabama: What It Does to Your Claim
- Rear-ending a car that stopped for a broken-down truck
- Reversing into a parked car when there is no visible damage
- Still owing finance after insurance and gap both paid
- Told you are 15% at fault, so the insurer will pay 85%
- Two Years, and Where the Money Actually Is After a Serious Alabama Crash
- Two cars turning right collide when one changes lanes
- Two people hurt by a driver who ran a stop sign
- Uncovered County Pipes Caused a Crash in Alabama: Claiming Against the County
- When a passenger and the driver are both hurt by another car
- Why Two Insurance Companies Are Calling After Your Crash
Family & Child Custody (3)
Medical Malpractice (3)
Workers Compensation (3)
Animal Law (2)
Employment (2)
Criminal Defense (1)
DUI & Traffic (1)
Financial & Debt (1)
Housing & Tenant (1)
Alabama Courts & Legal Aid
- Look up a case or find court forms at the Alabama Judicial System.
- Get free civil legal help from Alabama Legal Help.
- Use the LSC — Find Legal Aid to find a local legal-aid office by ZIP code.
- Use the LawHelp.org to browse free legal information and self-help resources.
- Use the ABA Lawyer Referral Directory to get matched with a local attorney through your state bar.
Case Law Cited in Alabama
11 court decisions cited across these pages. These are provided as legal background, not as advice about any particular case.
Knight v. Alabama Power Co., 580 So. 2d 576 (Ala. 1991)
A plaintiff cannot recover in negligence where their own negligence contributed to the harm, regardless of the defendant's negligence; contributory negligence is a complete defense to negligence but not to wanton misconduct.
Cited on: Hit from behind just after changing lanes in Alabama · Two cars turning right collide when one changes lanes · Hit by a City Vehicle That Didn't Stop in Alabama: The Six-Month Claim Rule +31 more
Lafarge North America, Inc. v. Nord, 86 So. 3d 326 (Ala. 2011)
To establish contributory negligence as a matter of law the defendant must show the plaintiff knowingly placed themselves in danger and consciously appreciated it; simple heedlessness does not suffice, and it is ordinarily a jury question.
Cited on: Hit from behind just after changing lanes in Alabama · Two cars turning right collide when one changes lanes · Hit by a City Vehicle That Didn't Stop in Alabama: The Six-Month Claim Rule +31 more
Thomas v. Earnest, 72 So. 3d 580 (Ala. 2011)
A gratuitous passenger owes a duty of reasonable care for their own safety, independent of the driver's conduct and without control of the vehicle, but there is no automatic finding of contributory negligence where a rear-seat passenger fails to warn of a known danger.
Cited on: Two people hurt by a driver who ran a stop sign · When a passenger and the driver are both hurt by another car · Injured as a passenger in someone else's car
Hinkle v. Burgreen Contracting Co., 678 So. 2d 797 (Ala. Civ. App. 1996)
Where a vehicle may have changed lanes just ahead of a following driver, lookout and contributory negligence were fact questions for the jury.
Cited on: Hit from behind just after changing lanes in Alabama · Two cars turning right collide when one changes lanes
Fox v. Bartholf, 374 So. 2d 294 (Ala. 1979)
Negligence per se from a traffic statute requires that the statute protect a class including the plaintiff against the kind of harm suffered and that the defendant violated it; the court decides the first two.
Cited on: Two cars turning right collide when one changes lanes
Hayes v. Voestalpine Nortrak, Inc., 185 F. Supp. 3d 1314 (2016) — District Court, N.D. Alabama
The ADA prohibits discrimination against a qualified individual with a disability. A qualified individual is someone who can perform the essential functions of her position, with or without a reasonable accommodation.
Cited on: Workplace Accommodation Disputes and Retaliation Concerns
Hulbert v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 723 So. 2d 22 (Ala. 1998)
An employer answers for an employee driver's negligence on substantial evidence that the act was within the scope of employment: part of the job, or a benefit to the employer.
Cited on: Hit by a truck in Alabama: when the trucking company answers too
Jones Express, Inc. v. Jackson, 86 So. 3d 298 (Ala. 2010)
A carrier's liability for negligent hiring or supervision depends on its driver's own wrongful act; an irreconcilable verdict against the carrier was reversed.
Cited on: Hit by a truck in Alabama: when the trucking company answers too
Sparks v. Alabama Power Co., 679 So. 2d 678 (Ala. 1996)
A rules-of-the-road violation can go to the jury as evidence: whether it was negligent in the circumstances and whether it caused the harm.
Cited on: Two cars turning right collide when one changes lanes
State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Lambert, 291 Ala. 645, 285 So. 2d 917 (1973)
The uninsured-motorist statute covers hit-and-run drivers, so a policy requirement of physical contact with the hit-and-run vehicle is void.
Cited on: A hit-and-run in Alabama with no charges yet: what you can still do
Walker v. GuideOne Specialty Mutual Insurance Co., 834 So. 2d 769 (Ala. 2002)
A policy term requiring corroboration beyond the claimant's own testimony for a phantom-vehicle claim is void; the claimant must still prove the phantom vehicle caused the accident.
Cited on: A hit-and-run in Alabama with no charges yet: what you can still do