Slip & Fall in Birmingham, AL

It depends on who worked the scene. City streets are usually the Birmingham Police Department, the interstates around the metro are often Alabama State Troopers, and unincorporated Jefferson County falls to the Sheriff's Office. Alabama crash reports generally take a few days to become available and are released through a state portal for a fee. Ask the officer for the report number before you leave, if you are able to.

The Jefferson County Circuit Court. One wrinkle: Jefferson County runs two circuit divisions, one seated in Birmingham and a separate one covering the Bessemer area, and which one applies follows where the crash happened rather than where you live. An attorney licensed in Alabama sorts that out before anything is filed. We are not a law firm and we file nothing.

For the deadline, no. Alabama's 2 years applies either way. For everything else it can matter, because highway wrecks are more likely to be worked by state troopers, more likely to involve a commercial vehicle, and far more likely to turn on speed and lane position, which is exactly the ground an insurer uses to move a share of the blame onto you. In Alabama a share is all they need.

In Alabama, the deadline is generally 2 years from the date of the accident. 2 years personal injury; wrongful death 2 years (measured from death). Deadlines are strict — the sooner you act, the more options you have.