October 6, 2026 · By John C. Hubbard, Attorney
What you do in the first 72 hours after a wreck in Birmingham decides more about your claim than anything a lawyer does later. Alabama’s contributory negligence rule means the insurance company needs only one admission from you to deny the claim, and the evidence that proves the other driver’s fault is gone within days. Here is the order of operations, specific to Jefferson County.
At the scene
Call 911 even for a minor wreck. Inside the city limits Birmingham Police respond; on I-65, I-20/59 and I-459 it is usually ALEA; in Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Homewood and Mountain Brook it is that city’s department. Ask the officer for the report number before they leave. Photograph both cars from all sides, the license plates, the road, the signals, skid marks, and anything the other driver says. Get names and numbers from every witness; the report often lists none. Do not say you are fine, do not apologize, and do not discuss fault with the other driver. “Are you okay?” and “Let’s wait for the police” are the only two things you need to say.
The same day
See a doctor. UAB, Grandview, St. Vincent’s, Brookwood Baptist, or the urgent care clinic on your way home, it does not matter which, but go the same day or the next morning. The insurer treats every day between the wreck and the first visit as proof you were not hurt. Tell the provider it was a car wreck so the record says so. Report the wreck to your own insurer, which your policy requires, but limit the call to the facts of where and when. Do not give a recorded statement to anyone.
The first week
Get the crash report. Alabama crash reports are available online through ALEA’s crash report portal a few days after the wreck, or from the Birmingham Police Records Division; the firm pulls it for clients. Read the narrative and the diagram and tell the firm if anything is wrong, because the adjuster will treat the report as gospel even though it is not admissible in court. Write down your own account while it is fresh. Save the clothes and shoes you were wearing if there was any injury to your feet or legs. Do not post about the wreck, the injury or your recovery anywhere, and ask family not to tag you. Insurers read it. Do not delete anything from your phone either: texts, photos, call logs or posts from the day of the wreck. The Alabama Supreme Court has upheld sanctions against a plaintiff who wiped phone data after a wreck (Goins v. Advanced Disposal Services), and a jury can be told to assume what you deleted would have hurt you.
When the other driver’s adjuster calls
They will call within a day or two, friendly, asking how you are and whether you can answer a few questions on a recorded line. Decline politely and give them the firm’s number. Every question is aimed at Alabama’s contributory negligence rule: your speed, your phone, your seat belt, whether you saw them coming. (The seat belt question is a bluff: Ala. Code § 32-5B-7 says not wearing one is not evidence of contributory negligence and does not reduce what the insurer owes.) An early offer, often a few thousand dollars for a “quick resolution,” is priced on the assumption you do not yet know what your injury is. Do not sign a release or a medical authorization from the other driver’s insurer. They are entitled to the records that relate to the wreck, and the firm provides those; they are not entitled to your whole medical history.
Your own insurance
Check your declarations page for medical payments coverage, which pays bills now regardless of fault, and for uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which is the whole claim if the other driver had no insurance or only the Alabama minimum of $25,000. Alabama lets you stack UM coverage across up to three vehicles. Property damage can usually be handled with the other driver’s insurer immediately; the car does not have to wait for the injury claim. Keep the rental car receipts.
Deadlines that apply in Birmingham
Two years from the wreck to file suit (Ala. Code § 6-2-38). Six months to file a sworn claim with the City of Birmingham if a city vehicle or a city street defect was involved (Ala. Code § 11-47-23), and twelve months for a claim against Jefferson County. Intersection camera footage and the other driver’s phone records are gone long before any of those dates, so the firm’s first letter in every case is a preservation demand.
When to call a lawyer
If anyone was taken from the scene by ambulance, if the other driver’s insurer is disputing fault, if the other driver was uninsured or driving for work, or if you are getting calls from an adjuster. In those cases the first week matters and the review is free. If it was a fender bender with no injury, you probably do not need one, and the firm will tell you so.
Start your case below or call 205-378-8121. No fee unless money is recovered. Se habla español.
Related guides
- How an Alabama car wreck claim works, start to finish
- Contributory negligence in Alabama: how insurers use it to deny claims
- Uninsured motorist claims in Alabama
- Disputed liability wrecks: how fault gets proven
Practice pages: car wreck lawyer, Birmingham personal injury lawyer, personal injury overview.
This post is general information about Alabama law, not legal advice, and contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. No representation is made that the quality of legal services is greater than that of other lawyers.