Alabama Wrongful Death Lawyer
Losing a Loved One to Someone Else’s Negligence
No phone call, no settlement, and no verdict can bring back someone you love. When a death is caused by another person’s carelessness — a reckless driver, a negligent facility, a dangerous product — families are left grieving and searching for answers at the worst possible moment.
At John C. Hubbard, LLC, we carry the legal burden for families in Birmingham and across Alabama and Texas, so your family doesn’t have to. We investigate what happened, deal with the insurance companies, and pursue accountability from everyone responsible — with the compassion and patience these cases demand. There is never a fee unless we recover for your family.
When you’re ready to talk, we’re ready to listen. Call 205-378-8121 or contact us online for a free, confidential consultation.
Wrongful Death Cases We Handle
We pursue wrongful death claims arising from many kinds of negligence, including:
Car & Truck Wrecks
Fatal collisions caused by negligent, distracted, or reckless drivers and commercial carriers.
Drunk & Impaired Driving
Deaths caused by impaired drivers — cases where Alabama law is at its most punishing toward wrongdoers.
Medical Negligence
Fatal misdiagnoses, surgical errors, and hospital failures that should never have happened.
Nursing Home Neglect
Deaths from untreated infections, falls, malnutrition, and neglect in long-term care facilities.
Workplace Accidents
Fatal incidents on job sites caused by unsafe conditions, equipment, or third-party negligence.
Defective Products
Dangerous vehicles, machinery, drugs, and consumer products that cost lives.
Unsafe Premises
Deaths caused by hazardous property conditions and inadequate security.
Criminal Acts
Civil accountability for deaths caused by violence, separate from any criminal prosecution.
How We Help Your Family
You focus on your family. Here is what we take off your shoulders:
- A full, independent investigation into how and why your loved one died.
- Experts — accident reconstructionists, medical professionals, economists — to build the strongest case.
- All communication with insurance companies and defense lawyers.
- Guidance through Alabama’s unique wrongful death procedures, step by step.
- A team prepared to take the case to a jury if the responsible parties won’t do right by your family.
How Alabama Wrongful Death Claims Work
Alabama’s wrongful death law is unlike any other state’s. Damages are punitive only — designed to punish the wrongdoer and deter others — rather than to compensate for financial losses. The claim must be brought by the personal representative of your loved one’s estate, and strict time limits apply.
These unique rules change how a case must be valued, argued, and tried. It’s critical to work with an attorney who is experienced in Alabama wrongful death litigation and who will treat your family’s case — and your loved one’s memory — with the respect they deserve.
How Alabama’s Wrongful Death Act works
Alabama’s Wrongful Death Act, Ala. Code § 6-5-410, allows the deceased person’s personal representative to “commence an action and recover such damages as the jury may assess” for a death caused by another’s “wrongful act, omission, or negligence,” and requires that the action be filed “within two years from and after the death of the testator or intestate.” Alabama is unusual because wrongful-death damages are punitive rather than compensatory; they are aimed at punishing the defendant and deterring similar conduct, not compensating the family for economic or emotional loss.
Have more questions? Visit our Frequently Asked Questions page or call us — we’ll give you honest answers, with no pressure.
Reviewed by John C. Hubbard, Attorney.
Last reviewed: June 2026.
Hurt in Texas? John C. Hubbard is licensed in Texas and accepts Texas injury claims as well, along with the debt collection and credit reporting problems that often follow an accident. Texas clients can call 832-410-8121.
Three things families do not expect about punitive-only damages
Because the jury is measuring the defendant’s conduct rather than the family’s loss, the amount depends on what the defendant did, not on what the person earned, so the death of a retiree and the death of a surgeon are judged by the same standard. The award is not part of the estate; it passes directly to the heirs under Alabama’s intestacy statute and is not reachable by the deceased’s creditors. And because the damages are punitive, Alabama’s statutory caps on punitive damages do not apply to wrongful death awards.
Who can bring the claim
Only the personal representative of the estate can file an Alabama wrongful death suit, which means opening an estate in probate court is the first step even when there are no assets. When a minor child dies, the parents may bring the claim themselves under Ala. Code § 6-5-391. The suit must be filed within two years of the death, and that deadline cannot be extended by the probate process, so the estate needs to be opened early. The firm handles the probate filing in Jefferson or Shelby County as part of the case.
Texas is the mirror image
A Texas wrongful death claim (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 71.002) belongs to the surviving spouse, children and parents, who may file it themselves, and the damages are compensatory: lost earnings and support, loss of companionship, and mental anguish. A separate survival action under § 71.021 belongs to the estate and recovers the medical expenses and the conscious pain the person suffered before death. Punitive damages are available on a showing of gross negligence. Two years from the date of death to file.
Cases the firm handles
Car and truck wrecks are most of them. Others include a fall or an assault on commercial property with inadequate security, a death caused by a repossession agent who breached the peace, and nursing home neglect. In every case the question is the same one Alabama law asks: how far below the standard of care did the defendant’s conduct fall. A driver who was speeding is one case; a driver who was drunk, or a trucking company that put a driver on the road with a suspended license, is a different case with a different value.
What happens in the first month
The firm opens the estate, sends preservation letters to every defendant and insurer, obtains the crash or incident report and the autopsy or medical records, and identifies every policy that may apply. If the person killed was covered by uninsured or underinsured motorist insurance, the personal representative may also be able to pursue UM/UIM benefits arising from the wrongful death. The family does not deal with adjusters. Settlement discussions usually begin once liability is documented, and a case that does not settle is tried to a jury in the circuit court of the county where the death occurred.
What to send with your intake
The death certificate if you have it, the crash or incident report, the names of the surviving spouse, children and parents, and any letters from insurance companies. The consultation is free and there is no attorney’s fee unless money is recovered. Se habla español.
Start your case here
Answer the questions below and John will review your summary, usually the same business day. It takes about three minutes.