Did Atlanta Happen to You? Click Here for a Free Case Evaluation
Open 24 hours, every day of the week
Nothing prepares a family for a phone call from Birmingham Police Department or from a hospital in Birmingham. When someone dies because another person or company was careless, Alabama law gives the family a way to hold that wrongdoer accountable, but the process has strict rules and short deadlines. Our Birmingham wrongful death lawyers have earned over 1400+ excellent reviews and recovered millions for the families we serve. We take the legal weight off your shoulders and pursue the fullest measure of justice the Alabama Wrongful Death Act allows.
Families who want to meet in person or learn more about our local team can find directions and contact details on our Birmingham, AL office page.
No Worries About Paying Upfront
A funeral is expensive enough. You pay The Wilson PC nothing unless we recover on your family’s Birmingham wrongful death claim. Our fee comes out of the recovery, never out of your savings.
No Language Barriers
Our team answers 24/7 in English and Español. Whether you are calling from the hospital, the funeral home or home in Hoover, someone who speaks your language will listen.
Don’t Accept Less – Let Us Deal with the Insurance Companies
Insurers often reach grieving families within days with a quick check and a release form. Alabama measures wrongful death damages by how wrong the conduct was, with no cap, and a fast settlement almost never reflects that. Let us handle the insurer while you take care of your family.
Alabama lost 967 people to traffic crashes in 2024, according to the ALDOT 2024 Alabama Crash Facts report, and Jefferson County recorded 103 of those deaths. Add workplace accidents, falls, defective products and other preventable tragedies, and too many Birmingham families are left asking how this could have happened.
Alabama answers that question differently from almost every other state. Under the Wrongful Death Act, Ala. Code § 6-5-410, the claim can only be filed by the personal representative of the estate, and the damages a jury awards are punitive: they are measured by the wrongfulness of the defendant’s conduct and exist to punish it and deter others. The general cap on punitive damages does not apply to wrongful death, so a jury’s judgment about how wrong the conduct was is what counts.
Those rules reward careful preparation. For more than 13+ years The Wilson PC has built cases that show exactly what the defendant did, how far it fell short and why it must not happen again, while defeating the contributory negligence arguments insurers raise against the person who died. From our office at 420 20th St N, Suite 2200, Birmingham, AL 35203, we handle probate, evidence and the insurer so your family does not have to.
We are deeply sorry for your loss. There is no rush to make legal decisions in the first days, but a few practical steps protect your family’s Birmingham wrongful death claim:
Your family is grieving, and the last thing you need is a legal process you have to manage yourself. Our role is to handle the estate, the investigation and the insurer, and to make sure the person or company responsible for your loved one’s death is held fully accountable.
Behind the scenes, we investigate the way a prosecutor would: reconstructing the crash or incident, interviewing witnesses, obtaining the Birmingham Police Department file, subpoenaing phone and maintenance records and retaining experts. If the insurer will not resolve the claim fairly, we file suit in the Jefferson County Circuit Court (10th Judicial Circuit, Birmingham Division) and prepare it for a jury.
Here is what working with us looks like:
Alabama’s Wrongful Death Act is unlike the law in most states. The damages a jury awards are punitive: their purpose is to punish the wrongdoer and deter others from the same conduct, and they are measured by the culpability of the defendant rather than by the family’s financial losses. Because of that rule, the size of a Birmingham wrongful death verdict depends on what the defendant did and how badly it fell short.
Factors juries weigh include:
Three more Alabama rules matter to your family:
Because the wrongful death claim does not pay a family’s own losses, we also review whether any additional claims exist, for example against a life or auto insurance policy, before advising you on the path forward.
Fatal accidents in Birmingham happen on I-65, I-20/59, I-459, U.S. 31, U.S. 280 and the Red Mountain Expressway, at the I-65 / I-20/59 interchange downtown and on the streets of Hoover, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook, Bessemer, Trussville, Five Points South and Downtown Birmingham. The Birmingham Police Department investigates deaths inside the city, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and Alabama state troopers handle the rest of Jefferson County, and every one of those investigations produces records your family’s claim will depend on. In 2024, Jefferson County recorded 103 traffic fatalities alone.
The legal rules are local too. Wrongful death suits must be filed in a county where your loved one could have sued, the estate is opened in the Jefferson County Probate Court, and the case is tried in the Jefferson County Circuit Court (10th Judicial Circuit, Birmingham Division). Because the damages are punitive, the jury’s view of the conduct is everything, and a lawyer who knows how juries in this county respond to evidence has a real advantage.
The Wilson PC has stood with families across Alabama and Georgia through the worst days of their lives. We know which records to request from Birmingham Police Department, which experts to retain and how to answer the insurer’s attempt to blame the person who is no longer here to speak for themselves.
The Wilson PC Personal Injury Attorneys – Accountability for Your Family
If you are unsure whether your family has a wrongful death claim after a loss in Birmingham, call (205) 938-4869. The conversation is free and confidential, and we will tell you honestly what the law allows.
If your family needs a wrongful death lawyer in Birmingham, AL, we are close by. The Wilson PC’s Birmingham office is on 20th Street North in downtown Birmingham, a few blocks from Linn Park and the Jefferson County Courthouse, and we will come to you, meet by phone or video, or sit down with your family wherever is easiest during this time.
We have recovered MILLIONS for families in every type of fatal accident.
It does not matter whether the responsible party was a distracted driver, a trucking company that ignored its own rules, or a business that let a hazard go unfixed. Alabama law exists to punish that conduct and to make sure it does not happen to another family.
We’ve Stood With Families Just Like Yours.
A Birmingham wrongful death claim rests on the same four elements as any negligence case, filed by the personal representative of the estate. We prove each one and defeat the insurer’s contributory negligence defense at the same time:
The defendant owed your loved one a duty of care: a driver on I-65 must drive safely, a property owner must fix or warn of dangers, a manufacturer must sell safe products, and a bar may not serve a visibly intoxicated customer who then drives.
The defendant breached that duty by acting carelessly or, worse, wantonly: driving drunk, texting behind the wheel, skipping required maintenance, or ignoring a known hazard. Wanton conduct matters twice in Alabama: it raises the damages and it removes the contributory negligence defense.
That breach caused the death. We use the Birmingham Police Department investigation, medical records, reconstruction experts and, where relevant, company records to draw a straight line from the defendant’s conduct to the loss of your loved one.
Finally, a death resulted, and the claim was filed by the proper party within two years. Alabama measures the damages by the defendant’s culpability, so we build the record of exactly what they did. And because contributory negligence can be raised against the person who died, we also prove that they did nothing to contribute to the accident, or that the defendant was wanton or had the last clear chance to avoid it.
After a death, the insurer’s adjuster is often the first person to call, and they are trained to sound kind. Their job is still to pay as little as possible. In Alabama they have two ways to do it: argue that your loved one contributed to the accident, which can bar the claim entirely, or offer a fast settlement before the family understands that Alabama wrongful death damages are measured by the wrongdoer’s conduct and are not capped.
They also know that most families have never opened an estate, do not know that only the personal representative can file, and are not aware that a claim against a city must be presented within six months. Every one of those gaps is a reason to pay less.
A Birmingham wrongful death lawyer closes the gaps. We handle the Jefferson County Probate Court filing, put every insurer on notice, preserve the evidence and present the case the way a jury in the Jefferson County Circuit Court (10th Judicial Circuit, Birmingham Division) would see it. Insurers respond differently when they know the lawyer is prepared to try the case.
Our Birmingham office is on 20th Street North in downtown Birmingham, a few blocks from Linn Park and the Jefferson County Courthouse, at 420 20th St N, Suite 2200, Birmingham, AL 35203. Parking is available nearby, and we are glad to meet by phone or video, or to come to your home when travel is the last thing your family needs. Call (205) 938-4869 to arrange a time.
Focus on your family first. When you are ready, request certified death certificates, keep the medical and funeral records, and hold on to anything connected to the accident: the vehicle, photos, messages and the names of witnesses. Request the Birmingham Police Department report or the ALEA crash report so the official account is in hand. Do not give a recorded statement to any insurer, and do not sign anything. Then talk to a Birmingham wrongful death lawyer about opening the estate in the Jefferson County Probate Court, because in Alabama the claim can only be filed by the personal representative. The consultation is free and there is no pressure to decide quickly.
The Wilson PC carries the legal work so your family can grieve. Here is how we help:
A wrongful death action in Alabama must be commenced within two years from the date of death (Ala. Code § 6-5-410(d)). That is the outside limit, and it does not wait while the estate is opened, so probate should begin early.
Some deadlines are much shorter. A claim against the City of Birmingham or another municipality must be presented as a sworn claim within six months, and a claim against Jefferson County must be presented to the county commission within twelve months. If a minor child died, the parents may file, and if they have not done so within six months the personal representative may. Evidence also fades quickly: video is overwritten and vehicles are scrapped. The sooner we begin, the more we can preserve.
In Alabama, only the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate may file a wrongful death claim (Ala. Code § 6-5-410(a)). A spouse, parent or child cannot sue in their own name, no matter how close the relationship. The personal representative is appointed by the Jefferson County Probate Court, and a family member is usually the person appointed. We prepare that petition as the first step of every case.
The one exception is the death of a minor child: under Ala. Code § 6-5-391, the parents may bring the claim themselves, and the personal representative may do so if they have not filed within six months. Whoever files, the recovery is distributed to the heirs under Alabama’s intestacy statute, not according to a will and not to the estate’s creditors.
This is where Alabama differs from nearly every other state. Wrongful death damages under Ala. Code § 6-5-410 are punitive only. They are awarded to punish the wrongdoer and to deter similar conduct, and a jury measures them by the culpability of the defendant, not by the family’s bills or lost income. A drunk or wanton driver, or a company that ignored known dangers, faces a far larger verdict than someone who made a momentary mistake.
Two rules work in the family’s favor. First, the general cap on punitive damages does not apply to wrongful death (§ 6-11-21(j)), so there is no statutory ceiling. Second, the proceeds pass outside the estate: they are not subject to the decedent’s debts and go directly to the heirs under the intestacy statute. We also review whether any additional claims exist for your family beyond the wrongful death action.
Not before a Birmingham wrongful death lawyer has reviewed it. Insurers move fastest when a quick payment protects them from a jury, and an early offer is priced on the assumption that the family does not know how Alabama measures wrongful death damages or that the punitive cap does not apply.
A release is permanent. Once it is signed, no one can reopen the claim, even if it later becomes clear the driver was drunk or the company had ignored warnings for years. Let us evaluate the offer against the conduct and the evidence. The review is free.
The first step is probate: the Jefferson County Probate Court must appoint the personal representative before the claim can be filed, which usually takes a few weeks. From there, a case with clear liability may resolve with the insurer within a year. Cases involving a trucking company, a corporate defendant, disputed fault or wanton conduct are often filed in the Jefferson County Circuit Court (10th Judicial Circuit, Birmingham Division) and can take eighteen months or longer to reach trial or settlement.
We move as quickly as the evidence allows, but we do not recommend settling before the full picture of the defendant’s conduct is documented, because in Alabama that conduct is what the damages are measured by.
Drunk driving is the clearest example of wanton conduct: a reckless or conscious disregard for the safety of others. In a wrongful death case that matters in two ways. It supports a larger punitive award, because the damages are measured by how wrong the conduct was, and it eliminates the contributory negligence defense the insurer would otherwise raise against your loved one.
Alabama’s dram shop statute, Ala. Code § 6-5-71, also allows a claim against a bar, restaurant or store that knowingly sold or served alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person who then caused the death. We investigate where the driver was drinking, request receipts and video, and bring every responsible party into the case. The Birmingham Police Department and the district attorney handle the criminal charge; the civil claim is separate and belongs to your family.
We move immediately to secure:
Nothing upfront. The Wilson PC handles wrongful death cases on a contingency fee: our fee is a percentage of the recovery, agreed in writing before we begin, and we advance the costs of probate filings, records, experts and litigation. If there is no recovery, you owe no attorney fee.
Every family in Birmingham can afford to hold a wrongdoer accountable, whether the case resolves with the insurer or is tried to a jury in the Jefferson County Circuit Court (10th Judicial Circuit, Birmingham Division). Your consultation is free and confidential.
Alabama’s contributory negligence rule applies to wrongful death cases, and insurers use it: if they prove the person who died was negligent and that negligence contributed to the accident, the claim can be barred. We will not pretend otherwise.
But the rule has limits. It is no defense when the defendant was wanton, such as a drunk or racing driver. The last clear chance doctrine preserves the claim when the defendant had the final opportunity to avoid the accident. Failure to wear a seat belt cannot be used as evidence of contributory negligence under Ala. Code § 32-5B-7. And the person who died cannot answer the insurer’s version of events, so we gather the evidence that speaks for them. Do not let an adjuster decide this question for your family.
Choosing a lawyer after a death in Birmingham is a decision made under the worst circumstances, so choose carefully. You want a team that understands Alabama’s unusual wrongful death rules, that will handle the Jefferson County Probate Court and the insurer without adding to your burden, and that treats your family with patience and respect rather than as a file number.
We pursue the fullest measure of accountability Alabama law allows, and we do not leave anything on the table.
We understand that money can be tight, so we work quickly to get you the compensation you deserve.
Navigating the legal system can be tricky, but we’re experts. We know all the rules and strategies to make sure your voice is heard.
We’re professionals, and we hold ourselves to high standards.
We don’t want to add to your burdens. We’ll handle everything related to your compensation, making it a hassle-free experience for you.
We’re here to support you every step of the way in your journey to recovery. If you forget to tell us something, we’ll reach out and ask.
Think of us as your hosts. We’re happy to get to know you and assist you in any way we can.
We’ll explain everything you need to know and keep you updated. You can always reach out to us if you have questions.
Contact us today if you or a loved one have been injured in an accident. Your consultation is free, quick and confidential.
Be it understanding your rights, navigating legal procedures, or fighting for your just compensation, you can depend on The Wilson PC!
