Martinson & Beason, P.C.
Fighting For Injured Victims Since 1937 According to the CDC, some 31 million people are injured annually across our nation significantly enough to require medical treatment. About 162,000 of those injuries are fatal. With the NHTSA reporting about 5.5 million car accidents in the country each year which lead to…
The next episode of the Mo Show Live will air Wednesday, March 6th at 3:00 PM Central Time and will feature Alabama State Trooper Curtis Summerville. Morris and Trooper Summerville will be discussing distracted driving, the graduated driver’s license system, safe driving habits for teens, and more.
Trooper Curtis Summerville is the Public Information and Education Officer with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. He serves as the liaison for the State Police and the media and to provide presentations to the public regarding traffic safety, alcohol, drugs, and other law enforcement related topics. He has been a State Trooper for over 27 years and works out of the Huntsville Post. Trooper Summerville is from Eutaw, AL where he graduated from Paramount High School in 1982. He attended Alabama A & M University and Athens State University where he received a bachelor’s degree in Business Management. He also is a Graduate of The Alabama Military Academy and was commissioned as an Officer in 1996. He served in Operation Enduring Freedom from 2002 - 2004 in Afghanistan as a member of the Alabama National Guard.
Across the country, there have been an increase in car accidents and fatalities caused by car accidents. According to the Chicago Tribune, a new study was released that attempts to link the legalization of marijuana to the increase in accidents in states that have allowed for recreational use of the drug. The results of this study by the Highway Loss Data Institute claim that there has been a 2.7% increase in car accidents in Oregon, Washington, and Colorado since they legalized marijuana.
However, many skeptics of this study indicate that the study did not consider other factors that could have led to this spike in accidents, such as the increase in the number of vehicles on the roads in those states. In fact, other research has established that behaviors such as distracted driving are bigger factors in the increase of crashes nationwide.
Many people—the same ones who faithfully pay their insurance premiums on time every single month—are shocked and surprised to find that when a car accident occurs, that same insurance company may be nothing at all like their friendly portrayal on television. After all, we are inundated with insurance commercials which…
It would be almost impossible to watch television for any length of time without seeing a variety of insurance commercials. One after another, these companies tell us they are our friend, they will “be there” in a crisis, and that you are in “good hands.” It is hardly any wonder…
Let’s say your friend is giving you a ride to dinner and you are severely injured in an accident due to your friend’s negligence in carelessly failing to yield the right of way. Believe it or not, your friend is not liable to you for your injuries due to the Alabama Guest Passenger Statute. Many are surprised to learn that under the law, a passenger cannot sue his or her driver for injuries caused by the driver’s negligence because the passenger is classified as a “guest” in the driver’s car. Ala. Code § 32-1-2. If payment is provided to the driver, the rider is instead classified as a passenger, and the statute is inapplicable.
The Alabama Guest Passenger Statute is intended to protect drivers from negligence claims under the rationale that drivers should not be liable when providing rides free of charge to “guests.” Payment does not have to be in dollar form; it can be anything of tangible value provided to compensate the driver for the ride. While the law’s intentions are noble, the practical effect is that drivers are relieved from exercising ordinary care for their passengers. Normally, a driver is responsible after failing to exercise ordinary care such as running a red light or failing to yield the right of way. However, the statute relieves drivers from liability from their guests.
