personal injury

Wrecks happen every day. Sometimes they do not involve any fault on either party. Sometimes they are due to inattention of the surroundings and driving conditions and traffic controls and signs. Sometimes they result from other carelessness such as text messaging or multitasking while operating a vehicle. Sometimes they involve very little injury or property damage. Sometimes they can result in significant injury, disability, and death.

Alabama law provides that in the event the accident and resulting injuries and damages were caused by either negligence, recklessness or willful conduct of a party, then the victim is entitled to recover the damages they incurred in the form of compensation for pain and suffering, mental anguish, lost wages, medical expenses, disfigurement, and lost earning capacity. In cases which involve reckless or willful conduct such as excessive speeding or driving while intoxicated, the victim(s) may be entitled to an award of punitive damages which are designed not only to punish the wrong-doer, but also deter others in the community from engaging in such conduct in the future.

In one particular case, Mr. Goozée represented a plumber who suffered significant disabling injuries while driving his employer’s vehicle home on a Friday afternoon. In that case, a car traveling in front of our driver in heavy traffic, suddenly stopped his vehicle to make a U-turn causing all of the vehicles traveling behind him to take evasive moves. This resulted in our client colliding into the back of an 18-wheeler in front of him. Because the “at-fault” vehicle left the scene and was never heard of again, our client had to claim damages against his employer’s uninsured motorist’s coverage carrier alleging that the phantom vehicle’s driver acted wantonly in causing the wreck. At trial, the jury found for our client and returned a verdict in excess of $4.8 million.

Mr. Goozée has successfully tried and settled many other cases involving personal injury and/or wrongful death resulting from vehicular and pedestrian accidents. If you or a family member or friend have been involved in such an accident, Mr. Goozée will meet with you and evaluate the case at no charge, quickly and competently at your convenience.

Many cases involve adequate insurance coverage from the person or company at fault. Sometimes not, and we have to get creative to achieve a recovery. Most personal injury cases settle at some point before trial. Mr. Goozée treats each case as if it is going to trial ultimately. That way the potential to maximize the recovery is there at any point along the way.

Under Alabama law, shopkeepers, restaurants, and other premises owners owe the public a duty to make sure that their premises are in a safe condition, and, if not, to adequately warn their customers there buying their products and goods to be mindful of any hazardous conditions that may exist that could cause injury. Examples may include floor spills or water leaks either created by the premise owner or floor defects that the premise owner knew about and failed to put out wet floor signs or barriers. Mr. Goozée has successfully tried and/or settled many premise liability cases against department and grocery stores, such as Bruno’s, WalMart, Belk, Big Lots, Dillard’s, and Target, and others.

Mr. Goozée secured what is believed to be the largest jury verdict ever in Marshall County in a slip or trip and fall case. His client had stopped at a gas station, refueled his car, and as he began walking toward the facility to pay, tripped over a PVC drain pipe that ran from the roof of the “fuel island” down its side, and projected then over the walkway. That dangerous tripping hazard snagged his client’s foot and pitched him off balance onto the parking lot, causing severe neck injuries. The jury’s six-figure verdict in a traditionally conservative county compensated him for the effects of the injury on his life, and the defendant’s insurance company paid without filing an appeal.