Lawyers Offer Legal Clinic In South Baldwin County

A group of attorneys from Orange Beach and Gulf Shores took time out on their Saturday to help people with a myriad of questions stemming from oil spill fallout.

“What we basically wanted to have people do is come in today tell us what they're looking for or what their needs are and we can direct them in the right direction,” says Gulf Shores Attorney Andrew Monaghan. Another big question is whether or not people should sue for damages or just wait on payouts from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility. Claims Czar Kenneth Feinberg has encouraged people to go through with the claims process rather than seeking legal action and, for now, the advice here is the same.

“A lot of people are taking a wait and see approach, we'll wait and see if they pay us at this point you're not running into any time issues in terms of timely filing a lawsuit,” says Monaghan. He says personal injury suits have a two year statute of limitations. He says people may want to seek legal action if claim payments aren't enough. Attorneys here say getting your accountant involved is also very important. There is legal help available for people who may not be able to afford it. The state bar's Volunteer Lawyers Program and Legal Services of Alabama both provide some pro bono help.