Car Accident

If you or someone you love was hurt in a car accident in Anchorage, getting the car accident lawyer Anchorage for your personal injury services, means that you do not have to face the insurance companies alone. Medical bills are piling up, you may be unable to work, and the adjuster on the other end of the phone is not on your side. Personal injury attorney in Anchorage Sean Brown and the team at The Brown Law Firm have spent more than 20 years fighting for car accident victims across Alaska — and we are ready to fight for you.

We handle your case on a contingency fee basis: you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you. Your initial consultation is completely free. Call us now at (907) 222-9900 or fill out the form on this page to get started.

Car Accidents in Anchorage: The Numbers Tell the Story

Anchorage is the most dangerous place to drive in Alaska. According to the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, the state recorded 9,232 crashes in 2023, and Anchorage accounted for approximately 4,100 of them, or 40 percent of the statewide total. Anchorage car accident injuries rose 8 percent year over year, with 2,150 injury crashes reported in FY 2023 alone.

The human cost is staggering. Anchorage recorded 62 traffic fatalities in FY 2023. That is roughly 1.2 deaths per week. Pedestrian fatalities hit a record 17 deaths, a 30 percent increase over 2022. The most common injuries our clients sustain include whiplash (42 percent of cases), fractures (28 percent), and traumatic brain injuries (15 percent).

Where Anchorage Crashes Happen Most

Certain corridors in Anchorage are significantly more dangerous than others. The Seward Highway between mile 2 and mile 6 consistently ranks as the deadliest stretch in the municipality. Northern Lights Boulevard from C Street to Fireweed Lane sees a high volume of intersection collisions, and the Glenn Highway on-ramps are frequent sites for merging accidents, particularly in icy conditions.

What Crashes Cost Victims

The financial impact of a car accident in Anchorage is severe. The average property-damage-only claim runs approximately $4,300. A medical-only claim averages $7,800. Litigated injury cases involving surgery, rehabilitation, or long-term care frequently exceed $100,000, and Alaska medevac flights alone can add $50,000 to $150,000 to a claim.

For a deeper dive into the data, see our full Anchorage Car Accident Statistics report.

What to Do Immediately After a Car Accident in Alaska

The steps you take in the minutes and hours after a car accident directly affect the strength of your legal claim. Here is what you should do:

Call 911 and report the accident. Alaska law requires you to report any crash involving injury, death, or property damage exceeding $2,000. An officer will document the scene and create the official accident report.
Get medical attention. Even if you feel fine. Adrenaline masks pain. Whiplash, concussions, and internal injuries often do not present symptoms for 24 to 72 hours. A medical evaluation creates the documentation your case needs.
Document the scene. Photograph all vehicles, road conditions, traffic signs, skid marks, and visible injuries. In Alaska, note ice, snow, and visibility conditions. These are critical to establishing fault.
Exchange information with all other drivers. Collect names, phone numbers, insurance details, license plate numbers, and the names of any witnesses.
File Alaska Crash Report Form 12-209. If no officer responded to the scene and damage or injuries exceed state thresholds, you must file this form with the Alaska DMV within 10 days.
Notify your insurance company — but do NOT give a recorded statement without legal counsel. Anything you say can and will be used to reduce your claim.
Call an Anchorage car accident attorney. The sooner you have legal representation, the better we can preserve evidence, handle the insurance company, and protect your rights. Call The Brown Law Firm at (907) 222-9900.

We created a printable step-by-step checklist to keep in your glove box

Why You Need an Experienced Car Accident Attorney in Anchorage

Insurance companies are not in the business of paying you what your claim is worth. They employ teams of adjusters, investigators, and defense attorneys whose sole job is to minimize your payout. Their tactics are predictable: requesting recorded statements that can be twisted against you, offering fast lowball settlements before you understand the full extent of your injuries, delaying the claims process until financial pressure forces you to accept less, and denying legitimate claims by blaming pre-existing conditions.

You need someone fighting on your side. Attorney Sean Brown has spent more than two decades going up against Alaska’s major insurance carriers. He trained at the Trial Lawyers College founded by legendary trial attorney Gerry Spence, a program that produces attorneys who do not just negotiate, they try cases. Insurance companies know when your attorney is willing to go to trial, and they adjust their offers accordingly.

Alaska presents unique challenges that require local expertise. Short daylight hours in winter, icy and snow-packed roads for six months of the year, wildlife crossings, and remote crash locations that require emergency medevac — these are realities that out-of-state attorneys simply do not understand. Sean Brown has litigated car accident cases across Alaska, from Anchorage courtrooms to rural communities accessible only by bush plane.

Learn more about when you should hire a lawyer versus handling a claim yourself .

How Fault Works in Alaska Car Accident Cases

Alaska is a fault state, also known as a tort state. This means the driver who caused the accident is legally responsible for paying damages to the injured party. Unlike no-fault states where your own insurance pays regardless of who caused the crash, Alaska allows you to pursue a claim directly against the at-fault driver’s insurance, or file a lawsuit if the insurance company refuses to pay fairly.

Alaska’s Pure Comparative Negligence Rule

Alaska follows the pure comparative negligence rule under AS 09.17.060. This means your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault, but you can still recover damages even if you were mostly at fault. For example, if a jury determines your total damages are $100,000 and you were 20 percent at fault, you recover $80,000. Even at 80 percent fault, you can still recover 20 percent of your damages.

This rule makes Alaska more favorable to injured drivers than many other states, which bar recovery entirely if you are more than 50 or 51 percent at fault. However, insurance companies routinely try to inflate your fault percentage to reduce their payout. Having an experienced car accident lawyer anchorage who understands how to challenge fault determinations is critical.

How Fault Is Determined

Fault in an Alaska car accident is established through police reports, witness statements, accident reconstruction analysis, traffic camera footage, vehicle damage patterns, and electronic data from vehicle event recorders. In winter conditions, fault determination becomes more complex. Was the other driver going too fast for conditions? Was the municipality negligent in road maintenance or snow removal? These are questions Sean Brown investigates in every case.

Important: Alaska’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims is two years from the date of the accident (AS 09.10.070). Miss this deadline and you lose the right to file a lawsuit.

What Compensation Can You Recover After a Car Accident in Alaska?

Alaska law allows car accident victims to recover both economic and non-economic damages. The value of your claim depends on the severity of your injuries, the cost of your medical treatment, your lost income, and the degree to which the accident has affected your quality of life.

Economic Damages

Medical expenses: Emergency room visits, surgeries, hospitalization, physical therapy, prescription medications, medical equipment, and all future medical care related to the accident
Lost wages and loss of earning capacity: Income lost during recovery and diminished future earning ability if injuries prevent you from returning to your previous occupation
Property damage: Repair or replacement of your vehicle and any personal property damaged in the crash

Non-Economic Damages

Pain and suffering: Physical pain endured during recovery and any ongoing chronic pain resulting from the accident
Emotional distress: Anxiety, PTSD, depression, and sleep disorders are common after serious car accidents and are compensable under Alaska law
Loss of enjoyment of life: Inability to participate in activities you enjoyed before the accident, from outdoor recreation to daily routines
Loss of consortium: The impact of your injuries on your relationship with your spouse or family members

Punitive Damages

In cases involving gross negligence, such as drunk driving, extreme recklessness, or intentional misconduct, Alaska courts may award punitive damages. These are designed to punish the at-fault party and deter similar behavior in the future.

Alaska Medevac Costs

In Alaska, serious car accidents in remote or semi-remote areas frequently require emergency medevac flights. A single medevac transport can cost $50,000 to $150,000 or more. These costs are recoverable as part of your claim. If you or a family member was medevacked after a car accident, it is essential that your attorney includes these costs in the demand.

Learn who pays for medevac flights after a crash in Alaska.

Underinsured and Uninsured Motorist Coverage in Alaska

Not every driver on Alaska’s roads carries adequate insurance, and some carry none at all. Unlike many states, Alaska does not require drivers to carry uninsured motorist (UM) or underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage. If the driver who hit you has no insurance or insufficient coverage, your own UM/UIM policy covers the gap.

UIM coverage also applies to hit-and-run accidents where the at-fault driver is never identified. If you carry UIM coverage, you can file a claim against your own policy to cover medical bills, lost wages, and other damages.

What many accident victims do not realize is that UIM claims can be just as adversarial as third-party claims. You are negotiating against your own insurance company, and they are motivated to pay as little as possible. The Brown Law Firm regularly handles UIM disputes and knows how to hold Alaska insurers accountable to their policy obligations.

Types of Car Accident Cases We Handle in Anchorage

Our firm represents car accident victims across every type of collision that occurs on Alaska roads:

Rear-end collisions: The most common type of car accident in Anchorage, frequently causing whiplash and spinal injuries
Head-on collisions: Often fatal or catastrophic, particularly on two-lane highways like portions of the Seward Highway
T-bone and side-impact crashes: Common at Anchorage intersections, especially along Northern Lights Blvd and major cross streets
Multi-vehicle pileups: Chain-reaction crashes on the Seward and Glenn Highways during winter whiteouts and black ice events
Hit-and-run accidents: We pursue recovery through your UM/UIM coverage and investigate to identify the fleeing driver
Drunk and impaired driving accidents: Impaired drivers cause 17 percent of Anchorage crashes; punitive damages may apply
Distracted driving and texting accidents: Cell phone use is a factor in 22 percent of Anchorage car accidents
Moose and wildlife collisions: Alaska averages over 500 moose-vehicle collisions per year; Anchorage is in a high-density moose zone
Icy road and weather-related crashes: Ice and snow are a contributing factor in 26 percent of Anchorage accidents
Rideshare (Uber/Lyft) accidents: Insurance coverage in rideshare cases depends on whether the driver was logged into the app, en route, or carrying a passenger

For accidents involving commercial trucks, big rigs, or buses, see our Commercial Vehicle Accident page.

Leading Causes of Car Accidents in Anchorage and Alaska

Alaska’s driving environment is unlike anywhere else in the country. Understanding the causes of car accidents here requires local knowledge that national law firms simply do not have.

Winter Road Conditions

From October through April, Anchorage roads are regularly covered in ice and packed snow. Black ice, invisible to drivers, forms on bridges, overpasses, and shaded road sections. Municipal road maintenance crews cannot keep up with every storm, and negligent snow removal by the city or private property owners is a factor in many of the cases we handle.

Limited Daylight

In December, Anchorage receives as little as 5 hours and 28 minutes of daylight. Commuters drive to work in the dark and drive home in the dark. Reduced visibility dramatically increases accident risk, particularly for pedestrians and cyclists who may not be visible to drivers.

Moose on the Road

Alaska averages over 500 moose-vehicle collisions annually. A bull moose can weigh 1,500 pounds, and a collision at highway speed is often fatal. Anchorage sits in a high-density moose zone, and collisions spike during fall rutting season (September through November) and spring calving season (May through June).

Speeding, Distraction, and Impairment

Human error remains the leading cause. Speeding accounts for 35 percent of Anchorage crashes, distracted driving (primarily cell phone use) for 22 percent, and impaired driving for 17 percent. These causes often overlap — a speeding, distracted driver on an icy road is a catastrophic combination.

How commercial vehicle accidents in Alaska involve higher stakes and bigger insurance policies.

Why Injured Alaskans Trust The Brown Law Firm

When you hire The Brown Law Firm, you get Sean Brown. Not a paralegal, not an associate, not a call center. Sean personally handles every car accident case from intake through resolution. Here is what sets our firm apart:

20+ years of experience: Representing car accident victims across Alaska, from Anchorage courtrooms to remote bush communities
Trial Lawyers College trained: Sean attended the three-week intensive program founded by Gerry Spence, producing trial attorneys who are prepared to take cases to verdict when insurance companies refuse to pay fairly
Contingency fee: No fees unless we win. You pay nothing upfront and nothing out of pocket. Our fee comes from the recovery we secure for you.
Local presence, statewide reach: Our office is at 721 Depot Dr, Anchorage, AK 99501. We serve Anchorage, Eagle River, Chugiak, Girdwood, Palmer, Wasilla, Kenai, Kodiak, Bethel, Nome, and communities throughout Alaska.
We handle everything: From evidence gathering and accident reconstruction to insurance negotiations and trial, you focus on healing while we handle the legal fight.
Available 24/7 for emergencies: Car accidents do not happen on a schedule. Neither do we. Call (907) 222-9900 any time.

What Our Clients Say

“Sean is an outstanding lawyer. He has tried a number of very difficult cases throughout Alaska and obtained outstanding results for his clients. He is smart, tenacious, and will fight to protect your rights.” — David

“Sean Brown is simply one of the most talented lawyers in the country. I am most impressed with how much he cares about his clients. I highly recommend Sean.” — Kenneth

“Sean’s work ethic and his compassion to his clients are amazing. The trial skills that Sean developed at the Trial Lawyers College will serve any of his clients well. Any lawyer willing to spend three weeks working on their trial skills is worth consulting.” — John