Mark Petro was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. The youngest of five children, four boys and one girl he credits his mother with sainthood! Mark has helped injured victims in Birmingham and across the state of Alabama, and at times nationally since 1989. Mark graduated from the University of Alabama in 1986 and from Cumberland School of Law in 1989.
Petro Law Firm
2323 2nd Avenue North
Birmingham, AL 35203
Mark is also the author of the LEA award winning book, The Truth About Personal Injury in Alabama: Secrets Insurance Companies Don’t Want You To Know. This book explains the injury claim process from the time of injury through the time the claim is resolved. Mark has been practicing law in Alabama since 1989 specializing in accident and injury cases, including motorcycle wrecks.
Since 1996, Mark has been honored with the highest possible ranking for a practicing attorney, an “AV” rating by Martindale Hubbell. This is something he is proud of because this rating is based on the opinions of lawyers he has worked against and Judges in whose courtrooms he has had cases.
The rating takes into consideration the standard of professional ability in the areas he practices, his expertise, nature of practice, and qualifications relevant to the practice of law. It signifies that he has reached heights of professional excellence and is recognized for the highest level of skill and integrity.
In his spare time Mark enjoys spending time with family and friends, playing golf, reading, watching Alabama football and basketball games, and teaching 7th Grade Sunday School. Mark is a son, brother, uncle, husband, and father to two beautiful daughters, Carlee and Allee, who he adores.
AV Preeminent Rated – Martindale-Hubbell®, Mark has earned this award annually between 1996 and 2019
Legal Excellence Award- Literary Distinction – Attorney Magazine, 2018
“I had a motorcycle driver who was driving down the road and suddenly came upon a pothole in the road. I call it a pothole but it was actually a hole that was dug by one of the local utilities where they were doing work underneath the road, and they left the jobsite without putting any kind of warning around the hole that was in the middle of the road.
So my client comes around a curve and he’s suddenly presented with this hazard in the road and doesn’t have a way to avoid it. So he’s about to run over it and which would lead to an accident, so what he does is he lays his bike down and gets injured from laying his bike down. I file a lawsuit against the local utility, and I find out that they have, unbelievably, they have no policy procedure for leaving any type of warning out for cars or motorcyclists.
We were able to settle that case, and ever since then whenever, locally when I’m driving around and I see where utility has done work on a road that now that they leave are orange cones or some type of warning device out to learn a motorcyclist or other vehicle drivers of that hazards. Looks like we made a change in the way the local utilities warned people whereas used to they didn’t use them.”
– Mark Petro
Do you need a helmet to ride a motorcycle in Alabama?
How do you get your motorcycle license in Alabama?
How is compensation from an accident determined in Alabama?
What should I do if I was partially at fault in an accident in Alabama?
What are common causes of motorcycle accidents in Alabama?
What should I do after a motorcycle accident in Alabama?
How long do I have to file a claim for a motorcycle accident in Alabama?
What insurance do I need to ride my motorcycle in Alabama?
What do I need for my motorcycle to be street legal in Alabama?
What got you involved with helping motorcyclists?
What can people expect when they call your office?
Will they be able to speak directly with an attorney with no Fee?
What got you involved with helping motorcyclists with their personal injury cases?
What do you do to support the Birmingham rider community?
Why are you the lawyer that I need to call for my motorcycle legal help?
If somebody is in the hospital or really hurt will you go to them?
Do you use investigators in your cases?
I've been practicing law here in Alabama since 1989 and I've represented a lot of folks injured in motorcycle accidents. Too often I see where a motorcyclist is injured severely in a motorcycle accident and there is not sufficient uninsured motorist coverage or underinsured motorist coverage.
I've felt a calling so to speak to educate motorcyclists on the importance of knowing more about uninsured motorist coverage and underinsured motorist coverage because there are so many motorcyclists out there that aren't aware that they don't have uninsured motorist coverage or underinsured motorist coverage or know what it means. So, I try to go out into the motorcycle community and educate motorcyclists on the importance of making sure they know what insurance coverage they have.
Well, the number one thing that they can expect when they call my office is empathy. I will only hire people to work in my office who are empathetic to those that have been injured. People who have been injured, especially in a motorcycle accident, usually the injuries are more severe than you typically see in an automobile accident, because there's not a lot of protection there on a motorcycle. So usually people who have been involved in a motorcycle accident are severely injured and I like to provide them with empathy.
I'd like to provide them with as much knowledge as we can, to provide them with something that will help them with the peace of mind during the difficult time that they're going through, to let them know that everything's going to be okay.
Anyone that calls my office and that's been involved in a motorcycle accident, I will be their attorney, and yes. They’re able to speak with me over the phone, they will meet with me and speak with me in person, and they will be able to communicate with me by email, text as well, so no, I am there for them and I am there to communicate with them when they need it.
So my practice is always helping those injured and any type of any type of accident case be it motorcycles, cars, trucks, so I've always enjoyed helping those injured due to no fault of their own, and you know with motorcyclists there's a bias out there against motorcyclists that just a lot of people think that you're riding a motorcycle that you're assembly risk and therefore if you're involved in an accident, even if it's no fault of your own, that you shouldn't be entitled to reasonable and fair compensation.
Which is contrary to what the law says, and why the law is written the way it's written is if you're at no fault of your own and someone else was at fault in causing your accident and injuries and you should be fairly compensated as the law provides.
And it's something we do as a member of NAMIL as we educate ourselves on how to help. What we try in these cases with the jury is to educate the juries on why motorcyclists are entitled to the same rules of the road someone in a car is entitled to, and it helps us to better select jurors who have that bias and make sure that they're not on the jury
Well what one thing that I've been doing recently is I've been providing classes. I've been setting up and paying for classes locally here in Birmingham to educate and to license motorcyclists on being first responders
If the unfortunate event that they are involved in an accident or riding with someone who's involved in a motorcycle accident, and that they are trying to provide first aid to that injured driver, you know what to do and what not to do as far as trying to render aid until you know the professionals arrived.
So, I've sponsored classes here at Harley Davidson in Pelham and I thought I've got two coming up this year as well this summer where I am sponsoring two classes.
One entry-level class on first responders, and then a ‘graduate’ so to speak class on educating first responders. So that's a couple things that I've done in the community, as well as to go out and teach at the dealerships on the importance of knowing about uninsured / underinsured motorist coverage.
Well based on my experience and in knowledge about motorcycle litigation I think that I have just much more experience than anyone else out there, and I just really enjoyed the motorcycle community. Attending these events with the motorcycle riders’ enthusiasts has been amazing.
I just like their heart, they're very good people, they're very down-to-earth people, they're fun people to be around and I like helping people a lot. Helping people that appreciate what we do.
Yes, so if someone's been involved in an accident on a motorcycle and they are unfortunately in the hospital, I will gladly go to the hospital to meet with them and answer any questions that they might have. I've been doing this for quite a while and I had no problem going to the hospital and meeting with them, I find that you usually get more out of a conversation with it being in person, as opposed to being over a phone or being by email or text.
I'd like to meet with them and just try to provide them with the support that they need and just try to provide them with some type of peace of mind, which is very important with what they're going through at that time.
Yes, we do we have investigators. I have one investigator on staff who's retired from the Birmingham Police Department, where he was with the Birmingham Police Department for over 30 years as a lead reconstruction expert. So, he's highly qualified, trained, and has tons of experience in reconstructing motorcycle accidents, automobile accidents, and trucking accidents.
Which is really important, because what a reconstructionist does is he goes out there after the fact, hopefully as soon as possible after the accident when the evidence is still fresh around the scene and he's trained to reconstruct the accident after the fact, and he uses a computer software model to do this. It's really neat, really interesting, and when we try the case, we can show the jury what actually happened at the time of the actual event.
Start your case review“I was referred by a friend to use Petro Law Firm on a motorcycle accident that I was involved in. Mark did a very good job taking care of every issue for me in a timely manner. I would recommend Petro Law Firm to anyone.”
Mark Mudryk
Mark is there when you need him. When I need legal help, I call Mark. If it is not his expertise, he always sends me to someone who can help and if it is one of his specialties he gets personally invested. I appreciate how hard he has worked for me past and will continue to use Mark when I have a need for legal guidance.
Ernest J. – Alabama
Mark Petro was a Godsend. We had a great professional relationship. He also exhibited a personal interest in me which I found refreshing. I have recommended Petro law to a friend and given the opportunity will do so again.
Ronald C. – Alabama
Mark Petro thank you for all of your help in assisting me with my case. It was a long process, but we got through it and your kindness and hard work is much appreciated. Thank you! I would definitely recommend your services to anyone who needs it!
Denisha Longs – Alabama
Start your case reviewI would like to strongly recommend Mark Petro as a wonderful personal injury lawyer. I was in a bad car accident that was not my fault in any way. Mark had to fight to get the compensation I deserved from two different insurance companies, one mine and one the other driver’s…
Linda Wright
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