Automobile Accidents

April 29, 2012

Drunk Driving Arrests Increase in Tennessee

The good news is that the overall crime rate in Tennessee has decreased. The bad news is that the report reveals that a total of 26,340 people were arrested for DUI in 2011, an increase from the 24,154 arrests made in 2010.

Here is some more data about those arrested from driving under the influence in Tennessee in 2011:

19,845 of those arrested were male and 6495 were female
22, 415 of arrestees were White and 3201 were African American
the age group with the most arrests was age 25-34 (both males and females)

Driving under the influence takes the lives of hundreds of people every year and injures many more. If you choose to drink alcoholic beverages, be sure to limit your alcohol consumption to an amount that will not impact your ability to drive safely.

April 17, 2012

Can Jurors Ask Questions At A Tennessee Auto Accident Trial?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I have been summoned to jury duty in civil court. Am I going to be able to ask questions of the witnesses at trial or do I just have to sit there and listen?

Relatively new changes to Tennessee law permit jurors to ask questions under certain circumstances. The judge will instruct you what to do if you want to ask a question.

Do not be offended if the judge refuses to ask the question you want to ask. The law of evidence prohibits a jury from considering some types of information. (For example, you cannot know that the person who is being sued has liability insurance that will pay any money owed. You also are not ordinarily permitted to know about settlement discussions.) In addition, the evidence may be presented at a later time in the trial and judge may want the evidence to be introduced at that time.

April 16, 2012

Holding a Negligent Car Driver Responsible For Payments in Excess of the Insurance Limits

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

The guy that hit me in my Lebanon, Tennessee car accident has limited insurance but I know he has assets. Can I get insurance money and then go after him individually for the difference?

In Tennessee most insurance companies will continue to defend their insured driver even if they have offered insurance policy limits but the injured party refuses to accept them because the value of the case is far more than the insurance available.

So, ordinarily you will have to determine whether you want or need the insurance money (if it is offered to you) or if you are willing to press for more money from the insured at-fault driver individually and thus wait to collect the insurance money.

April 13, 2012

Injuries and Deaths of Tennessee Bicyclists

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

This is the season when our streets and highways begin to be filled with bicycles.

Bicycles are treated like vehicles on our roadways and, in general, those operating bicycles have the same duties and responsibilities as those driving cars and trucks.

By the same token, bicyclists enjoy the same rights as other drivers. Thus, all drivers have a duty to exercise a proper lookout for bicyclists and to operate with due care when in the vicinity of a bicyclist.

April 10, 2012

Suing Local Governments in Car Accident Cases

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I was in a car accident caused a guy driving a dump truck for Springfield (Robertson County), Tennessee public works department. Can I sue the city and recover damages for the injuries I received?

Yes. In Tennessee, local governments cannot be sued under many circumstances but they can be sued if an employee driving a vehicle on the business of the city (or county) causes an accident and there is property damage or personal injury as a result.

However, the damages in such a lawsuit are limited to no more than $300,000 for any one person injured or killed in the accident and no more than $700,000 total if multiple people are injured or killed. Property damage claims are limited to $100,000.

April 9, 2012

What happens if I am partially at fault for the injuries I received in a car accident?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I was in a car accident in Dickson, Dickson County, Tennessee. A witness said the accident is partially my fault and partially the fault of the other driver. What happens if I am determined to be partially at fault?

Under Tennessee law, if a person who is injured negligently contributed to his or her own injuries the damages that can be recovered are reduced proportionately. This principle is part of our "comparative fault" law. The law "compares" the negligent conduct of each person or entity that contributes to cause an accident.

This is best explained by an example. Assume that Sally was hurt in an automobile accident that occurred at an intersection when Bill ran a red light and his vehicle hit the side of her car. Assume that the the case is not settled and a jury later determines that Bill is mostly at fault, but that Sally is also at fault because she was speeding. The judge will tell the jury to assign a percentage of fault to Bill and Sally, and the jury determines that the accident was 90% Bill’s fault and 10% Sally’s fault. (The fault percentages must always total 100%). Also assume that the jury determines that Sally’s total damages (medical bills, lost wages, pain, suffering, etc.) entitle her to compensation in the amount of $100,000.

April 7, 2012

Deaths from Tennessee Car and Truck Accidents Increase in 2012

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

Deaths from car and truck accidents in Tennessee have increased in the first three months of 2012, an unusual result given the general decline in accidents, injuries and deaths in the past few years.

238 people lost their lives on Tennessee highways in the first three months of 2012. In the same period last year, only 186 deaths were reported. The 52 additional deaths represents about a 30 percent increase.

The increase in the number of deaths is largely from automobile accidents. Death rates for accidents involving trucks are down slightly. Pedestrian deaths are also down from the same period in 2011.

March 20, 2012

What Happens If I Miss Physical Therapy Appointments After My Car Wreck?

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I got hurt in an accident and my doctor said I should go to physical therapy. The therapist is 20 miles away and it is very inconvenient to go to therapy. Plus, it doesn’t seem to do any good. Will it hurt my case if I just stop going?

First, let me suggest you set the thoughts about your legal case aside for a moment. Your doctor prescribed physical therapy because he or she thought it would help you. It might not. But it might. And the progress you see might be small. But you still need to go to physical therapy because you want to do what you can to reach a full recovery.

Going to physical therapy may not help your case, but not going as the doctor asked you to do could hurt your case. Insurance adjusters and jurors may conclude that you may not have been having the problems you say you were having (or are having) if you failed to follow your doctor’s advice. If you have to go before a jury in your case the jury will be told that it is your responsibility to minimize your damages.

March 15, 2012

Dividing Up Limited Insurance in Automobile Accident Cases

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

I was in a car wreck. My wife was also hurt in the wreck, as was a gentleman (Smith) in another car. The guy that caused the wreck only has $100,000 in liability insurance and he has no other assets. How will the $100,000 be divided?

First, the $100,000 will be paid only if all of the claims equal or exceed a total value of $100,000. Those who are injured in a wreck are not entitled to all of the insurance the at-fault driver has – they are only entitled to the amount demonstrated to be the value of their case. If the amount of the claim or claims is less than the amount of insurance, the insurance company gets to keep the difference. If the amount of the claims exceed the amount of the insurance, the insurance company need only pay the amount of the insurance and the injured persons have to pursue the excess funds from the individual who caused the wreck.

Let’s assume that your claim is worth $50,000, your wife’s claim is worth $50,000, and Smith’s claim is worth $100,000. Under these assumed facts, you would get $25,000, your wife would get $25,000, and Smith would get $50,000. In other words, each of would get a pro rata share of the total.

February 29, 2012

Claims Against Bars and Restaurants That Illegally Serve Obviously Intoxicated Persons

by The Law Offices of John Day, P.C.

The February 24, 2012 Tennessean contains this article about lawsuits against those who illegally serve alcohol to an obviously intoxicated person. The article found its way to Page One mainly because of this horrific accident just a few days earlier, when a person who was allegedly intoxicated drove the wrong way on the Interstate and hit and killed a person.

To suggest that bars and restaurants should not be held responsible for violating the law is ridiculous. The notion of “personal responsibility” doesn’t stop with the drunk driver – it also applies to those who illegally serve obviously intoxicated persons.

There is only one thing wrong with the current law – it is not strong enough to prevent bars and restaurants from serving people to drunkenness and beyond. It is unfair to require the person harmed by such conduct to prove the misdeeds “beyond a reasonable doubt” – a standard usually used for criminal cases. The liquor lobby got special protection for those who have acted illegally, but this law should be repealed and the normal “preponderance of the evidence” standard should be re-instated.