Injury Cases

March 13, 2012

Am I Responsible When Someone is Injuried in My Home?

Someone fell at my house and got hurt. Am I responsible for their injuries?

That question is more complicated than it appears. The first advice I would give you is to notify your homeowner’s insurance company and advise them of the incident. If you have insurance coverage on your home the insurance company will investigate the incident for you and hire a lawyer (at its expense) if it becomes necessary.

As I said above, the answer to your question is complicated and depends on the facts. Generally speaking, you are responsible for the injuries only if you created the hazard that caused the injuries or if you knew or should have known about the hazard and did not timely repair it or effectively warn of it.

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 The liquor lobby got special protection for those who have acted illegally, but this law should be repealed and the normal “preponderance of the evidence” standard should be re-instated.

February 22, 2012

Are Tennessee Attorneys Required to Have Malpractice Insurance?

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

Do attorneys in Tennessee have to have legal malpractice insurance?

No. There is no requirement that attorneys in Tennessee have legal malpractice insurance.

However, responsible lawyers purchase malpractice insurance to protect their clients from losing money in the event that the lawyer makes an error. Lawyers, like anyone else, can make errors in the work they do for clients. Most of those errors do not result in any demonstrable loss to their clients, but from time to time errors that cause losses occur. In those cases, malpractice insurance is there to protect the client from financial harm.

December 6, 2011

Burn Injuries From Instant Soups – Is There a Products Liability Claim?

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

Instant soups are causing serious burn injuries, particularly to children.

A recent report by NPR reveals that instant soups are dangerous because of the way the cups are designed. The cups are tall, lightweight, and have an unstable base that makes them tip over easily.

NPR "learned that [burns from instant soups" is a common phenomenon, with children being the most frequent victims. Eight of the 12 hospitals said they see the injury several times a week. One hospital located in Washington D.C. says they regularly see 5-6 patients a week with the injury, especially during the colder months."

December 6, 2011

Another Operating Room Fire

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

We wrote about fires in the operating room just a few weeks ago. Now, it has happened again, this time to a woman who has having surgery in a Florida operating room.

Our earlier post about operating room fires contained lots of information how the 650 or so operating room fires could be avoided. These incidents are an outrage, and the fact that they continue to occur is an outrage.

If you or a family member are injured in an operating room fire, please contact our office for a free consultation. John Day has been representing Tennessee medical malpractice victims for over 30 years.

October 4, 2011

Lawyer Did Not Respond To Motion For Summary Judgment And I Lost. Can I Sue Her?

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

I had a case pending in Circuit Court in one of the counties in Middle Tennessee. The defendant filed a motion for summary judgment and my lawyer forgot to respond on time so the judge dismissed my case. Can I sue my lawyer for not filing papers on time to keep my case alive?

Assuming that your lawyer had proper, timely notice of the motion for summary judgment and she was still representing you at the time the papers were due, she should have filed a response to the motion for summary judgment assuming that there was a good faith reason to oppose it. A lawyer cannot oppose a motion unless there is a good faith basis in the facts and / or the law to oppose it.

If you sue the lawyer, you will have to prove that (a) the lawyer should have filed on response; (b) the failure to file a response caused you to lose the motion; (c) if the case had not been dismissed you would have won the case; and (d) the amount of damages you would have won.

August 9, 2011

How Many Jurors Must Agree in a Slip and Fall Accident Case?

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

I am involved in a slip and fall accident case in Tennessee state court . How many jurors must agree to a given result?

Unless the parties to the lawsuit agree otherwise, twelve jurors will decide the case and all twelve must find in favor of the plaintiff (the person bringing the lawsuit) or the defendant (the person or entity that has been sued.) If less than twelve people agree on the outcome, the judge will declare a mistrial and the case will have to be tried again.

June 28, 2011

What Happens When a Lawyer Messes Up?

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

My lawyer missed the deadline for filing my lawsuit. What are my rights?

You may well have a case against your lawyer. To prove that case, you have to prove that the lawyer should have filed the case on time and, if he or she had done so, you would have prevailed in the case.

So, you really have two separate cases. First, you have to prove the lawyer’s error. Second, you have to prove that you would have won the underlying case and the the amount of damages you would have won. If your original case had no merit, your case against the lawyer will not be successful. Why? Because the lawyer’s failure to file your case on time did not cause you any damage – you would have lost the case anywhere.

May 24, 2011

My Lawyer Messed Up And Did Not File Lawsuit on Time!

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

I was hurt in a car wreck in Lebanon, Tennessee last year. I hired a lawyer two months after the wreck. He called me last week, and told me he forgot to file my lawsuit on time. He said he filed it late and hopes that the other side won’t say anything but that if they figure it out my case will be dismissed. What do I do now?

Your lawyer did the right thing by telling you that he made an error. The failure to file a lawsuit within the one year period required by Tennessee law is legal negligence absent extraordinary circumstances not apparent from your question.

You need to hire a different lawyer to help you evaluate your case and, if necessary and appropriate, assert a claim against the lawyer. To prove your case, you will need to prove that the lawyer committed malpractice by not filing the case on time. You will also need to prove that more likely than not you would have won the underlying case (the care wreck case). Lawyers refer to this second case as "the case within the case."

May 13, 2011

Sexual Relationship With Therapist

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

I have been seeing a social worker for martial problems. The therapist asked me all sorts of questions about my sexual history and found out that I had been raped when I was in college and that I have had a bunch of issues with sex since then. He came on to me and we have had a sexual relationship for the past four months. My husband just found out about it and is furious. I am now seeing a psychologist and having a bad time. The psychologist has said that it was professionally inappropriate for the social worker to have a sexual relationship with me. What are my legal rights?

Tennessee law would permit you to bring a malpractice case against the therapist for his conduct. You would have to prove that it was inappropriate for the therapist to have a sexual relationship with you, and would need the testimony of another therapist to establish that (unless the therapist admitted was he did was wrong).

The issues in these cases can become very complex. If you want to pursue this matter, contact an experienced lawyer as soon as possible. Tennessee has deadlines for taking legal action in this type of case.