Articles Posted in Lawsuits Arising From Criminal Conduct

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In California, a man has been charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter after his car left the freeway at a high rate of speed, ran a red-light and struck another vehicle killing two people. After the accident, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) confirmed that Autopilot was in use in the Tesla at the time of the crash.   The NHTSA has categorized these types of crashes as “automation complacency”.  This raises the questions of: why are drivers being complacent and who is to blame? Continue reading

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On this day in 1904, Henry Ford set a land-speed record of 91.37 miles per hour in Michigan.  A lot has changed since then.  Ninety-one miles per hour is hardly a record.  In Nashville, you can find folks doing that speed during rush hour on Interstate 65.  But like so many of our decisions and actions, drivers that speed are not just placing themselves at risk but others on the road as well.  Do you know how many accidents were caused by speeding last year?  More importantly, how do you keep you and your loved ones safe on the roadway? Continue reading

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The first person ever arrested for drunk driving was a man named George Smith.  According to the History Channel, on September 10, 1897, Mr. Smith, a young taxi driver, got drunk and then drove his taxi into a building.  124 years and 6 days later, drunk driving continues to be a problem on roadways.   That is why The Law Offices of John Day continues to offer safe ride homes, and we are excited about our current free rideshare program with Middle Tennessee State University. Continue reading

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In Tennessee, for every 100,000 drivers, 10.19 engage in street or drag racing, and street racing is on the rise.  In some areas of our State, police calls about street racing have more than doubled in two years.  For example, in Memphis, in 2018, there were 843 calls about drag racing in 2018.  In 2020, reported incidences of drag racing had jumped to 1,973. The Tennessee Legislature has recently enacted new legislation to combat this dangerous practice and we have some tips on what you can do. Continue reading

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A recent New York Times article discussed how the health care industry was attempting to teach medical professionals the art of “radical listening”.   What is radical listening?   And why is it so important especially for professionals like doctors and lawyers. Continue reading

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Let’s face it, the pandemic is leaving an indelible mark on almost everything, so there is no reason to believe jury awards in injury and death cases will be any different.  Jury and trial consulting firms have been conducting surveys since the inception of the pandemic and they have some theories on how the pandemic will affect the amount of jury awards, how it will impact medical malpractice cases and whether it will generally be better for the defendant or the injury victim.

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Last week, news outlets reported road rage was likely the reason for the December murder of Nashville nurse, Caitlyn Kaufman who was shot and killed while driving to work.   According to court testimony, the shooter was angry with Ms. Kaufman because she allegedly cut him off.   This story is so tragic but unbelievably the use of a firearm is fairly common in road rage incidences (37% of them) even if the firearm is just brandished.  In most instances, a perceived or actual slight on the road boils over into road rage due to a driver’s stress in other areas of life.  Unfortunately, most of us are under stress right now due to the pandemic so, now more than ever, we need to be aware of what are the most common triggers of road rage, how to avoid them and what to do if you are involved in a road rage incident.

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Right now on Amazon, for $18.95, you can buy a large neon yellow sign with bold black lettering that that reads: “Not responsible for cars or personal property lost or stolen or for injury to persons, car or personal property on premises.”   Just imagine, for less than $20, you can insulate yourself from all liability to anyone for anything.  Why doesn’t everyone have one?  Attempting to avoid blame or responsibility is nothing new.  As my husband has aptly stated, Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent.  But can individuals and businesses avoid responsibility for the harm they cause by simply posting a sign or having folks sign a broadly-worded release? Continue reading

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Well, we could all certainly use some more beauty in our lives these days.  We often think of beauty as a physical attribute but it is so much more.  Kindness is beautiful, justice is beautiful, truth is beautiful, courage is beautiful and so many more things.  In honor of National Make Life Beautiful Day, we wanted to announce another give-away from our office.  On June 27th, we are going to be giving away 1,000 washable cloth masks from the parking lot of our Murfreesboro office.  Just drive through and get a free mask.  More details are below.  In addition, below are some easy suggestions on how you could make life beautiful tomorrow, and we would love for you to comment with some suggestions of your own. Continue reading

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If you need further proof of these strange times, Memorial Day weekend may be Exhibit No. 15,643,782.  For decades, AAA has issued travel forecasts for Memorial Day weekend, but it will not this year because all of the normal predictors it uses for its models are not reliable in the face of the pandemic.  So what do the experts think this Memorial Day weekend will look like travel-wise? Continue reading

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