Articles Posted in Litigation Process

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has released information about Tennessee personal injury and Tennessee wrongful death cases filed and tried in Dickson County, Tennessee for the year ended June 30, 2012.

Here is the data;

• Total personal injury and wrongful death cases filed in court: – 52
• Total personal injury and wrongful death cases resolved in court – 62
• Total number of cases going to trial – 0
• Total number of jury trials – 0
• Total number of non-jury trials – 0
• Total number of cases in which damages were awarded – 0 (NA%)
• Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $1 and $99,999 – 0
• Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $100,000 and $999,99 – 0
• Total number of cases where damages awarded exceeded $1,000,000 – 0
• Total damages awarded in all cases – $0
• Average damages awarded – $0

There was not a single trial in a personal injury or wrongful death case in Dickson County, Tennessee in the year ended June 30, 2012.  Surprised?  You shouldn’t be.  Dozens of Tennessee counties had no personal injury or wrongful death trials during the same period, and others had one or two trials.  Even the second largest county, Davidson, had only 69 trials (47 of them jury trials) that year.  Shelby County had only 79 (47 of them jury trials).

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has released information about Tennessee personal injury and Tennessee wrongful death cases filed in Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee for the year ended June 30, 2012.

Here is the data;

• Total personal injury and wrongful death cases filed in court: – 1768
• Total personal injury and wrongful death cases resolved in court – 1958
• Total number of cases going to trial – 79
• Total number of jury trials – 47
• Total number of non-jury trials – 32
• Total number of cases in which damages were awarded 50 
• Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $1 and $99,999 – 35
• Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $100,000 and $999,99 – 11
• Total number of cases where damages awarded exceeded $1,000,000 – 4
• Total damages awarded in all cases – $40,443,910
• Average damages awarded – $808,878

These statistics show one of the great flaws of statistics.  The total damages awarded figure includes an award of $20,000,000 that was significantly remitted by the trial judge.  Thus, the average damages awarded" figure is skewed significantly.  Also note that the twenty-nine (29) cases in which the plaintiff received no damages is not included in the "average."

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has released information about Tennessee personal injury and Tennessee wrongful death cases filed in Knoxville  and Knox County, Tennessee for the year ended June 30, 2012.

Here is the data;

• Total personal injury and wrongful death cases filed in court: – 1044
• Total personal injury and wrongful death cases resolved in court – 1042
• Total number of cases going to trial – 45
• Total number of jury trials – 28
• Total number of non-jury trials – 17
• Total number of cases in which damages were awarded 17 (38%)
• Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $1 and $99,999 – 16
• Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $100,000 and $999,99 – 0
• Total number of cases where damages awarded exceeded $1,000,000 – 1
• Total damages awarded in all cases – $1,530,315
• Average damages awarded – $90,019

The average success rate for plaintiffs at trial in Tennessee was 38.49% for 2011-12. Thus, the win rate for plaintiffs in Knoville and Knox County was about the same as  the statewide-average.

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has released information about Tennessee personal injury and Tennessee wrongful death cases filed in Lebanon and Wilson County, Tennessee for the year ended June 30, 2012.

Here is the data;

• Total personal injury and wrongful death cases filed in court: – 126
• Total personal injury and wrongful death cases resolved in court – 156
• Total number of cases going to trial – 31
• Total number of jury trials – 7
• Total number of non-jury trials – 24
• Total number of cases in which damages were awarded 0 (30%)
• Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $1 and $99,999 – 7
• Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $100,000 and $999,99 – 0
• Total number of cases where damages awarded exceeded $1,000,000 – 2
• Total damages awarded in all cases – $21,404,341
• Average damages awarded – $2,640,434

The average success rate for plaintiffs at trial in Tennessee was 38.49% for 2011-12. Thus, the win rate for plaintiffs in Cookeville and Putnam County was slightly lower than the statewide-average.

 The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has released information about Tennessee personal injury and Tennessee wrongful death cases filed in Lebanon and Wilson County, Tennessee for the year ended June 30, 2012.

Here is the data;

• Total personal injury and wrongful death cases filed in court: – 156
• Total personal injury and wrongful death cases resolved in court – 144
• Total number of cases going to trial – 4
• Total number of jury trials – 2
• Total number of non-jury trials – 2
• Total number of cases in which damages were awarded 1 (25%)
• Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $1 and $99,999 – 0
• Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $100,000 and $999,99 – 0
• Total number of cases where damages awarded exceeded $1,000,000 – 1
• Total damages awarded in all cases – $2,459,878
• Average damages awarded – $2,459,878

The average success rate for plaintiffs at trial in Tennessee was 38.49% for 2011-12. Thus, the win rate for plaintiffs in Wilson County was a  lower than the statewide-average.

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has released information about Tennessee personal injury and Tennessee wrongful death cases filed in Hendersonville, Gallatin and the rest of Sumner County, Tennessee for the year ended June 30, 2012.

Here is the data;

• Total personal injury and wrongful death cases filed in court: – 220
• Total personal injury and wrongful death cases resolved in court – 199
• Total number of cases going to trial – 9
• Total number of jury trials – 1
• Total number of non-jury trials – 8
• Total number of cases in which damages were awarded 3 (33.3%)
• Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $1 and $99,999 – 1
• Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $100,000 and $999,99 – 2
• Total number of cases where damages awarded exceeded $1,000,000 – 0
• Total damages awarded in all cases – $532,969
• Average damages awarded – $177,656

The average success rate for plaintiffs at trial in Tennessee was 38.49% for 2011-12.  Thus, the win rate for plaintiffs in Sumner County was a little lower than the statewide-average.

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has released information about Tennessee personal injury and Tennessee wrongful death cases filed in Murfreesboro and Rutherford, Tennessee for the year ended June 30, 2012.

Here is the data;

• Total personal injury and wrongful death cases filed in court: – 432
• Total personal injury and wrongful death cases resolved in court – 566
• Total number of cases going to trial – 23
• Total number of jury trials – 9
• Total number of non-jury trials – 14
• Total number of cases in which damages were awarded 6 (26.0%)
• Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $1 and $99,999 – 6
• Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $100,000 and $999,99 – 0
• Total number of cases where damages awarded exceeded $1,000,000 – 0
• Total damages awarded in all cases – $209,662
• Average damages awarded – $34,944

The judges in Rutherford County are doing a good job of managing their dockets, as evidenced by the fact that more cases are being resolved than are actually being filed.  In the 2010-2011 year, 479 cases were filed but only 436 were resolved.  The number of trials also dropped  from a year earlier- in 2010-11 there were 20 trials (9 of which were jury trials).

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has released information about Tennessee personal injury and wrongful death cases filed and resolved in Williamson County, Tennessee for the year ended June 30, 2012.  

Here is the data;

• Total personal injury and wrongful death cases filed in court: – 264
• Total personal injury and wrongful death cases resolved in court – 240
• Total number of cases going to trial – 3
• Total number of jury trials – 3
• Total number of non-jury trials – 0
• Total number of cases in which damages were awarded  1 (33.3%)
• Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $1 and $99,999 – 1
• Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $100,000 and $999,999 – 0
• Total number of cases where damages awarded exceeded $1,000,000 – 0
• Total damages awarded in all cases – $2,000
• Average damages awarded – $2,000

Shocked?  Can’t believe that there aren’t more cases and more trials in Williamson County, a county of $185,000?  These numbers are not that unusual – Nashville and Davidson County have more filings (1382) and more trials (69) but remember that it has more interstate highways and other roads (and thus more traffic and more wrecks) and much more other economic activity that can rise to personal injury and wrongful death claims.

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has released information about Tennessee personal injury and Tennessee wrongful death cases filed in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee for the year ended June 30, 2012.  

Here is the data;

• Total personal injury and wrongful death cases filed in court: – 1,382
• Total personal injury and wrongful death cases resolved in court – 1,455
• Total number of cases going to trial – 69
• Total number of jury trials – 47
• Total number of non-jury trials – 22
• Total number of cases in which damages were awarded  35 (50.7%)
• Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $1 and $99,999 – 26
• Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $100,000 and $999,999 – 6
• Total number of cases where damages awarded exceeded $1,000,000 – 3
• Total damages awarded in all cases – $9,031,623
• Average damages awarded – $258,046

There a couple things of note about these numbers.  First, you are probably surprised that there are so few cases actually going to trial – only 69 in a year or less than 6 per month.  This is not only true in Nashville but across the state – the number of jury trials (and the number of lawsuits filed) has continued to decline.