Motorcycle Accidents

May 23, 2011

Why Can the State of Tennessee Only Be Sued For $300,000 in A Car Wreck Case?

I was badly hurt in a car wreck. The wreck was caused by a State of Tennessee employee driving a state vehicle. The State employee was working at the time. I have heard that the State’s liability is limited to $300,000. Is that true?

Yes, in Tennessee the State is responsible for the negligence of its employees who cause car wrecks but the State’s responsibility is limited to $300,000. If the negligent state employee hurts a whole carload of people the recovery is up to $1,000,000 but no one person may recover more than $300,000.

This is true regardless of the size of the medical bills, the lost wages, or the nature of the injury. The restriction on recoverable damages is based on a law passed by the Legislature.

October 4, 2010

There Was No Guardrail and I Went Off the Mountain!

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

I was driving in East Tennessee. A big truck came over the center-line into my lane and I swerved to avoid it. I lost control and went off the mountain. My friend who was in the car behind me saw the whole thing. He told me that I went through a hole in the guardrail and that the hole had been caused by another wreck nine months earlier that the State of Tennessee had never repaired. What are my rights?

First, if you can identify the trucking company and truck driver you would have a claim against them for crossing the center-line and forcing you off the road.

Second, even if you can’t identify the trucking company, you may have a uninsured motorist claim that you can assert against your own insurance company. Tennessee law permits you to make a claim on your own insurance when an unknown driver (called a "John Doe" driver) negligently causes a wreck. The fact that your friend saw the wreck is critical to being able to prove this claim.

August 9, 2010

The Other Driver Doesn’t Have Enough Insurance!

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

I was in a bad car wreck. I had $50,000 in medical bills and missed eight weeks of work (I make $800 per week as a mechanic). I am probably going to have to have another surgery. My doctor also says I will have arthritis for the rest of my life. I just found out that the person who hit me only has $100,000 of liability insurance. That is not enough for what he did to me. Can I force the person who caused the wreck to pay me out of his pocket?

A person or company is always liable for all of the harm they negligently cause. A person purchases insurance to reduce his or her own risk of coming out of pocket to pay for that harm, but if the harm caused exceeds the amount of insurance purchased he or she is liable for the rest.

The problem, of course, is collecting from a person who causes harm. To make a payment to the injured person over and above the amount of insurance the person who causes harm must have assets, income, or both. Many people have very few assets and insufficient income to make a payment to the person who they hurt. If pressed, these people will often just file bankruptcy and the bankruptcy court will discharge the obligation. (There are some exceptions to this. For example, the bankruptcy court will not discharge the lawsuit-related obligation of a drunk driver or a person who intentionally harms another.)