1. What is a personal injury?
Answer: A personal injury is an injury to a person caused intentionally or by the negligence of another.
2. What types of personal injury cases are there?
Understanding Claims Relating to Children
INJURY TO A CHILD:
1. My child has been injured. How long do I have to bring a lawsuit on behalf of my child?
Answer: Under the law in Tennessee, there are time limits on which any person can bring a lawsuit against another. The general rule is that a child has until one year after his or her eighteenth birthday to bring a lawsuit to recover for a personal injury. Some people argue, however, that a parent’s claim for medical expenses incurred on behalf of the child must be filed by the parent within one year of the incident causing the injury, and thus it makes sense to consult with a lawyer promptly about any injury to your child that you believe was caused by someone else’s negligence.
Understanding Automobile Wreck Cases
1. What duties do drivers owe to other people on the road?
Answer: Drivers owe other persons upon the roadway a duty to use reasonable and due care in the operation of their vehicles so as to avoid injury to other persons using the roadway. This includes keeping a proper lookout, maintain proper control of the vehicle, turning appropriately, stopping appropriately, and maintaining an appropriate speed. A driver also has a duty to follow state laws and local ordinances in operation of their vehicle. One example of a state law that drivers must follow is that it is illegal to operate a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
Common carriers (those that carry passengers for hire, such as buses and taxi cabs) are held to a higher standard of care. They must exercise the highest degree of care for their passengers’ safety.
Understanding What Happens At The Trial Of A Personal Injury Or Wrongful Death Case
This Legal Guide will explain the various steps that take place during the trial of a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit in Tennessee.
1. Jury Selection
Most of the trials in personal injury and wrongful death cases in state court in Tennessee are jury trials. The jury panel consists of thirty to sixty residents of the county where the trial is taking place.
Understanding The Steps in the Litigation Process
1. Is there a deadline to file a lawsuit?
Answer: Yes. Statutes of limitation passed by our legislature limit the time to file a lawsuit in all types of cases. The length of time varies depending on the type of case. In most instances you have one year from the date of the incident causing injury to bring a lawsuit, although shorter time limitations apply in some types of cases. There are other laws known as “statutes of repose” that provide absolute deadlines on filing lawsuits. This type of law may result in you losing your rights before you know you have suffered an injury. Given the many factors that must be considered in determining your specific deadline to file a lawsuit, the best course of action if you believe you have a potential legal action is to contact a lawyer immediately. Our firm will meet with you at no charge to help you determine if you have a claim and help you understand what deadline for taking action actually applies in your case.
2. How do you initiate a lawsuit?
What Are My Obligations As A Client?
The lawyer / client relationship is a special one and, just like the lawyer has certain obligations to the client, the client must do certain things to assist the lawyer in the representation. We expect the following of our clients:
- You have an obligation to tell your lawyer the truth.
- You have an obligation to tell your lawyer the truth even if you think it will hurt your case or the truth embarrasses you.
Understanding Attorney’s Fees And Expenses In Personal Injury And Wrongful Death Cases in Tennessee
1. Do I have to pay a consultation fee to meet with a lawyer about my personal injury or wrongful death case?
Answer: At The Law Offices of John Day, P.C., we never charge a consultation fee to a potential client who consults with us about a personal injury or wrongful death case. This is true for virtually every lawyer who regularly does personal injury or wrongful death cases, although it would always be wise to ask about the need to pay a consultation fee before meeting with any lawyer about any type of legal matter.
2. How do lawyers charge in personal injury and wrongful death cases?
What Should I Know Before I Hire A Lawyer In My Personal Injury And Wrongful Death Case
If you look around it seems like there are thousands of lawyers who say that they handle personal injury and wrongful death cases. In Tennessee and many other states, any lawyer, regardless of their experience, can say that they do personal injury and wrongful death litigation. Thus, it is up to the consumer to figure out who should he or she should turn to for legal representation.
This Guide will help you conduct the right research and ask the right questions so that you can hire the best lawyer and law firm for your case.
1. Is the lawyer a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers?
About the Law Offices of John Day’s Legal Consumer Guide Series
The lawyers at The Law Offices of John Day, P.C. have prepared several legal guides to provide you with general information about the work we do and the legal system. We believe that it is important that everyone, not just our clients, have an understanding of personal injury and wrongful death law and the way our civil justice system operates.
We add, of course, that none of these guides are a substitute for advice given by a competent lawyer who has been made aware of all of the relevant facts of a given situation. Therefore, while you can read these guides to learn general information, do not rely on them as legal advice for any particular legal problem. This is particularly true when we discuss the deadlines for filing lawsuits (statutes of limitation). These rules can be extremely complicated, and you would be making a big mistake to make any decision on when a legal deadline actually ran in a case based on the general statements in these legal guides.
We will be happy to meet with you and discuss representation of you for any type of personal injury or wrongful death case. To arrange an in-person or telephone meeting, send me an email at jday@johndaylegal.com. However, if you are currently represented by a different law firm, please know that we cannot answer questions about your case. The legal ethics rules provide that one lawyer cannot give advice to another lawyer’s client without the knowledge and consent of the current lawyer. We honor this rule.
Case Expenses in Personal Injury Litigation
I was hurt in a car accident. I talked to a lawyer and he sent me a proposed contingency fee agreement. The agreement says that I have to pay the expenses he incurs in prosecuting my case and that interest accrues on the expense money. Is this normal?
It is normal for a lawyer handling a contingency fee case to ask the client to re-pay the lawyer for the money spent on case expenses out of any settlement achieved in the case. It is not normal, however, for lawyers to charge interest on the expense money they advance for case expenses, although it seems like more and more lawyers are charging interest.
The lawyers who charge interest may have a contract with a private company that charges them interest, and then they pass the interest that they pay while the case is pending onto you as their client. The interest rate may be very high – much higher than the “prime rate.” The lawyer does not profit from this, but simply passes the cost of the interest on to you.