Tennessee Injury Law Center

September 22, 2015

Jail Time for Executive A Good Start

Yesterday, Stewart Parnell was sentenced to 28 years in prison for conspiracy, fraud and other federal charges that related to knowingly shipping out salmonella-tainted peanut butter that sickened and killed people. And all I can say is: it is about time. It is about time that corporate executives who make reckless or knowing decisions that ultimately kill people receive jail time.

“Just ship it.” That was Mr. Parnell’s response when notified of the problem by a plant manager. To be clear, this was not a case in which a company was unaware of a problem with their product. To the contrary, Parnell and Peanut Corp. of America knew the peanut butter was contaminated with salmonella. In fact, they covered up positive lab tests and shipped it out anyway. The result: 9 people were killed and 714 were sickened. Perhaps, Parnell’s sentence will send a message to corporate executives across the country that public safety comes before profits. Continue reading

September 9, 2015

Players’ Attack on Referee Offers Lesson on Civil Claim for Assault and Battery in Tennessee

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

You have probably seen it: the video of the two defensive backs targeting and intentionally hitting a referee. While an investigation is underway and criminal charges may be brought, let’s look at the incident from a tort perspective under Tennessee law. A tort is a legal claim for personal injury or wrongful death in which money damages are sought.

While many news outlets are indicating the local District Attorney is considering assault charges, the referee probably does NOT have a civil claim for assault, but he clearly does have a claim for battery. Let me explain why I say that. Under Tennessee law, a battery is an intentional act that causes an unpermitted, harmful or offensive bodily contact. In the video, the referee has his back to the two players and immediately after the play starts the players attack him. The hits are clearly a battery upon the referee. On the other hand, an assault is better explained as the threat and apprehension of a battery. In other words, a person is not guilty of assault unless the victim has a reasonable fear of imminent physical harm. Continue reading

September 2, 2015

DayCare Fails and 5 Tips to Avoid Them

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

This morning, I saw two troubling articles about daycare incidences. The first was a toddler who was covered in broken-skin wounds from being scratched multiple times and bitten 10 times in a single day. It is tough to look at the pictures. Look, I understand: kids bite. And if your kid attends daycare, do not be surprised if at some point they are either the biter or the bitten. But the pictures of this child go way beyond the norm and clearly indicate a lack of supervision by the staff.

The second story that riled me up this morning was about two daycare workers who instigated fights between children and then filmed it calling it a “fight club” like the popular movie. They even shared the videos on Snapchat. I would like to send those two daycare workers to a fight club with Ronda Rousey. But, I digress.

Since these two stories were about daycare fails and because September is baby safety month, here are 5 things you can do to help keep your child safe while at daycare. Continue reading

August 27, 2015

Five Things You Can Do To Improve Your Credibility in Litigation and in Life

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

I have been following the prep school rape trial involving Owen Labrie. Mr. Labrie stands accused of raping a 15 year-old girl as part of a ritual known as Senior Salute at St Paul’s School. Mr. Labrie claims he had consensual sexual contact with the accuser but denies having sexual intercourse. The accuser claims she twice told Mr. Labrie “no” but he persisted and ultimately raped her.

Throughout the trial, and especially in closing arguments, the credibility of the accused and accuser were front and center. While there was some other evidence including texts, Facebook messages, lists of girls Mr. Labrie was pursuing, etc., the reality is, like so many cases, this trial is largely a “he said” v. “she said”. In litigation, as in life, there are some key things you can do to maintain your credibility. So here are 5 crediblity boosters for life and litgation. Continue reading

August 25, 2015

Pina Coladas and Ashley Madison

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

Remember the old song? Escape by Rupert Holmes. The guy is lounging in bed with his significant other and reading the personal columns. He notices one that catches his eye and, because he is in a rut in his relationship, he responds. A meeting is set up, and when he shows up at the appointed time, it turns out that it was his girlfriend who he intended to cheat on had actually placed the ad. She appears at the rendezvous not knowing it was her lover who had responded and is equally, but happily, surprised: “they laugh for a moment and I said I never knew that you like Pina coladas and getting caught in the rain . . .” A happy ending; all is well.

Today, most folks looking to cheat in their relationship apparently don’t use the personal columns but instead 32 million of them turned to Ashley Madison. And after the hack of the company’s website, spouses around the globe are checking to see if their spouse was a user of the site. Doubtful there will be any happy endings. In fact, divorce lawyers are seeing an uptick in business. Continue reading

August 17, 2015

Five Simple Steps to Keeping Children Safe This School Year

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

School is officially underway. In Williamson County, today was the first full day for kindergarteners. In surrounding area schools, it is the first day of school for students. Time to be on the lookout for the littles as they wait at the bus stop, enter and exit the bus and walk to and from school. Here are a few things you can do to help keep children safe this school year. Continue reading

August 10, 2015

Just Telling It Like It Is

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

Recently, we were contacted by a woman who had sustained a broken elbow in an accident. She called our office and we reviewed her accident and her legal options with her. Given the circumstances of her accident, we told her we did not think we would be able to help her. But, we gave her some advice on what she could do to, at least, get the company to pay her medical bills. We later heard back from this woman who expressed her gratitude for us spending the time to talk to her and helping her find a way to get reimbursed for her medical bills. She ended her email by saying we had reshaped her opinion of personal injury lawyers.

Personal injury lawyers do get a bad name as ambulance chasers, sharks, etc. And to a large extent, some of our brethren have brought this on through a variety of practices including taking on too many cases causing them to neglect clients, airing tacky commercials with such catchy phrases as: “turn your wreck into a check”, unethically pursuing injury victims, etc. I could go on but I think you know the conduct to which I am referring. Continue reading

August 5, 2015

Is Your Dog Putting You At Risk of Getting Sued?

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

If you follow us on Google Plus or regularly read this blog, then you know our family recently acquired a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel If you don’t follow us on Google Plus, then let me first say you should and second let me introduce you to Lincoln Day. Lincoln is the love of my 7 year-old daughter’s life. Thankfully, we are past the potty-training stage and are now working on what is appropriate behavior when guests arrive at our house, how to properly walk on a leash, etc. As my daughter is finding out, owning a pet is a big responsibility.

Unfortunately, some pet owners do not take it seriously enough, so we thought we would outline, from a legal perspective some considerations and actions you should be prepared to take before taking on a pet. Continue reading

August 3, 2015

The Blood Test You Need If You Have A Suspected Brain Injury

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

Each year, more than 1.4 million people will suffer a brain injury from a car accident, fall, assault or some other cause. The brain is incredibly complex and so is the treatment of brain injuries. Primarily, physicians have relied upon CAT scans and physical symptoms such as loss of consciousness, dizziness, nausea, slurred speech, confusion and the like to determine the severity of the brain injury.

But both of those methods have their limitations. For instance, CAT scans can only detect if there is cranial bleeding. They are unable to detect damaged brain cells that are not bleeding. As for the physical symptoms, they may not always be detected or reported. For instance, in a car accident, a person may lose consciousness for a short period of time and regain it before any emergency medical personnel reach the scene. Or with a young infant who has not yet learned to talk, it would be difficult to know if the child was slurring its speech or was dizzy, etc. Continue reading

July 24, 2015

10 Things You Should Know If You Have An IVC Filter

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

Litigation is underway against the manufacturers of IVC filters. In particular, more than 100 cases have been filed against Cook Medical, and more than 400 cases have been filed against C.R. Bard, Inc. If you have an IVC filter, below are 10 things you should know. Continue reading