Tennessee Injury Law Center

February 17, 2013

Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Statistics for 2011-12

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.

February 8, 2013

I Just Got Sued in an Automobile Accident Case. Now What?

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

If you received a summons and complaint (the documents which initiate a civil lawsuit in Tennessee) you need to immediately notify your insurance company that you have been sued. If you have already reported the claim, the insurance company will already have told you to whom you should send the papers. If you have not reported the claim, call your insurance agent and tell them that you have been sued. The agent will tell you what to do with the papers.

Your insurance company will hire you a lawyer who will defend you. If you don’t hear from the lawyer within 20 days of the time you contact the insurance company, call the insurance company (or agent) again and let them know you have not heard from the lawyer.

To understand more about the litigation process, read our Legal Guide called "Understanding the Steps in the Civil Litigation Process."

February 7, 2013

Fatalities on Tennessee Roads in 2012

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

Deaths on Tennessee roads increased in 2012 over a year earlier. Here is some of the key statistics as gathered by the Tennessee Department of Safety:

Total fatalities – 1022, up 85 from 2011
Teen driver involved in death – 115
Senior driver involved in death – 190
Rural deaths – 542
Urban deaths – 480
Pedestrians – 67
Large Truck Involved – 102
Bus Involved – 8
Motorcyclists – 139
ATV rider – 10

Is this number of deaths an anomaly? Unfortunately, it appears that they are not. The death rate for January 2013 is 6 people higher than it was in January 2012.

Don’t become a statistic. Wear a seat belt. Don’t drink and drive. Don’t text and drive. Drive defensively. Stay within the speed limit, reducing your speed in when required by traffic or weather.

February 6, 2013

What Is “Medical Payments” Insurance Coverage in Tennessee?

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

Medical payments insurance coverage, typically called "med pay," is a type of insurance coverage that is often a part of automobile liability insurance policies in Tennessee. It pays medical bills that arise out of an automobile accident, even if the accident is your fault. Medical payments coverage is typically $5000 or $10,000, although I have seen coverage as high as $25,000.

Med pay coverage can help you meet deductible and co-pays on your health insurance policy.

Most automobile insurance policies give the insurance company the right of subrogation if med pay is paid. This means that you get hurt in a wreck caused by someone else’s negligence and collect med pay benefits, you have to re-pay your insurance company if you collect monies from the person who caused the wreck. There are some legal limitations on this right – please be sure to ask an experienced Tennessee automobile car accident lawyer about your rights.

February 5, 2013

How Much Does Uninsured Motorist Insurance Cost in Tennessee?

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

The price of uninsured motorist insurance is a bargain for Tennesseans, given that some 24% of drivers in Tennessee do not have any automobile liability insurance whatsoever.

What is automobile liability insurance? It is insurance that the owner of a car purchases to pay for losses caused by negligent operation of the vehicle.

Tennessee requires that each car have no less than $25,000 / $50,000 in liability insurance. That means that in the event of a personal injury or wrongful death to a person caused by the negligent operation of the vehicle by the driver the insurance company may be required to pay up to $25,000 to that person. If multiple people are harmed, the insurance company may be required to pay up to $50,000 in damages to all people who are harmed but no more than $25,000 per person.

February 4, 2013

How Long Will It Take To Get My Personal Injury Case to Trial in A Tennessee Federal Court?

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

One question asked by many people with Tennessee personal injury or Tennessee wrongful death cases is how long it will take to get their case to trial. There are lots of variables that impact the answer to that question, including whether the case is in Tennessee federal court or Tennessee state court and then in which federal or state court the case is pending. The complexity of the case also makes a material difference, as does the number of parties who bring suit or who are sued in the case.

The federal government recently released statistics about how long it gets a civil case to get to trial in federal court in Tennessee and the rest of the nation.

First of all, it is important to note that most cases do not ever get to trial – they are settled or otherwise resolved before trial. Here are the statistics for the average (median) time to get an average civil case resolved in Tennessee federal court:

February 2, 2013

Consumers Doing Legal Research on the Internet

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

The National Conference of State Legislators has a list of the laws of each state that addresses whether carbon monoxide detectors that will help prevent carbon monoxide poisoning are legally required by statute.

This list of laws should be a starting place, not an end point, for research. For example, the list does not include a new law in Tennessee that mandates the use of functioning carbon monoxide detectors in certain recreational vehicles. Likewise, it is possible that state regulations (not statutes) and local ordinances can require the use of carbon monoxide detectors in certain settings. More importantly, the fact that a statute or ordinance does not require carbon monoxide detectors does not mean that the duty to use reasonable care may not require them under the circumstances.

The NCSL’s website is just one example of the limitations of attempting to do legal research on the Internet. I encourage consumers to educate and thus empower themselves by any means, including Internet research, but if you have a true legal issue that will materially affect you please consult with a qualified lawyer.

January 31, 2013

Why Is It So Difficult to Find a Lawyer to Handle a Dental Malpractice Case?

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

I have represented patients in medical malpractice (now called health care liability) cases in Tennessee or over 31 years. I have represented patients against a wide variety of health care providers, from pathologists to neurosurgeons, hospitals to nursing homes, dialysis centers to public health clinics. I have had relatively few cases against dentists, and relatively few dental malpractice cases are filed in Tennessee. Why are there so few dental malpractice cases?

Because most "errors" by dentists result in problems that do not give rise to a major medical issue that justifies the time and expense of litigation. Most cases involve a single lost tooth, nerve damage that is uncomfortable but not disfiguring or has a significant impact on life, or similar issues. I am not minimizing these injuries – I am simply saying that this type of injury frequently does not rise to the level that justifies the time and expense of a professional liability lawsuit.

Professional liability lawsuits are aggressively defended. Expensive experts are required in virtually every case. These factors impact the ability and willingness of lawyers to accept cases with minor injuries.

January 30, 2013

Jury Trials in Personal Injury Cases in Circuit Court in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee in November 2012

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

There were two personal injury jury trials in Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee in November 2012.

One trial was an automobile case that resulted in a jury verdict of $10,762. The second case also involved an automobile accident. The jury verdict in that case was $2500.

The number of jury trials in November was slightly below normal. Typically, there are between three and four jury trials per month in the Circuit Courts of Nashville and Davidson County.

January 29, 2013

What Are the “Case Expenses” Charged By Lawyers Who Accept Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Cases on A Contingent Fee Basis?

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

Lawyers who work on personal injury and wrongful death cases in Tennessee and other states often work on a contingent fee. These lawyers also often include a provision in the fee agreement with a client that addresses the subject of litigation expenses. This post addresses the topic of litigation expenses, and will educate potential personal injury and wrongful death clients what types of litigation expenses they will be asked to pay.

At the outset it is important to remember that the fee agreement with the lawyer controls the amount and basis of the attorney fee and will address the subject of litigation expenses. The vast majority of personal injury and wrongful death lawyers advance all litigation expenses and expect that the litigation expenses will be repaid at the end of the case if the case is successful. Some lawyers advance litigation expenses and expect to be repaid the expenses whether or not the case is successful. Other lawyers do not advance the expenses of litigation or will agree to fund only a certain amount of litigation expenses.

Litigation expenses often include the following types of expenditures: