Tennessee Injury Law Center

September 7, 2012

Tennesseans Filing Lawsuits Now Face Up to $10,000 in Sanctions if Case is Dismissed

People who filed lawsuits in Tennessee may be hit with up to $10,000 in payment of a defendant’s attorney’s fees and costs if their lawsuit is dismissed on a motion to dismiss.

A motion to dismiss is a paper filed by a defendant to a lawsuit who seeks to dismiss a case before a trial or before any discovery. If the motion to dismiss is granted, the person filing the lawsuit may have to pay up to $10,000 in attorney’s fees and other costs incurred by the defendant in the defense of the case.

There are a couple of exceptions to this rule, but there is no doubt that the legislation increased the risk to Tennesseans who hire inexperienced lawyers to represent them in personal injury, wrongful death, or any other type of lawsuit in Tennessee.

September 6, 2012

Results of Jury Trials in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee in July, 2012

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

Interested in Nashville jury verdicts ? Here are the latest statistics from jury verdicts in all types of personal injury and wrongful death cases in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee for July, 2012.

There was one fraud case tried to a jury in July, and the defendant won the case.

And there was one medical malpractice case tried to a jury . My memory is that this case was tried twice before. This time, the plaintiff (a brain-damaged child) won $13,623,00). This is one of only two patient victories in medical malpractice cases tried in Nashville in 2012.

September 6, 2012

Is Pre-Judgment Interest Payable in Tennessee Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Cases?

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

No. Tennessee law does not permit the recovery of interest in personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits.

The only exception to this rule is if you win a case and a judgment is entered by the court you are permitted to recover interest. Interest accrues at the rate set by Tennessee statute per year on the amount of the judgment that is unpaid. The Tennessee General Assembly just lowered the amount of post-judgment interest, saving money for insurance companies and others.

The current post-judgment interest rate in Tennessee is 5.25%. Under the former law, the interest rate was 10%. The law changed July 1, 2012/

August 31, 2012

Injuries To Children From Riding in the Back of Pick-Up Trucks

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

Tennessee law provides that it is illegal for children under the age of 6 to ride in the bed of 3/4 quarter ton or less pick-up trucks while the trucks are being operated on any local, county or state road.

Exceptions are made for parades and similar events if the speed of the truck is less than twenty miles per hour and when the child is in the truck bed in connection with agricultural activities.

Tennessee counties are given the express right to enact ordinances to raise the age limit from 6 years of age to 12.

August 30, 2012

Safest Drivers in Tennessee

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

The 2012 Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report says that Chattanooga and Knoxville have better drivers than Nashville and Memphis.

Drivers in Chattanooga ranked 26th on the Best Drivers List, with drivers having an average of 11.4 years between accidents. This means that drivers in Chattanooga were 12% less likely to have an accident than the national average.

Knoxville beat out Chattanooga, ranking 9th on the national list. Drivers there had an accident on the average of every 12.2 years. Knoxville’s relative accident likelihood was 18.1% less than the national average.

August 29, 2012

Tennessee Auto and Truck Accidents Caused By Drivers Leaving Parking Lots

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

As car and truck accident attorneys serving people in Nashville and across Tennessee, we receive many calls every year from people who were injured when another driver pulled out of a parking lot and collided with the caller’s car on a public street.

Tennessee law has very strict rules concerning the responsibilities of a person who leaves a private parking lot and pulls into a public street. The law provides that the driver leaving a parking lot must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians and all vehicles approaching on the roadway. The failure to do so means that the driver is negligent as a matter of law and is legally responsible for harm caused by the error. This Legal Guide discusses the damages that may be recovered in Tennessee auto and truck accident cases.

If you or a loved one is injured in any type of motor vehicle accident, we would be honored if you would give us a call and allow us to help you. We have over 30 years of experience in this type of litigation, and will have an initial consultation with you at no charge (and no obligation) whatsoever. Call me, John Day, at 615.742.4880 or toll-free at 866-812-8787 to discuss your case or, if you wish, complete this Contact Form and we will promptly call you.

August 28, 2012

Blind Pedestrians Extended Protections Under Tennessee Law

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

Blind or visually-impaired pedestrians using a white cane or stick (or white cane or stick tipped in red) or guided by a guide dog or a dog with a blaze orange lease has the right-of-way while crossing any public street in Tennessee

Vehicles who seek such persons must bring their vehicle to a complete stop and take all reasonable precautions before moving the vehicle to avoid injury to the visually-impaired person.

Violation of this law is a Class C misdemeanor.

August 27, 2012

Pedestrians Injured in Crosswalks on Nashville, Tennessee Streets and Highways

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

Tennessee law offers special protections to pedestrians who are injured while crossing a Nashville street or highway within a crosswalk.

Ordinarily, people within the crosswalk have the right-of-way, and the operator of an automobile, truck, or other vehicle must yield the right-of-way. Of course, a pedestrian cannot suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield.

Tennessee law also provides that whenever any vehicle is stopped at a marked crosswalk or at any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection to permit a pedestrian to cross the roadway, the driver of any other vehicle approaching from the rear shall not overtake and pass the stopped vehicle. This law also protects pedestrians from injury.

August 23, 2012

Will The Insurance Company Settle My Case?

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

One of the most frequent questions the lawyers of our firm are asked by our clients is whether their Tennessee personal injury or wrongful death case will settle.

We explain that an insurance company for the at-fault party may not settle at all. In Tennessee the insurance company does not have a duty to settle your case and in fact does not even owe you a duty to fairly evaluate your case. The insurance company can settle a case, or not settle a case, on whatever timetable it chooses. The only thing that can force an insurance company to think seriously about settlement is an approaching trial date, which is why our firm, after giving an insurance company a reasonable time to settle a case, will file a lawsuit and ask the court for the quickest trial date we can obtain under all the circumstances.

However, if the insurance company wants to settle the case it needs to have information/ At an absolute minimum, the company needs the accident report, medical records and bills, perhaps some of previous medical records, proof of lost wages from an employer, and an understanding of how the injuries have impacted the injured person. To the extent there is a claim for permanent injury, future medical expenses, future loss of earning capacity, or other damages, the insurance company will need proof of that.

August 22, 2012

Why Has Some Lawyer Written About My Car Accident on His Blog?

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

Why do lawyers write blog posts that discuss someone else’s car wreck?

This lawyer is doing two things. First, he is hoping that the person who was injured in the wreck will Google the accident, find his post, and then hire him to help with all any potential lawsuit. This is direct marketing, pure and simple. There is no legal ethics rule that prohibits this conduct.

Second, this attorney is trying to put something on his blog to keep it current in the hope that it will rank higher in search engines like Google. Google likes new content. So, rather than write something substantive that actually will do readers some good, these lawyers write about accidents in an effort to inject the key words used in searches onto the Internet..