Tennessee Injury Law Center

June 17, 2012

Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Against Hospitalists

Hospitalists are a relatively new phenomenon in the medical field and it logically follows that from time to time these doctors will be subject to medical malpractice lawsuits.

As doctors who care for patients in the hospital, the growth of hospitalists is the recognition that patient outcomes will be improved if there is a doctor on site coordinating patient care. This approach makes sense to us – the idea of trained doctors on-site seems to increase the likelihood that patient needs will be met and errors will be reduced. However, that does not mean that errors will not occur or that patients will not be injured by those errors.

One medical malpractice insurer, The Doctor’s Company, has done a study of the 113 claims against hospitalists it insures that arose from 2006-2010.

June 14, 2012

Damages in Burn Injury Cases in Tennessee

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

A person who suffers a burn injury in Tennessee as a result of the negligence of another person has a right to recover damages for their injuries. As Tennessee burn injury lawyers, we have represented many people who received burns in a variety of settings.

Tennessee law provides that a burn injury victim can recover damages for the following:

medical expenses
lost wages
pain
suffering
disfigurement
disability
loss of enjoyment of life.

If the burn injury results in future or permanent medical problems such as scarring, additional damages may be recovered for

June 13, 2012

Brain Injury During Childbirth – Deadline for Legal Action

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

Almost every day in Tennessee a child is born that suffered a brain injury during childbirth. Brain injuries can arise for many reasons, some of which can be prevented with prompt medical diagnosis and treatment and some of which cannot.

If you have a child you have suffered a brain injury during childbirth, it is important that you promptly contact an experienced Tennessee birth injury lawyer. Tennessee law provides that any lawsuit for birth injuries to a child must be commenced before the three-year anniversary of the act causing the injury. The failure to file statutory notice and file a lawsuit within the time period required will result in a loss of rights.

If the injury results in the death of the child, the lawsuit must be filed within one year of act causing the injury that later resulted in the death of the child. Contrary to the thoughts of some, the deadline is not one year from the date of death.

June 12, 2012

Help! I Was In A Car Wreck and Doctors Keep Calling Me!

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

As Nashville automobile accident lawyers, more and more people are telling us that after they are in a wreck they are getting calls from doctors offering their services. Most of these doctors are not medical doctors but rather chiropractors. And, some of these chiropractors tell the accident victim that they will refer them to a lawyer to help them get their medical bills paid and make a financial recovery from the accident.

How do the chiropractors know about the accident? They obtain accident reports and make telephone calls to the person they believe was not at fault.

I recommend that you stay away from these "services." I believe you are much better served – both medically and legally – seeing your regular physician or a specialist he or she recommends (or the emergency room recommends) than seeing a chiropractor who calls you after a wreck. If you do not have a regular physician, ask a friend or family member for a recommendation.

June 11, 2012

Why Do Some Tennessee Personal Injury Lawyers Charge Interest on Case Expenses?

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

The preparation and trial of a personal injury case requires the expenditure of time and money. Typically, personal injury lawyers work on a contingent fee, meaning that they do not get paid for their work unless they are successful.

The expenditure of money for case expenses is handled differently by different lawyers. Some lawyers make the client pay for medical records and deposition costs as they are incurred. This is relatively rare, but occurs. They do this because (a) they lack the money to advance the expenses for the client and / or (b) they lack confidence in the likelihood of success of the case and do not want to put their own money at risk. You should make every effort to find a lawyer to take your case who will not charge you for these expenses as they are incurred.

Other lawyers pay all of the case expenses as they are incurred and then deduct those expenses from the monetary recovery obtained in the case. In the event that the case is unsuccessful, these lawyers will either ask the client to re-pay the expenses or will waive expense reimbursement.

June 10, 2012

How Much Is My Case Worth?

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

Most, but not all, prospective personal injury clients what to know the value of their case when we meet them for an initial interview. This is almost always an impossible question to answer. Let me explain why

Tennessee law of damages in personal injury and in wrongful death cases includes several different factors that must be considered in evaluating a case. (Please see our Legal Guides for a discussion of Tennessee wrongful death damages and Tennessee personal injury damages.) At the time of our first meeting with a potential client, we will lack information about certain of the elements of damages that will permit us to make an informed judgment about the value of a case.

Let me give an example. Assume that a client has a torn rotator cuff and is scheduled for surgery. It is impossible to do a fair evaluation of that case until after the surgery and the physical therapy that will inevitably follow. Why? Because (a) the cost of the surgery and physical therapy is not known; (b) it is unknown whether there will be complications during or after the surgery (for example, a hospital-acquired infection) that will impact your medical expenses and recovery time; (c) your lost wages are not known; and (d) it is not known whether you will have any future limitations in the shoulder, which in turn impacts a claim for future medical bills, future loss of earning capacity, pain,suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life.

June 9, 2012

Jury Trials In Nashville, Tennessee Circuit Court in April 2012

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

Here are the results for civil jury trials that occurred in the Circuit Court for Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee in April, 2012.

The phrase "civil jury trials" includes jury trials in all cases except criminal cases. The statistics do not include jury trials that may have taken place in the Chancery Court for Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee. Personal injury and wrongful death trials rarely take place in Chancery Court.

There were 8 civil jury trials in Davidson County in April, 2012.

June 5, 2012

Middle Tennessee Motorcyclists and the Driveway Threat

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

One of the biggest risks presented to motorcyclists riding the beautiful roadways of Middle Tennessee are driveways.

Driveways present risks of several types to motorcyclists. The most obvious risk is that a car, truck, tractor or other vehicle will pull out onto the road and put the motorcyclist in danger, resulting either in a direct impact, forcing the motorcyclist in the other lane of traffic and the danger in that lane, or causing the motorcyclist to lay the bike down to avoid an accident.

The other risk is less obvious, but any person who has ever road a motorcycle knows exactly what I talking about: gravel on the roadway that washed off a gravel driveway or was pulled off the driveway by driveway traffic.

June 4, 2012

Medical Transport Accidents in Tennessee

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

The use of medical transportation vehicles is growing in Middle Tennessee. The elderly, people who live in poverty, and the disabled rely on medical transportation companies to take them to doctor’s appointments, physical therapy appointments, and other medical offices for various treatments and tests.

Many of these people need special care getting in and out of the vehicle. Those in wheelchairs need to be carefully and completely secured before the transport vehicle is moved. And, the drivers of these vehicles need to take special care to protect the riders, the majority of whom are in a fragile state of health.

Our law firm’s website has more information to assist those injured while a passenger in a medical transport vehicle.

May 30, 2012

Insurer Payments in Dog Bite Cases Increase

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

Insurance companies saw a 12% increase in costs related to dog bite claims in 2011, with the cost of an average claim increasing to almost $30,000.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, the largest writer of homeowners insurance in the U.S., paid out more than $109 million as a result of its nearly 3,800 dog bite claims in 2011. Dog bites accounted for more than one-third of all homeowners insurance liability claim dollars paid out in 2011, costing the homeowner’s insurance industry nearly $479 million.

For all insurance companies, the number of claims rose 3.3 percent from 15,770 in 2010 to 16,292 in 2011. However, there were fewer claims in 2011 than there were in 2003.