My brother killed our mother. My brother and I are her only children. Can I sue him?
Under Tennessee law someone has the right to sue your brother and it might be you. The act of murder under the criminal law is known as "battery" in the civil law. One who commits an act of battery must pay damages for the harm he or she causes.
Your father would have the right to file suit assuming he is still alive and was married to your mother at the time of her death.
I was hurt in an accident with a big truck. I live in Tennessee and the wreck occurred in Tennessee. My research has identified a bunch of out-of-state lawyers who say they specialize in my type of case. Can I hire an out-of-state lawyer to represent me in this case?
Yes, although the out-of-state lawyer must either have a Tennessee law license or must work with a Tennessee lawyer on the case.
The more important question is why would you hire an out-of-state lawyer to represent you? There is a real advantage to hiring a lawyer who is familiar with Tennessee law (the law of every state is a little different) and who knows the way our legal system works. There are some very good trucking accident attorneys in this state and thus it rarely makes sense to go to the trouble of finding an out-of-state lawyer to work on a case.
I was in an automobile wreck with a truck driven by a mail truck. The wreck happened on the interstate in Robertson County, Tennessee. Can I sue the driver and the Post Office for my injuries?
You can sue the Post Office, but there is a special process that must be followed. The Post Office can only be sued in federal court after the failure of a special claims process.
The law that gives you the right to sue the Post Office is the Federal Tort Claims Act. The claim must be filed within two years of the date of the accident. A special claim form must be used to file the case with Post Office. If Post Office rejects the claim or does not act on it within six months you will have to file suit in federal court.
I was hurt in an intersection wreck case about nine months ago. It wasn’t my fault. I have been waiting for over a year for the case to settle. I lost three months of wages and have had to pay some medical bills that were not covered by my health insurance. Can I get the insurance company to pay interest on my settlement? It doesn’t seem fair that they can delay my settlement and not have to pay interest.
Not under Tennessee law. Tennessee law does not permit the recovery of interest in personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits. Some states to have such a law and it encourages insurance companies to act more promptly and be more reasonable in their evaluation of cases.
The only exception to this rule is if you win a case. When you win a judgment is entered by the court you are permitted to recover interest. Interest accrues at the rate of 10% per year on the amount of the judgment that is unpaid.
I have a truck wreck case pending in Tennessee state court. My financial situation is bad and it looks like I have to file bankruptcy. What effect will that have on my personal injury case?
First, I urge you to talk to your personal injury lawyer before filing bankruptcy. This is essential.
Second, if you file bankruptcy you must list your pending lawsuit as an asset. Failure to do so will create a big problem for you. Then, you truck accident case lawyer must get approval of the bankruptcy trustee and the bankruptcy court to continue to represent you.
My neighbor and I have been fighting about my dog for years. My dog stayed in my yard, but it barked a lot because the kids in the neighborhood would torment it.
Anyway, I woke up this morning and my dog was dead. I looked in his dog bowl and there was some substance mixed in with the food. I took it to my vet and she said that the substance was rat poison and that my dog ate it and bleed to death internally.
I asked my neighbor about it and he just laughed. I went to the hardware store in town and the lady that owns it said my neighbor was in there two days ago and bought some rat poison.
I was hurt in a car wreck and I need a personal injury lawyer. How do I figure out which lawyer to hire?
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 can say that they do personal injury and wrongful death litigation, and it is left to the consumer to figure out what to look for in determining which lawyer to hire for your case.
We have created a Legal Guide that will help you conduct the right research and ask the right questions so that you can hire the best lawyer for your case.
I saw a car wreck last year. Apparently a lawsuit was filed and now they want to take my deposition. I got a subpoena saying I have to show up at some lawyer’s office and give a deposition. Do I have to do it?
Yes. There are a couple technical rules that the lawyer had to follow concerning proper notice of the deposition, proper service of the subpoena, selecting a proper location for the deposition, but assuming the lawyer did those things right then you have to show up unless you receive permission from the lawyer issuing the subpoena not to show up.
Sometimes lawyers will subpoena a person to a deposition only because the person refuses to have an informal meeting with them and discuss the case. If that is true in your situation, you may wish to meet with the lawyer and perhaps the deposition will be canceled. Remember, however, that there are probably at least two lawyers involved in the case and the lawyer for each of the parties to the case will want to know what you saw. So, it might actually be easier for you give a deposition.
I see all of these lawyers saying that they will give me a free consultation. What does that mean?
Lawyers are just like anyone else – they have only so much time in a given day. To make a living, many lawyers charge by the hour. Other lawyers charge a flat fee for a given service. Other lawyers charge a contingent fee, which means they get paid only if they win your case and, and the case is won, they take a percentage of the money they win on your behalf.
So, when a lawyer says that he or she will provide a free consultation it means that they will sit down with you, hear about your problem, and give you some initial thoughts about it, at no charge or obligation to you. This meeting gives you a chance to "interview" the lawyer and the lawyer the chance to interview you. At the end of the meeting you are free to decide that you do not want to hire the lawyer and, likewise, the lawyer may decide that he or she cannot help you with your problem.
My car was broadsided when another driver ran a red light. He reeked of pot, and the cops gave him a ticket for operating under the influence. I thought you could only get a ticket for operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol?
Marijuana affects one’s ability to operate a vehicle. Recently published research indicates that the when one is using pot that overall odds of a crash are 2.66 times higher than for those who were not using it.
Tennessee Code Annotated Section 55-10-401(a)(1) provides that
