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I was looking on the Internet for a personal injury  lawyer and I see some lawyers say that they are members of the "American Association for Justice."   What does that mean?

The American Association for Justice is a voluntary, national bar association that is made up of lawyers who tend to represent persons who were hurt in car wrecks,  hurt by defective problems, or hurt by poor medical care.   The state affiliate of the national group is the Tennessee Association for Justice.  Like the  Tennessee Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and  various other "associations," ,ere membership in these organizations tells consumers virtually nothing about a lawyer’s competence – all one needs to join these organizations is a law license and the money to pay the dues.

However, active membership in a bar association tends to indicate that the lawyer is interested in advancement of his or her profession. This is a relevant factor to be weighed by consumers because it indicates a passion for the law. A lawyer who has been active in bar associations will list those activities on his or her website. Those that do not list activities probably have not been active and are probably just dues-paying members.

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I was in a car wreck and spent four days in the hospital because of the injuries I received.  I also will need several months of physical therapy.  When I got out of the hospital I updated my status on my Facebook page.  A friend of mine e-mailed me and said I should be careful about what I post on Facebook about the car accident and my recovery.   Is she right? 

Yes, but not just because you had a car accident.  What you say on social media is there to stay.  Forever.  People who read it will make certain judgments about you based on what you said on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media outlets.  Thus, one should always use good judgment when utilizing social media.

This is also true after you have been in an accident of any type.  Your adversary will read your social media page.  Your adversary will look at your photographs and videos.  Your adversary will be looking for inconsistent statements or other documentation that indicates that your injuries are different than you claim or affect you differently than you maintain in a lawsuit.  The inconsistency may be minor, but your adversary will try to make it look like a lie.

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I have heard about a movie called "Hot Coffee" and that it discusses that crazy case where the woman spilled coffee on herself and got a bunch of money from McDonald’s.  Who made a movie about that? 

Susan Saladoff did.  Susan is a lawyer from Oregon who felt inspired to tell the real story about what happened to Stella Liebeck, the Albuquerque woman who spilled coffee on herself and sued McDonald’s, while exploring how and why the case garnered so much media attention, who funded the effort and to what end. 

Susan explains that 

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I was in court recently and the judge asked a man he called the "bailiff" to hand a witness a piece of paper.  What is a bailiff?

A bailiff is a court employee who provides security for the judge and helps the judge maintain order in the courtroom.  He or she also may hand papers from a lawyer to a witness or from a witness to the jury.

The bailiff is also the person usually entrusted with the job of escorting the jury from the courtroom to the jury deliberation room and for passing questions from the jury to the judge.

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I was hurt in a boating  accident. I talked to a lawyer and he sent me a proposed contingency fee agreement.  The agreement says that I have to pay the expenses he incurs in prosecuting my case and that interest accrues on the expense money.  Is that normal?

It is normal for an attorney  handling a contingency fee case to ask the client to re-pay the attorney for the money spent on case expenses out of any settlement achieved in the case.  It  is not normal, however, for an attorney to charge interest on the expense money they advance for case expenses, although it seems like more and more attorneys are doing it.    

The lawyers who charge interest may have a contract with a private company that charges them interest on case expenses, and then the attorney passes the interest that he or she pays while the case is pending onto you as their client.  The interest rate may be very high – much higher than the “prime rate.”  The lawyer does not profit from this practice, but simply passes the cost of the interest on to you.  Sometimes there are additional fees associated with this service that are passed on to you.

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I was hurt in a car wreck in Tennessee.  The other driver was also from Tennessee.  How much time do I have to file a lawsuit?

You have one year from the date of the wreck to file a lawsuit.  Failure to file suit within the one year period will result in a loss of your rights.

However, you should not wait this long to hire a lawyer.  A lawyer needs time to investigate the case ad sometimes critical evidence can disappear if the lawyer is not hired early in the case.  Also, it is possible that the lawyer can negotiate a settlement on your behalf, thus eliminating the expense that goes with filing a lawsuit.  Thus, it is recommended that you hire a promptly and not wait until the one year deadline for action approaches.

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My daughter was injured in a fireworks show put on by our neighbors last night.  What responsibility does the neighbor have to pay her medical bills and other losses? 

Your neighbor’s responsibility depends on whether or not he was negligent in his use of the fireworks.  Your neighbor had the duty to exercise reasonable care while using the fireworks and, indeed, an argument can be made in the law that he had the duty to use the highest degree of care because fireworks are so dangerous.

So, before I can tell you want responsibility your neighbor has, if any, I need to know a whole lot more about how the injury occurred.  I also would need to know the age of your daughter and what she was doing at the time the injury occurred. 

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My wife was at work when  a fire occurred.  Her employer says the  fire occurred  because a problem with a machine in the plant.  She was badly burned.  What are her legal rights? 

At an absolute minimum, your wife will be able to recover benefits under Tennessee’s worker’s compensation law.  Stated briefly, her medical bills will be paid, she will receive a portion of her normal wages until she is able to return to work, and she will receive an additional payment for any disability she has as a result of the injury.

However, your wife also may have a tort claim against the company that manufactured, installed, or maintained  the machine in question.  Thus, it is essential that an investigation be conducted to determine why the fire occurred.  Was there a problem with the machine from the day it was made?  Was it installed incorrectly?   Was it not properly maintained?  Was one or more of these things responsible for the cause of the fire?

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 My husband recently lost his vision because of a error by a doctor.  What are his legal rights?

Your husband will have to prove that the doctor who treated him failed to follow acceptable professional practice in the community where the doctor practiced and that the failure caused the loss of his vision.

The proof will require the testimony of a doctor, typically one in the same specialty as the doctor who made the error, that your husband’s doctor made an error.   A doctor will also have to testify that the error caused the loss of sight.

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