Be especially careful when you drive this holiday weekend. People will be rushing from house to house to participate in Thanksgiving activities and all too many of them will be under the influence of alcohol. The cars will be filled with children, which increases the likelihood that the driver of…
I am a doctor. I have been sued in a medical malpractice case. My patient has asked for payment of her lawyer’s fees? Am I responsible for her lawyer bills? Under current law you are not liable for the fees of her lawyer absent extremely unusual circumstances, even if you…
I have hired a lawyer to represent me in a lawsuit. Can she charge me for time she travels while working on my case? It depends on the fee agreement the two of you entered when she started working for you. In personal injury and wrongful death cases,…
What does it take for someone to qualify as an expert witness in a Tennessee medical malpractice trial? This is a question that is very difficult to answer. To make this a little easier to follow let’s assume that an internist has been sued. In Tennessee, an expert testifying about…
I was driving to work in Franklin, Tennessee. A police car driven by an officer who was on-duty ran a red light and hit my car. I had to go to the hospital in an ambulance and spent three days in the hospital. Can I sue the police officer? No,…
How many jurors will hear a medical malpractice case in Tennessee? Usually there are twelve. The parties to the lawsuit can agree on less than twelve, but usually no such agreement is reached. The jury must reach a unanimous verdict. That is, all must agree on the decision. If there…
I have a jury trial in state court in Nashville in a couple weeks in my car wreck case. Do I have to pay the other side’s attorney’s fees or other costs if the jury rules against me? Ordinarily, a person who loses a jury trial in personal injury…
I have a DePuy hip implant that has been recalled. What is my deadline for taking legal action? Under Tennessee law you have one year from the date you knew or should have known that your hip problems were related to a problem with the implant itself. For people who…
I am looking for a personal injury lawyer and have noticed that many personal injury law firms have blogs that report big verdicts. They must be pretty good lawyers to get such good results. Do you think they will take my case? Be careful. Read the blog post over very…
I hear personal injury lawyers advertise that they will work on a "contingent fee." What does that mean? A contingent fee is a fee that is payable only in the event the case is successful. No fee is owed if the case is not successful. In personal injury…