I am involved in a bicycle accident case in Tennessee state court . How many jurors must agree to a given result?
Unless the parties to the lawsuit agree otherwise, twelve jurors will decide the case and all twelve must find in favor of the plaintiff (the person bringing the lawsuit) or the defendant (the person or entity that has been sued.) If less than twelve people agree on the outcome, the judge will declare a mistrial and the case will have to be tried again.
I live in Indiana but was injured in a car accident on Interstate 65 right outside of Nashville. Do I need a Tennessee lawyer?
You will almost certainly need a Tennessee lawyer. An Indiana lawyer will probably not be familiar with Tennessee law and will not be able to file a lawsuit here. Quite candidly, an experienced personal injury lawyer from Indiana would probably be able to negotiate some sort of settlement for you, but once again may be hampered by a lack of knowledge of Tennessee law and procedure that could impact the value received at settlement.
If your hire an Indiana lawyer he or she will probably ask the assistance of a Tennessee lawyer to help him or her with the case. I have helped lawyers from dozens of states in this situation, and it works quite well if the out-of-state lawyer calls us early enough to protect your rights. Tennessee law requires that such cases be filed within one year of the date of accident and, unfortunately, several times a year I get a call from an out-of-state lawyer who missed the one year deadline.
I was in a car wreck about 3 months ago. The other driver admitted fault. My medical bills are about $25,000. I have been released by my doctor. My lost wages are $5000. How quickly will my case settle?
At the outset you need to understand that your case 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. It can settle a case, or not settle a case, on whatever schedule it wants to put in place.
However, if the insurance company wants to settle the case it needs to have information from your lawyer. At an absolute minimum, the company needs the accident report, your medical records and bills, perhaps some of your previous medical records, proof of lost wages from your employer, and an understanding of how the injuries have impacted your life. To the extent you claim a permanent injury, future medical expenses, future loss of earning capacity, or other damages, the insurance company will need proof of that.
I was hit by a drunk driver – he ran a red light and broad-sided me. He told the cop that he was drinking at home all day, got in an argument with his wife, left the house, and then had the wreck with me. I spent seven days in the hospital and have missed four weeks of work so far. I still don’t know when I can go back to work. I just found out that the drunk did not have any liability insurance on his car. Now what?
You will have to rely on your uninsured motorist insurance coverage. Look at the declarations page of your insurance policy and see what amount of coverage you have. It is designed to protect you in this situation.
If you have uninsured motorist coverage (and Tennessee law requires your insurance company to sell it to you unless you right it in writing) you will have to collect your damages from your own insurance company. Your company cannot raise your rates because of an uninsured motorist claim.
I was involved in a wreck caused by the negligence of park ranger employed by the State of Tennessee. The park ranger was driving a state vehicle during business hours. I spent three days in the hospital and will have lots of physical therapy. What are my rights?
You have legal rights, but they are limited as compared with those you would have against a private citizen or company.
You cannot sue the park ranger, but you can file a claim against the State. You must first give notice to the State through the Attorney General’s office and, when the claim is denied (it almost certainly will be) you will need to file the claim with the Board of Claims. The Board of Claims follows many of the same rules as the court system, but damages for personal injury are limited to no more than $300,000, regardless of the amount of your lost wages, medical bills, or long-term disability.
What types of insurance may apply in a car accident case?
Several different types of insurance coverage apply in a car accident case. First, the at-fault driver’s automobile insurance may apply to cover the damages you sustain in a wreck. In Tennessee, all drivers are required to carry a minimum amount of automobile insurance, specifically $25,000 per person with a cap of $50,000 for each wreck. If two people are injured in a wreck, and the at-fault driver has minimum insurance policy limits, generally speaking the most the insurance company could ever have to pay is $25,000 to each person. If three people are injured in a wreck and the person at fault has minimum limits, the insurance company generally will not have to pay more than $50,000 to all three people combined, and each person cannot recover any more than $25,000. Of course, many drivers break the law and do not carry the required minimum car insurance limits.
In the driver that causes the accident does not have insurance, your own automobile insurance coverage may also apply in a car accident case. This type of insurance coverage is called uninsured motorist coverage. Subject to certain limitations, you may recover under that portion of your own policy if the other driver is proven to be uninsured.
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.
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.
The police accident report says that I was not at fault in my wreck and that the other driver was at fault. Can I used the police report as evidence at a trial to prove the wreck was not my fault?
Not in Tennessee state court. A rule of evidence specifically excludes police accident reports from the types of public records that can be admitted into evidence at trial to show how an accident occurred.
Why? Because unless the officer actually saw the accident the police report is only the officer’s opinion about what happened. That opinion may be based on solely on whether the officer believes one person or the other and may have little value in determining what actually happened.
I was in a car wreck several months ago. The other driver’s insurance company called me and asked me some questions. I then asked him how much insurance his driver had, but he refused to tell me. He said that in Tennessee I could not find out how much insurance the other driver had, even if I filed a lawsuit. Is that true?
Yes. Tennessee is the only state in the nation that does not require an insurance company to disclose the amount of liability insurance in place for an accident. This is a result of a powerful lobbying effort in the Legislature, led by Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Company.
Sometimes an insurance company will voluntarily disclose the amount of coverage it has. However, in the ordinary situation, the only way you can discover how much insurance the other driver has is to win a lawsuit and start the process to collect the money you are due.
Tennessee Injury Law Center