Injury Cases

July 17, 2013

Train Accidents in Tennessee

The recent train derailment in Quebec, Canada caused me to investigate how many train accidents we have had recently in Tennessee.

In the first four months of 2013, there have been twelve incidents involving trains in Tennessee. Seven of those incidents involved derailments, the largest of which occurred in Lawrence County shortly after the first of the year. Fortunately, no personal injury occurred, but the estimate of property damage was $175,000. Only one locomotive and four cars derailed in that incident, which occurred at a relatively low rate of speed.

Two collisions of railroad cars have occurred since January 1, 2013, but each of them occurred in railway yards.

July 15, 2013

Train Derailments in Tennessee

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

The horrible train derailment in Quebec, Canada resulted in the deaths of as many as fifty people and untold property damage.

The Canadian authorities are still investigating the cause of the incident, but several things seem to stand out. First, the 72-car train was parked and unattended at the time the incident began to occur. Apparently, there was only a one-person crew assigned to the train. A supervisor for the railway has accused the employee assigned to the train as failing to set a sufficient number of hand brakes to hold the train in place after the employee left the site and went to a local hotel to sleep.

The parent company of the owner of the train that derailed and set off a series of explosions is Rail World Inc. The actual owner of the train is Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway (MMA). MMA, which is headquartered in Chicago, has a long history of accidents in Canada, according to Transportation Safety Board data, which shows 129 accidents, including 77 derailments — some of them minor — since 2003.

January 9, 2013

Pedestrian Deaths in Tennessee Can Be Avoided

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

A shocking number of pedestrians – 67 – died in Tennessee accidents in 2012, according to a report prepared by the Tennessee Highway Patrol that gave details on the number of motor vehicle accident deaths in Tennessee for the entire year.

Although the law protects pedestrians who cross the street in crosswalks, every adult pedestrian has the legal responsibility to exercise care for his or her safety. Likewise, drivers have the responsibility to be on the lookout for pedestrians and to exercise reasonable care to avoid striking them.

How can pedestrians avoid becoming injured or killed by motor vehicles? Follow these tips:

December 17, 2012

Nashville Operating Room Fire Prevention

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

Most people are shocked to learn that people can catch on fire in an operating room. However, several hundred operating room fires occur every year. True, the odds of being involved in an operating room fire are quite small (there are 28 million surgeries per year) but the consequences of a fire in the operating room can be significant for the patient who happens to be involved.

Readers will find this article about operating room fire prevention to be very interesting. Here is an abstract of the article:

Operating room fires are a rare but preventable danger in modern healthcare operating rooms. Optimal outcomes depend on all operating room personnel being familiar with their roles in fire prevention and fire management. Despite the recommendations of major safety institutes, this familiarity is not the current practice in many healthcare facilities. Members of the anesthesiology and the surgery departments are commonly not actively involved in fire safety programs, fire drills, and fire simulations that could lead to potential delays in prevention and management of intraoperative fires.

December 12, 2012

Deaths of Bicyclists Increase in United States

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

Deaths of bicyclists increased 8.7 percent in 2011 according to data collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The death total was 677. Another 48,000 bicyclists were injured.

The increase in bicycle deaths probably reflects more people riding bicycles to work and for pleasure, said Jonathan Adkins, deputy executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state highway safety agencies.

Motorcycle deaths also rose 2.1 percent, marking the 13th time in the last 14 years that motorcycle rider deaths have risen. Total deaths were 4612.

July 17, 2012

Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Lawsuits Against the State Of Tennessee

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

Suing the State of Tennessee in a personal injury or wrongful death case is different than suing a person or business in a personal injury case. Here are some of the major differences:

1. Formal notice must be given before a lawsuit is filed with the Division of Claims Administration. Failure to give written notice in the correct way will result in the loss of the right to bring a claim. Notice typically must be given within one year of the date of the incident causing injury or death, although this area of the law is very complicated. The actual deadline that applies in your case should be determined by an experienced Tennessee personal injury and wrongful death lawyer who has been made aware of all of the facts.

2. After notice is filed, the injured person must wait 90 days before taking other legal action. The State may settle or deny the claim during this 90-day period. (I have filed claims against the State of Tennessee many times over my 30+ years as a lawyer and they have never settled a claim in this 89 day period.) If the claim is not settled or denied, proper papers must be filed with the Tennessee Claims Commission.

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.

March 13, 2012

Am I Responsible When Someone is Injuried in My Home?

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

Someone fell at my house and got hurt. Am I responsible for their injuries?

That question is more complicated than it appears. The first advice I would give you is to notify your homeowner’s insurance company and advise them of the incident. If you have insurance coverage on your home the insurance company will investigate the incident for you and hire a lawyer (at its expense) if it becomes necessary.

As I said above, the answer to your question is complicated and depends on the facts. Generally speaking, you are responsible for the injuries only if you created the hazard that caused the injuries or if you knew or should have known about the hazard and did not timely repair it or effectively warn of it.

February 29, 2012

Claims Against Bars and Restaurants That Illegally Serve Obviously Intoxicated Persons

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

The February 24, 2012 Tennessean contains this article about lawsuits against those who illegally serve alcohol to an obviously intoxicated person. The article found its way to Page One mainly because of this horrific accident just a few days earlier, when a person who was allegedly intoxicated drove the wrong way on the Interstate and hit and killed a person.

To suggest that bars and restaurants should not be held responsible for violating the law is ridiculous. The notion of “personal responsibility” doesn’t stop with the drunk driver – it also applies to those who illegally serve obviously intoxicated persons.

There is only one thing wrong with the current law – it is not strong enough to prevent bars and restaurants from serving people to drunkenness and beyond. It is unfair to require the person harmed by such conduct to prove the misdeeds “beyond a reasonable doubt” – a standard usually used for criminal cases. The liquor lobby got special protection for those who have acted illegally, but this law should be repealed and the normal “preponderance of the evidence” standard should be re-instated.