I am involved in a truck 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 was badly hurt in a car wreck. The wreck was caused by a State of Tennessee employee driving a state vehicle. The State employee was working at the time. I have heard that the State’s liability is limited to $300,000. Is that true?
Yes, in Tennessee the State is responsible for the negligence of its employees who cause car wrecks but the State’s responsibility is limited to $300,000. If the negligent state employee hurts a whole carload of people the recovery is up to $1,000,000 but no one person may recover more than $300,000.
This is true regardless of the size of the medical bills, the lost wages, or the nature of the injury. The restriction on recoverable damages is based on a law passed by the Legislature.
I was in a bad car wreck. I had $100,000 in medical bills and missed fifteen weeks of work (I make $1200 per week as a plumber). I am probably going to have to have another surgery. My doctor also says I will have arthritis in my left leg for the rest of my life. I just found out that the person who hit me only has $100,000 of liability insurance. That is not enough for what she did to me. Can I force the person who caused the wreck to pay me out of his pocket?
A person or company is always liable for all of the harm they negligently cause. A person purchases insurance to reduce his or her own risk of coming out of pocket to pay for that harm, but if the harm caused exceeds the amount of insurance purchased she is liable for the rest.
The problem, of course, is collecting from a person who causes harm. To make a payment to the injured person over and above the amount of insurance the person who causes harm must have assets, income, or both. Many people have very few assets and insufficient income to make a payment to the person who they hurt. If pressed, these people will often just file bankruptcy and the bankruptcy court will discharge the obligation. (There are some exceptions to this. For example, the bankruptcy court will not discharge the lawsuit-related obligation of a drunk driver or a person who intentionally harms another.)
I live in Kentucky but was injured in a wreck with a big truck on Interstate 40 right outside of Nashville. Do I need a Tennessee lawyer?
You will almost certainly need a Tennessee lawyer. A Kentucky 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 Kentucky would probably be able to negotiate a 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 a Kentucky 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.
My car was broad-sided in a high school parking lot by a student who was not paying attention. There are two witnesses and the student admitted it was his fault. However, the police would not come because they said that the wreck did not happen on a public street. Does that fact that this wreck happened in a parking lot affect my rights to seek damages for the injuries I received in the wreck?
Not under Tennessee law. All drivers have the obligation to exercise reasonable care at all times, and that includes the operation of a vehicle in a parking lot.
The fact that a police officer did not appear is not fatal to your case, particularly if there were others present that saw the wreck. I hope you got the names and contact information of these witnesses and, if you did, make sure you hold on to that information. I assume that you also got contract information for the other driver.
It means that for any one car wreck that is the fault of another driver who does not have any insurance your insurance company will pay you up to $50,000 in losses and damages you suffer. If more than one person in your vehicle is injured in the wreck, the company will pay up to $100,000 to all of the persons in your vehicle who were injured and covered under the policy but no more than $50,000 for any one person.
Note that each person who is injured does not automatically get $50,000 – they must demonstrate amount of their damages and can recover up to $50,000 each.
Your policy also provides your protection if the at-fault driver was underinsured. For example, assume that the driver that hit you was from another state and had a liability insurance policy that provided the driver $10,000 / $20,000 in liability insurance coverage. That means that for any one car wreck that was the other driver’s fault his insurance company will pay a person injured in the wreck up to $10,000 in losses and damages they suffer. If more than one person is injured in the wreck, the company will pay, on the at-fault driver’s behalf, up to $20,000 but no more than $10,000 for any one person.
It means that for any one car wreck that is the fault of another driver who does not have any insurance your insurance company will pay you up to $250,000 in losses and damages you suffer. If more than one person in your vehicle is injured in the wreck, the company will pay up to $500,000 to all of the persons in your vehicle who were injured and covered under the policy but no more than $250,000 for any one person.
Note that each person who is injured does not automatically get $250,000 – they must demonstrate amount of their damages and can recover up to $250,000 each.
Your policy also provides your protection if the at-fault driver was underinsured. For example, assume that the driver that hit you had a liability insurance policy that provided the driver $100,000 / $300,000 in liability insurance coverage. That means that for any one car wreck that was the other driver’s fault his insurance company will pay a person injured in the wreck up to $100,000 in losses and damages they suffer. If more than one person is injured in the wreck, the company will pay, on the at-fault driver’s behalf, up to $300,000 but no more than $100,000 for any one person.
I was in a wreck. The police took a statement from me but she did not accurately put down what I said in the accident report. Can the accident report be used against me in a personal injury case?
Yes, but not directly. In most cases, the accident report cannot be admitted into evidence in a Tennessee state court. However, the police officer who you asked you questions can be subpoenaed into court and asked what you said to her. She will be given the right to review report, which may well be all that she remembers about what you said to her. Therefore, if the officer recalls only what is in the report and will not agree that the report is or could be wrong, the evidence of your statement as set forth in the report (technically, the officer’s testimony about that statement) can be used against you.
My husband was in a serious truck wreck yesterday and was badly injured. Some people are saying that I should get a lawyer right away but I don’t see the reason for it. I really want to wait and see how my husband does and get his input on who the lawyer should be. Why shouldn’t I wait?
You should not wait because the trucking company is probably already gathering evidence to use in the case. I came upon this blurb on the website of a law firm that represents trucking companies:
[Our] transportation group has created a rapid response team that is available 24/7 to immediately respond to your clients’ needs with respect to serious injuries, fatalities and catastrophic losses.
I live in Tennessee. I was in a car wreck in Nashville and got hurt. It was the other driver’s fault. The other driver has no insurance. I looked at my automobile insurance policy and it says that I have uninsured motorist insurance of $25,000 / $50,000. What does that mean?
It means that for any one car wreck that is the fault of another driver who does not have any insurance your insurance company will pay you up to $25,000 in losses and damages you suffer. If more than one person in your vehicle is injured in the wreck, the company will pay up to $25,000 to all of the persons in your vehicle who were injured and covered under the policy but no more than $50,000 for any one person.
Note that each person who is injured does not automatically get $25,000 – they must demonstrate amount of their damages and can recover up to $25,000 each.
Tennessee Injury Law Center