Tennessee Injury Law Center

October 19, 2010

My Neighbor’s Dog Bit Me!

I was visiting my neighbor. He has a dog that is usually chained up but ran up behind me after I stepped off my neighbor’s porch and bit me on the back of the leg. I fell down and he bit me again on the arm before my neighbor was able to get him off me. The dog was chained up because he bit someone about 3 years ago, but now they leave him off the chain from time to time to let him get exercise in the yard. I ended up getting an infection from the bites, have missed four weeks of work and spent thousands of dollars in medical bills. What are my rights?

Under Tennessee law a dog owner has a duty to exercise reasonable control over his dog. If you are bitten by a dog on the dog owner’s property while you are on the property with the owner’s permission you have to prove that the dog owner knew or should have known about the dog owner’s dangerous propensities and that that he or she did not exercise reasonable control over the dog.

If you win your case, you are entitled to payment of damages. Most injuries caused by dog bites are covered under the dog owner’s homeowner’s insurance policy.

October 18, 2010

I Might Need Surgery!

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

I was hurt in a boating accident. It was the other guy’s fault. The doctor said that as I result of my injuries I might need knee surgery one day. Can I recover damages for the cost of that surgery?

You can recover damages for a future surgery only if a doctor says it is reasonably likely to occur. If the surgery is merely possible or might happen, the law of Tennessee does not permit you to ask a judge or jury to award damages for the cost of that surgery.

October 15, 2010

What Is The Likelihood My Case Will Go to Trial?

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

I have a personal injury case pending in state court in Tennessee. What are the odds that my case will go to trial?

These statistics will give you an idea of how many cases are actually tried. In the one-year period ending June 30, 2009, there were about 11,000 lawsuits filed involving all types of personal injury and wrongful death in the state of Tennessee. (Many other cases were settled before a lawsuit was even filed; those numbers are not publicly available.) However, there were only 260 jury trials and 348 non-jury trials in personal injury and wrongful death cases during that same period. These statistics are about the same from year to year, and thus it is fair to say that only about 5% percent of personal injury and wrongful death cases in which lawsuits are filed actually go to trial.

It is difficult to predict, however, whether any particular case will settle. Our experience is that a case is more likely to settle at a higher dollar value if the insurance company (a) sees that the case has been prepare for trial and (b) has been appropriately prepared by lawyers who it knows are not afraid to go to trial. Thus, our office prepares all cases as if the case is going to be tried. Quite frankly, this means we invest more time and money into cases than many other lawyers, but we believe that this approach leads to better results for our clients.

October 14, 2010

Do I Need to Attend the Pretrial Conference?

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

I have a case coming to trial in two weeks. There is a pretrial conference scheduled. What is that? Do I need to attend?

Generally, conferences are held prior to a trial so that the Judge and lawyers can resolve disputes about the admissibility of evidence, the timing of witness testimony, and other logistical matters. Pre-trial conferences can greatly streamline the progression of a trial thereby minimizing the financial cost on the parties, witnesses, jurors and the Court.

You need to ask your lawyer whether you should attend the pretrial conference.

October 13, 2010

Why Do I Have to Submit to a Medical Evaluation?

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

I am in a car wreck lawsuit. I received injuries to my back. Now, the defendant wants to have me evaluated by a doctor that the defendant’s insurance company is going to hire. Can they do that?

Probably. If your medical well being is in question in a case the opposing party may request that you undergo a medical evaluation by a doctor of their choosing. That doctor will offer his or her opinion about the nature and extent of your injuries and the impact of those injuries on your later life. That doctor may disagree with your doctor’s opinion as to the nature and extent of your injuries, and the jury will hear from both doctors at trial.

This type of examination is known as a defense medical examination or a Rule 35 medical examination. (Rule 35 is the rule of court procedures that governs medical examinations.)

October 13, 2010

I Received a Subpoena. Now What?

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

I saw a truck – car wreck a year ago. Now I have been subpoenaed to give a deposition. Do I have to give a deposition? I don’t really want to be involved.

Subpoenas are legal papers issued by a court requiring the appearance or production of a person or thing at a deposition or hearing. A subpoena may be served on a person and require the appearance of that person to give a deposition or appear in open court on a specific date and time. Subpoenas may also be served on a person or business and require that documents or things be produced for inspection and copying on a specific date and time.

You have a duty to obey the subpoena. If the date or time is particularly inconvenient call the lawyer that had the subpoena served on you and explain your problem. Most lawyers are very willing to cooperate with scheduling problems of witnesses.

October 11, 2010

How Quickly Will My Case Settle?

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

I was in a car wreck about 6 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 $2000. 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.

October 6, 2010

Dog Bite Case

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

My child and I were in a public park. A man was there with his dog. He did not have it on a leash. The dog ran over, knocked my child down, and bit her on the face. She has lots of stitches and may have a scar. The dog’s owner said that the dog has never done this before. What are my child’s rights?

In Tennessee a dog owner has the duty to keep a dog under reasonable control at all times and to prevent the dog from running at large. If the dog owner does not do so and the animal injures a person on public property (or on private property of someone other than the dog owner) the dog owner is responsible for the dog’s actions.

Under these circumstances, this is true even though the dog has never bitten anyone else.

October 6, 2010

When Does A Personal Injury Case Become A Wrongful Death Case?

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

My dad was dropped in a nursing home. He broke his hip. He never recovered from it and died two months later. Do we have a wrongful death case or a personal injury case?

First, no one can tell you if you have a case at all without doing an investigation into the circumstances of the fall.

Second, if you do have a case, it will only be a personal injury case unless a doctor will testify that more likely than not the death was a result of the fall. To make this determination, a doctor will need to review your father’s medical records. An autopsy may also be necessary.

October 5, 2010

Should I Hire the Lawyer Who Blogged About My Accident?

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

I was in a tractor-trailer wreck a couple weeks ago and spent five days in the hospital. When I got out of the hospital I went on the Internet to see if there was any news articles about my case. I found that two lawyers had written about my wreck on their law firm blog. Why did they do that?

They wrote the blog post about your wreck in the hope that you would find it and hire them. That is the sole reason that the posts were written – marketing, plain and simple.

There is nothing unethical about this type of blogging. I have never engaged in the practice, even though I have been blogging for over five years and written over 2000 blog posts, because my idea of a blog is that it is a place to share information and help educate people.