Tennessee Injury Law Center

June 15, 2010

My Lawyer is Charging Me For His Private Plane!

I hired a lawyer to help me with a personal injury case. The case has settled. I agreed to pay him one-third of my recovery and his expenses. He has sent me his expenses and it includes 3 flights on his plane to and from the city where I live. The cost of these flights was $1500 each way – a total of $9000. A commercial flight is only a couple hundred dollars per trip. Do I have to pay this money?

A key factor is the language of your contract. Did the lawyer disclose that he would be traveling on his private plane and the cost of each trip? If all of this was disclosed and you agreed in advance to pay these charges, you are probably stuck with the charges (although there is no harm in asking the lawyer to waive a portion of the charges).

Private plane flight is very expensive, and many lawyers who fly their own plane will not charge the cost of using the plane but instead will only charge the amount that it would have cost to fly the same trip on a commercial flight.

June 14, 2010

Lawyer Offers Potential Client Money for Living Expenses

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

I got hurt in a truck wreck. I spoke to a Tennessee lawyer and he said I had a really good case. I have lost my job as a result of the wreck and my finances are a complete mess. This lawyer said that if I would hire him to help me on the case he would loan me $1000 per month while the case was pending and that I could pay him back, without interest, when the case was over. Is there any reason I shouldn’t do that?

Yes. You should not do it because the lawyer’s offer of money to you was a violation of Tennessee ethics rules for lawyers. A lawyer can advance the costs of pursing the case, but cannot give a client money for living expenses or a fee for hiring the lawyer for the case.

So, you might ask, why should you care? The lawyer’s ethics are not your problem. You need money. The lawyer is willing to loan it to you. Whether he or she violates ethics rules is really none of your concern.

June 11, 2010

Number of Tennessee Medical Malpractice Trials

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

How many medical malpractice trials are there per year in Tennessee?

The Tennessee Jury Verdict Reporter gathers this data. For the 12-month period ending November 30, 2009, there were 32 medical malpractice trials in the state of Tennessee. The patient won nine cases and the health care providers won 23.

Davidson County (Nashville) had seven of those trials. Shelby County (Memphis) had five. In each county the providers won one more case than the patients.

June 10, 2010

How Does A Jury Know What The Law Is?

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

How does a jury know what the law is?

The judge tells the jury what the law is. The judge does this twice – once at the beginning of the case and once at the end of the case. The jury is told that it is its job to determine the facts based on the law given to them by the judge.

To see how jury instructions fit into the entire trial picture, read our Legal Guide called “Understanding What Happens At Trial of Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Cases in Tennessee.”

June 9, 2010

Should I Settle My Case on My Own?

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

I was hurt in a car wreck last year. I having been talking with the other driver’s insurance company and they tell me that they are going to make me a settlement offer. How much time do I have to file a lawsuit in the event I don’t get the case settled on my own?

In Tennessee you ordinarily have one year from the date of a car or truck accident to file suit against the responsible parties. Do not assume you have more time unless a lawyer familiar with all of the facts advises you that you have more than one year. Failure to file suit on time will result in a loss of your rights.

However, you should not wait until the eve of the one-year deadline to contact a lawyer. A lawyer needs time to conduct an investigation and do the paperwork necessary to file a lawsuit.

June 8, 2010

Hiring a Lawyer for an Out-of-State Accident

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

I was in Chicago and riding in a taxicab that got hit by another driver from Chicago. I spent four days in the hospital in Chicago and have been continuing to see a doctor in Tennessee. What rights do I have? Do I have to go to Chicago to hold the people who hit me responsible?

People in other states have to follow the same basic rules as drivers in Tennessee, and they are responsible for the harm they cause if they are negligent in the operation of their vehicle.

However, usually a lawsuit for such claims must be brought in the place where the accident occurred or where the other driver resides. (There are some exceptions to this rule – an experienced personal injury lawyer can tell you if the driver or the driver’s employer can be sued in Tennessee.)

June 7, 2010

Negligent Transmission of Herpes

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

My wife gave me herpes. She did not have herpes when we got married. She confessed that she has been sleeping around. We are getting divorced. Can I sue her for giving me herpes?

Yes. A person can sue another for negligent (or intentional) transmission of a sexual disease. If you prove that you contracted the disease from her, you can recover damages for your medical expenses, future medical costs, and pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.

One practical problem with this type of lawsuit is that any money you win can only be collected out of your wife’s assets and future income. If she doesn’t have any money and won’t be making much in the future you will have difficulty collecting any money from her. In addition, filing this type of suit can greatly increase tension in the divorce proceeding and, if children are involved, may impact your relationship with your wife as the two of you work to parent your children. These factors and others need to be considered before filing this type of lawsuit.

June 4, 2010

Professional Basketball Career Lost Because of Wreck

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

My son was hurt in a wreck with a big truck. He had a severe injury to his knee and is missing the basketball season. He is the best player on his sixth grade team. I worry that he will never be able to play professional basketball. Can he receive damages for the loss of income from a professional basketball salary and endorsements?

Questions like this are quite frequent. Tennessee law says that damages must be reasonably certain and not speculative. Damages need not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, but the damages sought must be reasonably likely to occur because of the defendant’s negligence.

It would be very difficult to prove that a sixth grader would have played professional basketball. It is possible – almost all professional basketball ball players played basketball in sixth grade and, if I had to guess, most of them were better-than-average players in sixth grade.

June 3, 2010

Do I Have to Be Released By My Doctor Before I Try My Personal Injury Case?

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

Why do I have to get released from medical care before my case can go to trial?

There is no law that says you must. However, most lawyers would agree that in cases where there is an injury that is likely to completely heal or one that will reach a certain stable level within a reasonable period of time it makes sense to not have a trial until the doctor says you have reached “maximum medical recovery.”

This is necessary because a jury must be able to determine whether it is likely you are going to have permanent injuries and whether those injuries will affect your income. Also, it is important that the jury have a handle on your medical bills, and it you are still actively seeking treatment it will be difficult to get a grasp on the amount of the bills you will incur.

June 2, 2010

Why Does My Opponent Get To See My Tax Records?

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

I am a plaintiff in a personal injury lawsuit. Why does my opponent get to see my tax records?

If you are claiming you lost income as a result of the injuries you received in the incident that gave rise to the lawsuit, the defendant has a right to determine if you lost the income you say you lost. One way of determining that is looking at your income tax records.

However, the fact that tax records may reveal whether you lost income that does not mean that your entire tax return can be seen by the defendant. Tax returns contain lots of information other than income, and that information has nothing to do with whether you lost income.

An experienced personal injury lawyer will determine whether it is appropriate to release your entire tax return to the defendant or whether only some portions of it (such as your W-2, which is a statement of income from your employer) is appropriate.