Tennessee Injury Law Center

March 28, 2017

Breaking News: Litigation is Expensive

Last week, Slate reporter Emma Copley Eisenberg did a piece on the “astronomical price” charged by court reporters for trial transcripts. Eisenberg was stunned by the “outrageous fees” charged by court reporters when she wanted to investigate a case involving a farmer who had been convicted of a double homicide. When Eisenberg went to the courthouse to obtain a copy of the criminal trial transcript, she learned it would cost her $2400.00 to obtain a copy of the transcript. (Notably, it cost the farmer nearly $7,000 for the original transcript.) Eisenberg got a quick lesson on something trial lawyers have long known: litigation is expensive. Why is that?
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March 14, 2017

DUIs Are Up Across the Country. What Is Your Risk in Tennessee?

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

In 2015, more than 10,000 people lost their lives and another 200,000 were injured in drunk driving related car accidents and another 200,000 were injured. In Tennessee, despite law enforcement making over 23,000 DUI arrests, drunk driving car accidents claimed 252 lives. How does Tennessee compare to other states? Continue reading

March 3, 2017

Protect Yourself: Driving Fatalities at their Highest Since 2007

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

Last year, 40,200 people lost their lives in car accidents. Think about that. 40,200 lives cut short. 40,200 funerals. 40,200 families mourning the loss of a loved one. For more perspective on that, the Chicago White Sox stadium holds 40,615 people, so we lost almost a stadium full of people to car accidents last year. The death toll represents a 6% increase over 2015 and a 14% increase over 2014. Experts attribute the rise in deaths to a number of factors and, of course, have offered suggestions to protect yourself. Continue reading

February 25, 2017

Nursing Home Abuse

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

Regrettably, you are wrong if you think there is no way a 28 year-old male nursing home aide would rape an 83 year old grandmother suffering from dementia. Rape is about control, and it is a crime of opportunity and while some states and the federal government do not separately track allegations of sexual abuse, CNN has reported that since 2000 there have been more than 16,000 complaints of sexual abuse in assisted living and nursing home facilities. Even more alarming is that 226 long-term care facilities have been cited for failing to protect the residents for which it was being paid to provide care and roughly 100 facilities have been cited multiple times. How does this happen and what can you do?

February 15, 2017

ATVs and Young Drivers: A Dangerous Combination

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

Jamie Lynn Spears’ daughter’s accident reminds us that all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) can be very dangerous for children. Spears’ 8-year old daughter’s ATV accidentally went into a pond on the property and the girl was trapped underwater for several minutes. Thankfully, the child appears to have escaped the incident without any neurological injuries.

Unfortunately, Spears’ accident is not uncommon. In 2015 alone, 58 children were killed and nearly 27,000 were injured in ATV accidents. So what age is the appropriate age for ATVS and what steps can be taken to prevent an ATV accident? Continue reading

January 31, 2017

A Safer Super Bowl Sunday

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

This Sunday is Super Bowl LI or 51 for those of you, who like me, only do Roman Numerals to a point. This year’s match-up pits the New England Patriots against the Atlanta Falcons in a showdown in Houston. Whether you are hosting a Super Bowl party or attending one, here are some tips for staying safe this Super Bowl Sunday: Continue reading

January 23, 2017

Nashville Pedestrian Accidents

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

Last year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 5,376 pedestrians were killed in our country. That total is up from 2014 when 4,884 pedestrians lost their lives. Throughout the United States, a pedestrian is killed roughly every two hours. While that is a startling statistic, in Nashville it may very well be even more dangerous to be a pedestrian. According to a recent report, Nashville is the 37^th most dangerous city out of 104 metro areas according to a study released by Smart Growth America. The good news is that Nashville has improved from 15^th but there is still more room for improvement. In a ten-year period, 209 pedestrians were struck and killed in Nashville. And, of course, many more have been injured. Continue reading

January 9, 2017

Seven Questions You Should Ask Your Insurance Agent

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

At The Law Offices of John Day, P.C., we deal with insurance policies and insurance companies every single day. Unfortunately, all too often we see clients who declined uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage or bought too low a limits for their circumstances simply because the right questions were not asked of their agent. So start the New Year off right by taking a few minutes to talk to your agent about your coverage so that you get the best premium possible and so you are adequately protected in the event of an accident. Below are some of the questions you should ask:

What optional coverage is available? At The Law Offices of John Day, P.C., we believe the most important optional coverage is uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. (If you are unfamiliar with this type of coverage and how it works, go to the side bar on the right and just type in uninsured motorist in the Search function. You will be taken to a number of articles on the subject). From our experience with our clients, most people decline this coverage because they think it will be too expensive. Talk to your agent. We think you will find it is inexpensive especially when you consider 1 in 5 drivers in Tennessee are uninsured. This coverage could mean all the difference if you are involved in an accident with one of those drivers.
How will an accident affect my policy? Now some insurance companies are offering “accident forgiveness” and other similar benefits for their insureds. Discuss how an accident may affect your premium and/or even cancellation of the policy. This is especially important if you have teen drivers who tend to have more fender benders.

December 26, 2016

Advice From a Lawyer on the New Year’s Resolutions You Should Make

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

As the New Year approaches, many start to think about improvements they want to make in their lives for 2017. At The Law Offices of John Day, P.C., our work involves helping people who have been injured in accidents and, since most accidents are preventable, we thought we would give you some New Year’s resolutions that can help protect you and others. The best part of these resolutions is, for the most part, they are easy and painless to implement (unlike that weight resolution most of us make). Here are our recommendations:

Check your auto insurance and make sure you have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. I can’t tell you how often someone calls our office with significant injuries from a car accident who cannot recover any money because the driver who caused the accident did not have insurance and the client did not have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. We have written a number of posts about uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and you can find them here, here, here and here. But, our number one piece of advice to protect yourself would be to purchase uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage with as high of limits as you can afford. You will truly be surprised at how cheap it is and it can mean the difference between receiving compensation for your medical bills, lost wages and injuries and receiving nothing.
Wear your seatbelt. They save lives. Period.

December 22, 2016

Dos And Don’ts If You Know Someone Who Is Injured or Suffering Through a Loss During the Holidays (or really anytime)

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

For most folks, the holidays are a happy time filled with laughter, family, friends and fun. But for those who are injured or who have lost a loved one, the holidays can be an especially painful time. Their present situation contrasted with the version of how things used to be can make the holidays nearly unbearable. If you know of someone who is injured or who is grieving the loss of a loved one, here are some suggestions on how to help.

Acknowledge their loss whether it is in the form of an injury or a death. Simply having the supportive presence of friends and family can make a huge difference.
Take them a meal. This is a gesture that promotes physical and emotional well-being. It does not have to be anything fancy. In fact, comfort food is king in these situations and will let that person and their family know they are thought of and loved.