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 The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has released information about Tennessee personal injury and Tennessee wrongful death cases filed in Lebanon and Wilson County, Tennessee for the year ended June 30, 2012.

Here is the data;

  • Total personal injury and wrongful death cases filed in court: – 156
  • Total personal injury and wrongful death cases resolved in court – 144
  • Total number of cases going to trial – 4
  • Total number of jury trials – 2
  • Total number of non-jury trials – 2
  • Total number of cases in which damages were awarded 1 (25%)
  • Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $1 and $99,999 – 0
  • Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $100,000 and $999,99 – 0
  • Total number of cases where damages awarded exceeded $1,000,000 – 1
  • Total damages awarded in all cases – $2,459,878
  • Average damages awarded – $2,459,878

The average success rate for plaintiffs at trial in Tennessee was 38.49% for 2011-12. Thus, the win rate for plaintiffs in Wilson County was a  lower than the statewide-average.

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has released information about Tennessee personal injury and Tennessee wrongful death cases filed in Hendersonville, Gallatin and the rest of Sumner County, Tennessee for the year ended June 30, 2012.

Here is the data;

  • Total personal injury and wrongful death cases filed in court: – 220
  • Total personal injury and wrongful death cases resolved in court – 199
  • Total number of cases going to trial – 9
  • Total number of jury trials – 1
  • Total number of non-jury trials – 8
  • Total number of cases in which damages were awarded 3 (33.3%)
  • Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $1 and $99,999 – 1
  • Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $100,000 and $999,99 – 2
  • Total number of cases where damages awarded exceeded $1,000,000 – 0
  • Total damages awarded in all cases – $532,969
  • Average damages awarded – $177,656

The average success rate for plaintiffs at trial in Tennessee was 38.49% for 2011-12.  Thus, the win rate for plaintiffs in Sumner County was a little lower than the statewide-average.

Many clients over the last 30 years have asked me this question, and the answer to the question is "no."

If the at-fault driver’s insurance company believes that its driver is at fault and they want to settle the case, they want to settle all personal injury-related claims at one time. (They will usually settle property damage claims separately.)  They will not agree to leave open the issue of future medical expenses.

Thus, if a medical doctor says you will probably need a future medical treatment because of the injuries you sustained in the wreck, the cost of that medical treatment and related damages can be part of settlement negotiations. If the doctor says that future medical treatment is possible, then the amount of the possible medical treatment cannot be included.

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has released information about Tennessee personal injury and Tennessee wrongful death cases filed in Murfreesboro and Rutherford, Tennessee for the year ended June 30, 2012.

Here is the data;

  • Total personal injury and wrongful death cases filed in court: – 432
  • Total personal injury and wrongful death cases resolved in court – 566
  • Total number of cases going to trial – 23
  • Total number of jury trials – 9
  • Total number of non-jury trials – 14
  • Total number of cases in which damages were awarded 6 (26.0%)
  • Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $1 and $99,999 – 6
  • Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $100,000 and $999,99 – 0
  • Total number of cases where damages awarded exceeded $1,000,000 – 0
  • Total damages awarded in all cases – $209,662
  • Average damages awarded – $34,944

The judges in Rutherford County are doing a good job of managing their dockets, as evidenced by the fact that more cases are being resolved than are actually being filed.  In the 2010-2011 year, 479 cases were filed but only 436 were resolved.  The number of trials also dropped  from a year earlier- in 2010-11 there were 20 trials (9 of which were jury trials).

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has released information about Tennessee personal injury and wrongful death cases filed and resolved in Williamson County, Tennessee for the year ended June 30, 2012.  

Here is the data;

  • Total personal injury and wrongful death cases filed in court: – 264
  • Total personal injury and wrongful death cases resolved in court – 240
  • Total number of cases going to trial – 3
  • Total number of jury trials – 3
  • Total number of non-jury trials – 0
  • Total number of cases in which damages were awarded  1 (33.3%)
  • Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $1 and $99,999 – 1
  • Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $100,000 and $999,999 – 0
  • Total number of cases where damages awarded exceeded $1,000,000 – 0
  • Total damages awarded in all cases – $2,000
  • Average damages awarded – $2,000

Shocked?  Can’t believe that there aren’t more cases and more trials in Williamson County, a county of $185,000?  These numbers are not that unusual – Nashville and Davidson County have more filings (1382) and more trials (69) but remember that it has more interstate highways and other roads (and thus more traffic and more wrecks) and much more other economic activity that can rise to personal injury and wrongful death claims.

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has released information about Tennessee personal injury and Tennessee wrongful death cases filed in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee for the year ended June 30, 2012.  

Here is the data;

  • Total personal injury and wrongful death cases filed in court: – 1,382
  • Total personal injury and wrongful death cases resolved in court – 1,455
  • Total number of cases going to trial – 69
  • Total number of jury trials – 47
  • Total number of non-jury trials – 22
  • Total number of cases in which damages were awarded  35 (50.7%)
  • Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $1 and $99,999 – 26
  • Total number of cases where damages awarded was between $100,000 and $999,999 – 6
  • Total number of cases where damages awarded exceeded $1,000,000 – 3
  • Total damages awarded in all cases – $9,031,623
  • Average damages awarded – $258,046

There a couple things of note about these numbers.  First, you are probably surprised that there are so few cases actually going to trial – only 69 in a year or less than 6 per month.  This is not only true in Nashville but across the state – the number of jury trials (and the number of lawsuits filed) has continued to decline.

If you received a summons and complaint (the documents which initiate a civil lawsuit in Tennessee) you need to immediately notify your insurance company that you have been sued.  If you have already reported the claim, the insurance company will already have told you to whom  you should send the papers.  If you have not reported the claim, call your insurance agent and tell them that you have been sued.  The agent will tell you what to do with the papers.

Your insurance company will hire you a lawyer who will defend you.  If you don’t hear from the lawyer within 20 days of the time you contact the insurance company, call the insurance company (or agent) again and let them know you have not heard from the lawyer.

 To understand more about the litigation process, read our Legal Guide called "Understanding the Steps in the Civil Litigation Process."

Deaths on Tennessee roads increased in 2012 over a year earlier.  Here is some of the key statistics as gathered by the Tennessee Department of Safety:

  • Total fatalities – 1022, up 85 from 2011
  • Teen driver involved in death – 115
  • Senior driver involved in death – 190
  • Rural deaths – 542
  • Urban deaths – 480
  • Pedestrians – 67
  • Large Truck Involved – 102
  • Bus Involved – 8
  • Motorcyclists – 139
  • ATV rider – 10 

Is this number of deaths an anomaly?  Unfortunately, it appears that they are not.  The death rate for January 2013 is 6 people higher than it was in January 2012.

Don’t become a statistic.  Wear a seat belt.  Don’t drink and drive.  Don’t text and drive.  Drive defensively.  Stay within the speed limit, reducing your speed in when required by traffic or weather.

Medical payments insurance coverage, typically called "med pay," is a type of  insurance coverage that is often a part of automobile liability insurance policies in Tennessee.  It pays medical bills that arise out of an automobile accident, even if the accident is your fault.  Medical payments coverage is typically $5000 or $10,000, although I have seen coverage as high as $25,000.

Med pay coverage can help you meet deductible and co-pays on your health insurance policy.  

Most automobile insurance policies give the insurance company the right of subrogation if med pay is paid.  This means that you get hurt in a  wreck caused by someone else’s negligence and collect med pay benefits, you have to re-pay your insurance company if you collect  monies from the person who caused the wreck.  There are some legal limitations on this right – please be sure to ask an experienced Tennessee automobile car accident lawyer about your rights.

The price of uninsured motorist insurance is a bargain for Tennesseans, given that some 24% of drivers in Tennessee do not have any automobile  liability insurance whatsoever.

What is automobile liability insurance?  It is insurance that the owner of a car purchases to pay for losses caused by negligent operation of the vehicle.  

Tennessee requires that each car have no less than $25,000 / $50,000 in liability insurance.  That means that in the event of a personal injury or wrongful death to a person caused by the negligent operation of the vehicle by the driver the insurance company may be required to pay up to $25,000 to that person.  If multiple people are harmed, the insurance company may be required to pay up to $50,000 in damages to all people who are harmed but no more than $25,000 per person.

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