Tennessee Injury Law Center

March 22, 2012

Defective Transvaginal Mesh Products Liability Litigation in Tennessee

Many women who have suffered from pelvic organ prolapse or stress urinary incontinence have been treated with transvaginal mesh implants. All too often, these mesh implants have caused painful complications because of mesh eroding, degrading, curling, rolling, migrating or shrinking.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alert in October 2008 about transvaginal mesh, warning doctors about the more than 1000 adverse event reports it had received in the previous three years. The reports included complaints of vaginal, bladder or bowel erosion, pelvic pain, bone and hip infections, inflammation, dyspareunia (painful sexual intercourse), bowel and bladder perforation, and recurrence of the underlying problem.

In July of 2100 the FDA issued a Safety Communication advising of 2,874 additional reports of complications. from 2008 to 2010.

March 22, 2012

Factors You Should Consider In Determining Which Personal Injury Lawyer to Hire – Part 1

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

Hiring a personal injury lawyer is an important decision. This is the first of six posts that will help you understand the factors that you should evaluate when making a decision about who to hire in a case involving a personal injury or wrongful death claim.

1. Is the lawyer a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers?

Answer: Look at the lawyer’s website and determine if he or she is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. The American College of Trial Lawyers is a very prestigious organization that has less than 200 members in Tennessee. A lawyer who is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers has gone through a very rigorous, confidential selection process and is elected to the organization by other outstanding lawyers in the state. There are fine lawyers who are not members of this organization, but a lawyer who has achieved the status of Fellow has been recognized by his or her peers as among the finest trial lawyers in the state.

March 20, 2012

What Happens If I Miss Physical Therapy Appointments After My Car Wreck?

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

I got hurt in an accident and my doctor said I should go to physical therapy. The therapist is 20 miles away and it is very inconvenient to go to therapy. Plus, it doesn’t seem to do any good. Will it hurt my case if I just stop going?

First, let me suggest you set the thoughts about your legal case aside for a moment. Your doctor prescribed physical therapy because he or she thought it would help you. It might not. But it might. And the progress you see might be small. But you still need to go to physical therapy because you want to do what you can to reach a full recovery.

Going to physical therapy may not help your case, but not going as the doctor asked you to do could hurt your case. Insurance adjusters and jurors may conclude that you may not have been having the problems you say you were having (or are having) if you failed to follow your doctor’s advice. If you have to go before a jury in your case the jury will be told that it is your responsibility to minimize your damages.

March 16, 2012

IsThe Jury Told About Settlement Offers?

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

I want to settle my personal injury case. I would take less money now that I would later at trial, but I don’t want to make an offer and have the jury know that I will take less money that I would want it the case were tried. Is the jury told about settlement offers?

Absent extraordinary circumstances, the jury is never told about any aspect of settlement discussions, must less the amount of any settlement proposal.

This is true even if the defense makes an offer before trial and then stands up and court and says you are entitled to nothing at all or an amount less than you were offered before trial. All settlement discussions are "off the record" and thus are rarely admissible into evidence.

March 15, 2012

Dividing Up Limited Insurance in Automobile Accident Cases

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

I was in a car wreck. My wife was also hurt in the wreck, as was a gentleman (Smith) in another car. The guy that caused the wreck only has $100,000 in liability insurance and he has no other assets. How will the $100,000 be divided?

First, the $100,000 will be paid only if all of the claims equal or exceed a total value of $100,000. Those who are injured in a wreck are not entitled to all of the insurance the at-fault driver has – they are only entitled to the amount demonstrated to be the value of their case. If the amount of the claim or claims is less than the amount of insurance, the insurance company gets to keep the difference. If the amount of the claims exceed the amount of the insurance, the insurance company need only pay the amount of the insurance and the injured persons have to pursue the excess funds from the individual who caused the wreck.

Let’s assume that your claim is worth $50,000, your wife’s claim is worth $50,000, and Smith’s claim is worth $100,000. Under these assumed facts, you would get $25,000, your wife would get $25,000, and Smith would get $50,000. In other words, each of would get a pro rata share of the total.

March 14, 2012

What is Med-Pay Coverage on My Automobile Insurance Policy?

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

What is medical payments coverage on my automobile insurance policy?

Medical payments coverage, also known as "med pay" coverage, will pay medical bills incurred by you or people in the vehicle in the event that you or the others are injured in a vehicle accident. The money is paid for bills regardless of who caused the accident.

Although many people have health insurance that will also pay medical bills, the med pay coverage can be used to meet deductibles and pay bills not covered by insurance.

March 13, 2012

Am I Responsible When Someone is Injuried in My Home?

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

Someone fell at my house and got hurt. Am I responsible for their injuries?

That question is more complicated than it appears. The first advice I would give you is to notify your homeowner’s insurance company and advise them of the incident. If you have insurance coverage on your home the insurance company will investigate the incident for you and hire a lawyer (at its expense) if it becomes necessary.

As I said above, the answer to your question is complicated and depends on the facts. Generally speaking, you are responsible for the injuries only if you created the hazard that caused the injuries or if you knew or should have known about the hazard and did not timely repair it or effectively warn of it.

March 12, 2012

Nashville Personal Injury Trial Jury Verdicts for January 2012

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

There were only four personal injury jury trials in Nashville (Davidson County) Tennessee in January 2012.

One of the cases was a medical malpractice (health care liability) case. The case resulted in verdict the defendant health care provider.

Another jury trial was a malicious prosecution case. Once again, a jury verdict for the defense was entered.

February 29, 2012

Claims Against Bars and Restaurants That Illegally Serve Obviously Intoxicated Persons

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

The February 24, 2012 Tennessean contains this article about lawsuits against those who illegally serve alcohol to an obviously intoxicated person. The article found its way to Page One mainly because of this horrific accident just a few days earlier, when a person who was allegedly intoxicated drove the wrong way on the Interstate and hit and killed a person.

To suggest that bars and restaurants should not be held responsible for violating the law is ridiculous. The notion of “personal responsibility” doesn’t stop with the drunk driver – it also applies to those who illegally serve obviously intoxicated persons.

There is only one thing wrong with the current law – it is not strong enough to prevent bars and restaurants from serving people to drunkenness and beyond. It is unfair to require the person harmed by such conduct to prove the misdeeds “beyond a reasonable doubt” – a standard usually used for criminal cases. The liquor lobby got special protection for those who have acted illegally, but this law should be repealed and the normal “preponderance of the evidence” standard should be re-instated.

February 28, 2012

Medical Malpractice Insurance Rates in Tennessee

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

Medical malpractice insurance rates for doctors have dropped substantially in Tennessee in the last few years, and now doctors pay far less for insurance that they did five years ago.

For example, 5 years ago an OB/GYN paid $59,572 for $1,000,000 / $3,000,000 in professional liability insurance. Today, that same doctor woul;d pay almost 40% less for the same amount of insurance coverage – $37,255. In fact, today an OB/GYN can buy over $10,000,000 of professional liability insurance coverage for less money than he or she would have paid for $1,000,000 in coverage just 5 years ago.

Why the decrease? The health care lobby got various laws passed which makes it harder for patients to bring lawsuits against doctors. The law has worked – it has put more money in the pockets of doctors and their insurance companies.