Tennessee Injury Law Center

November 14, 2011

Is The State of Tennessee Liable for Punitive Damages?

I was hurt in a car wreck. The wreck was caused by a state employee driving at a very high rate of speed during work hours. The employee was working at the time of the wreck. The officer told me that the state employee’s conduct was reckless. Can I recover punitive damages in a claim against the State of Tennessee?

No. Tennessee law permits you to sue the State of Tennessee when one of its employees negligently causes a car wreck and resulting property damage and injuries, but claims for punitive damages are not permitted under any circumstances. This is true even if the conduct is reckless and you would have been able to collect punitive damages if the wreck had been asserted against a private individual.

Compensatory damages may be sought, but they are limited to $300,000 per person and no more than $1,000,000 per incident.

November 11, 2011

Does My Employer Have To Pay My Medical Bills If I Get Hurt On The Job?

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

I am a truck driver with a big trucking company in Clarksville, Tennessee. I hurt my back unloading a truck. The doctor says that I need an MRI but my boss says they are too expensive. Does my employer have to pay for the MRI?

If the company doctor says you need a particular test or treatment, you are almost certainly entitled to it. Employers are obligated to pay all reasonable medical care for employees who are hurt on the job. It will be very hard to argue that he doctor selected by your employer to care for you has unreasonably suggested that you need a MRI.

An experienced worker’s compensation attorney can help you get the medical care you deserve and, if you have a long-term problem as a result of your injury, help you receive benefits for permanent partial disability.

November 9, 2011

Can I Sue the Store That Sold Me A Defective Product That Hurt Me?

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

I bought a blender at a local retail store. The first time I used it the glass container exploded and sent glass all over my kitchen, and into my arm, face and chest. I told the store and they said they would give me a new one. I don’t want a new blender – I want my medical bills paid and I want plastic surgery to reduce the severity of the scars on my face. Can I sue the store?

Maybe. First, it makes a difference whether you were injured before October 1, 2011. If you were injured before that date, you may be able to assert a claim for breach of warranty against the store that sold you the blender.

If you were injured on or after October 1, 2011, you can’t sue the store unless (a) the store damaged the blender and caused the problem; (b) the manufacturer has been declared insolvent or (c) the manufacturer cannot be sued in Tennessee. As you can see, the new law makes it harder for Tennessee consumers to sue retailers who sell defective or unreasonably dangerous products.

November 5, 2011

My Medical Insurance Company Wants Money From My Tennessee Car Accident Settlement

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

I just settled my personal injury case and my lawyer told me that I have to re-pay my medical insurance company the amount they paid for my medical bills from the accident. That doesn’t seem fair. Is my lawyer right?

Your lawyer is probably right. Most medical insurance policies have what are known as subrogation or reimbursement clauses. These insurance policy provisions mean that if you get hurt and collect medical bills paid by your insurance company from the person who hurt you your insurance company gets paid back.

If your insurance through a government-sponsored program like Tenncare or Medicare you also have a responsibility to re-pay the government out of any settlement you receive as a result of a car accident.

November 3, 2011

What Does “No Recovery, No Fee” Mean?

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

I was in a truck wreck in Clarksville, Tennessee and need a lawyer. What does "no recovery no fee" mean?

Lawyers who represent people in car wreck and truck wreck cases (as well as most other personal injury or wrongful death cases) often work for a contingent fee. A "contingent fee" means that lawyer takes a percentage of the money he or she is able to get for you from the at-fault driver’s insurance company. If you don’t win the case, the lawyer charges no fee.

Most lawyers also charge the client for the expenses they incur in the prosecution of the case. Learn more about the types of expenses that are incurred by reading this Legal Guide.

November 2, 2011

My Mother Was Given A Drug Overdose In A Nursing Home!

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

My mother was in a nursing home for rehabilitation after hip replacement surgery. She was given a double-dose of blood thinner and had a stroke. Now, she will be in a nursing home the rest of her life. What are her rights?

The answer to those question can be fully answered only after a review of relevant medical records and consultations with one or more doctors and other health care professionals.

An experienced medical malpractice lawyer will want evaluate those records and talk with the health care professionals to confirm that given the extra dose was medical negligence and that it actually caused your mother’s stroke.

November 2, 2011

What is A Confidentiality Agreement?

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

I have read this stuff about Herman Cain and the claims of sexual harassment against him. I also heard that there was a confidentiality agreement as part of the settlement with the woman or women. What is a confidentiality agreement?

A confidentiality agreement is a part of some settlement agreements in some types of civil litigation. Typically, confidentiality agreements prohibit the parties from discussing the terms of the settlement with any one other than attorneys and financial advisors. Confidentiality agreements may also include anti-disparagement provisions, which means that each of the parties to the agreement are prohibited from saying disparaging things about the other parties. It is not uncommon for these agreements to provide that the parties are cannot talk about the facts giving rise to suit, the lawsuit itself, or the terms of the settlement, but can say that "the case was settled on terms mutually acceptable to all concerned" or words to that effect.

Confidentiality agreements are common in settlements of medical malpractice cases, products liability cases, employment cases, and very large personal injury and wrongful death cases. They are used in other types of cases as well.

November 1, 2011

A Lawyer Wrote in His Blog About My Car Accident!

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

I was in a car accident on Interstate 24 near Murfreesboro a few weeks ago. I was in the hospital for a few days and when I got home I had to miss several weeks of work. I was playing around on the Internet to see if there was anything on there about my wreck (traffic was messed up for two hours) and I discovered a lawyer had written about my wreck. My name wasn’t used but all of the other details were there. Why is he doing that?

This lawyer is doing two things. First, he is hoping that you will Google your accident, find his post, and then hire him to help you (or the other driver) with all any potential lawsuit.

Second, this attorney is trying to put something on his blog to keep it current in the hope that it will rank higher in search engines like Google. Google likes new content. So, rather than write something substantive that actually will do readers some good, these lawyers write about accidents. In fact, some of these posts are not written by the lawyer at all. Some lawyers hire ghost-writers to write blog posts to create "content" and make Google think that their blog has some substance.

November 1, 2011

Fire in the Operating Room Results in Burn Injury

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

My neighbor was burned when she being operated on in a hospital. How did that happen? Can these type of fires be prevented?

Approximately 600 – 650 people are injured each year in operating room fires. Consequences of a surgical fire can be deadly or leave people with horrible pain and disfiguring scars. Fires can occur in any setting where invasive surgical procedures are performed. Experts indicate that the basic principle to remember is that people start most fires, and people can prevent them.

This has been a problem for many years. This article from a 1994 edition of Today’s OR Nurse tells us that (1) Every operating room has the elements necessary to start a fire: oxidants (O2, N2O), ignition sources, and fuel; (2) A team approach, including nursing, anesthesia and surgery members, should be used in assessing fire safety in the operating room; (3) Staff knowledge of fire safety can be assessed by written tests. An appropriate fire safety program can be developed based on the test results; (4) Fire evacuation drills and hands-on use of fire extinguishers should be included in any OR fire safety program. Now, almost 20 years later, fires continue to occur.

October 31, 2011

Can I Sue a Murderer?

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

My brother killed our mother. My brother and I are her only children. Can I sue him?

Under Tennessee law someone has the right to sue your brother and it might be you. The act of murder under the criminal law is known as "battery" in the civil law. One who commits an act of battery must pay damages for the harm he or she causes.

Your father would have the right to file suit assuming he is still alive and was married to your mother at the time of her death.