Tennessee Injury Law Center

February 1, 2011

How Much Does A Videotaped Deposition Cost?

My deposition was taken today and it lasted all day. There was a court reporter and a videographer there. How much does it cost to have a deposition recorded by the two of them?

In my experience in Tennessee, court reporters have several types of charges. The main charges are the per diem charge, which is the charge for showing up, using billed in full-day or half-day increments, and a per-page charge, which is the cost of each page of transcript. There are two types of per page charges, one for the "original" transcript on and one for each copy. The person taking the deposition pays for the original and the per diem. The person whose deposition is taken pays for the copy.

Videographers typically charge a base fee plus and hourly charge to the person taking the deposition. The person whose deposition was taken pays for a disc containing the deposition.

January 31, 2011

Should I Give A Statement to My Insurance Company About How the Accident Happened When it was the Other Driver’s Fault?

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

I was in a car wreck last week. It was not my fault. I spent five days in the hospital and am now recovering at home. I am getting a couple calls a day from the insurance adjuster for the driver that hit me but I know I should not talk to him. Now my insurance company is calling me and they want to take a statement from me about how the wreck happened. Is there anything wrong with me giving a statement to my insurance company before I talk to a lawyer?

We do not recommend that our clients give a statement to either the other driver’s insurance company or their own insurance company without adequate preparation for the interview. Under most auto insurance policies in Tennessee, you have a duty to give your insurance company a statement, but you need to be adequately prepared first.

We do not prepare our clients by telling them what to say or encouraging them to lie. In fact, just the opposite is true: we encourage our clients to tell the truth about the circumstances giving rise to the wreck, the nature and extent of their injuries, and everything else. Preparation is necessary because insurance adjusters are trained in asking questions, and may ask questions in such a way that the unprepared witness will make mistakes. These statements are almost always tape-recorded and can be used against the person in court.

January 29, 2011

Deadline for Filing Car Wreck Lawsuit in Tennessee

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

I was hurt in a car wreck in Tennessee. What is the deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit?

One year. You have one year from the date of the car wreck to file a lawsuit against the responsible parties. Failure to file a lawsuit on time against those who caused the wreck will result in a loss of rights.

There are a couple exceptions to this rule, but they are so fact dependent that I will not list them here out of fear that they might lull someone into thinking that they have more time than they might actually have. So, assume that the one year deadline applies to you unless an experienced personal injury lawyer familiar with all of the facts advises you that you have more time.

January 28, 2011

Does My Personal Injury Lawyer Still Get Paid if I File Bankruptcy While My Case is Pending?

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

I have a personal injury case pending in state court in Tennessee. I just had to file bankruptcy. I listed my personal injury case as an asset on my bankruptcy filing. My bankruptcy lawyer says that the bankruptcy trustee will now control my case. Will my personal injury lawyer still get paid?

Your personal injury lawyer will have to file a motion with the bankruptcy court asking for permission to continue to represent you in the state court action. He or she will also have to seek permission to charge the fee (probably contingent fee) that you agreed to pay. If the bankruptcy court approves these requests, the case will continue and if it is successful your lawyer will be paid. Any settlement of the case will have to receive approval of the bankruptcy court.

January 27, 2011

My Doctor Has Been Subpoenaed for a Deposition!

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

I have a truck wreck case pending in Tennessee and the trucking company has subpoenaed my doctor for a deposition. Can they do that?

Yes, if the doctor gave you treatment for injuries that arose out of the accident he or she can be required to give testimony about their treatment for those injuries. That deposition can be taken by your lawyer or the trucking company’s lawyer. Your lawyer (and you) have the right to be present at the deposition.

If the doctor gave you treatment for a unrelated condition, the question is more difficult to answer. If your lawyer believes that the inquiry into treatment by this provider is wholly unrelated to the wreck and an invasion of your privacy, he or she can ask the court to stop the deposition. The court will let the deposition proceed if it determines that doctor has information that is admissible at trial or is likely to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.

January 26, 2011

Can the Executor of an Estate File a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Tennessee?

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

My brother was killed in a wreck with a big truck. I am named in the will as the executor of his estate and the court has appointed me as the executor. I want to file a lawsuit against the truck driver and trucking company that caused the wreck, but my brother’s wife says she is going to file it. I don’t think my brother’s wife should be permitted to file the case because they were not living together at the time of the wreck because she had filed divorce proceedings against him six months earlier.

In Tennessee, both you and your sister-in-law have the right to file suit and if you cannot decide between yourselves who should control the litigation a judge will decide who the best person is to handle the case. A lawyer who is experienced in wrongful death cases can guide you through this process, help you try to work this matter out with your sister-in-law, and help you persuade the court that you should take the lead on this case.

January 25, 2011

The Interrogatory Answers Are Lies!

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

I have a personal injury lawsuit. My lawyer sent the driver who caused the wreck interrogatories. We just got back the answers and some of those answers are bald-faced lies. Why does he get to lie? How can we make him tell the truth?

Interrogatories are written questions sent from one party in a lawsuit to an opposing party about issues related to the lawsuit. For example, in a lawsuit arising from a motor vehicle collision, each driver may send interrogatories to the other ask for driving histories, including whether the opposing driver has ever received a driving citation. The party responding to interrogatories must sign a statement swearing or affirming that the responses to the interrogatories are true.

If a person does not tell the truth in response to an interrogatory, the untruth will hurt that person at trial. The degree of harm a person does to his case when he does not tell the truth depends on many factors. For instance, was the untruth intentional or just careless? Was the untruth about a relatively minor thing or a major thing? Is there a single untruth or are there multiple untruths? When confronted with the untruth, did the person admit it or deny it? There are other factors as well, but you get the point: the circumstances control how much harm a mistake or lie in answers to interrogatories (or in oral testimony at a deposition or trial for that matter) will hurt one’s case or help the opponent’s case.

January 24, 2011

How Many Personal Injury Cases Go to Trial In Tennessee Each Year?

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

I have a personal injury lawsuit. What is the likelihood that it will go to trial?

Statistically, it is very unlikely your case will go to trial. Personal injury cases are a type of tort (civil wrong) case. In Tennessee for the year ended June 30, 2010, there were 10,469 tort cases filed in the entire state. This may seem like a lot of cases, but remember that there are over 6,000,000 Tennesseans, millions of cars on the road driven by Tennesseans and citizens of other states, etc.

During the same period, the court system resolved 10,872 cases. The vast majority of those cases were settled or dismissed by the court. There were only 588 trials. Of the 588 trials, only 283 were jury trials. The other 305 trials were non-jury trials (cases decided by a judge without the help of a jury).

January 24, 2011

Why Do Some Lawyers Have Malpractice Insurance?

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

I was talking to a lawyer about my potential case the other day and he mentioned that he had malpractice insurance. What does that mean?

That means that the lawyer has purchased insurance that protects his clients from financial loss in the event that he commits an error that causes a loss. If the lawyer is alleged to have made an error that hurts a client and gets sued as a result, the lawyer’s malpractice insurer company will hire a lawyer to defend its insured and pay any judgment against the insured up to the amount of the insurance.

Responsible lawyers carry malpractice insurance even though there is no law or court rule in Tennessee that requires lawyers to purchase such insurance. Indeed, I would be very wary of hiring a lawyer who did not carry malpractice insurance. The fact that a lawyer has insurance means he cares enough about his clients to try to protect them from the consequences of an error.

January 21, 2011

What Damages Are Recoverable in a Trucking Accident Claim?

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

My husband was badly hurt in an accident with a tractor-trailer inTennessee. What damages are available in a trucking accident claim?

Your husband has what is known as a personal injury claim. In a personal injury cases, you can recover monetary damages for past and future medical bills incurred because of the injuries, past and future physical pain and suffering, past and future mental or emotional pain and suffering, loss of earning capacity, disability, lost capacity for the enjoyment of life, and disfigurement.

A significant part of many personal injury claims in the recovery of the reasonable medical bills necessarily incurred as a result of the incident. To the extent that the injuries likely require on-going medical bills in the future, those future medical expenses can also be recovered.