Category Archives: Personal Injury

Cumberland UTV Accident Injures One
Cumberland County, TN (July 27, 2020) A utility terrain vehicle (UTV) accident in Cumberland County on January 27 resulted in one rider being injured. Law enforcement and medics responded to the scene on Wilson Cemetery Road, where the operator reported that he was driving the UTV through a field when he turned right and… Read More »

TN Court of Appeals: “Passive” Property Owner Not Responsible for Tenant’s Slip-and-Fall Accident
Many personal injury lawsuits involve more than one defendant. It is typically left to a jury to apportion fault among multiple defendants (and in some cases, even the plaintiff). But an appellate court may find there is insufficient evidence to support the jury’s apportionment in a given case. Take this recent decision from the… Read More »

Principal Contractors, Workers Compensation, and Tennessee Personal Injury Law
You probably know that if you are injured in an on-the-job accident, your employer has to pay you workers’ compensation benefits. The flip side to this is that workers’ compensation is an “exclusive remedy” under Tennessee law–this means that by accepting benefits, you cannot then file a personal injury lawsuit against your employer over… Read More »

Can I File a Personal Injury Lawsuit Against My Employer Even If I Already Received Workers’ Compensation Benefits?
Normally, if someone causes you a personal injury, you have the right to sue them for damages in court. But there are special rules that apply when the person responsible for your injuries is also your employer. Tennessee workers’ compensation law typically applies in such cases. In other words, if you are injured on-the-job,… Read More »

Appeals Court Allows Knoxville Slip-and-Fall Case to Proceed After Key Evidence Goes Missing
In any personal injury case involving premises liability, the victim needs to show there was a dangerous condition on the defendant’s property that caused their accident. This can be accomplished through eyewitness testimony, photographs of the scene, or any other evidence that can demonstrate recklessness or negligence on the part of the property owner…. Read More »

Can a Jury Find I’m Responsible for My Own Accident?
A common defense to personal injury claims is “comparative fault.” For example, if you are involved in a car accident and sue the other driver for negligence, the defendant may argue you were also partially at fault for what happened. The jury will then apportion the comparative fault of you and the other driver…. Read More »

State vs. Federal Court: Who Will Decide My Personal Injury Lawsuit?
A personal injury lawsuit may be heard in either state or federal court. Which court actually hears a case often depends on the citizenship of the parties. For example, let’s say you are a Tennessee citizen who gets into a car accident with a Kentucky citizen. You initially sue the Kentucky driver in Tennessee… Read More »

Do I Need Expert Testimony to “Prove” My Injuries Following a Car Accident?
If you suffer complex injuries in an accident, you will typically need to provide expert medical testimony in a subsequent personal injury lawsuit to prove “causation.” Put another way, you cannot ask the jury to solely rely on your word as to the nature and extent of your injuries; you will need to present… Read More »

Understanding The Discovery Rule and Tennessee’s Statute of Limitations
Tennessee has a one-year statute of limitations for most personal injury claims. This means that if you are injured in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, you have just one year to file a lawsuit to recover damages. In most cases this deadline is easy enough to understand. But in some personal injury… Read More »

Tennessee Supreme Court Holds Salon Can Stand Trial for Sexual Assault of Customer
In Tennessee, the normal rule is that a person cannot sue a “health care provider” for professional negligence (i.e., malpractice) unless their complaint includes a certificate from a qualified expert asserting the case is brought in “good faith.” Basically, if the case requires a jury to determine whether or not a health care provider… Read More »