Misinformation about malpractice litigation in Tennessee

Misinformation about malpractice litigation in Tennessee

Our friend John Day posted an informative blog post about Misinformation About Malpractice Litigation in Tennessee. John points out:

[an article] purports to list the number of filings per state per 100,000 residents and ranks Tennesseans as the 5th highest filers of malpractice lawsuits – at the rate of 33 per 100,000 people.  That would mean that Tennesseans file about 2145 such lawsuits per year (we have a little over 6,500,000 people living here).

But that number is wrong.  Information compiled by Tennessee’s Administrative Office of the Courts demonstrates that there were 374 medical malpractice suits filed in 2013-2014 and 356 suits filed in 2014-2015. (Data is kept on a July 1 – June 30 fiscal year; 2015-2016 data is not yet publicly available). My guess is that the number of suits filed in all of 2015 was down from what it was in fiscal year 2014-2015, but even assuming that it was the same (356), the rate of filed suits was less than 5.5 per 100,000.  That simply didn’t happen.

Lesson: Don’t Read the rest

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Can I get sued for a DUI?

Can I get Sued for a DUI?

This is an important question with a simple answer. Yes. For purposes of this article the term dui, or driving under the influence, includes driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or both.  All states have both civil and criminal laws addressing the consequences of being caught driving a motor vehicle under the influence.

 

There are as a rule in these types of cases two possible lawsuits.  The first is a criminal prosecution brought by the government for violating state driving laws; the second is a civil lawsuit brought by a private party who may have been injured as a result of the dui.  The consequences of each are significant, and if the dui also involves an accident with injuries the dui driver will in all likelihood face both a criminal lawsuit brought by the prosecutor, and a civil lawsuit for damages brought by the injured party.

 

The dui laws nationwide are becoming increasingly more complicated, and, if a criminal prosecution is brought, the punishment increasingly more severe. Colorado, for example,
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3 Myths About Personal Injury Cases

3 Myths About Personal Injury Cases

There’s a lot of misinformation being spread these days about personal injury cases. This is because the insurance companies and their powerful friends like to try to poison America’s jury panels against personal injury plaintiffs. This post debunks three of the most glaring untruths about personal injury cases.

  1. Personal injury lawsuits are frivolous

When talking about lawsuits, the word “frivolous” has a specific legal meaning. It means a case without a legal basis. For example, suing congress because you don’t like a law would be frivolous as there is no legal right to sue over that issue. But personal injury cases are just the opposite. When someone has failed to take reasonable care and injured another person, the injured party has a legitimate legal theory justifying their case. If another driver has failed to pay attention and rear-ended you, a lawsuit based on those facts is in no way frivolous. It is entirely justified under the law. So next time you hear a politician or TV talking head refer to frivolous lawsuits, you’ll know … Read the rest

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How to prevent and defend against staged car accidents

How to Prevent and Defend Against Staged Car Accidents

Staged accidents are a big criminal enterprise, as a personal injury lawyer trusts can explain. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, they cost insurance companies about $20 billion per year. They impact you with the headaches of being on the receiving end of personal injury and property damage claims, while significantly increasing insurance premiums. Victims of staged accidents might even suffer legitimate injuries.

Many People Can Be Involved

The participants in staged accidents maneuver their way into crashes that are intended to make the real victim appear to be at fault. Often, the person staging the accident has passengers in the car. Everyone in the vehicle will fake injuries to receive money from the victim’s auto insurer, or even the insurer of the vehicle that they were occupying. It’s not unusual for associates to pose as “independent witnesses” to the accident either. So many staged accidents occur that the FBI has categorized the most common scenarios:

  • Swoop and squat: When the car in front of you gets cut off, and
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Three Key Factors in Truck Accidents

Three Key Factors in Truck Accidents

There are several key factors to keep in mind after being involved in a crash with an 18-Wheeler:

First, safety is often lacking in the trucking industry due to profit motive. The trucking industry finds itself hiring less qualified drivers than a decade ago because aspects of the job such as long periods away from family are undesirable. This often results in less qualified drivers being behind the wheel of trucks. It is common for drivers to become drowsy behind the wheel, jeopardizing public safety. Also, at times the training of drivers does not properly prepare them to avoid rollovers and other hazards. Secondly, the industry has a lot of resources at stake with each claim so they use various tactics to try to reach a speedy settlement. Our law firm has both the resources and experience to fully investigate all three aspects of a trucking accident claim:

  • Collision evidence
  • Trucking Industry evidence
  • Injury information

If you or a loved one has been injured by an 18-wheeler, don’t let the trucking company or insurance … Read the rest

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Providing a statement to the insurance adjuster assigned to your claim

Providing a statement to the insurance adjuster assigned to your claim

Once a claim for bodily injury and property damage is submitted to an insurance company, they will assign a claims representative or claims adjuster and open a claim file.

Once the adjuster opens his file, he or she is likely to contact their insured for a review of the facts after reviewing the policy.  Once that happens, you can expect that the adjuster will reach out to you, the victim, for a statement.  While many lawyers will advise clients to remain tight-lipped about the incident to the insurance company while the firm investigates the claim, there is a different approach. The more information provided to the insurance company, the better the chance of showing more compensable pieces of your claim. This will make the claim of higher value. 

The initial statement taken by the insurance adjuster is simply to get a grasp of the overall claim and to determine how different, if any, the perspectives are from the insured and the victim.  The adjuster, at this stage, won’t go Read the rest

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DUI/DWI Consequences

DUI/DWI Consequences

No one intends to be involved in a DUI. However, when we make an error in judgment concerning alcohol consumption and wind up being apprehended by law enforcement, the consequences are often a surprise to us in terms of severity, especially for those of us never in trouble with the law before. If you wind up in a position where you are caught driving drunk or impaired, it is generally a good idea to be aware of the consequences. Some states have some extremely stringent laws regarding impaired driving.
First Offense
In many states even the penalties for a first DUI are relatively stringent.  These laws were passed because of the huge amount of injury and death caused by drunk drivers. In many cases, a first offense can result in imprisonment, as well as fines, depending on Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) and the presence of any minors in the vehicle at the time of the stop. Many other states may initially require only probation instead of these stiff penalties. While some first-time DUIs are spared imprisonment, many are
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5 Key Factors in a Slip and Fall Case

5 Key Factors in a Slip and Fall Case

Slip and fall accidents are one of the most common accidents during the holiday season. Most slip and fall accidents are caused by wet, dirty or defective floors. Most of these holiday accidents happen in grocery stores, parking lots and malls. If you find yourself toting a purse, packages or children through a crowded store this holiday season, make sure to keep a proper lookout for obstacles in your path. If during the busy holiday shopping season you find yourself a victim in an unfortunate slip and fall accident, here are a few important factors to consider before it’s too late.

  • Just because you got hurt does not mean you will recover.

Many people believe that if they are injured in a store, they automatically can recover for their injuries. That is not the case. If you have sustained injuries from a fall, you must be able to prove what caused you to fall before you get compensated. Merely owning or occupying land does not make that person or business liable … Read the rest

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Tips for Driving Through Storms

Tips for Driving Through Storms

When you are behind the wheel, you always have to be alert to everything around you. This means that you not only have to be aware of pedestrians and other drivers on the road, but you will also have to be prepared for the onset of inclement weather. Weather can change at the blink of an eye, without warning. When you are driving and a storm suddenly hits, there are certain things you can do to stay safe. Here are a few tips for driving through storms from an experienced Personal injury lawyer Washington DC.

Be Prepared

First and foremost, you should be prepared when you go for a drive. Check the weather forecast in your area, as well as any area to which you may be driving. You will be better able to handle whatever comes your way as a result. You may even be able to plan alternate routes to take where the weather isn’t quite as severe.

Tell someone close to you about your route, destination and the time you plan … Read the rest

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Who Says a Judge Can’t Be Funny?

 

Who Says a Judge Can’t Be Funny?

While the underlying crime is by no means funny — i.e. an argument over a dog pooping in a neighbor’s yard that led to a machete fight — Judge Jeff Sutton of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit offers up several good “one-liners” in response to the criminal defendant’s arguments, including the following:

 

“‘There is nothing new under the sun.’ Ecclesiastes 1:9. Maybe so. But this is a first for us — a dispute between next-door neighbors about uncollected dog deposits that degenerated into a near-fatal assault with a machete.”

“Walker’s belief, however honest, was emphatically unreasonable. He had no objective indications that his neighbor was about to attack him with the stick. And even if he did, Walker brought a machete to a stick fight and nearly killed his neighbor in the process — all in a dispute over a canine trespass….”

“Walker’s lawyer attempts to downplay her client’s use of a machete, claiming that it is merely a ‘garden implement.’  That is easy for her … Read the rest

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