An Overview of Tennessee Personal Injury Laws

Tennessee personal injury laws that relate to negligence are relatively standard when compared to other jurisdictions. Basically, someone who has been injured needs to prove the following in order for a claim to be successful:

• Legal duty – A legal duty is a notion that people owe others the responsibility of not placing them in situations of unreasonable harm.
• Breach of duty – A plaintiff must prove in a personal injury case that the defendant breached this legal duty by failing to act as a reasonable person would have in a similar situation.
• Causation – The plaintiff must prove that the defendant's breach of the legal duty either directly or indirectly led to the injuries suffered by the plaintiff.
• Damages – Finally, if all of the elements above are proven successfully, the plaintiff must show that he or she has suffered actual damages as a result.
• Failure to prove any of these elements will likely lead to a result that favors a defendant, which means that every one of these variables must be properly analyzed before moving forward with a claim.

Types of Injuries Represented by Our Nashville Attorneys

• Head Injuries - Head injuries, sometimes referred to as traumatic brain injuries, are extremely difficult to manage medically and even more complicated to deal with in a legal sense. Providing an accurate prognosis can be very complicated in terms of explaining the scenario to a jury, and quantifying damages that will be incurred in the future requires legal experience.
• Back Injuries - Back injuries can also be difficult to deal with in terms of attaching the proper amount of liability to the person or people who were the reason that the back injury was sustained in the first place. Some back injuries will heal relatively quickly, while others may be present for the rest of a person's life.
• Whiplash - Whiplash remains one of the more difficult challenges for those who suffer from it if they attempt to hold those who caused this injury accountable. Decades of parodies in Hollywood have led to skepticism when people are confronted with the pursuit of damages as a result of suffering whiplash, which means that skilled Tennessee personal injury lawyers should be involved so that juries can be convinced that compensation is in order for justice to be properly served.
• Quadriplegia - When someone suffers from quadriplegia, that person faces a lifetime of never being able to move his or her arms or legs again. These situations are extremely difficult for the person who suffers from quadriplegia, as millions of dollars in medical costs, equipment costs and lost income are usually one of the many consequences of this type of an injury.
• Paraplegia - Those who suffer from paraplegia as a result of someone's negligence face many of the same costs and challenges as those who suffer from quadriplegia, and the only real difference is that paraplegics are generally able to move their arms. However, they still face a lifetime of difficulties and medical costs.
• Broken Bones - Broken bone injuries can vary in severity. Some broken bones will heal on their own over time, others require setting and casting by doctors and still others require invasive surgery involving steel rods and months if not years of rehabilitation and pain and suffering. Broken bone injuries substantially lower a person's quality of life while they are struggling to overcome them.
• Severe Lacerations - Severe laceration injuries are the type of injuries that do not generally sound nearly as severe as they are, but the fact is that severe lacerations can be deadly. People who suffer from this injury could face surgeries and eventually the loss of a limb if medical treatment is not obtained immediately after the injury is suffered.
• Soft Tissue Injuries - Much like whiplash, soft tissue injuries involve an enormous amount of suffering that tends to be met with skepticism by others. The main reason for this skepticism is that many soft tissue injuries do not appear outwardly on X-rays or on MRI scans, and attaching liability to those responsible for these injuries requires the skill and experience of Tennessee personal injury lawyers.

Pain and Suffering Damages under Tennessee Personal Injury Law

As mentioned above, in order for a Tennessee personal injury case to be successful, a plaintiff must prove that he or she suffered actual damages as a result of the defendant's conduct. While many of these types of damages are tangible in nature, including past and future medical costs and lost income, others are intangible, and this includes pain and suffering.

Pain and suffering is a form of damages that compensates a plaintiff for the loss or lowering of the quality of life that he or she experiences as a result of having to endure the physical and emotional pain and financial stress that comes with the result of serious injuries. It takes the experience of Nashville injury liability attorneys who have handled many of these cases in the past to be able to accurately place a value on this form of damages.

Medical Care and TN Personal Injury Law

When someone is seriously injured by someone else in Tennessee, that injured person often requires extensive medical care. Even if someone has health insurance, medical costs can quickly become exorbitant. Estimates have indicated that staying in a hospital for any period of time can cost as much as $5,000.00 per day, and if someone needs surgery, it could add as much as $50,000.00 to the overall cost.

In terms of ongoing medical costs, those who need continued physical rehabilitation could face the prospect of mounting bills as a result of the need for this rehabilitation, as many health insurance policies place limits on the amount of their coverage in certain respects or will not cover certain types of rehabilitation at all. Fortunately, Tennessee personal injury law allows for the recovery of these costs in the form of damages.

Tennessee Insurance Companies Role in Personal Injury Claims

Finally, the analysis of a Tennessee personal injury case must include a review of any insurance coverage possessed by the defendant. If the defendant has insurance, the process of pursuing a legal claim will likely begin with negotiating with the insurance company in hopes of obtaining a fair settlement.

Personal Injury Insurance Claim Settlements

It takes experience to understand quickly whether a settlement is a realistic possibility, and Nashville personal injury lawyers with this level of experience will understand that every case should be prepared as though it will proceed to trial while simultaneously working towards a potential solution to the matter before it proceeds to that point.

Our Tennessee Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help

If you or someone you love has been harmed by someone else, it's generally not advisable to attempt to complete this entire analysis without professional help. Allow the attorneys at our firm to put their experience, knowledge of the law and skill to work in an effort to enforce your legal rights.  Contact the Nashville personal injury lawyers at Michael D. Ponce & Associates today to schedule a free initial consultation.