The Hamilton Firm Blog

If you’ve been involved in a car wreck in Chattanooga/Hamilton County Tennessee, what you do in the minutes and days afterward can make a major difference in your health, your financial recovery, and your legal case. At The Hamilton Firm, LLC, we help clients: If you or a loved one has been injured in a…

When you’ve been seriously injured, it’s easy to feel like just another case number—especially when you see law firms everywhere pouring money into flashy billboards, TV commercials, and online ads. At our firm, we’ve chosen a different path. We don’t spend money advertising—we spend money on you and your case. Putting Clients First, Not Marketing…

When you’ve been seriously injured, choosing the right lawyer can make a significant difference in the outcome of your case. One factor that often separates law firms is trial experience. While many attorneys handle personal injury and trucking accident claims, not all of them are willing—or prepared—to take a case all the way to trial. In…

At The Hamilton Firm, we are honored to receive referrals from attorneys across the country who trust us to assist with complex trucking accident cases in Tennessee, Georgia, and beyond. When a case involves serious injuries and commercial trucking companies, having the right legal team can make all the difference. Trucking accident litigation is far more complex…

If a defendant in a pending personal injury action dies during litigation in Tennessee, a substitution must be made for the deceased defendant.  The lawsuit does not abate if a party dies, but continues against the deceased party’s personal representative. T.C.A. §20-5-103.    The substitution of the party is controlled by Rule 25.01 of the T.R.C.P.…

Per O.C.G.A. 40-1-117, “except in those cases where the Constitution requires otherwise, any action against any resident or nonresident motor carrier for damages by reason of any breach of duty . . . may be brought in the county where the cause of action or some part thereof arose.” If you have been in injured…

Congratulations to Patrick Cruise, who was recently published in the AAJ Trucking Litigation Group: Journal of Trucking Litigation, Winter 2026, regarding his work on a successful MCS-90 trucking case. If you are seriously injured in a truck wreck, or you are a lawyer handling a truck wreck case and want assistance, Patrick is available to…

Per Rule 3.7 of the Tennessee Rules of Professional Responsibility: (a) A lawyer shall not act as an advocate at a trial in which the lawyer is likely to be a necessary witness unless: (1) the testimony relates to an uncontested issue; (2) the testimony relates to the nature and value of legal services rendered…

A party is forbidden from deposing opposing counsel, except when the party seeking the deposition proves that (1) no other means exist to obtain the information than to depose opposing counsel; (2) the information sought is relevant and nonprivileged; and (3) the information is crucial to the preparation of the case.  Shelton v. Am. Motors…

Rule 615, often called simply “The Rule”, is titled “Exclusion of Witnesses”.  “The Rule” is short for The Rule of Sequestration.   Importantly, Rule 615 is found in the Tennessee Rules of Evidence.  The Tennessee Rules of Evidence “govern evidence rulings” and “apply in all trials.”  Tenn. Rules of Evidence 101 and Advisory Commission Comments. Thus,…