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O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33 (d) (1) states that the “negligence or fault of a nonparty shall be considered if the plaintiff entered into a settlement agreement with the nonparty.” The statute does not address whether the amount of any settlement is admissible or whether the remaining defendants get any credit for settlement funds paid by a…

Plaintiffs usually fare well in FELA cases, which provide compensation for railroad employees injured on the job. Unlike state workers compensation systems, however, which are no-fault systems, under FELA, the plaintiff must prove some negligence on the part of the railroad in causing the injury. In Spencer v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. 2014 Tenn. LEXIS…

Although the circumstances were unusual, the Tennessee Supreme has clarified that under Tennessee law a wrongful death claim did not belong to the decedent, but passed to decedent’s husband upon her death, Linda Beard v. James William Branson and Trinity Hospital, L.L.C. The husband had filed a pro se wrongful death malpractice lawsuit shortly before…

As soon as a truck wreck happens, the trucking company goes into critical response. If the trucking company and their driver caused a wreck that injures someone, that injured person is not worried about anything other than hoping they are alive. In the meantime, the trucking company is working. Often truck driver is provided with…

Tennessee’s one year statute of limitations for personal injury claims often forces plaintiffs to file suit before they even know the full extent of their injuries. On the other hand, there are probably many meritorious cases that cannot be filed because the statute of limitations expires before the injury victims even think about filing a…

The Tennessee Supreme Court has unanimously declined to change the law on what evidence can be used to prove medical expenses in cases involving personal injury. In Jean Dedmon v. Debbie Steelman et al., W2015-01462-SC-R11-CV (11/17/17), the Court has held that Tennessee law continues to allow plaintiffs to use full, undiscounted medical bills to prove…

A recent opinion, Gardner v. R & J Express, LLC, 2018 Tenn. App. LEXIS 248 by the Tennessee Court of Appeals demonstrates that spoliation is not a one-sided affair. Plaintiffs may be subject to sanctions as well as defendants who do not preserve material evidence. Mr. Gardner was an owner/operator pulling a trailer owned by…

Tennessee has joined Georgia and many other states in prohibiting handheld use of cell phones while driving. T.C.A. § 55-8-199, amended effective July 1, 2019, prohibits drivers from operating a motor vehicle on any road or highway in Tennessee, while physically holding or supporting a cell phone, with any part of the driver’s body, except…

Tamarin Lindenberg had to sue Jackson National Life Co. to recover $350,000 she was owed as the primary beneficiary of a life insurance policy on her ex-husband, Thomas, after he died in 2013. There were contingent beneficiaries listed, to his “surviving children equally”, but there appeared to be no question but that Tamarin was entitled…

After passing Congress late in 2012, the President has signed the SMART Act into law. The Medicare Secondary Payer Act is supposed to guarantee that Medicare does not pay medical bills that are the primary responsibility of a third party. The SMART Act amends the Medicare Secondary Payer Act to streamline and improve the reimbursement…