The Hamilton Firm Blog

It depends! Under T.C.A. § 24-5-113(a), “medical, hospital or doctor bills” incurred due to an injury that are itemized in the complaint and attached as an exhibit are deemed to be “necessary and reasonable” as long as the total amount of the bills does not exceed $4000. And, under T.C.A. § 24-5-113(b): “ . .…

How Do You Choose the Best Lawyer for Your Case? You probably would not hire your family practice physician or PCP to perform brain surgery, and you probably should not hire a general practice lawyer, or a probate lawyer, tax lawyer or bankruptcy lawyer to handle a serious injury case. Every lawyer licensed in your…

Unfortunately, there are lawyers out there who will try to solicit cases, illegally and unethically. Those lawyers are usually unqualified to handle complex and serious cases. Unless you already know the lawyer, have been represented by the lawyer before, or have a family or close personal connection with the lawyer, he or she is not…

What is a “collateral source”? It is a source of payment or benefit that is not relevant to issue of legal liability and damages in a personal injury case. For example, an injured person may be covered under a group medical plan at work, or have an individual medical policy that covers some of the…

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…