Tennessee Injury Lawyer Blog

A Sevierville, Tennessee woman is making national headlines after she went in front of an investigative panel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday to testify about the harrowing ordeal she underwent when her Lexus suddenly accelerated to speeds of over one hundred miles per hour. The woman tried everything she could think of (hitting the brakes, putting the car in neutral, reverse, etc.) to no avail before the vehicle miraculously slowed down, enabling her to avoid a car crash in Sevierville.

Incidents like this one have cause Toyota to millions of vehicles around the country. Toyota initially blamed the acceleration problems on sticking gas pedals and misplaced floor mats, but the House subcommittee is investigating whether or not the acceleration issues could be the result of an electronic malfunction that Toyota initially refused to acknowledge in instituting the recalls. Toyota does admit that the company may have grown too fast to enable them to maintain the proper focus on consumer safety but the company denies that there are any electronic problems of the sort alleged by the House subcommittee.

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Employing the service of a designated driver is one of the most responsible actions that can be taken by a person who is unfit to drive. However, it is essential to make sure that your designated driver is someone who is actually capable of legally operating a vehicle and is also someone who is not intoxicated as well. Such was the lesson learned by a Texas man last week when he decided to let his niece drive him home because he was intoxicated.

Unfortunately his niece was only fourteen years old, and was also reportedly intoxicated. Officers initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle and the vehicle drove into the yard of a nearby home while trying to stop near the curb. Both the uncle and the driver face a litany of charges.

Designating a driver is a great way to avoid irresponsible driving behavior and potential liability in a lawsuit arising from an auto accident. However, that driver must legally be able to drive and must be in a condition to operate a motor vehicle. Tennessee drivers who employ the tactic described above will be responsible for the damages suffered by any victims in a personal injury suit just as they would if they had actually driven the vehicle while under the influence.

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Twenty-seven unlucky people at an auto auction in Ellijay, Georgia got more than they bargained for at a car auction on Tuesday night when a Volvo that was being driven into the building to be auctioned off suddenly accelerated and plowed through the crowd, injuring a host of spectators. Fourteen of the auction-goers had to be taken to the hospital as a result of the incident and thirteen more were treated on the scene. Authorities reportedly believe the crash to be an accident, although no specific cause has yet been revealed.

The biggest risk most people expect to face when attending an auction is that someone across the room will be just a little more enthusiastic about buying an item than they are. They certainly don’t expect to get hurt, and only in their wildest dreams would attendees consider the possibility that a rogue vehicle would do its best Horace the Hate Bug impression and mow down the crowd. However, this kind of scenario is one which Tennessee law sometimes expects the persons or companies that host the auctions to consider. Tennessee law demands that an owner or occupier of a space use reasonable care to prevent harm to the patrons, visitors, or other persons who could foreseeably be on the property. Failure to do so may be negligent, and may expose the owner or occupier to premises liability for the damages or injuries sustained should something like the above scenario occur.

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As technology has advanced, drivers have found an increasing number of ways to distract themselves while attempting to travel America’s roadways. One of the latest examples comes from Illinois where a man rear-ended the squad car of an Illinois State Trooper who had just pulled onto Interstate 80 from the median. The man, who was reportedly speeding at the time of the incident, was trying to change the ringtone on his mobile phone, which caused him to divert his attention from the road and made him unable to spot the trooper in time.

Luckily no one was injured in the collision, which occurred just days before a new law prohibiting Illinois drivers from using electronic devices while driving was to take effect. To help combat similar incidents in the future, Illinois police have placed the car in the median with a sign that informs passers-by that the car was struck while texting.

This scenario is becoming ever more likely as distracted driving has become the leading cause of roadway accidents. Public service announcements in Tennessee are now citing that distracted driving accounts for 80% of all roadway accidents, meaning that if you are the victim of an auto accident in Tennessee then there is a good chance that the party at-fault was engaged in some fort of distracted driving at the time the accident occurred.

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Intoxication often leads individuals to make less than optimal decisions, which is exactly what an Indiana man did early Sunday morning when he decided it might be a good idea to try to steal a backhoe. The man apparently climbed over a fence to get to the backhoe and then crashed the backhoe through the fence to make his escape. A host of witnesses reportedly saw the man try to make his escape and called the police, with one even following him down the highway while talking to police on his mobile phone. To make matters worse for the man, he reportedly attempted to make his escape by zig-zagging between his own lane and oncoming traffic on the backhoe. Police said he showed signs of intoxication. The criminal consequences of this situation are discussed here.

As is often discussed on this blog, operating a vehicle while intoxicated is a frequent source of negligent driving that can result in liability in personal injury lawsuits. In this scenario, the driver made several unfortunate decisions, all of which constitute negligence in Tennessee. The first such decision was driving a backhoe down the highway, since the highway probably isn’t a proper or safe place to drive such a low-speed vehicle. The second poor decision was the decision to try to evade the police, since other drivers can easily be injured in a police chase and the driver who is the cause of the chase can be held responsible for the damages. The third unfortunate decision in this case was the decision to weave between the proper lane of travel and oncoming traffic. This decision, maybe more than any other, could result in the driver or someone else being seriously injured or killed. This decision could also constitute conduct that a jury could find was reckless enough to warrant the imposition of punitive damages.

Driving while intoxicated is never a good idea, and newspapers and websites are filled with examples of why that is the case. That decision often leads to serious accidents and personal injury suits, which often result in large damages awards against the person responsible for the accident.

Source: http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/2010/02/09/20100209man-flees-in-backhoe.html

While some schools are extremely strict on their tardy policies, forcing students to get to class on time no matter what, that is probably not what caused a seventeen year-old boy from Shoreline, Washington to crash his parents’ car through the doors of his high school and drive it down the hall. The car reportedly traveled about seventy-five yards before coming to a stop after hitting a security office. The police say drugs and alcohol were not involved, but the teen was taken for a mental evaluation. There has been no confirmation yet as to why or how the crash occurred.

Scenarios such as this one help to illustrate why individuals under twenty-five, particularly males, are considered “high-risk” by insurance companies and generally have to pay higher premiums. This high-risk status derives from many factors. First and foremost is the fact that drivers under the age of twenty-five will generally be less experienced behind the wheel than older drivers. Second, younger drivers are also generally more prone to risky or reckless driving, which can combine with inexperience to form a deadly combination. Third, younger drivers are thought by insurance companies to have a lesser degree of emotional maturity than do older drivers, which may cause them to let emotional or stressful situations impact the decisions they make behind the wheel of an automobile. This is also probably the reason that the teen in this situation is being taken for a mental evaluation, which can help determine whether or why he decided to crash the car into the school.

In situations like this one, it is extremely fortuitous when no injuries result. A vehicle crashing through the hallways of a high school would have the potential to injure or kill dozens or hundreds of kids depending on the time of day. Luckily no one was injured in this incident, including the driver, but it does provide a good example of why drivers in this age group may be considered “high-risk” by insurance companies.

Source: http://www.denverpost.com/watercooler/ci_14358948

No matter how clearly the defendant is at fault nor how badly the plaintiff is injured, one factor that always looms ready to completely cutoff the plaintiff’s ability to recover for his or her loss is the statute of limitations. A statute of limitations is basically a statute that prescribes a certain time period (often called the limitations period) during which certain types of lawsuits can be brought or charges can be filed. In the personal injury context, this often depends on the cause of action and the type of damages claimed by the plaintiff. For example, actions for injury to the person must be commenced within one year after the cause of action accrues. In plain English, this means that if a plaintiff is injured by a defendant’s negligence in an automobile accident, that plaintiff has one year from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit. This rule is in place so that potential defendants do not get twenty years down the road and suddenly get slapped with a huge lawsuit from two decades ago. This also helps to keep the facts and evidence fresh in order to achieve the best resolution possible.

As noted above, the statute of limitations can differ depending on the type of claim pursued or the type of damages sought. For example, actions for damage to personal property are given a three year statute of limitations, which stands in stark contrast to actions for personal injury which have a period of limitations that is two years shorter. Finding and abiding by the correct statute of limitations can be frustrating, but failing to do so can cost a plaintiff the ability to recover for his case. A skilled attorney can take on the responsibility of making sure a plaintiff’s claim is brought within the limitations period or possibly even find an exception for a claim that will inevitably be filed too late.

Source: Hixon v. Highsmith, 147 F.Supp. 801 (E.D.Tenn. 1957).

Authorities are still searching for the cause of an automobile accident that occurred in Las Vegas, Nevada earlier this week which involved a Pontiac Vibe crashing into the Edgewater Hotel & Casino, killing two people and injuring eight others. Witnesses reportedly saw the vehicle speed through a red light and down the casino’s driveway at speeds of over sixty miles per hour before running into the casino. The seventy year-old driver of the vehicle said that he fainted before the vehicle crashed into the casino, but investigators are not ruling out mechanical problems with the Vibe as being the cause of the accident. Although the Vibe is a joint venture between Toyota and GM, the potential problems with this vehicle are reportedly not linked to the recent Toyota recalls.

Although authorities have not been able to determine the cause of the accident, their eventual findings will be critical to the victims of the case. The party responsible for the accident will potentially be facing personal injury and product liability claims from ten different parties, which more than likely will consist of a couple of wrongful death suits and numerous claims for medical expenses and damages depending on the circumstances. If the automakers are found liable for a mechanical defect in the vehicle, the victims will have a greater chance of recovering the full amounts of the damages and medical expenses that would potentially be awarded since automakers generally have a greater capacity to compensate victims than does your average seventy year-old man.

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If there are such things as famous last words that precede an automobile accident, “Hey guys, watch this,” may just be those words. Rarely does such a statement precede a safe and reasonable driving maneuver, as a nineteen year-old Montana woman would probably attest. The woman was escorting three passengers in her SUV while reportedly high on marijuana, speeding, and texting. Surprisingly, these three activities did not combine to see the vehicle’s occupants safely home. The driver was reportedly intentionally causing the vehicle to fishtail when she said “Hey guys, watch this” before losing control of the vehicle which went off the road, through a fence, and rolled four times. Two of her passengers were ejected from the SUV during the wreck and suffered serious injuries while the third suffered less severe, but still substantial, injuries. The driver is also facing criminal charges.

It almost goes without saying that if the driver was engaging in the reported behavior at the time of the accident that she will be liable for the medical expenses and damages incurred by her passengers. Texting, speeding, and driving under the influence are sources of negligent driving in Tennessee; when you combine the three activities it is almost a certainty that the victims will be compensated for their damages by the driver. Behavior such as intentionally causing the vehicle to fishtail is also negligent, and may even be considered reckless by the jury such that it warrants a punitive damages award. The problem with this however, is that the driver is unlikely to be able to pay for the medical expenses alone, much less a tacked-on punitive damages award. This article serves to illustrate the dangers of several different types of negligent driving. Texting while driving, speeding, driving under the influence, and thrill driving are all negligent behaviors that are likely to cause accidents. When all of these factors are present at one time, it is a recipe for disaster.

Source: http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_b2eca4b2-108b-11df-9d4a-001cc4c03286.html

An exotic dancer received a jury award of approximately $100,000 against her former employer, a gentleman’s club, on Tuesday after the jury found that the club was negligent in failing to stop her from driving home after she drank too much while at work. The dancer apparently had enough to drink while at work one night in October of 2007 to cause her blood-alcohol level to rise to almost three times the legal limit in Alabama. Security pulled her off of the dance floor due to her intoxication and then tried to stop her from driving home three times before letting her go. She then tried to drive home and got into an accident, breaking her nose and her back.

At trial, she maintained that these injuries would prevent her from pursuing her profession in the future. She claimed that the club had recklessly disregarded its own safety rules, including limiting dancers to two drinks per night and taking the keys from drunken employees or arranging transportation to escort them safely home, and that such disregard for the rules led to her accident and injuries. The jury agreed with her side of the story and awarded her the six-figure compensatory damage amount.

This story illustrates an important aspect of which plaintiffs in personal injury suits should be aware, which is that establishments who sell, distribute, or otherwise encourage the consumption of alcohol may be held liable for accidents caused by letting drivers leave the premises when they are too intoxicated to drive. It is noteworthy that in this case the club was held liable for the accident despite the club’s policy and procedures designed to prevent drunk employees from driving home, because they failed to actually prevent her from getting behind the wheel while intoxicated. This principle can apply not only in this type of situation but also to a restaurant or other establishment that allows a customer to continue drinking when it is clear he or she has had enough or when a business allows a customer to leave in his or her vehicle despite the fact that the business knows the customer is intoxicated. This principle is even more significant in Tennessee, because Tennessee is a contributory negligence state, which would allow the restaurant or business to be held liable for the portion of the damages that stems from its own negligence, no matter how great or small that may be.

Source: http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2010/02/former_stripper_gets_100000_in.html

Do you ever watch one of those drug or alcohol rehabilitation shows that are seemingly everywhere on cable television and think “That really looks fun, I’d like to try it?” Despite the focus that such shows generally place on the perils of drug abuse, a Kentucky man recently decided that “huffing” looked so fun when he saw it on a popular television show that he wanted to give it a whirl. “Huffing” is a slang term that signifies a form of inhalant abuse in which a person inhales some substance in order to alter his or her mental state. A myriad of substances can be used for such activity including paint thinner, gasoline, glue, spray paint, various gases, and household cleaning products. The man in this scenario was huffing what was described as “a can of air” when he hit the barrier on Interstate 64 and caused his truck to flip. Luckily, he suffered only minor injuries and his female passenger was not hurt.

Previous blog articles have shown that DUI is a very common source of negligence that causes roadway accidents and imposes liability upon the driver at fault for the damages sustained by victims of the accident. Although huffing is a less common method of ingesting an intoxicant than is drinking alcohol or smoking marijuana, it still comprises the use of an intoxicant and can lead to driving under the influence.

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If you are like me, you can remember a lot more instances where some “idiot” almost ran you off the road or caused you to wreck than you can recall times that you were the “idiot” who almost ran over or into someone else’s vehicle. The good news is we are not alone in this method of thinking. The bad news is that we, like everyone else, tend to overestimate our own driving ability. A Canadian study recently found that every single one of the approximately 400 drivers surveyed rated themselves as above-average drivers.

The survey asked the drivers to rate how well they could drive in a number of different driving conditions, including adverse weather and heavy traffic. It also asked the drivers to indicate how they matched up against other drivers that were the same age, younger, older, or the opposite gender. The results were not terribly surprising, with young men being the most confident in their driving abilities and, as mentioned previously, everyone rating their own driving prowess at least above-average.

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