Tennessee Injury Lawyer Blog

Recognizing the need to balance the leeway that governmental entities need in order to properly serve the public interest against the fact that governmental entities may occasionally act in ways that are unacceptable and cause harm to citizens, Tennessee adopted the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act (TGTLA) to define when governmental entities are immune from tort liability.

The TGTLA basically says that governmental entities are immune from suit for injuries that arise from the carrying out of a governmental function. However, there are several statutory exceptions to governmental immunity, including where the entity has caused injury through negligence. The Tennessee Attorneys Memo highlights a case recently decided by the Tennessee Court of Appeals where a plaintiff asserted that the County of Marion had been negligent in failing to post a police officer outside the juvenile court and thus the County was liable for damages the plaintiff sustained as a result of being assaulted outside the court.

The primary issue before the Court was whether or not posting a police officer outside the court was considered a “discretionary function” under the TGTLA. While the TGTLA generally removes immunity for governmental entities where their negligence proximately causes personal injury in Tennessee, it allows such entities to retain immunity from suit if the injury arises out of “the exercise or performance or the failure to exercise or perform a discretionary function, whether or not the discretion is abused.” Thus, if the decision about where to post a police officer was a discretionary function, Marion County would be immune from liability for any injuries caused by the making of that decision.

The Court of Appeals turned to a prior decision by the Tennessee Supreme Court in Bowers v. City of Chattanooga to determine whether or not the injury in this case arose from the exercise of a discretionary function. Bowers established a “planning-operational” test for determining whether a governmental action or decision would be considered a discretionary function. To summarize this test, the Bowers court stated: “[d]ecisions that rise to the level of planning or policy-making are considered discretionary acts […] while decisions that are merely operational are not considered discretionary acts[…]” To determine whether a decision is a planning or operational one, the court will look to the actual decision-making process itself, not the identity of the decision-maker.

Continue reading "County Not Liable Under TGTLA for Decisions Regarding Placement of Police Officers" »

TCA 49-6-2008, originally enacted in 1981, creates a special civil cause of action against anyone who intentionally assaults educational personnel, such as a teacher or principal. On the surface, this statute seems unnecessary since anyone who is injured in the state of Tennessee has a cause of action against someone who committed an intentional act against him or her. However, remedies are expanded under the statute.

A person who commits an intentional assault on educational personnel are liable for three times the amount of total damages, attorneys fees and, if applicable, punitive damages. If, for example, a parent intentionally assaults a teacher and causes $1,000 in medical bills and associated costs, that parent will be liable for $3,000, plus attorney’s fees. If the parent’s behavior is especially egregious, the liability could exceed $10,000.

All too often, teachers and other educational personnel are assaulted by students. Since students don’t have a lot of money, they don’t make good candidates for tort recovery. In this instance, plaintiffs often look to the parents of the malfeasant child for the damages incurred. However, TCA 37-10-101 through 103 puts a cap on damages collectable from parents whose children commit intentional acts against others.

Continue reading "Assault on Educational Personnel" »

In Tennessee, plaintiffs can bring civil actions when battery has been committed against them. A battery is an intentional act that causes an unpermitted, harmful or offensive bodily contact. Examples of battery include, offensive sexual contact, getting hit by a car, medical procedures performed without informed consent (“medical battery”), punching and kicking.

Intent in Tennessee personal injury actions is different from the intent element in criminal cases. In a criminal case, intent means an act taken with the purpose to inflict injury. On the other hand, intent in a personal injury action only requires proof that the defendant intended to do an act that ultimately resulted in contact with the victim. Thus, a defendant acts with the requisite intent for battery if he throws a rock at someone but accidentally hits another. In this instance, the person who gets hit with the rock has an action against the rock-thrower.

As with most intentional torts, the plaintiff does not have to prove actual, physical damages. But, given the time and expense of litigation, a viable case is typically one in which there are serious physical or emotional injuries. Accordingly, a plaintiff can receive compensation for any of the following upon proof of battery:

• Medical expenses,


• Time off from work,


• Pain and suffering, and


• Punitive damages.

Continue reading "What Qualifies as Intentional Tort for Battery?" »

A tort is simply a wrongful action that causes injury to another. There are two broad categories of torts: negligent torts and intentional torts. As discussed elsewhere on this blog and on the Baker Associates website, negligence occurs when a person’s conduct falls short of what a reasonable person would do to protect another individual from foreseeable risks of harm. An intentional tort, on the other hand, occurs when a person intentionally desires to cause a personal injury or acts with substantial certainty that a personal injury in Tennessee will occur as a result of the person’s conduct.

Broadly speaking, the plaintiff must prove four things in order to establish liability based on an intentional tort theory:

• Intentional conduct,


• Unlawful action,


• Causation, and


• Harmful or offensive contact.

There are several types of intentional torts. Each one will be discussed in detail in future articles posted on this blog. They are:

• Assault,


• Battery,


• Defamation (slander and libel),


• False imprisonment,


• Privacy torts, and


• Intentional infliction of emotion distress (IIED).

Continue reading "Overview of Intentional Torts in Tennessee" »

The state of Tennessee recognizes the tort (personal injury action) of negligent infliction of emotion distress (NIED) even though several jurisdictions do not. What is it? NIED is based on a theory that individuals have a duty to use reasonable care to avoid causing emotional distress to another individual.

In the typical case, the plaintiff observes first-hand an accident that causes a Tennessee wrongful death or serious personal injury to a close relative. The plaintiff then brings an NIED action for the serious emotional injuries that he or she sustained as a result of witnessing the accident.

While the standard negligent elements apply (duty, breach of duty and causation), there are other “gate-keeping” elements that must be established for a successful NIED claim: If the plaintiff does not actually witness the injury-producing event, the following elements must be proved:

• the actual or apparent death or serious physical injury of another caused by the defendant's negligence,


• the existence of a close and intimate personal relationship between the plaintiff and the deceased or injured person,


• the plaintiff's observation of the actual or apparent death or serious physical injury at the scene of the accident before the scene has been materially altered, and


• the resulting serious or severe emotional injury to the plaintiff caused by the observation of the death or injury.

If the plaintiff witnesses the injury-producing event, he or she may recover without proof of a close personal relationship with the victim.

If you recently observed a traumatic event and have suffered serious emotional injuries as a result, you may have a claim for NIED. Call 866-853-2888 to speak with the experienced Knoxville personal injury attorneys at Baker Associates today for a free consultation.

Under the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act (TGTLA), governmental entities are potentially liable for certain types of negligent acts committed by municipal employees. Under the Tennessee Code, a “governmental entity” is basically any political subdivision of the state of Tennessee. Thus, cities, counties, local school districts, public building authorities, volunteer fire departments, commissions, and the like are potentially liable for Tennessee personal injury claims.

While the Claims Commission Act removes immunity for certain acts committed by Tennessee state employees, the TGTLA grants immunity for certain forms of municipal action that results in personal injury. Municipalities typically will claim TGTLA immunity when an injury results from the exercise and discharge of official governmental functions, such as when an officer decides to engage in a high-speed police chase in which innocent bystanders are injured as a result of pursuit. The purpose behind the immunity defense is to prevent municipal officers from acting too carefully for fear of being sued.

As you might imagine, there are exceptions to TGTLA immunity. As the Tennessee Legislature has recognized, sometimes it simply isn’t fair to deny compensation for victims of negligent governmental action.

Typically, governmental immunity is removed under these conditions:
• Negligent operation by any employee of a motor vehicle or other equipment leading to motor vehicle accidents in Tennessee.
• Injuries caused by a defective, unsafe, or dangerous condition of any street, alley, sidewalk or highway, owned and controlled by a governmental entity.
• Injuries caused by the dangerous or defective condition of any public building, structure, dam, reservoir or other public improvement owned and controlled by a governmental entity.

While many assume commissioners, fireman, school officials, utility workers and the like are immune from suit, the fact is they are not. The Legislature has carved out very important exceptions that allow Tennessee citizens to be compensated for personal injuries that result from Tennessee governmental negligence. If you have been so injured, call the skilled Tennessee personal injury attorneys at Baker Associates today for a free consultation.