Nashville Personal Injury Lawyers

You only have a limited amount of time to file a lawsuit after an accident. Tennessee’s statute of limitations gives you just one year. If your lawsuit is filed too late, you will lose your right to full compensation in all likelihood.

However, there are exceptions to this one-year statute of limitations. To protect your legal interests and rights, it’s best to speak with legal representation as soon as you can after your accident.

Most personal injury attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. Instead of charging an hourly fee or a flat rate, attorneys in this area only get paid if they obtain a settlement or verdict on your behalf.

At the conclusion of your case, the attorney will receive a percentage of your monetary award or settlement as payment for their services.

They’ll discuss the percentage with you ahead of time – but in most circumstances, it will be around 33%. If the lawyer fails to obtain an award for you, you’ll owe them nothing in attorney’s fees.

With this payment structure, your lawyer is incentivized to obtain as much compensation for you as possible – the more money you get, the more they receive as well.

You can also hire a top-rated lawyer, even if your accident has put you in a tough financial spot.

How much your Nashville personal injury case is worth will come down to the facts of the situation – each case has a unique value. It’s critical that you understand the full value of your claim before demanding compensation from the opposing side, as you might resolve your case for less than it’s worth otherwise.

Here are some of the factors that will influence the value of your case:

• How severe your injuries are
• How much evidence exists to support your case
• Whether you can return to work once you recover
• Whether you are partially to blame for your accident
• The nature of who is at-fault and the accident itself
• The terms of any insurance policies that might apply to your case

The personal injury cases involving the most serious injuries tend to have the highest values, but other factors can have a stronger impact in some circumstances. During your first meeting with us, we can provide further insight into how much your particular case might be worth.

Tennessee law allows personal injury victims to recover compensation in a wide range of circumstances. So long as your injury was caused by someone else, you might be able to file a claim against them.

Types of situations that can lead to a personal injury case include:

• Motor vehicle accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Injuries caused by defective products
• Harm caused by a doctor or other healthcare professional
• Dog bites and attacks
• Injuries sustained on public or private property
• Assaults and other intentional acts
• Premises liability cases

The easiest way to find out if you have a case is to reach out to our team and schedule a time to talk. At that time, we can review your circumstances and advise you on your next steps.

Most personal injury claims don’t make it all the way to trial. In fact, most do not even reach a court of law. Instead, they are usually resolved through settlement negotiations.

However, it can strengthen your case to have a lawsuit as a possibility. Often, the at-fault party will not want to put forth the time and effort it takes to defend themselves in court. For that reason, the possibility of a lawsuit may persuade them to offer a more reasonable settlement.

Once a lawsuit is filed, however, we will have access to the discovery process. This step could reveal critical evidence in support of your claim – potentially leading to a more lucrative settlement.

You may still be able to recover compensation even if you share some responsibility for your accident. Tennessee follows a “modified comparative negligence” rule with a 50% bar.

That means you may be assigned a percentage of fault for your accident. If this percentage is 50% or higher, you cannot recover any damages. But as long as your assessed percentage is less than 50%, you can still get (possibly reduced) damages. For example, sharing 25% of the blame means your recovery can be reduced by 25%.

It’s very likely that the other side will try to say the accident was mostly your fault, as doing so can eliminate their liability for your claim. Hiring an attorney in Nashville can make all the difference in this area, as your lawyer can advocate for you and minimize the percentage of fault assigned to you.

Injured victims can recover both economic and non-economic damages as their primary forms of compensation. Punitive damages may be awarded to injury victims in rare instances as well.

Economic damages represent your financial losses. For example:

• Lost wages
• Property damage
• Diminished earning capacity
• Out-of-pocket expenses
• Current medical bills
• Future medical bills

Non-economic damages cover personal, non-financial losses. For example:

• Emotional distress
• Loss of enjoyment/quality of life
• Pain and suffering
• Mental conditions such as anxiety, PTSD, or depression
• Loss of consortium

Punitive damages are sometimes given in lawsuits involving extreme or reckless conduct from the defendant.