Tennessee Law

Published on: April 5, 2017

Federal Court in East Tennessee Orders Coal Company to Pay 20% “Additional Compensation” Due to Failure to Make Timely Payments in Black Lung Case

Since so many defendants are prone to protracting litigation in an attempt to avoid liability, or at least put off the inevitability of a judgment for the plaintiff, there are sometimes provisions in the law that require defendants to pay more than the judgment eventually entered by the court.

Depending upon the case and the applicable law, this can include both pre-judgment and post-judgment interest, as well as outright penalties and, in a recent black lung case, “additional compensation” of up to 20%.

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Published on: March 29, 2017

Federal District Court Denies Summary Judgment in Tennessee Woman’s Premises Liability Case Against Retail Store

By Mark Hartsoe

While Tennessee premises liability law imposes a general duty of care on landowners, including those who own retail stores, restaurants, and the like, proving fault in a particular case can sometimes be a difficult endeavor. This is because slip and fall, trip and fall, and fall-down lawsuits tend to be extremely fact-specific.

Two customers who suffer identical injuries could have very difficult outcomes, depending on the particular hazard that caused their accident, how that hazard came to be, how long it had been in existence, and whether any store employee was aware of – or, in the exercise of due diligence, should have been aware of – the dangerous condition that led to the customer’s injuries.

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Published on: March 15, 2017

Trucking Company Seeks to Avoid Personal Injury Lawsuit Based on Release that Injured Man Thought Pertained to Property Damage Only

By Mark Hartsoe

It is truly appalling the lengths to which some businesses and insurance companies will go in order to limit or prevent recovery by those hurt due to the negligence of truckers and trucking companies.

In the case discussed below, a professional trucker allegedly presented an accident victim with a document releasing the trucker’s employer from all liability – at the scene of the accident! When that didn’t work, the trucking company hired an investigator, who contacted the victim later that day to discuss a settlement.

Even though the investigator was aware that the accident victim was hurt in the wreck and had been to the hospital, he asked the accident victim to sign a “Release of All Claims” document just two days after the accident. Of the $10,000 settlement, just $215 was allocated for the victim’s personal injury claim. Unfortunately, the man signed the document.

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Published on: February 22, 2017

Tennessee Appellate Court Reverses Summary Judgment in Railroad Worker’s Injury Case

By Mark Hartsoe

Usually, an employee who is hurt on the job is limited to pursuing benefits available under Tennessee’s workers’ compensation laws. These benefits include temporary disability, permanent disability, and medical benefits, but no compensation is provided for the worker’s pain and suffering or other non-economic damages.

There are a few exceptions to this general rule, however, including third-party lawsuits in cases in which the negligence of someone other than the employer may have caused or contributed to the worker’s injuries or death. A “textbook example” of this occurs when a delivery driver is hurt in a car wreck in which another motorist is at fault.

Another situation in which an injured worker has options other than workers’ compensation is when that worker is employed in a particular type of work covered by other laws, such as in a railroad injury case.

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Published on: February 8, 2017

Tennessee Appellate Court Identifies Proper Family Member to Bring Wrongful Death Case Following Mother’s Death in Car Accident

By Mark Hartsoe

When someone perishes in an accident caused by another party’s negligence, the victim’s family may be able to seek compensation for their loved one’s wrongful death in a court of law. Exactly who is entitled to bring the lawsuit is largely a matter of state law, but unique situations can occur that take a particular case outside the normal statutory scheme.

A Tennessee appellate court was recently asked to determine the appropriate family member to bring a wrongful death case in a situation in which the person who normally would have had statutory priority was, himself, a possible defendant in the case.

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Published on: January 31, 2017

Tennessee Court of Appeals Affirms Verdict in Favor of Injured Man in Tractor-Trailer Accident Case

By Mark Hartsoe

When a case goes to trial, it is up to the trial court judge to determine the specific evidence that may be introduced by the parties and considered by the jury in deciding the issues.

When one of the parties is aggrieved by an evidentiary ruling at trial, that party may opt to appeal the judge’s decision to a higher court for review.

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Published on: January 16, 2017

Tennessee Court of Appeals Refuses to Enforce Pre-Injury Release Signed by Parent in Suit Brought by Child

By Mark Hartsoe

If you have kids, you may have noticed a disturbing trend among businesses and organizations that cater to young people; birthday party venues, sports team organizers, and even some churches are requiring a signed release before a child is allowed to participate in recreational activities and other “kid-friendly” events.

The reason, of course, is to attempt to avoid liability in the event that a child is hurt (or, even worse, killed) due to the negligence of the entity asking for the release. The practice is so prevalent that one would be led to think that liability insurance has ceased to be available in this country.

The fact is that liability insurance is widely available and, in most cases, quite affordable. (It’s called “a cost of doing business.”) If no insurance company is willing to assume a particular risk, perhaps this is an indication that the activity in question is too dangerous for minor children anyway.

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Published on: November 23, 2016

East Tennessee Court Finds That Defendant Owed a Duty to Exercise Reasonable Care in Holding a Ladder for Plaintiff – Hoynacki v. Hoynacki

By Mark Hartsoe

Negligence lawsuits are comprised of four basic elements: duty, breach of duty, damages, and causation. Typically, the question of whether or not a duty existed in a particular case is a legal question that must be resolved by a judge, while the issue of whether that duty was, in fact, breached is a question for the trier of fact (the jury).

In a recent case, the plaintiff in a negligence action asserted that the defendant owed a duty to use due care in holding a ladder that the plaintiff was using, but the defendant denied that such a duty existed. (It should be noted that the parties to the litigation were a father and son, but, in reality, any judgment obtained by the son would likely be the responsibility of the father’s liability insurance company.)

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Published on: October 6, 2016

Tennessee Supreme Court Establishes New Rule for Collateral Estoppel in Civil Lawsuit Based on Injury to a Child – Bowen v. Arnold

By Mark Hartsoe

Although the purposes of a civil lawsuit and a criminal prosecution are quite different, the issues in related civil and criminal cases may be very similar. For instance, in a car accident case, a defendant may be criminally prosecuted for driving under the influence of alcohol and may also be sued civilly for negligently or recklessly causing a motor vehicle accident while intoxicated.

In the criminal case, the court may order the defendant to pay a fine, perform community service, or be incarcerated. In the civil case, the court may hold the defendant liable for damages resulting from the car accident and order the defendant (or, in actuality, their insurance company) to pay money to the plaintiff in compensation for their medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering associated with the accident.

Recently, the state supreme court clarified the issue of whether a judgment of conviction in a criminal case could be used as evidence by the plaintiff in a civil case.

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Published on: August 17, 2016

Tennessee Court Remands Case Against Governmental Entity to Consider Whether Water Meter Placement Was a Discretionary Function – Fowler v. Estate of Jackson

By Mark Hartsoe

Governmental entities such as cities and utility companies enjoy governmental immunity against claims of liability pursuant to the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act, Tennessee Code Annotated § 29-20-101 et seq. However, this immunity is not absolute.

For instance, there is no immunity for a governmental entity when a citizen is injured by a defective, unsafe, or dangerous condition of a street or walkway owned by the entity, if the injured person is able to show that the entity had either actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition.

Constructive notice can be established by showing that the condition at issue had been in existence for a length of time sufficient for a property owner exercising due care to have become aware of it.

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