The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion of interest to every Tennessee personal injury lawyer. The Court of Appeals held in a car accident case that a plaintiff who serves a summons by certified mail must file the return receipt “promptly.” The court did not say what “promptly”…
The Cross-Examination Blog is a good blog to add to your reading list. Written by Ronald H. Clark, the blog is filled within helpful information for personal injury and wrongful death lawyers. The following is from a recent post titled "Truisms in Cross-Examination:" David Paul Jones’s Rules of Cross-Examination (Jones…
A personal injury attorney may be sued in federal court for the failure to pay a subrogation interest subject to ERISA and required to put money back into his trust account pending the outcome of the subrogation fight. So holds the United States District Court for the Northern District of…
John Travolta, one of the better known actors in the world, has been hit with two lawsuits alleging that he engaged in sexual misconduct. The allegations come from two masseurs who, so far, have refused to reveal their names. In one case, the masseuse claims that Travolta solicited sexual conduct…
Tennessee personal injury lawyers know that the Tennessee General Assembly is a far different place than it used to be. The Legislature is determined to change the rules of tort litigation for the benefit of defendants and those who would be defendants. What follows is a list of legislation enacted…
Today, May 4, 2012, is the 20th anniversary of the landmark McIntyre v. Balentine opinion, the case where the Tennessee Supreme Court adopted modified comparative fault. All in all, most would say that the comparative fault scheme in Tennessee improved the quality of the civil justice in Tennessee. I agree. For…
T.C.A. Section 20-1-119 is one of the most important statutes for those of us who practice personal injury law in Tennessee, and the recent Mills v. Fulmarque opinion issued by the Tennessee Supreme Court has changed the way many people thought about this statute. Subject to several important limitations, the…
Tennessee personal injury lawyers will read with interest this opinion from the Maryland Court of Appeals that declares that pit bulls are inherently dangerous and thus are not subject to the "first-bite" rule. In Tracey v. Solesky, No. 53 (MD. Ct. of App. Apr. 26, 2012) the dog bite…
The National Practioner Data Bank, the entity that gathers data about medical malpractice claims, reports that paid medical malpractice claims continue to drop. In 2001, the total number of paid claims was 20,319. In 2010, the number had dropped to 13,277. Now, a new report released by Kaiser citing data…
Tennessee has a goofy rule concerning expert witnesses that, to my knowledge and belief, exists in no other state. Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-115(b) requires any expert witness in a medical malpractice state to practice in Tennessee or a border state unless the trial court “determines that the appropriate witnesses otherwise would not…