Here are the first few paragraphs of an article that I wrote for the November 2009 edition of the Tennessee Bar Journal titled "Party Planning for Tort Lawyers." Rest the rest of the article (and the footnotes) here. Litigation in a world of comparative fault and several liability involves party…
Former Justice Penny White, former Judge Joe Riley and I are presenting our annual seminar program for civil trial lawyers in Nashville this week. Learn more and register here.
Ford Motor Company has announced that is bringing to market the world’s first automotive inflatable seat belts, combining attributes of traditional seat belts and air bags to provide an added level of crash safety protection for rear seat occupants. “Ford’s rear inflatable seat belt technology will enhance safety for rear-seat passengers…
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently released a report titled "Motorcycle Helmet Use and Head and Facial Injuries." The Report has a lot of data on motorcycle crashes and the injuries the result, comparing the injuries received by those wearing helmets and those that do not. Here are…
F. Chris Cawood v. Linda Booth, et al., E2007-02537-SC-R11-CV, (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 25, 2008) has a set of facts you don’t run into every day or, at least, I hope you don’t run into everyday. Here is the description of the case from the opinion of the Tennessee Court…
The use of seat belts continues to increase in the United States. Seat belt use in 2009 stood at 84 percent, a gain from 83 percent use in 2008. This result is from the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) which is the only survey that provides nationwide probability-based observed…
A defense lawyer and I were having a drink the other day and he told me that from time to time he has difficulty getting cases settled at mediation because plaintiff’s lawyers don’t have information about subrogation interests. Here are some tips to avoid such problems: At the initial client…
Toyota has a problem with some of the vehicles it has manufactured and a little over 40 days ago issued a recall of 3.8 million of them. According to Toyota, "[r]ecent events have prompted [the company] to take a closer look at the potential for an accelerator pedal to get…
A little over a week ago I wrote this post about the general rule in the law of torts that one person does not have a duty to rescue another from harm. To be sure, there are exceptions to that general rule, but the fact remains that this is one…
I have written before about the dangers of texting while driving (here is a post about the danger of posed when truckers text and drive), and the Tennessee Legislature recently outlawed the practice. Here is a game developed by the New York Times that demonstrates the danger.