This is the standard fee agreement that I use in my own practice. Download file. I have tweaked the agreement repeatedly over the years, and plan to continue modifying it in the future as the need arises. If you want an updated form, or if you have suggestions for updates,…
The cause of medical negligence cases is medical negligence. To be sure, the legal system does not do a very good job of holding careless health care providers accountable (far more people are injured or killed by medical negligence than ever bring a lawsuit much less win a lawsuit) but…
This is a sample form set of interrogatories and requests for production of documents and things to send to a corporate defendant in a car wreck case. I typically serve a set of discovery with the complaint in order to get the ball rolling on the case. These form questions…
In Blair v. West Towne Mall, 130 S.W.3d 761 (Tenn. 2004), the Tennessee Supreme Court held that plaintiff may prove that a premises owner had constructive notice of the presence of a dangerous condition by showing a pattern of conduct, a recurring incident, or a general or continuing condition indicating…
Medicare reimburses hospitals and other health care providers at a rate less than “charges,” i.e. the amount stated on the bill. The amount of the discount is often seventy percent or more. Should the medical expense recovery by a sucessful personal injury or wrongful death plaintiff be the amount of…
The Illinois Court of Appeals has ruled that surveillance videos made of a plaintiff in a personal injury suit are disoverable. In Shields v. Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad Co. defendant argued that the films were protected under the work product doctrine. The appellate court followed the majority rule…
Tennessee’s wrongful death law is a little unusual. The claim is the claim that the decedent would have been able to bring if the decedent were still alive. Tennessee law spells out who has the right to bring an action of behalf of the decedent. The person who has the…
TennCare has a statutory subrogation interest provided by Tenn. Code Ann. sec. 71-5-117. Under the statute, once a personal injury plaintiff’s attorney is on notice that TennCare has an interest, the attorney has an obligation to contact TennCare or the plaintiff’s managed care organization “before the entry of a judgment…
49 C.F.R. 387 requires commercial motor carriers to maintain minimum insurance policy limits on their commercial vehicles. The minimum amount varies depending on the vehicle’s use. In any event, the commercial motor carrier is required to report their insurance policy limits to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The FMCSA,…
Can a plaintiff who may be at fault assert res ipsa loquitur in a jurisdiction that has adopted comparative negligence? The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently examined this issue under Iowa law. The Court held that the Iowa Supreme Court would not require a plaintiff to disprove his or…