If you or a loved one recently suffered damages due to the negligent actions of another driver in Tennessee, the Nashville wrongful death and personal injury attorneys at Sessions & Fleischman, LLC can help you recover your losses through a personal injury claim. Contact our experienced Tennessee car accident lawyers today to schedule a free case evaluation and learn more about your legal options for recovery.
Why Choose Sessions & Fleischman For Your Tennessee Car Accident Claim?
Sessions & Fleischman’s car accident attorneys in Tennessee represent people that have been seriously injured in car accidents, trucking-related crashes, and motorcycle wrecks throughout Tennessee and surrounding areas. Do not let concern over how to pay for a lawyer stop you from getting needed advice from a qualified and experienced personal injury lawyer. Each of our injury cases begins with a free consultation and case evaluation, and you will never pay a fee to our firm unless we obtain a recovery for you. Our Firm is driven by the hope to help you and your family recover from a tragic motor vehicle accident, and we do that by providing exceptional service to you and your family while working to obtain the maximum recovery possible for you. No one can take away the impact of a motor vehicle crash, but we can obtain a settlement or judgment that will help care for the injuries you sustained.
Sessions & Fleischman is one of the preeminent car accident and personal injury law firms in Georgia. The Firm is led by Ben Sessions. Ben has been consistently recognized as a Top 100 SuperLawyer in Georgia from 2019 through 2021. Ben has personally tried more than 60 jury trials. If you case cannot be successfully negotiated to a settlement, you can rest assured that you will have an experienced and skilled trial lawyer on your side. Beyond being exceptionally good at obtaining recoveries for our clients, we place an equally important emphasis on the service that we provide to our clients. That means keeping your informed about the process and progress in your case. Contact Sessions & Fleischman today. Do not make the mistake of assuming that all truck accident lawyers are the same. Schedule a free consultation today with an experienced Tennessee personal injury lawyer at The Session Law Firm today. We will help you understand the legal process that your case will follow.
HOW MUCH IS MY NASHVILLE CAR CRASH CLAIM WORTH?
The ultimate goal of any personal injury claim is to help the plaintiff become “whole” again after suffering losses due to another party’s negligence. Essentially, a plaintiff in a car accident claim can secure compensation for any and all damages resulting from the defendant’s negligence. And, the only way that we can try to make you whole again is to secure adequate compensation for you. The potential recovery from a car accident involving significant damages and serious injuries can be substantial.
- Plaintiffs can secure compensation for their economic damages like hospital bills, ambulance fees, medical bills, and any and all other expenses related to necessary medical treatment and car accident injuries. This includes future medical expenses if an injury causes a permanent disability or long-term medical complication requiring consistent treatment.
- Plaintiffs can receive lost income compensation if an auto accident forces them to miss work for an extended time. Additionally, some car accident victims sustain permanent damage that prevents them from working in the future. In such a case, the plaintiff may receive compensation for lost future earnings.
- A plaintiff in a motor vehicle accident claim can recover vehicle repair or replacement costs as well as property damages for damaged or destroyed personal property within the vehicle or other expenses resulting from the accident, such as rental car fees or tow truck fees.
- Plaintiffs who suffer severe injuries usually receive compensation for their pain and suffering. Different courts use different methods for calculating pain and suffering damages. Some plaintiffs may receive lump sums while others receive per diem compensation for every day spent in pain until they reach maximum medical recovery.
- If a defendant was egregiously negligent or engaged in criminal activity at the time of the accident, the jury may also award punitive damages, and the defendant could face criminal charges from the state.
An experienced attorney at Sessions & Fleischman, LLC can help an injured driver assess the full scope of your damages from a car accident to ensure a fair recovery.
HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO FILE A CAR ACCIDENT CLAIM IN TENNESSEE?
Every state upholds a statute of limitations or time limit for filing legal action. In Tennessee, the statute of limitations on personal injury claims is one year, beginning on the date the accident occurred. This means a driver must file a legal complaint within one year against a negligent driver, otherwise the other driver could file a motion to dismiss the suit due to the missed statute of limitations, which a judge would likely approve.
DEALING WITH INSURANCE COMPANIES IN TENNESSEE
Every driver dreads having to file an insurance claim, but the reality is that the vast majority of U.S. drivers will need to deal with insurance companies at some point. Having an attorney on your side can make dealing with insurance companies easier. Remember, insurance companies are not looking out for your best interests and generally look for any and all reasons to reduce a settlement offer or deny a claim. In the event that the other driver is uninsured, you many have to pursue an uninsured motorist claim against your own insurance carrier.
- Your car wreck attorney can help you draft a strong initial demand letter for coverage that fully covers the elements of your auto accident.
- An attorney can help prepare you for an interview with a claims adjuster or negotiate with the insurer on your behalf.
- Your attorney can ensure a settlement offer from an insurance company is fair under the terms of the policy in question.
- If an insurance company representative or claims adjuster engages in any bad faith practices, your attorney can help you explore your legal options to hold the insurer accountable and not only help you recover a fair settlement but also potentially hold the insurer accountable for bad faith practices.
WHO IS LIABLE FOR A CAR ACCIDENT IN NASHVILLE, TN?
Liability for a car accident falls to the driver who caused the accident. However, if you bear any liability for causing the accident you should expect to lose a portion of your settlement or case award to reflect your fault under Tennessee’s comparative negligence law. As long as the plaintiff’s fault does not exceed that of the defendant, the plaintiff can still recover compensation for his or her damages.
However, the plaintiff loses a percentage of the settlement or case award equal to his or her percentage of fault in causing the accident. For example, in a $50,000 car accident claim in which the plaintiff is 10% at fault, the plaintiff loses 10% of the case award, resulting in $45,000 instead. You can find more information about Tennessee car accident liability laws here.
INJURED PASSENGERS’ RIGHTS IN TENNESSEE
Passengers also have rights when it comes to recovering their losses from car accidents. If you were in another driver’s car as a passenger, you would file a personal injury claim against the at-fault driver just as you would have if you had been driving. However, a driver could also face liability for injuries to his or her passenger if the driver was in any way responsible for the accident. If the accident in question was a single vehicle collision, the driver of the vehicle would be liable for passenger injuries and other damages.
NEVER A FEE UNLESS WE WIN YOUR AUTO ACCIDENT CASE
Tennessee Law Protects the Victims of Negligent Drivers
A person injured in a car wreck may be able to seek compensation if the accident was caused by the negligence of another person or entity. The victim of the accident can file a negligence lawsuit against the responsible party, and a car accident attorney in Nashville can help. To bring a successful negligence lawsuit the person bringing the suit, the plaintiff, must prove:
- The defendant owed a reasonable person duty to the plaintiff;
- The defendant somehow breached this duty; and
- The plaintiff’s injuries were proximately caused by the defendant’s behavior.
All drivers in Tennessee owe everyone else on the road a duty to behave the same as a reasonable person under similar circumstances. Failing to live up to this standard is called a breach. Defendants can breach their duty by sending a text message while driving, failing to yield the right of way, driving drunk, or engaging in any other behavior that is unreasonable given the circumstances.
To prove the final element, the plaintiff must show that the defendant’s behavior resulted in the plaintiff’s injuries. In accident cases this is a straightforward proposition. A driver distracted by a text message causes an accident that injures the plaintiff. This is a clear example of causation. Any time an accident was directly caused by the defendant’s behavior, there is causation. Our Tennessee car accident lawyers can help you determine the presence of this and other elements after a crash.
Damages Are Available to Successful Plaintiffs
Once the plaintiff proves the three elements of a negligence claim by a preponderance of the evidence, she is entitled to damages, the amount of which is determined by a judge or jury.
Multiple types of damages are available in Tennessee. Economic compensatory damages are objective costs the plaintiff incurred as a result of the accident. Some examples of this type of damages are medical bills, lost wages, property damage, and the cost of future medical care or therapy. Complementary to economic damages are so-called noneconomic damages.
These include more subjective injuries, such as pain and suffering or mental anguish. The jury can award both economic and non-economic damages based on the evidence presented at trial.
The longer you wait to contact an attorney after an auto accident, the more difficult it can be to get the compensation you need for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
When you contact the Tennessee car accident lawyers at Sessions & Fleischman, LLC, we’ll act right away and begin preserving evidence, contacting witnesses, and analyzing crash scene debris.
Many car accident victims do not realize that if they were injured by a negligent driver, they are legally entitled to compensation. The first step in that process is contacting a knowledgeable lawyer. Our injury lawyers understand how devastating the uncertainty caused by car accidents can be. We help Tennesseans get the compensation for car wreck injuries they deserve.
Disclaimer: The information provided on this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. Ben Sessions is not license to practice in Tennessee. Sessions & Fleischman, LLC, will associate with a licensed Tennessee counsel to advise any client on a Tennessee car accident case.