Tennessee Injury Lawyer Blog

Not everyone who is in an car accident needs a lawyer. It really depends on several factors such as the amount of damages and whether liability is in question. Recently, Tennessee attorney Jim Higgins was interviewed on this topic. You can watch the show below:

Car accidents are one of the most common sources of legal problems for people throughout Tennessee. If you have been in a serious car wreck and have questions, feel free to call and speak to own of our Tennessee Car Wreck Lawyers today.

In Tennessee and all across the United States, people rely on nursing homes to take care of and provide for their elderly loved ones. Unfortunately, many nursing homes are understaffed and their employees are improperly trained and this leads to sickness, abuse, and neglect of nursing home residents. In a recent case, more than one hundred residents at the Colonial Hills Nursing Center are being relocated following the nursing center losing its certification with the centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services due to problems such as sexual assaults on two residents, incorrect medication being given out, and patients getting sick due to overly salted food all over the past year. Beecher Hunter, president of Life Care Centers of America, a company that operates nursing homes in several states, said they had corrected the problems when they got the termination order and will be refurbishing the facility with the goal of reopening.

In June, following an investigation of the nursing home, ninety-five pages of deficiencies were discovered and there was also the potential for harm to some residents found as well. Vincent Davis, director of health care facilities for the Tennessee Department of Health said that, “some residents on blood thinners were also given antibiotics, which could cause serious increased bleeding.” In another incident in August, an employee at the nursing home took a photo of a resident placing a diaper on their head. Then in November, one of the cooks at the facility put twenty-five pounds of salt into twelve pounds of pureed beats which were later eaten by nine residents. Of the nine residents who had eaten the beats, eight became ill and two were hospitalized.

Two days after the salty food incident, two eighty year old female residents were sexually assaulted by a male visitor who was not removed from the property and allowed to return the following day. Beecher Hunter stated that, “most of the residents have been relocated”. He said also they were hoping to finish the renovations in about 18 months. The nursing home will be permitted to reapply for certification in one hundred and eighty days.

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In Tennessee and all over the country, elderly loved ones are placed into nursing homes and facilities when they can no longer take care of themselves at home or when they may suffer with illnesses that leave them unable to remember most things. Some of these homes do a great job, however, some fail to provide protection that a resident needs. I recent case will no doubt warrants an investigation to determine if an unavoidable tragedy occurred or if the incident could have been prevented. This investigation should focus on whether there were prior warnings, appropriate staffing and appropriate care plans in place.

According to the news, Dorothy Reeder’s husband, Donald Reeder’s eighty-three was beaten with a cane by his eighty-nine year old roommate Orville Hayes while living at the Elmcroft at Twin Hills nursing facility. Both of residents involved in the incident suffered from Alzheimer's. According to police, the incident had occurred in Hayes’ room and the room had been found splattered with blood with a cane found nearby. The police believe Hayes used the cane to beat Donald Reeder about the head.

Donald Reeder was too badly injured and after being treated at a hospital was later transferred to a nursing home and finally to a hospice, where he died on January 10th. Metro Police spokesman Don Aaron said,”At present, the investigation shows that Mr. Reeder was struck with what we believe to have been a cane. When he was found he said that he had been beaten.”

According to an interview with the victim’s wife, Dorothy Reeder, she had feared for her husband’s safety when he got a new roommate. She had asked Elmcroft officials to move Donald to another room but was told that no other rooms were available. She stated that her husband’s roommate had arrived about six weeks ago and that the trouble started immediately.
The police spokesman Don Aaron has stated that, “Though the investigation is still ongoing, it was unlikely that any charges will be filed.” He stated that this is because,”The case is unusual and complicated. Both the 83-year-old and the 89-year-old suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The police are however looking into Hayes’ medical condition.

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In Tennessee and all across the country, many people unfortunately get into accidents with cars that result in serious injury for the people involved. However, these accidents can result in even more serious injuries when a car or truck hits pedestrians. According to a recent lawsuit, on March 26, 2008, , Frank Guenther, of Guenther and Sons towing attempted to drive a tow truck around a car that was waiting for a Southern Railroad Company cargo train at the Route 9 railroad , trying to make it over the tracks before the train arrived. Guenther did not make it across in time and the train clipped the back of the tow truck sending it spinning into three pedestrians. Kathleen McWhite one of pedestrians was thirty-two at the time and suffered leg fractures and lacerations. Jerome Seymour, then thirty-three, and Sebrina McWhite, then twenty-eight and the other pedestrians involved, suffered back injuries.

The three pedestrians filed a lawsuit against Guenther who filed a lawsuit against the railroad, claiming that the railroad did not have gates that lowered when the train approached. The lawsuit filed by the pedestrians also states that, the driver of the tow truck always denied responsibility for directly causing the accident. This led to the pedestrians extending their lawsuit to include the railroad.

The representative for the railroad Jon Filorilla stated that, “This case is very unusual because the plaintiffs didn’t initially sue the railroad at all. We really didn’t do anything wrong, but they had to cover themselves for any possible defendants. If they hadn’t done that, it wouldn’t have been good lawyering.” He went on to state that, “The state requires railroad intersections like this one be equipped with flashing lights and bells, which were both present and working at the time of the daytime accident.”

The case was set to go to trial in January but a settlement was reached following mediation. Kathleen McWhite will receive $750,000 for her injuries, and Sebrina McWhite and Seymour will receive $200,000 and $50,000. Guenther will pay ninety percent of that amount and the railroad will pay the balance.

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Recently our senior partner, Jim Higgins, was interviewed about what to do from a legal standpoint if you are in a car accident. The interview covers information that we have found to be very important when pursuing auto accident cases for our clients. You can watch the entire interview here:

If you are in an accident, please remember these basic tips:

- First make sure everyone is okay and get any medical attention needed.
- Take pictures of the accident scene with your cell phone or camera. Be sure to include photographs of the cars in the accident.
-Get the name, phone number and emails of any witness. We find emails are important as people keep those even when they may change their phone numbers.
-Do not give a recorded statement to the insurance company.

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A second wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against Sundance Helicopters Inc, a company which operated a sightseeing tour helicopter which crashed, killing five people in December. This lawsuit was filed on of four children of Delwin and Tamara Chapman, who died in the helicopter crash on December 7th while celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. The Sundance Helicopter Company has offered condolences to the Chapman family but has not commented on the lawsuit’s allegations.

A similar civil wrongful death lawsuit was filed on December 13th against Sundance on behalf of the families of Lovish Bhanot, 28, and Anupama Bhola, a couple on their honeymoon from India that were killed in the same helicopter crash. The pilot, Landon Nield was also killed in the crash.

According to both lawsuits, the radar tracking data made public by the National Transportation Safety Board showed that the six-seat Aerospatiale AS350-B2 aircraft spun into what is called an “erratic and abnormal” flight pattern in the last minute before the crash. It is suspected that the crash was a result of a pilot error or mechanical failure. The helicopter made one test flight and two passenger tours as well as had routine maintenance before the fatal flight. It was reported that the pilot made no emergency call before the crash and a search and rescue team find the charred scene and determined that there were no survivors. The Chapman lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages.

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In Tennessee and all over the United States, people can be seriously injured or even die in automobile and ATV accidents, especially if the person driving these vehicles is under the influence of alcohol. According to a recent lawsuit, an ATV crash killed Jonathon Byram, a nineteen year old college student after a 2009 Independence Day party. In the early morning of July 5, 2009, Byram was a passenger on the vehicle which was being driven by Mark Renehan, also a college student. The ATV vehicle flipped over resulting in the fatal crash. Mark Renehan was charged with homicide and involuntary manslaughter. He was later acquitted of the charges by a jury.

Daniel Byram, the victim’s father, filed a federal lawsuit claiming Mark Renehan was intoxicated and driving excessively fast and this caused the death of his son. The lawsuit goes on to claim that Mark Renehan’s family served alcohol to them on a “continuous basis” over several hours leading up to the time of the crash and that Mark Renehan had admitted to the police that he had consumed alcohol.

The criminal investigation and trial were held back due to Mark Renehan invoking his Fifth Amendment rights and also refusing to have a blood alcohol test done. The case has now been settled for $2.7 million.

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Texting and driving has become a dangerous problem in Tennessee and throughout the county. Over the past couple of years, some of the most tragic automobile accident cases in our law office have involved distracted drivers.

Recently, Jim Higgins was interviewed about Tennessee laws to prevent distracted driving and how these cases have increased over the years. You can watch the interview here:

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In Tennessee and all over the country, when employees injury themselves on the job or while performing job related tasks, they can file a workers’ compensation claim and have their medical expenses covered by their employer. In some cases however, it is difficult to determine whether or not certain injuries in specific situations should be compensated by Workers’ Compensation law. In these cases the states’ Supreme Court typically makes a ruling.

In a recent case, David Kirby was performing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning services for Memphis Jewish Nursing Home in September of 2008 and injured his right shoulder while trying to avoid falling down a flight of stairs. He had surgery for the injury in June of 2009 to repair a tendon and cartilage in his arm. Months after his surgery, David Kirby returned home after a medical appointment and found one of his dogs was running loose. He grabbed the dog by the collar and when the dog pulled away, this motion, caused David to reinjure his arm.

When the case was brought before a Tennessee Chancery Court, it was ruled that David Kirby did not act negligently when trying to restrain his dog and the re-injured arm was considered to be “a natural consequence of the original injury.” The court awarded forty percent partial disability benefits to Kirby based on the first injury and the impairment caused by the dog incident.

When the nursing home appealed the decision, the Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel of the Tennessee Supreme Court confirmed the Chancery Court’s decision. It ruled testimony from Kirby’s doctor which encouraged him to push past his limits while recovering from his arm surgery. The doctor’s testimony also stated that Kirby was not restricted from walking his dog after his surgery.

Continue reading "Tennessee Supreme Court Rules Injury Caused by Dog Compensable under Workers’ Compensation Law" »

In Tennessee and in many other states across the country, there is often times where the statute of limitations may have expired on a particular case or crime. In these cases, if the statute of limitations is unclear, then the court may determine if they have expired or not. Sometimes these cases involve old claims of sexual abuse. According to a new case case, two men, one of them forty-three year old Ralph West, made claims to ESPN that Bobby Dodd the former president of the Amateur Athletic Union or AAU abused them in the 1980s when they were players on his youth basketball teams at a YMCA in Memphis. Ralph West claimed that Dodd attempted to fondle him or masturbated in front of him at Dodd’s residence in Memphis and also at AAU events in Indiana, Florida, Louisiana, and Tennessee. Both alleged victims claim to have been encouraged to come forward with their claims after the sexual abuse case at Penn State.

Tennessee state law currently states that adults claiming sexual abuse have one year to file a lawsuit after turning eighteen. The results of a Memphis investigation as well as a pending decision before the Tennessee Supreme Court may determine whether alleged victims are allowed to file a lawsuit decades after their claims of abuse.

The case involving the Tennessee Supreme Court is a lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese of Memphis filed by Norman Redwing in 2008 claiming that he had faced abuse from a priest in the 1970s.

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The people of Tennessee and all across the United States, expect that when they go into the hospital for any kind of treatment or care that they doctors and medical staff will treat them and their family members with the proper medical care and that they will be doing better by the time they leave the hospital. Unfortunately, however, this is not always the case. In a recent lawsuit, Matthew Allen Marlin was born early on June 13, 2009 and suffered irregular breathing and an irregular heart rate. A nurse noticed that he “made a small cry at delivery and had movement of arms and legs.” The baby was considered by this nurse to have been fighting for its life and Dr. John W. O’Donnell III made the decision on his own without first consulting anyone that the baby would have no chance of living. Marlin was then placed in a plastic bin and left on a counter until the family decided what to do with the body. A nurse who was passing by however, noticed the baby was gasping for breath a few hours later.

Marlin then received resuscitation therapy and was transferred to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville where he stayed for three months in order to receive specialized care. This lawsuit is claiming that Dr. O’Donnell was negligent and that Marlin suffered a brain injury as well as other injuries due to the doctor’s failure to provide timely and appropriate medical care and treatment. According to the case, a pediatrician should have been called immediately to resuscitate the baby, and the baby should have been sent to a neonatal intensive care unit. The lawsuit seeks undetermined compensatory damages.

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