Tennessee Injury Lawyer Blog

When a person drives while they are intoxicated and this results in the serious injury or even death of another person, this rises many questions and concerns about how is responsible for this injury or death. In a tragic recent case in Tennessee, twenty-two year old Rebecca Benson got in her car early on February 22nd, 2012, and headed south in the northbound lanes of Interstate 65. Police believe Benson was intoxicated when she collided with Steffanie Leonard, who was twenty-nine. Leonard died and Benson has been charged with vehicular homicide. The police also state that anyone who sold alcohol to Benson could face legal problems as well.

he Nashville police department stated that where Benson was before the crash is important to the investigation. According to the Nashville police department bar liability laws vary from state to state. In twenty-one states and the District of Columbia vendors can be held liable when adults become intoxicated. In fourteen other states they cannot be held liable. In Tennessee, the laws fall in the middle having limited vendor liability for adults becoming intoxicated. According to this case, Tennessee “puts most of the responsibility on the individual for their behavior, but a bar, restaurant or convenience store can be held liable and have been in the past,” There’s two exceptions. One is when a minor is served alcohol and that minor causes personal injury or death, and the other one is when you sell alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person and that person causes injury or death.”

Tennessee’s alcohol-serving laws faced more litigation before the state passed new dram shop laws in the 1980s. These laws presumed that the person consuming alcohol is at fault, not those who sold the alcohol. These more lenient laws were passed because bar and restaurant owners struggled to pay for or get liquor liability insurance.

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procedure must be followed in order for them to file a Tennessee Workers’ Compensation claim and in order for them to be able to receive this compensation. However, there are many mistakes several employees make during the process of their lawsuit or even before their lawsuit that make proving the injury to a judge difficult. I have discussed several of these common mistakes in my previous blog posts and another one I see often is that people will fail to inform their doctor about how their work-related injury actually affects their ability to work.

Many clients may feel that if they were injured while at work than the fact that this injury affects their work would be obvious, however, just because you may know that your injury affects your work, this does not mean that your insurance company or a judge will know it. This is why it is very important to tell your doctor about your pain and how it affects your work so that it can be documented in medical records. This way a judge and insurance company can have substantial proof of just how much this job injury has affected your ability to work. It is also a good idea to document your pain and problems in a journal so that you do not forget to mention it to your doctor when you go for your appointments.

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Tennessee workers’ compensation cases can be tricky to process and prove in court even when all the steps are followed properly. They can become even more difficult when common mistakes are made during the process. Another one of the most common mistakes that people may make during a workers’ compensation claim or lawsuit is talking to their doctor about the lawsuit, the insurance company, your employer, or asking the doctor for legal advice concerning your case.

In the last blog, I discussed how important it is to be honest with your doctor about your medical history, personal habits and anything else that they may need to know about the injury in order to proper diagnose it and provide the proper treatment for you. Many people may think that this also includes telling the doctor about your lawsuit, talking about your employer or your insurance company or even seeking their advice about your claim, however speaking with your doctor about the specifics of your lawsuit, may only cloud your case or create negative implications in your medical records. It may even complicate or negatively affect your medical care and treatment. It is also important to remember that anything you say in confidence to your doctor is NOT protected information once you have filed a workers’ compensation claim in court. If you have questions about your case, your employer, your insurance company, or your legal options, it is best to consult with your Tennessee workers’ compensation lawyer about it.

Continue reading "Another Common Workers’ Compensation Mistake: Talking About Your Lawsuit, Your Employer, the Insurance Company, or Seeking Legal Advice from your Doctor" »

Tennessee workers’ compensation claims can be complicated to win in court if the case lacks credibility or if the injury itself is called in question. This can happen most often if an employee fails to be totally honest with their doctor about their medical history and personal habits as well as any other necessary information needed for the doctor to provide an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

Many clients may not see a reason to tell their doctor about a particular medical condition or personal habit. Some clients may even feel embarrassed about revealing certain information; however, failing to provide accurate information to your doctor can lead to misdiagnosis of the injury as well as improper treatment for it. This may not only cause you to suffer more pain and problems in the future but it can cause your case for workers’ compensation to be weakened because it can damage your credibility and the court may even question the injury completely causing the case to be rejected or destroyed. If this occurs, you may not receive the compensation you need for your injury. This is why it is important to be as honest with your doctor as possible about your medical history and any personal habits that may affect the diagnosis of your injury.

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Tennessee worker’s compensation claims may be difficult to prove in court if a specific procedure is not followed by the employee and their employer soon after the injury has occurred. In the past few blogs, I have looked at common mistakes made in Tennessee worker’s compensation cases. Another mistake I often see when clients file these claims is failing to seek reasonable medical attention soon after the injury occurred. In Tennessee, worker’s compensation law requires that the injured employee has the responsibility of proving that they were injured while at the workplace. It may difficult to prove this however, if you do not seek reasonable medical attention almost immediately after you have been injured. This is why it is best to seek the medical attention you need for injury as soon as possible.

Many people may not want to seek medical attention after a work injury because they do not think they need it or because they do not want to leave work in order to seek the medical attention they need. However, if you wait to seek medical attention for a work-related injury, insurance companies may believe that this is a sign that you did not suffer significant injury because you failed to seek treatment for it. If this happens to you, please contact one of our experienced and caring worker’s compensation attorneys immediately. Another important reason to seek medical attention as soon as possible after a work-related injury is because it may take days or weeks for you to realize how injured you are, however, if a doctor examines your injury right away, they be able to detect it shortly after the incident occurred.

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The Tennessee Workers Compensation Law can be very unforgiving when employees make innocent mistakes. One of the most common mistakes we see is a failure to report your work injury. In Tennessee you must report your injury within thirty (30) days. Although, there are exceptions to this harsh rule the safest thing to do is report your injury immediately.

I think what often occurs is people feel they have just sustained a temporary injury and they don't want to be seen as whiner. However, when the injury doesn't go away and the worker tries to report the claim an employer will often deny covering the injury because it wasn't timely reported. If this happens to you, please contact a work comp lawyer as soon as possible. Often the injury will be covered if the court believes the worker reported the injury once they realized it was a serious problem. However, to prevail you must make sure both the medical evidence and witness testimony supports the legal reasons for the delay.

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