Murfreesboro Personal Injury Lawyer
An accident can rob you of your sense of security, leaving you with medical expenses and emotional anguish. If your accident is severe enough, you may be unable to work, further impeding your ability to pay your medical bills and other accident-related expenses.
Our Murfreesboro personal injury lawyers are here to help you recover damages to help you take back your life.
When Should You Pursue a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
There are a variety of situations that may lead to a personal injury lawsuit. In each of these cases, establishing which person or entity was negligent will allow you to recover damages.
We usually recommend that you attempt to recover compensation through insurance first. At Raybin & Weissman, P.C., we will negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf to ensure you are receiving fair compensation.
However, there are situations in which you may want to consider filing a personal injury suit. These include the following:
- If the insurance company rejects your offer
- If the insurance company repeatedly offers your low settlement offers
- If your damages exceed policy limits
What is a Statute of Limitations?
In each state, you only have a limited amount of time to bring a case to court. Tennessee has one of the shortest limitation periods, only permitting personal injury victims one year to file a suit following an accident or injury. If you choose to pursue your case after the one-year period has passed, the defendant can file a motion to dismiss the case.
The statute of limitations is put into place because evidence can only be preserved for a certain amount of time. If you wait too long, both physical evidence and an eyewitness’s memories could fade.
Compensatory Damages
If you sustained injuries in an accident, you may be eligible to receive compensatory damages. Compensatory damages are any actual losses that you suffered. These may include economic and non-economic losses.
Economic damages are any losses that take money directly out of your pocket. Also known as special damages, these may include any of the following:
- Lost income
- Loss of future earnings
- Hospital visits
- Physical therapy
- Property damage
A person may also suffer non-economic damages or general damages, which are losses that do not have a price tag attached. These losses often impact your quality of life and may include:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of companionship
- Emotional distress
- Disfigurement and scarring
Punitive Damages
If the defendant’s behavior is considered egregious or if the defendant acted with gross negligence, the court may award punitive damages. Punitive damages are also known as exemplary damages, and they are designed to deter others from behaving in the same manner.
Damage Caps
The Tennessee Civil Justice Act of 2011 places a cap on the amount of non-economic damages a plaintiff can receive in a personal injury suit. Under the law, a plaintiff cannot receive more than $750,000 in non-economic damages. This limit is raised to $1 million if a person suffers a catastrophic injury.
Under Tennessee law, punitive damages are set at $500,000- or two-times compensatory damages. The court will award whatever amount is greater.
Speak with a Murfreesboro Personal Injury Lawyer
No one should bear the cost of paying for an accident that was caused by another person. Our justice system allows personal injury victims to recover their accident-related losses so that they can focus on their healing.
We offer free consultations to injury victims in Nashville and Murfreesboro. If you have been injured, contact us online or call 615-256-6666 today to schedule your free case review.