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Negligence requires that a legal duty to existed from a defendant to the victim to do everything reasonably possible to prevent harm to the victim and that the defendant breached that duty. Learn more about compensation in Tennessee in this presentation
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COMPENSATIONIn a Tennessee Personal Injury
Lawsuit
What Qualifies as a Personal Injury Accident?
The term “personal injury accident” covers a broad spectrum of scenarios in which a victim is injured, such as:
• Car accidents• Dog bites• Medical errors• Slip and fall accidents• Premises liability• Product liability• Workplace accidents where third party
liability applies• Industrial disease• Wrongful death
Intentional Torts, Strict Liability and Negligence
As a victim, you are only entitled to compensation if your injuries were
caused by the intentional or negligent conduct of another party
or if strict liability applies
Intentional torts – an intentional tort occurs when someone’s intentional
conduct causes injury
Strict liability – strict liability does not look at the mindset,
or mens rea, of the defendant
When strict liability applies a victim is entitled to recover for damages simply by showing that he or she
was injured
Negligence – most personal injury accident cases are evaluated using
a negligence standard
Negligence requires that a legal duty to existed from the defendant
to the victim to do everything reasonably possible to prevent harm to the victim and that the defendant breached that duty
Damages –Economic, Non-Economic and Punitive
Economic damages are intended to cover out of pocket expenses such as medical bills, property damage, and lost wages that result from the
accident
Non-economic damages are what people often refer to as “pain and
suffering”, though they actual cover much more than that
In situations where punitive damages are potentially available,
the victim has to prove that the defendant’s conduct was malicious, intentional, fraudulent, or reckless
Calculating Damages
Some factors that will be considered when calculating the value of your non-economic award/settlement include:
• Type of injuries suffered• Extent/severity of injuries• Number of injuries• Proof of income
Some factors that will be considered when calculating the value of your non-economic award/settlement include:
• Prognosis (will future treatment/surgery likely be required?)
• Age and overall health of victim prior to accident
• Family relationships that suffer as a result of the injuries
• Professional/career consequences of injuries
LEARN MORE ABOUT COMPENSATION IN MURFREESBORO, SMYRNA, AND LA VERGNE