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I.N.J.U.R.Y. AS AN ACRONYM: UNDERSTANDING PERSONAL INJURY LAW

Incident
Negligence
Justice
Us
Recovery
You

Incident

To have a legal claim for personal injuries you must first have an incident that causes physical and/or emotional injury.  For example, if you are injured after a car accident or injured while shopping at a business an incident has occurred.  If you are injured in an incident, protect your potential case immediately.  Two important ways you can protect your case are to collect and preserve evidence and to get immediate medical treatment.  

For example, always having the police complete a crash or accident report immediately following your motor vehicle accident.  Or, if you are injured while a customer of a business always complete an incident report at the business with an employee of that business as soon as practical.  Also, take pictures of any evidence or damage, and make sure all parties involved in the incident preserve video evidence, including surveillance video.  Tennessee law requires parties to preserve evidence related to a claim, and this includes any social media posts related to the incident.  Last, always seek medical treatment for your injuries immediately following your incident.

Negligence

Once an incident has occurred, the heavy lifting begins.   In order to win your personal injury claim, you must legally prove someone else’s negligence caused your injuries and that they are liable for your damages.  In personal injury cases, especially premises liability cases, proving negligence is often difficult.

Negligence has multiple legal elements you must prove.  To keep things simple, (which is hard to do when discussing negligence!) the elements of Negligence are:  Duty, Breach, Causation, and Damages.  To win your case, you must prove each element.  Insurance companies and big businesses have vast resources to fight your claim of negligence.  They will use tricky tactics to minimize your claim, scare you into taking a tiny settlement, or just plainly tell you they are not responsible and will not pay.  They will even fight you on each element of negligence looking for any way to avoid some or all of the responsibility for the incident.

Last, another tricky aspect of proving negligence is the legal doctrine of comparative fault.  Tennessee is a modified comparative fault state.  This is a fancy way of saying you can be found responsible for some or all of your own injuries.  As long as you are found to be 49% (or less) responsible for your own injuries, you still may be able to recover damages against a negligent party.  

Justice

When you are injured in an incident caused by someone else’s negligence you deserve justice from our civil legal system. Just because the insurance company or giant corporation tells you “no” or refuses to pay for your claim does not mean you are out of options.  A simple way to view our civil justice system is to view it as an economic system.  Meaning, the way you achieve justice is by winning compensation (i.e. money) for your injuries.  

When you are injured you have the right to be heard, which includes the right to a jury trial if the required legal elements are met.  No matter what you are told or how hard the fight may seem, you deserve to have your day in court if that is what is best for your case.  The more you are persistent and stay patient for the duration of your case, the insurance companies and big businesses start analyzing your claim in terms of risk exposure.  If they know you are willing to stay patient and persistent they will factor that into their risk analysis.

Us

If you go it alone, a personal injury claim often requires navigating through complicated issues and complex legalities against an adversary (like an insurance company) who knows the game better than you.   When you hire an injury lawyer to represent you it evens the playing field against the deep-pocketed insurance companies and corporations who will unleash their vast and experienced defense lawyers to beat your case.  If you hire Weir & Kestner Injury Lawyers,  together we will fight to ensure your injury rights are not only protected, but that your compensation is maximized under our civil justice system.   

Recovery

Winning a personal injury claim or lawsuit is the ultimate goal of every case.  It is an extremely satisfying result for a personal injury lawyer to know that they helped a client get the justice they deserve.  When an accident injury lawyer wins a case in and out of court, the client gets monetary compensation called a recovery.  In the injury law context a recovery should adequately compensate a client for his or her economic and non economic damages.  Past medical bills and lost income are examples of economic damages, while pain and suffering or lost enjoyment of life are examples of non economic damages.

A good injury attorney will know jury verdicts statewide and be able to provide a range of potential verdicts given the facts of your case.  But make no mistake, a trial is a lot like gambling…you never know for sure what the outcome will be.  That is why having open communication with your lawyer about topics such as expected outcomes, case strategy, or how damages are calculated help you make informed decisions about your case.  In the end, you want to maximize your recovery.  The best way to do that is to trust and listen to advice from your lawyer, understand the case process, and make decisions that are best for you and your family. 

You

A claim for personal injuries is ultimately all about YOU.  Your health and physical wellbeing may forever have been altered by someone else’s negligence.  Following an accident, you owe it to yourself and your family to seek advice about your legal options.  If you delay talking to an injury lawyer after an incident caused you to be injured, you are losing valuable time.  Things like destruction of important evidence or statutes of limitation can negatively impact your case significantly.  Not to mention the insurance company or corporation starts working against you immediately.  In the end, make your health a priority following an accident.  Living through pain can permanently diminish the quality of your life.  You deserve protection from our civil justice system.   

Are You the Victim of a Personal Injury Accident in Tennessee?

You have every right to seek justice. The experienced legal team at Weir & Kestner Injury Attorneys focus on providing the best possible representation to victims of all types of personal injuries caused by the negligence of others. 

Contact us online or call our office directly at 615.220.4180 to schedule your free consultation. We’ll arrange a time to meet with you at one of our offices in SmyrnaNashvilleMurfreesboro or Chattanooga—whichever location is most convenient for you.

Helping personal injury victims win their case and lose their stress.
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