Articles Posted in Tennessee

This post is about the trial and settlement value of personal injury cases in Tennessee.

The settlement payout you get in Tennessee will depend on the injuries.  So you cannot determine settlement compensation by punching your medical bill and lost wages in a settlement calculator.  Still, there is a path to better understand the range of compensation you might receive. 

In medical malpractice cases, form triumphs over substance way too often. Tennessee has been largely immune from this problem because, for years, Tennessee malpractice law did not require plaintiffs’ lawyers to jump through the hoops required by many states. Now, Tennessee has added a certificate of merit requirement and other technical obligations to filing a medical malpractice case.

You know, I’m fine with these requirements. What I don’t like is when potentially worthy plaintiffs are denied justice permanently because their lawyers screw up the details.

This is what happened in Williams v. Mountain States Health Alliance. In Williams, a 68-year-old female patient was undergoing myocardial perfusion imaging (a nuclear stress test) when she fell off the table to which she had been strapped. During the procedure, the patient made a sudden movement, broke free of the table straps, and fell onto the floor hitting her right side. Prior to the fall, the patient had suffered a stroke and paralysis to the right side of her body. Additionally, she was morbidly obese. The technicians who strapped the patient to the table allegedly knew (or should have known) this.

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As reported in the Tennessean today, Tennessee juries last year awarded a grand total of $92 million, according to the 2009-10 Annual Report of the Tennessee Judiciary. The average jury verdict was $400,359 last year.

Apparently, this is in civil jury cases altogether. It would have been helpful to breakup Tennessee personal injury cases so we don’t lump injury cases in with contract disputes. Jury Verdict Research would suggest that the median personal injury verdict in Tennessee is under $18,000. The median is a lot less sexy number but it is far more telling of the actual picture.

• Get examples of jury verdicts in Tennessee from 2010-2014

According to Jury Verdict Research, the average personal injury jury verdict in Tennessee is $273,821. Using the median verdict, which deflates the impact of large verdicts, the number falls to $17,536.

John Day provides some additional data about Tennessee car accident verdicts. The Tennessee Jury Verdict Reporter, he reports, looked at 130 car accident lawsuits that went to trial in Tennessee. The average plaintiff’s verdict was $60,552 in the 93 (71%) lawsuits in which the plaintiff prevailed. Factoring in the losses, the average verdict was $43,318.

Average verdict statistics are interesting but, in the end, the axiom that every case is different really does ring true. Average statistics are just that, averages. If you want more information on the value of your case, call 800-553-8082 or get a free online case evaluation.